365 Things to Look Forward to–Number 16: Holidays!

0
by

16.  Holidays!

Happy Canada Day! Yes, it is a holiday in Canada, and everyone is celebrating on PEI by staying home. Except, of course, for those who need to work today. Well, I’m really assuming everyone is staying home, basing that on the number of cars I see in the parking lot of my apartment building and the parking lots of the apartment buildings surrounding mine.

Indeed, holidays are something to look forward to, for several reasons.

1. It’s a great refreshing break from work. Usually, offices shut down for the holidays. Schools too, though they’re not really affected by this holiday because it’s summer break after all, and no one is in school! It’s a long weekend, too. Since the 1st of July falls on a Friday this year, people get Friday till Sunday off, and because it falls on a weekend, more people get even Monday the 4th off! It’s perfect timing this year, for those who want to mingle with the crowds trying to see the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, aka William and Kate, when they arrive in PEI on Sunday evening and race around on schedule on Monday.

2. It’s a time to celebrate. Depending on the holiday, different cultures and different religions have their special ways of celebrating the day. Public ceremonies as well as private traditions are held. In may cases, holidays are times when friends or families get together, simply because everyone is free on those days! Except for those who have to work. I have my own favorite holidays, besides my birthday, and that is Christmas! And because it’s such a huge favorite of mine, I’m saving it for another thing to look forward to.

3.  Premium pay. If you are one of those who have to work on a holiday, the thing to look forward to is time-and-a-half pay, or double pay, depending on the labour laws in your province, state, or country. After all, everyone else is taking a day off, so for you to have to work when everyone else isn’t working is going above  and beyond what is expected of you, hence pay that is above and beyond the usual. It’s only fair.

So go and celebrate the holiday in whatever way you want: picnic, beach, walks, parties, socials, decorations, eating out, or simply staying home to do whatever you want, including sleeping in or catching up on hobbies. It’s a free day, after all, so use it to do something you wouldn’t otherwise have time to do. Unfortunately for PEI denizens, shopping or malling isn’t an option on holidays, since most stores and malls close on holidays. A few might have shortened holiday hours, but in general, you can’t do your shopping on a holiday. The most likely stores that might be open with shortened hours will be grocery stores and pharmacies. And, of course, restaurants, because most everyone wants to celebrate their holidays with food, and it wouldn’t be a real holiday if you had to slave in the kitchen just to celebrate. It somewhat takes away the spirit of celebrating and taking a break. That’s why people who work in restaurants go to work on holidays–because most people don’t want to cook!

Sigh.

I need a job that lets me have holidays off, too, so I’d have more things to look forward to!

 

365 Things to Look Forward to–Number 15: Getting a Bargain!

0
by

15. Getting a Bargain!

That’s right, folks. Getting a bargain is certainly something to look forward to, especially if you weren’t expecting it. It’s like getting a bonus gift or a great discount when you weren’t looking for one. That really makes it a gift item, even if you do have to pay something.

I just got such a bargain today. I decided to go down to Michael’s and get some tubes of paint, and while searching for the cheapest tubes of reasonably good quality that I could find, I found one color on clearance at $1.99 for a 120 ml tube! Now that was a bit of a bargain. But my bargain day didn’t end there.

I strolled all around the store, as I love to do, looking at all sorts of items and taking note of where I could get some things and at what prices. After making a full round, I decided to go back to the art supplies and didn’t I see a lonely wooden painter’s case–one of those little suitcase-like boxes, with partitions inside for paints and brushes and a wooden palette to boot! All at a fraction of the original price, and just because there was a little chip in one outer corner of the box. Of course I grabbed it. Why wouldn’t I, at $12.99? I was in need of one, and here was the perfect box, presenting itself. Last in stock, last on the shelf. That was certainly a bargain I wasn’t counting on, but I did take advantage of it, and I am happy about that little thing.

It made my day.

Drive Through Etiquette, or What To Do When You Drive Through

1
by

One of the things I have noticed while working in the drive through is how customers who come through the drive through behave. It is a constant source of amazement, how people who go through drive throughs seem to completely forget their manners. No matter how nice and polite you are on the speaker, you can’t help but feeling like you are a worthless piece of clod on the drive through, rather than a person at the other end of the speaker, trying to help you. No matter how nice and polite you are at the drive through window, you sometimes feel that you are not a person at all. Why? Too many people who go through the drive through just don’t have any manners. They can sometimes be the rudest people on earth, and that really amazes me. It’s as if the fact that they’re in the drive through excuses them from daily niceties and politeness, not to mention consideration.

If you’re a regular drive through patron, I hope you don’t recognize some of these things as things you do or don’t do. And if you are one of those who forgets those daily niceties, politeness and consideration–because you are dealing with people after all–then you need a little lesson in drive through etiquette.

This little guide will take you through the drive through, step-by-step, so that your drive through experience will be a pleasant one–both for you and the people serving you in the drive through.

STAGE 1: When you decide to go through the drive through.

1. Take the drive through only if you really have to.

Deciding to go through the drive through is a very important stage. The drive through is the place to go when you are too much in a hurry to park your car and walk in to get your order. It’s when you don’t want to sit in the restaurant because you just want a quick item or two, or you want to take your order home or eat some place else, like your car.

2. Know what you want before you go into the drive through.

Once you have decided to go through the drive through, you should have a fairly good idea of what you want. Do you want donuts? Coffee? Tea? A cold drink? A sandwich? Something else? You should always KNOW WHAT YOU WANT before you even enter the drive through lane. Do not enter the drive through lane then start thinking of what you want to have. If you don’t know what’s on the menu at all, GO INSIDE THE RESTAURANT. This will save you, the cars behind you, and the people serving you in the drive through a lot of grief and a lot of time. It’s pointless to go through the drive through, which is supposed to be a very quick service option, if you will sit there trying to figure out what you want. If you need to ask everyone with you in the vehicle what they want, ask them before you enter the drive through, or as you wait in line, it there is a long waiting line. Remember, each car will probably take only a minute or less at the window, so it won’t take long before you get to the window yourself.

3. Prepare your payment.

Always make sure you have enough money to pay for your order before you even enter the drive through. Don’t tell yourself you’re pretty sure you have the coins or the bills to pay with, or even your credit or debit cards or a gift card or coupon. Make sure your form of payment is with you. If you’re paying in cash, have your coins counted out or your bill ready. Don’t wait until you’re at the drive through window to search for your purse or wallet, dig into your pockets, or, heaven forbid, count out your pennies and other loose change that’s lying around in your car.

4. Have the exact change.

As much as possible, have the exact change or as close to it as possible over the amount you need to pay. Remember, the person at the window can make change for you. But please, don’t short change the employees. Sure, sometimes you go through and you’re short a penny or more, and you just don’t want to break up your bills. That’s not really fair, is it? And it’s really a lie, if you give short change and say you don’t have enough, when you do have a bill in your wallet or purse that you can break. Pay what you’re supposed to. Be honest.

5. Pay with small bills.

The drive through is not a bank machine. And a restaurant is not a bank. If you need to break a large bill, like a hundred or a fifty, don’t go into the drive through and order a small drink or a single timbit or donut just to break your bill. It’s totally inconsiderate and an inconvenience. Sure, it may be convenient for you, but it’s inconvenient to the employees, the store and the people behind you. Oh, and get the bill out of your wallet so you can just pass it out and not waste time searching for your wallet and picking out the bill.

6. End that mobile call and drop your phone.

There is nothing so rude as to enter the drive through and continue speaking on your phone while people are waiting to take your order. And there is nothing so confusing as listening you to place an order while you are talking to someone else on your phone. If you need to finish your phone call first, don’t even enter the drive through. Finish your call then enter the drive through. That way, your attention is on your driving and delivering your order. Besides, it’s dangerous to talk or text and drive at the same time. In fact, it is illegal in Canada and other countries, so you might as well keep that phone in its case or in your pocket or purse or the seat beside you.

STAGE 2: At the drive through speaker.

Once you get to the speaker, a tone will notify the person who is taking orders that there is a car at the speaker. You don’t need to yell or call for the person, because someone can definitely hear you and knows you are there. If it takes a little more than a second for the person to answer, it probably means that everyone is busy in the store and cannot answer you immediately. Don’t worry, they’re supposed to answer in 1 second, or as soon as they hear the tone signalling your presence. The first thing you will hear is a greeting from the person taking orders, who will tell you that they are ready to take your order. When that happens:

1. Roll your window down.

There is nothing harder for the person taking your order than try to hear what your are saying if you only open your window a crack. The easier it is for the person taking the order, the more quickly you’ll get through and receive the correct order when you drive up to the window.

2. Turn off your engine if it is particularly loud.

Really, how can anyone hear your order over a loud engine rumbling right into the speaker box while you are taking your order? Besides drowning out your voice and the voice of the order taker, you are pumping hundreds of decibels of noise into the ears of anywhere from 4 to 6 people, causing subtle but sure damage to their ears. It’s the common sense thing to do, as well as showing consideration for the people who are wearing the headsets.

3. Turn your radio volume down or turn it off.

As with your engine, this is just noise over the speaker that makes it more difficult for you and the order taker to hear each other. Some people even turn their music up when they are at the speaker. The drive through team is not interested in listening to your music. Moreover, loud music hurts their ears in a major way. Finally, the drive through team might not even like your choice in music. Save your music for when you are out of the drive through.

4. Greet the person back.

Even if you’re having a bad day, it’s but polite to greet someone you meet. Sure, the person is at the other end of the speaker and can’t see you, but you can certainly be heard. Believe me, there’s nothing nicer than a pleasant greeting to make the people in the drive through feel better about serving you. As well, if you’re having a bad day, saying a greeting will help you calm down a bit and set your mind to being pleasant, or, at the very least, civil.

5. Face the speaker box when you speak.

This will make it easier for your voice to be heard. If you are looking at someone else in the car or speaking while facing the front of your vehicle or even just leaning to the side a bit, your voice is not carried directly to the speaker.

6. Speak clearly, not rushed, and at a slightly louder volume than normal.

If you have gum or are chewing something while you’re speaking, you won’t be understood too well. If you speak hurriedly, your voice will come out garbled and you won’t be understood. If you murmur, whisper, or speak as though you were right next to the person you were speaking with, you probably won’t be heard either.

7. Say your orders separately and one at a time.

If you rattle off your orders quickly without pausing in between, or lumping them all together as “3 coffees, one large, one medium, one extra large, the large one black, the medium one double double, the extra large double triple” your order will most likely come out wrong.  If you are not sure how to order so it is clear to the order taker and the person making your coffees, refer to previous blog entries on “Surviving Coffee Shop Drive Throughs,” which give you invaluable tips on how to order coffee in a drive through. Remember, your order is being taken by a person, not a machine. Furthermore, that person has to ring in your order, and the more complicated it is, the longer it might take to ring it in.

8. Give your whole order at the speaker box.

Don’t wait at the window to order additional things, including a cup or glass of water. Include extra cups, double cups, cups of water, larger cups, refill mugs, and other miscellaneous information when you are ordering at the speaker box. That way, everything will be ready for you when you drive up to the window to pay and collect your order.

9. Say please and thank you.

You were most likely taught good manners when you were little. Just because you are ordering at a drive through doesn’t mean you shouldn’t mind your manners. Say please when you place your order and thank you when the person at the other end gives you the price of your order. It’s simply being polite and remembering that you are speaking to a person, not to a machine.

10. Drive away from the speaker box as soon as you know the price of your order, not sooner, not later.

Driving away from the speaker box while the person on the other end is still speaking is downright rude. It’s just like turning your back and walking away from a person speaking to you. Be considerate enough to let them finish speaking before you drive away, since they are taking the trouble to provide you with complete and friendly information. On the other hand, if you sit at the speaker box long after you have finished your order, you keep other vehicles waiting for their turn longer, and the person taking your order might think you need to order something else. It also takes precious seconds and prolongs the time you are in the drive through.

11. Leave your phone shut.

It is absolutely rude to answer your phone while someone else is speaking with you. Focus on speaking to whoever is taking your order and ignore your phone. If it is an emergency or extremely urgent call, on the other hand, and you should have the courtesy to tell the person taking your order that you need a couple of seconds to take the call. Then tell the person who is calling you that you can’t speak at the moment and that you will call back as soon as you are out of the drive through. Remember to apologize to the order taker for interrupting.

12. An additional note, in case it is raining: stop your windshield wipers!

When you are stopped at the drive through window and ready to pay or take your order, your vehicle is in the perfect position so that every time the wipers swing to your left, any water from your windshield is flung toward the window and directly at the person standing there. I know I have been rudely soaked by several vehicles whose drivers were oblivious to the fact that the water was flying at me. It’s bad enough we have to reach out of the window and get wet when you don’t even want to stretch your hands out of your little dry space, but to be soaked by your wet and wild wipers is adding insult to injury. Again, it’s all a matter of consideration for others.

STAGE 3: At the drive through window.

Most of the time, the drive through window is where you both pay and pick up your order. Sometimes, you pay at one window and pick up your order at another window. Regardless of the set-up, the rules of etiquette do not change.

1. Greet the person at the window.

The person at the window is not always the person who took your order. In fact, in most cases, these are two different people, so don’t assume that you were speaking to this person before. In all likelihood, you probably won’t even see the person who took your order. There is never anything wrong with being polite and greeting the person at the window with a simple “hello” or “hi”, or saying “good day”. In fact, you just might be giving that person a good day with your greeting.

2. Smile.

The person at the window makes an effort to smile at every customer that drives up to the window. This can be as many as 100 cars in an hour or as few as one. Regardless, this person does his or her best to be pleasant, courteous, and smile. It won’t hurt you to smile back. As they always like to point out, it only takes 7 muscles to smile and over 200 to frown. Even if that person’s smile doesn’t make your day, your smile might cheer you up.

3. Listen.

The person at the window will remind you how much your order is. Pay attention, so you know your order is correct. If the amount doesn’t sound right, check what is in the order you are paying for. It’s possible that orders might have gotten mixed up or your order was not rung in correctly. This gives the drive through team a chance to correct any mistakes.

4. Pay promptly.

Pass your payment into the hand of the person at the window. Please do not toss it onto the counter or just put a bill down without the person taking it. On a windy day, bills can be caught up very quickly, and unless you’re sure the person at the window is holding it, you could be losing a bill to the wind and making someone else lucky. On the other hand, coins can roll or bounce off the counter, and throwing the money down is really a bit rude.

5. Take your change and check it.

If you really care to get the exact change, down to the last penny, check what is given to you. The window person is not a change machine and can make mistakes. Because this person is expected to deal with you in about 20 seconds or less, he or she is more likely to make a mistake. These people are not trying to deliberately cheat you out of your last penny, so if your change is wrong, mention it nicely. On the other hand, it will make the drive through team happy if you left a little bit of a tip, as this is an important supplement to their low salaries. If you completely forget to take your change, whatever you leave usually gets tossed into a common tip jar unless it is a substantial amount, such as change for a ten or twenty dollar bill used to pay for a drink or two. In such cases, the window person sets that aside. Normally, they should be able to add that to the tip jar if you don’t return within an hour, since shifts could change or, because of the volume of customers going through the drive through, they won’t remember who left that change. On the other hand, if you are over-changed, you should have the courtesy to return what isn’t yours. It is a sad fact that there are customers who drive through and take whatever change is given to them, know that they are receiving too much change, and don’t say a thing. A few other customers might even claim to have given a larger bill than they actually gave and demand change for the larger bill. Many times, the person at the window will not even remember what bill you gave after change has been made, because your bill will have been slipped into the cash register into a pile of bills. You might be getting the better end of the deal, but the person whose till is affected could lose a job if it happens too often.

6. Check your order to make sure you have everything.

Too often, people drive right off after taking their change and completely forget to take their order, or leave an item or two by rushing off after getting their drinks. If you have to return to the store and are angry because you didn’t get your complete order, you really can only blame yourself. You probably drove off in such a hurry you forgot your donut or timbits or something else besides your coffee. Some people even forget to get their coffee!

7. If you have a complaint, put it nicely.

A request to replace a wrong order will be handled more quickly and gladly if it is made nicely. It’s not like the drive through team is trying to sabotage your order on purpose. Mistakes occasionally happen, and the drive through team will be happy to correct the mistakes as long as you request a correction politely and pleasantly. Remember, the more rude you are, the more likely the person you are being rude to will respond in kind. If the mistake was made at another store location, there is less reason for you to be rude to the team in the store you are getting a replacement from, since they didn’t make the mistake in the first place. It is gallant enough of them to apologize for a mistake they didn’t make, but for you to berate them for the mistake is completely misplaced and unproductive.

8. Pay full attention to your business at the window.

Do not use this time to converse with other people in the car, answer a phone call, clean up your glove compartment, pick up coins from the floor of your car, or anything else you might want to do or feel like doing. It’s plain and simply rude. If you were talking to someone, you’d want that person to pay full attention to you, so do the same to others, in this case, the person at the window. And for goodness’ sake, keep your music volume down.

9. Say please and thank you.

If you need something more, say “please” when you ask for it. It’s the polite thing to do. You are asking for something, not demanding it, so you should sound like you’re asking for it. Avoid demanding and demeaning language or tones. You are speaking with a person who has to be polite and pleasant to hundreds of people who go through the drive through within the duration of a few hours. Believe me, that is no mean feat. It is extremely challenging to remain pleasant, smile, and be polite to everyone, no matter how rude or ignorant they can be. You are speaking with a person who is probably tired of smiling hour after hour, giving the same greeting, taking money, making change, passing out your order and making sure you have a pleasant experience in the 15 seconds or more that you are sitting at the drive through window. The least you can do is remember that there is a person there who has to deal with hundreds of people everyday and it will take much less for you to make sure that person has a pleasant experience meeting and serving you than it will for him or her. Finally, remember to thank that person for the service. It is, at the very least, polite; at the very best, a sign of appreciation for the attention you received as well as for the effort put into making your drive through experience a pleasant one. It’s good to remember, as well, that these are persons you are dealing with, who are working hard to earn a living. They are not slaves and, while you might be better off than they are, it doesn’t make you any better than they are. They deserve to be treated as well or as nicely as you would treat your friends, so be nice.

10. As soon as your business is done, drive off.

Don’t take time at the window to attend to other things, such as organize your purse, clear the seat or floor next to you, sort your change, check your phone for calls or messages, finish a call, or even start eating or drinking your order. If you want to start eating or drinking, get out of the drive through and pull into the parking lot. If you need to do anything else, do it out of the drive through. Not only will there be another car waiting, you will make the drive through team think that something was missed or wrong with your order, or that you want something else. If you want to check inside your cups or food bags to make sure your order is absolutely correct, do it in the parking lot, where you have the chance to drive around again or walk into the store for a correction. As in most situations, the best exit is a graceful exit.

In keeping with graceful exits, I have said my piece and can only hope that people who read this are reminded that etiquette or good manners are not obsolete. They will never be obsolete for as long as people have to deal with other people in whatever shape or form they come. Etiquette has always been and will always be a sign of consideration for others and a requirement for civility. There is just no excuse for treating others as though they were beneath you, because we are all human and civilized after all.

365 Things to Look Forward to – Number 14: Finishing a book

1
by

14. Finishing a book

Every time I start reading a book, I look forward to finishing it. Admittedly, I haven’t finished every book I’ve ever started reading, so finishing a book is really something I look forward to. Except when the book is exceptionally dull or convoluted or just plain unreadable.

I have always been an avid book reader. Ask all my classmates in grade school and high school. They’ll confirm that. They used to call me a bookworm, I took special pleasure in that nickname. I always carried a book in my pocket…if it would fit…or in my bag, if it was any bigger than my pocket. And if I didn’t have a bag, I’d still a have book in my hand, wherever I went.

During breaks and before and after class, you’d always know where to find me–either in the library or on the grass, reading. I never really thought much about my reading habits back then…I just wanted to read anything and everything I could get my hands on, especially if it was fiction. My choice of reading material, of course, changed according to the times and the need and my mood and interests at the moment.

At present, I have several I am reading simultaneously…not that I read them all at the very same time. Just that I am reading them all. I have a couple of books on words I’m chewing through (sheer pleasure), a suspense novel (pleasure and time-filler), an art book (study), the latest issue of Reader’s Digest (bus-stop and out-of-my-handbag reading), a crafts book (self-study), a book on freelance writing, and a book on children’s writing and publishing. Oh, and a science fiction anthology somewhere. There are also a couple of other books that I started but temporarily shelved because I didn’t think I felt like reading them, as they seemed pointless at the moment. And a dictionary of slang that I recently acquired, and another book of quotations.

These books are in different places, mostly, and I grab them when I feel like reading and am in a particular spot of the apartment. Some I read continuously—I could read my novels forever, if I didn’t have to go anywhere or do anything else. I don’t know anyone else who will understand how I read books this way, but that’s how I read books. I used to finish novels in a day of guerilla-reading, sometimes as quick as in an hour–which was the length of lunch break in high school. Now, I usually leave novels to my bed-time reading. Anywhere from 1 chapter to an hour before turning off my bedside lamp to sleep, or the same before I get out of bed in the morning, when I don’t have to be anywhere shortly after I wake up. So it takes me considerably more time finishing a book of leisurely nature nowadays.

Regardless of the type of book I am reading, when I decide to finish it, I keep at it. Others, I don’t see myself finishing any time soon. Dictionaries and other word books, books of quotations and all sorts of anecdotes and wise or witty words are books I enjoy nibbling at, much like a box of assorted chocolates, whose flavours I want to last forever. You take them a bit at a time so you can savour each delectable bite-size treat, look forward to taking another treat and relishing a completely different experience, and when the box is gone, look forward to another box.

Novels and other fiction of best-selling  nature are like spicy hot salsa you can have on top of anything you want, really, but you don’t leave it in your mouth long. Those books, you finish fast.

Science fantasy, fantasy, and period literature are a mixed bag of spices leaving different flavours in your mouth. Some you swallow quickly, some you want to roll around in your mouth before swallowing. Some you try once, others, you use over and over again.

Books for learning are books that either reinforce what I already know or can do, help me recall and practice what I want to strengthen, or provide me with completely new knowledge or details of old knowledge that I never knew before. These can be anything from business books to language books to arts and crafts books. These are my cooking books, my problem-solver books, and other how-to books. Most of these, I finish reading but return to every now and then, because I most likely would not have read it in detail the first time around. Usually, I just skim over these books and if I find something immediately useful, I jot it down. Otherwise, I make a mental bookmark then return to the book when I need it.

I’ll admit I have books that I acquired because they looked like something I might try later on…and I still do have a handful of books that are untouched, unread. Thankfully, they don’t rot like real food would. They’d be the dried fruit or dried mushrooms or something like that, that you can keep forever until you want to use them. I suppose they’d have a musky, concentrated flavour as well, which I’d have to sprinkle with generous helpings of magazine reading.

Which brings me to reading magazines. These are all icing on cake, though some of them have exceptional flavours or flavours you want to experience over and over again. I thoroughly enjoy going through the pictures and trying out recipes from these magazines. Some of them provide me with vicarious experiences that I know I will never have—plunging down the ocean depths to examine sea life or sunken treasure…living in deserts or forests or mountains…travelling to destinations around the world that would never be in your average travel brochure. These are experiences of alternate lives I might have lived had I chosen to go down those paths of archaeology, exploration, and science.

Some of you who know me are probably wondering, where are the classics? I love classical literature. I even majored in literature. My genre of choice is drama, and I had books on drama that are hard to find.  I had boxes of books of classical literature, the bulk of which are drama–and my nieces know that, because those books are now with them–except for a treasured few that I have kept, and a few more that I have acquired since setting roots in new ground. I did acquire a membership to The Folio Club, which can provide me with all the classics I want, in classic binding, at classic prices, which I can’t really afford. And some of those books, because I have already read them but wanted classic copies to grace my shelves, remain in their clear plastic wrap. Mint editions, that may one day be worth a fortune. Who knows, I may yet have grandchildren who will be bookworms as their grandmother was. I am done collecting classics. Nearly every book of classic literature that I bought, I have read. I have also read classic literature that was not in my old collection, nor in my new collection, because they were library books that I could not keep. I have even read some classic literature on-line. And I have read classic literature from Papa’s Classics Club collection, that I truly wish Mama had deemed fit to give to me. But of course, that wish is like asking for the moon. But the books I read are already in my heart, the stories squirrelled away in some neural wiring in my brain. The only real and extensive collection I have and continue to build is my collection of word books–dictionaries, etymologies, idioms, euphemisms, quotes, and such. My fascination with words far exceeds my fascination with literary plots and themes, because the plots and themes repeat themselves; the words don’t.

I will still read literature that may one day be the stuff of classic literature, and certainly, I hope to write more literature and eventually publish work that might be remembered vaguely in the annals of literature hundreds of years from now. I will still read literature that will be forgotten once a new best seller climbs to the top of the list, as well as literature that only a few people will ever care to read, and I certainly, as well, hope to write some of that literature and earn a living out of it.

But in the meantime, I am a reader, and nothing will stop that. I know that, if I ever lose my sight, I will have audio books and braille books to fill up the dark space before me with the multi-coloured images and scenes of books written by people for people like me who look forward to turning that last page of a book and take a long look once again at the front and back covers, maybe hold the book close to the heart, before putting it away on a shelf or in a box for others to read.

 

 

365 Things to Look Forward to-Number 13: A new bloom

0
by

13. A new bloom

I have never had a green thumb. The best way plants grow with me is when I generally leave them alone. This is usually the case, since I am terrible at remembering to water them. So, unless they can grow on a low budget, with whatever earth I have in a pot or find around or dig up, and whatever water I remember to give them, and whatever sunlight they can get from wherever they happen to grow, then plants had better leave me alone.

It’s a completely different story, of course, when I receive a plant.

Someone gave me a fortune plant a couple about three years ago. As far as I know, they are a hardy bunch and not very easy to kill. Somehow, mine died. Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t deliberately abandon it. It just sort of shrivelled away and died after several months. I think it didn’t like getting moved about too much, which is what happened when I had to move to a new place. But I think I either over-watered it or forgot to water it. I forget which.

On my birthday, someone gave me a tiny little rose bush in a wee pot. It have five pretty rose blossoms (okay, four and a bud) on it and was the prettiest thing ever. I know I was happy to get it, but at the same time, I was somewhat dismayed because I was so worried it would just die on me, like most of my other plants. Especially the ones I tried to take care of.

My birthday roses from Angela J.

Naturally, I couldn’t just abandon this pretty little plant that had been entrusted to my care. And so I began taking care of it. At first, I just kept on watering it. The leaves turned a bit yellow-green, instead of the nice rich green they were. I remembered something about over-watering and leaves turning yellow. I also realized it might be a good thing to take the wrapping paper (which was really plastic) away. Of course, the paper was full of water. With paper gone, the little plant improved a bit. I figured about an ounce or two of water a day would do. About three or four days after, the water just drained straight into the saucer I had put the pot on. Too much water. I cut watering down to every other day.

Then the bugs came. Tiny little creatures that deposited a white fuzz and little green and black spots on the backs of the leaves. A quick trip to my Practical Problem Solver book told me they were likely little mealy bugs or some other sort that like rose plants. I also learned I could get rid of them by wiping rubbing alcohol on the leaves with a piece of cotton. That pretty much got rid of most of the bugs. But there were some I either couldn’t find or were really good at evading me, because after a couple of days, there were white web-like threads on the edges of the leaves and more green-black spots on some of the leaves. The leaves were also getting horribly blotchy and dried too.

This time, I tried another remedy: the soapy water trick. I filled an old squirt bottle with soapy water and sprayed the leaves of my plant, as well as the branches and the soil. That finally got rid of all the bugs, but I was left with a plant that looked more dead than alive. My only hope was a few sturdy green leaves. The rest looked like they were doomed, and so they were. I figured that it would be such a shame to let this pretty gift plant die, and so began battle to save my rosebush.

My little rosebush has the best window seat on the floor beside my balcony windows, where it can get sunlight from when the sun rises to when it sets, almost. When there is sunlight, that is. So I open my blinds every morning to let whatever sunlight there is come in for my little rose bush. It got a full trim, all the dried leaves taken off when they were completely dried. A weekly soapy bath for a couple of weeks, then a regular soapy spray of the soil, which is covered with the dried leaves and prunings for mulch, have kept the pesky bugs away.

It wasn’t long before tiny new leaves started sprouting everywhere. The old leaves went a few at a time. Finally a bud showed, and when it was near opening, another bud showed! The first rose didn’t have several layers of petals like the original flowers that came with the rosebush, but it was a rose! And now, as its petals are curling backwards and getting ready to drop, the new bud is starting to open. Moreso, it does look like it has the same lush layers the original flowers had.

I’d been wanting to start an herb and flower balcony garden but didn’t trust myself around plants enough….now, I’m actually excited about the possibility of maintaining a blooming balcony garden!

old rose, new rose

 

 

365 Things to Look Forward to – Number 12: Reception!

0
by

12. Reception for the artists featured in The Honourable Barbara A. Hagerman’s Summer Visual Arts Exhibit at Fanningbank

Wasn’t I excited when I received an invitation in the mail from the Government House? When I saw the way the envelope was addressed to me and “guest”, and when I turned it over and saw the PEI coat of arms on the flap and the PEI Government House address stamped in gold, I knew right away that my painting had been selected for the Summer Visual Arts Exhibit for Newcomers at Fanningbank, the Government House of PEI.

I right away called up my dear friend Nettie and told her the exciting news. If someone had taken a video of me that time, they would have laughed at how excited I was, hopping up and down and skipping and pacing back and forth.

Funny how, all my life, I’d always been so restrained and never showed excitement. I always just took everything in stride, shrugged my shoulders a bit, and moved on. Even when I received word that I’d won 3rd place in the 2007 Palanca Award for Literature, my excitement was totally contained and never really became the bubbly, happy excitement you see on videos and television, and other games. I suppose the most I ever ventured was a big smile, no matter that it was a gold medal and a 3-foot tall trophy I was receiving for a national competition.

Since late 2010, however, when I first received word that I had been picked to mount an exhibit of my works at The Gallery @ The Guild, I’ve been expressing my excitement in ways I never had before. It’s hard to explain that feeling of being so overwhelmingly happy that you actually, literally, jump for joy. Since I had never done that in my life before, it was a totally new and totally awesome, exhilarating experience. I suppose it comes with experiencing little successes in something that is totally of your own choosing.

So, back to the reception. When I received the invitation on the 3rd of June, I was literally jumping out of my skin for joy. I suppose that’s what it’s like when you say you’re beside yourself with joy. I must say that, apart from a couple of incidents in between, I was in a constant state of HIGH. I was so intoxicated with happiness that certainly kept me going for a long time, all the way to the day of the reception on the 17th June 2011.

The Honourable Barbara A. Hagerman, Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island, and Me at Fanningbank

My insipid introverted self kicked in, of course, once I was there, although I did smile a lot, greeted people who greeted me, and said thank you when my work was praised or admired. I felt dwarfed by the attention the other artists were getting, even if there were only 17 of us. They had brought more guests, whereas I had only one.

Nettie and Me at Fanningbank

Nonetheless, I was in an altered reality. A dream state that I knew would end, and end it did, as soon as the reception wound down and people started drifting away and Nettie and I drove away from Fanningbank’s grounds. Nettie so wisely and nicely suggested we eat supper out…it extended the intoxication a bit so the hangover wouldn’t be so bad. And what a hangover. It took two days to get me back writing, when I know I promised myself I’d write every single day.

The reception is over. The exhibit will run from the 6th of July to the 30th of August, which is the summer tour season for Fanningbank. That in itself is exciting, as all sorts of tourists will see my painting. The exposure is fantastic, and my art career is moving forward slowly but surely. I’m back in my cozy apartment and trying to decide what my next painting subject will be for my next assignment. Waiting until I’m so inspired I just have to sit in front of my little easel and begin the preliminary work. Waiting until the next reception.

365 Things to Look Forward to – Number 11: Picnic!

0
by

11. A Picnic

Picnic with Leander at Anne of Green Gables

I was out yesterday, entertaining a new friend, Leander, who is in PEI with his partner, Lorne. Since his partner is here on business in a conference or seminar of some sort, Leander has lots of free time on his hands, so we agreed to go around and see some sights.

Originally, we were going to just go around the downtown Charlottetown area to take photographs of old churches and old buildings. PEI weather being what it is, the morning turned out to be cloudy, but the weather report promised the sun would show itself around noon. So, on the spur of the moment, I called Neri to drag her along for company, then packed up some food for sandwiches and cans of pop for a picnic!

We headed for the house of Anne of Green Gables in Cavendish, where we took dozens of photographs, Leander more than I. Leander also had their adorable dogs, Max and Mini, who are featured in several of the photographs as well. We were properly impressed by the house and the antique furniture, crockery, architecture, and all that. We also took photographs with Anne and her bright red pigtails and bright friendly smile. Needless to say, the dogs got the most attention from everyone we came across.

After touring the house, we settled down at a picnic table behind Green Gables and shared a simple picnic lunch of ham and cheese sandwiches. It’s been a long time since I’ve been on a picnic…the last one was in my first year in PEI, on exactly the 31st of May 2008.

PEI is such a lovely place for a picnic, chill wind notwithstanding!

Picnic at Anne of Green Gables

365 Things to Look Forward to – Number 10: Getting Those Chores Done

0
by

10. Getting Those Chores Done

No, I’m not a neat freak and no, I didn’t say I look forward to doing chores. I don’t hate them with a passion, but I don’t really look forward to them, either, so I guess that makes me somewhat neutral. I’ll do them because nobody else will, and if I forget about them, well one or two or three or more days without doing chores is a semi state of bliss.

But they need to get done.

When we were still children, my mother assigned chores to everyone and we’d switch them around every week. I guess that was her strategy for getting chores done, although they didn’t always get done thoroughly or quickly. Being a perfectionist, I’m pretty sure she cringed when there were dust spots left on the dark brown staircase. Still, I’m sure she believed we needed to know how to do housework as a life skill. So for  one day each week, we got to do dishes or cleaning. And, because I was the girl, I had the bonus of having to help out with the laundry or the ironing and folding. I didn’t mind back then, except when my brothers got in the way, usually on purpose. I had a horrible tendency to be neat, orderly, and organized, and if I didn’t watch out, I might have become obsessive about it. My sister did. So, as you can see, we were introduced quite early to chores and hence, I do not see them as a huge negative concept. I don’t know what my brothers and sister think or feel about them.

After several years of having my own places to live and being the one in charge, I have developed my own strategies to keep chores to a minimum and to keep the minor chores from from becoming major chores. Here’s how.

Sometimes, I just put used dishes and utensils in the sink and soak them until they pile up and I run out of forks and spoons and knives and plates to use. So I’m forced to do the dishes, and that is one hugely unsavoury chore. I always tell myself to clean everything as I go—and usually I’m pretty good at getting things I used all washed and cleaned right after I use them, so my sink is pretty much always empty. Then one day, I might decide to stage a mini cookfest and churn up a fancy meal (which, to me, basically means something not microwaved or eaten straight out of the fridge or a box or a can). I might even decide to do a bit of baking and launch into a mini bakefest as well. Then things pile up and the cleaning becomes a humongous chore. But I know I need to slug through it or the remnants of cooking will be stuck so hard on my pots and pans and the stove and the kitchen counter top and the sink then I’ll have to soak them much longer and scrape and scrub much harder. Moreover, the pile of used kitchen ware pretty much fills up the sink right away and sometimes twice over, so I really need to get it done right after.

It really doesn’t make sense to do the laundry more than once a week, since I don’t generate a lot of dirty clothing. While dumping everything into the washing machine then transferring them to the dryer isn’t a pain at all, getting them all folded up neatly and put away, and I must add neatly as well, is a chore. Thank goodness for wash-and-wear and more casual fashions that don’t require starching and pressing. I do have an ironing board, but very rarely use it. I have found that if you take clothes out of the dryer right away and hang them up or fold them neatly while they’re still warm, they won’t show any creases! As much as possible, I do not buy clothing that needs ironing. So I never really have to worry about it. And I fold my laundry while watching TV. So it becomes time well-spent and before you know it, the folding is all done.

House cleaning? Oh, don’t get me started about house cleaning, because I have reduced mine to a quick dusting, a thorough sweep of all places accessible by broomstick, and a superficial mopping to get stains and remaining surface dust off. Still, that’ll take the better part of an hour. More, if I pace myself and get distracted by sorting something out or putting some books away in the middle of it. Thankfully, I live in a place where there is very little dust, so I don’t really need to do it too often–about once a month is really satisfactory.

Again, living alone has its benefits. Because I am the only person who moves around in my apartment, where footwear generally doesn’t leave the immediate area of the front door, most of what I have to sweep up is debris from crafts work or cooking, and hair. It’s the downside of having long hair. So a good sweep once a week usually suffices to keep the floor clean, and the mopping is as needed, or once a month, just to pick up dust and hair in corners that broom couldn’t reach.

That leaves the bathroom. Again, judicious rinsing of the walls and the tub every day while in the shower is enough to keep the bath area clean. A mild scrub every two or three days with a scrub brush or a sponge scrubber is enough to keep the bath area smooth and clear. And the toilet and sink are quick and easy to do, again, because I am the only person who uses them. A good rinse after each use and a light scrubbing after brushing my teeth and the sink is shiny and spotless.

As you can see, I don’t have too many chores to do. I have pretty much designed my living so I have very few chores to do. Still, chores are chores and they’re a bore, and if I could avoid them I would. I can always think of a million better things to do than chores, including just lazing about. So it’s always a great relief and a great satisfaction when I get that major once-a-week hoe-down with the broom and mop and duster and get all those chores done!

 

365 Things to Look Forward to – Number 9: A Quiet Day at Home

0
by

9. A Quiet Day at Home

Sometimes, there is nothing better than a quiet day at home.

We fill up our lives with all sorts of distractions. We have work, friends, family, events, meetings, school, and more work. We have worries about all sorts of things. We have obligations and responsibilities. And these can all be extremely exhausting.

Sure, you get caught up in the adrenaline rush all the busy-ness causes and your schedule is sometimes so full you barely have time to eat or even sleep. You always have to be somewhere with someone doing something. So you lose time to be with the most important person in your life—you!

I look forward to a quiet day at home every now and then, especially in the midst of a hectic schedule. Sure, I’m guilty of using that time to catch up on chores, do housework, write, or paint. But sometimes, I am actually able to tell myself “None of that!” and spend the whole day just reading, catching up on tv shows, or just simply catching up on sleep. I just do whatever comes to mind at the moment and not worry about chores. After all, it’s not going to kill me to hold the laundry another day or two; the apartment won’t fall apart if I don’t sweep or mop that day; I won’t starve to death if I don’t cook up a proper meal; and people won’t forget me if I don’t open my email or check out my Facebook messages for a day.

I think we all need a “me” day. Just to do whatever we want to do at home—all forms of work excluded—and just have time to relax, calm our minds and bodies, and recharge ourselves.

Understandably, you might sometimes need more “me” days, and if you can take them, you shouldn’t feel guilty about having them. I know I sometimes feel guilty that I’ve put off something I was supposed to do…not that it had a deadline at all, but I know I need to get it done. But, believe me, if anything becomes so urgent that you need to get it done this very minute, then you’ve probably been putting it off too long or taking on too many responsibilities.

When I was much younger, I took “me” days for granted. My schedule was always full of so many things to do and attend to that I sometimes spent days away from home, and very rarely had much time to myself besides to sleep. It’s not that I was always with someone, but I had so many activities and projects going on at the same time it just kept me perpetually busy.

Now, I cherish every day I don’t have to go anywhere or am expected to do something. I even cherish the half days I don’t need to leave home, and cherish the evenings I am able to spend at home. It’s probably the best thing about living alone. You have no one to answer to or answer for. You can do anything you want, any way you want, any time you want. You can be just you and simply you. As long as you don’t set any expectations for your special day by yourself, you’ll find that it will be something you will actually look forward to. No matter who you are, or what you do, you’ll find it’s a day to step back and see things from a distance.

If you are able to detach yourself from your usual busy self and do absolutely nothing related to anything else or anyone else but you, then you are on your way to enjoying a real quality “me” day.

 

365 Things to Look Forward to – Number 8: Random Acts of Kindness

1
by

8. Random Acts of Kindness

I know I perform random acts of kindness whenever an opportunity presents itself, and these range anywhere from giving strangers a big smile to helping someone cross the street or giving away store coupons to the next person in line who has a huge purchase and no coupons. But I have not, to my knowledge, personally been the recipient of a random act of kindness. Until today.

It being Sunday and a day off from work, I decided to make it my laundry day as well. I had kept track of the wash cycle time and went down to the basement to transfer my laundry to the dryers, which would take 45 minutes to an hour. Back in my apartment, I continued browsing through magazines, to look for inspiration for my next painting.

As expected, I completely lost track of the time. I forgot what time I put my laundry in the dryers, so I estimated that I should be able to take it out around half past one. But I was in my book room, which was also my art supply room and just-about-anything-else room, which had a clock that I kept on “normal” time. (Every other clock in the apartment was on Daylight Savings Time.)

What else should happen, but I started nodding off as I browsed through old magazines. By the time I’d shaken the heaviness from my eyelids and looked up at the clock, it was nearly two, so I hustled to the to the basement, hoping I wasn’t keeping anyone from using the machines. I could hear the dryers still spinning, but it sounded like they were near the end of their cycle, or someone else had started laundry. Wasn’t I surprised to find all my laundry from one dryer neatly placed in my basket, and the sheets and other beddings from the other dryer folded and neatly piled on top of the dryer, waiting for me.

This was a really pleasant surprise, and I have to say that it has made my day!

It also made me wonder who would have done it….I have a guess, but I can’t be totally sure. I know that on the rare occasions someone got to my laundry before I did and took it out of the dryer so they could use it, they’d just taken it out and piled it up on the dryer…it seemed the usual practice in the building, and what I would also do, every time someone left their laundry in the washer or dryer (and didn’t move or claim it for at least 15 minutes of waiting). But to actually fold someone else’s laundry! I know I’ve been tempted to do it myself, but I’d always been careful about doing that, because I was wary of handling other people’s laundry, in case they felt it was a violation of their privacy or they didn’t want people they didn’t really know handling their clothes. So with being politic as an excuse, I never really did it.

It has made me think twice about how I deal with other people’s overstaying laundry. If I did it, though, I’d probably always be doing it…and it takes a good deal of time, and they might just get used to it!

Still, I think it was a lovely gesture. The first thing I wanted to do was to write a little thank you note and slip it down before the good-deed-doer’s laundry was done, but have decided against it. Simply because doing that would ruin the magic of randomness and unexpected kindness.