McAlister Mayhem

 The last few days have been fascinating in that we have been in 2 earthquakes, had a hurricane pass by and had a tsunami warning!  At what point do I need to feel afraid?

 

If I listen to the news on TV or radio - then yeah I need to be petrified.  They have made such a big deal of it all...  15 minutes of on site, live, latebreaking interviews with earnest reporters - all saying the same thing (nothing!) - that things could be really really bad!

 

For the earthquake - I didn't feel anything - Leanne and Robyn did and it was a tremor - a cutlery rattler.  No biggie - but it was on every newscast - with talks about bridges and emergency preparedness.

 

For the hurricane - it ummm... never happened?  The big satellite pictures were on the tv - and huge news - but it didn't rain last night.  It didn't get windy.  Nothing happened at all - yet some people were freaked.  No school yesterday or today (yes Hawaii goes back to school mid August!).  I just wondered if people were protecting their bums from lawsuits or if they really were worried.  The locals were like - it ain't gonna happen.  We'll get a little rain and that will be it.... and we didn't even get that!

 

The tsunami - well that was the icing on the cake... the alert happened at lunch time and by supper it was cancelled.

 

If I believed everything that was on the news I would be so freaked out I wouldn't be able to do a thing... but what will happen if something every DOES happen in my 'hood?  I wonder if because of fear based news coverage - I will not be able to tell the difference between real and fake!

 

hmmmm - life in the new Millenium.  I think less is real.

 

Darcy

 

 

I have a theory - just a theory based on personal experience and not on reams of data from a variety of sources so it's really not going to be that accurate.  Here it is - I believe that you can tell that America is past its' days of glory by the state of its' public washrooms, toilets, loo's - wc's - whatever you want to call them.

 

In Canada - you can expect a 50 50 split between washrooms that you want to go into - and washrooms that you absolutely avoid.  So far - in my limited experience in the United States of America - cleanliness is at the bottom of the priority scale!  Do you remember when Greyhound Canada's ceo travelled from depot to depot - eating lunch in the washrooms - just to state how clean they were?  And Joey Tomato's in Kelowna - where I had the disconcerting feeling of being watched as I used the urinal.  An elderly gentleman was standing behind me engrossed in the television screen at eye level by my urinal (hockey I think!)  That's Canada for you - where you fly into the Calgary Airport with Westjet not so that you can 'stopover' but so you can use the loo - ya gotta - they are sooo clean there!  But then, you hit The Taco Bell in Seattle and you wonder if the loo was cleaned once when it was built and that's it.  Or the gas station at Blaine where you walk in and are assaulted by sites and smells reserved for horror movies.  Or when you hit the Pizza Hut in Kona - and again - you wonder if it's a once a decade cleaning. 

 

So my theory goes - that because America seems to have lost their skill, their energy, their sense of excellence in such a foundational event - that the core of the nation is falling apart.  America the Beautiful has begun to smell... and I wish that they would turn it around before it all ends up in the crapper!

 

Sincerely,

 

Darcy

I love cooking carcasses.  In fact - I am known in our house as carcass boy.  On the big occasions I cook the turkeys, the roasts, the lambs, the steaks, the fishies - or rather the salmon.  Sometimes this is good - but sometimes Mrs. Mac feels it - as carcass boy can get credit for the meal - while she - who does everything else, is not always extended thanks.  But it is hard for her to compete - I mean - jello salad, brussel sprouts and sweet potatoes versus a monster turkey! 

 

This past Friday I was given permission to cook another carcass... a full on, bone in, uncooked ham AND to cook scalloped potatoes as well.  So we invited Mr Moores to be a part of our evening with beautiful Annalise - his first whole evening with Annalise without Mrs. Moores. 

 

I took the ham out of the freezer in the morning and at 4 PM put it in the oven with a honey glaze.  mmm.  At 5 the scalloped potatoes went in with a destination time of 6:30 PM.  At the appointed time - it was checked and the potatoes were done but the ham wasn't... at just after 7 we decided to eat a couple edge pieces of ham, AMAZING  scalloped potatoes and veggies.  At 11:45 PM - the ham was still not done.  I threw it in a pot and put it in the freezer after cutting off a few edge pieces.  I was defeated by a piece of pig.

 

This defeat will not mark me - I will rise to try again... just as I am committing to blogging again - after being on the facebook train.

 

Hope you're well... and if you've got some - throw me a bone and I'll cook it for you!

Wow have I ever had an interesting week...

 

Had the opportunity to bless a few people like Wilson Matthews and Jen Lee at Timeout... I have always enjoyed surprising people with generosity moments! 

 

Enjoyed great meals with friends at our conference - Dawn always brings the conversation down to a real transparent level within seconds

 

Then had the opp to honor my friend John with Jaz in video format.

 

Said my last speech to our conference and got prayed for there with Leanne.

 

Went to Amy C's wedding on Saturday on the Island

 

Had lunch with 40 Hell's Angels on the ferry - talk about an edcuational experience.

 

Hit a birthday party today for our good friend Val - birthday cupcakes with 2 candles left.

 

And then got to see the Miracle on Abbot Street Baby Annelise Moores - she liked me.

 

I don't think I have any more emotions left in my tank - til next week.  However I did read a JFK expose and now I am sure there were additional shooters on the grassy knoll. 

 

How do we find out the truth?  And would it make any difference now?

I am officially a communications junkie... and right now I am waiting for my non communications junkie wife to get home from speaking a conference in Alberta (so proud - she rocks!).  It has been a hard weekend with our two styles - because I am LONGING to communicate with her and I can't.  She has no cellular phone.  She has no laptop computer - so no late night romantic skyping or sucking face on facebook (not sure quite how to do that anyway)  She has no phone card - so no calls have been made.  I've got no number.  And the postman - he always rings twice, but his letters - they take too long to get there... and that's a pretty ineffective communications means when she's only gone for a weekend!  So - I know she's missing me real bad - cuz that's how she is when she's apart from me, and maybe just maybe a "being so lonely I could die" weekend will cause her to switch her allegiance to the wireless, digital world of bluetooth and cell phones!  I will keep all 2 of you posted.  I mean that is all who are left on blog world anyways.  Blogging is dead.  Facebook is alive - but neither help me here as a single tear falls down my face as I yearn for the return of the lovely Leanne.  I know I'm a big suck - but who cares!   If you have any great ways to convince my wife a cell phone is worth it - lemme know! 

Dreams and expectations - ya gotta love 'em.  This weekend I have come to the wall - the wall of - ya know, I am never going to succeed at Halo.  We have played with my boys again and again - and the result is the same.  I lose every time.  Every stinkin' time!  So.  I have decided to continue to play - but my goal is to kill them half as many times as they kill me.  If I can get 50% that's still a pass!  Now I am thinking that as I head towards other numbers in age that I will have to continually add things to this kind of list... and others that will just be straight done - like I AM shorter than Nick now and I can't ever catch up.  Oh - by the way - just played some Halo and ALMOST beat Nick - it was 25 - 24.  Wow.  A life of dwindling expectations... that's me.

Since I and everyone else on the planet has joined Facebook - the blog has dried up.  I may have been my own worst enemy as I advertised for Friends for Facebook on my blog.  Now I am down to 1 measly comment on my blog.  Oh the weeping, oh the sadness.  Pseudocommunity has won out over reflective journalling yet again.  What will the future hold now that blogging seems to be going the way of LP's and VHS?  MySpace is already dying... Can anyone keep up in this technological revolution?  Or do I need to just revert back to paper and pen and keep all my thoughts to myself.  By the way - totally kicked on the facebook friend comp - and we shook hands at the end.