When you work at a golf course, you usually find many different personalities amongst the golfers you meet. I have generalized them into these three categories.
1. The Silent. The name says it all. These golfers are silent as they pass you or just barely acknowledge you with a nod of their head. These golfers are the easiest to tolerate because they do not attempt to engage you in any way and you do not need to engage them in any way in return.
2. The Witty. These golfers seem to feel the need to make a quick joke as they drive by. You must laugh, otherwise the golfer may become offended and then they become dissatisfied and grumpy. This can in turn lead to the termination of your work. Because of this, a simple laugh is the easiest thing to do and it will fulfill their desperate need to be acknowledged. A word of warning: golfers are NEVER funny, so the laugh has to be very fake.
3. The Conversation Starters. These golfers attempt to engage you in a full length conversation, inquiring such menial things as how you are doing, where their ball landed, the weather conditions, etc. In all likelihood, these golfers are the hardest to deal with because it requires conscious effort on your part to keep them satisfied.
So there you have it, the three types of golfers. And even though it seems that golfers are the hardest thing in the world to deal with, they probably are not. Herpes is most definitely harder to deal with.
-AFR
Monday, July 5, 2010
Sunday, July 4, 2010
How Many Degrees of Freedom are Necessary?
Well, lately I have found myself wondering what responsibilities/privileges come with becoming an adult. Since I recently reached that magic age in Canada, I really have not noticed too many things different from my life. I never thought too much about this until today.
On my way to a golf outing with my dad, I heard a song about reaching adulthood on the radio. It was somewhat vulgar, but got me thinking. How much freedom comes with turning nineteen and when do I get complete freedom?
And I came to the conclusion: it sure as heck ain't now.
I have been reminded of this fact by my parents very recently and very often. As long as I am under their roof, I follow their rules. Which leads to a fair number of arguements, the most prolonged and frequent one being computer usage.
Now, I will admit, I probably spend much more time on the computer than necessary, but, really how I spend my time, in my opinion, should be up to me. Sure, the intensity at which they profess their anti-computer feelings is good because it gets me off of it, but it gets tiresome after hearing it a thousand times. And many times in the past few months, I have really been wishing that I was back in Vancouver.
So all this arguing and such gets me thinking about just how much freedom I have as opposed to earlier years. Sure, I probably have more than when I was younger, but with the imposed dictatorship of my parents, I still lack complete freedom.
But on that note, I will probably realize the importance of the dictatorship when I start to own my own place. Those rules will definitely be necessary then, even though I will have near-complete freedom. So I guess a thanks is in order for the parents, even though I am sure we will have an argument very shortly about the reason that all the ice cream is always gone.
-AFR
On my way to a golf outing with my dad, I heard a song about reaching adulthood on the radio. It was somewhat vulgar, but got me thinking. How much freedom comes with turning nineteen and when do I get complete freedom?
And I came to the conclusion: it sure as heck ain't now.
I have been reminded of this fact by my parents very recently and very often. As long as I am under their roof, I follow their rules. Which leads to a fair number of arguements, the most prolonged and frequent one being computer usage.
Now, I will admit, I probably spend much more time on the computer than necessary, but, really how I spend my time, in my opinion, should be up to me. Sure, the intensity at which they profess their anti-computer feelings is good because it gets me off of it, but it gets tiresome after hearing it a thousand times. And many times in the past few months, I have really been wishing that I was back in Vancouver.
So all this arguing and such gets me thinking about just how much freedom I have as opposed to earlier years. Sure, I probably have more than when I was younger, but with the imposed dictatorship of my parents, I still lack complete freedom.
But on that note, I will probably realize the importance of the dictatorship when I start to own my own place. Those rules will definitely be necessary then, even though I will have near-complete freedom. So I guess a thanks is in order for the parents, even though I am sure we will have an argument very shortly about the reason that all the ice cream is always gone.
-AFR
Saturday, July 3, 2010
The Benefits of Being a Twin
Just to clear everything up, being a twin is not all sprinkle party cake ice cream (yes, that is actually a flavour). There are a lot of times I wish I was not a twin. See as a twin, you are constantly referred to as an entity. You become the "twins". Sometimes it is good, sometimes bad. The main problem is though, you never know whether your friends are friends with your twin or with you. And my twin and I are quite opposite in our personalities, so we tend to fight or disagree on things a lot.
But when your twin pretends to be you when the Church of Latter Day Saints comes to your door, and tells them that he is too busy conducting a ritual to talk, you really do enjoy the fact that you have someone who looks just like you.
But when your twin pretends to be you when the Church of Latter Day Saints comes to your door, and tells them that he is too busy conducting a ritual to talk, you really do enjoy the fact that you have someone who looks just like you.
Friday, July 2, 2010
The 4 D's of Twilight
Well, I thought that the time has come for me to throw out some of my opinions/thoughts on the Twilight series. (I refuse to call it Saga, that sounds too epic). Now I have read the first three books and I am going to show you the life cycle of the Twilight series in my mind.
1. Dubiousness. When I first picked up the first book I was unsure of whether I would like a romance novel between a vampire and a whiny human. As I read, I reflected on some of the aspects I liked and some of the aspects I definitely did not like. I reserved judgement until I had ultimately finished the first book. I then thought about how much I had really liked the book, which lead to the second stage.
2. Delight. I had found that I really liked the first book and immediately set about devouring the second and third. Luckily, they were both already on hand, my brother having rented all three to begin with. I read them both and again found myself enjoying them at that moment. Though I found some of the scenes dry, the stories were entertaining at at least kept me guessing and interested. Looking around for the last book I found, to my chagrin, that we were not in possession of the last book. This wait for the book led to the third stage.
3. Disinterest. As the wait seemed to become longer, I found myself becoming disinterested with series on a whole. What at first seemed like good books, slowly turned into just run-of-the-mill fantasy novels the longer I thought about them. After the initial suspense and rush to get my hands on the three books, the adrenaline died down and I found myself not liking the series anymore. This lead to my last stage.
4. Disgust. Perhaps that is too harsh a word. But having not partaken in the last book because of its probable similarities to the other three, I found myself not jumping on the Twilight bandwagon and entering the craze that surrounded the books by then. This craze was what brought on my disgust, I believe. The media attention, the fan girls, the Twihards, all contributed in ruining what started out as a somewhat decent series. Then when the movies started coming out, I was really sickened by way the books were being taken. They were becoming standards for choosing boyfriends, standards for living, and the messages they were sending out were horrifying when thought about in depth.
So, thus, the life cycle was complete. It went from enthused to indifferent to disgusted. And before all the Twihards come and bash me, well, it is your fault I do not like the books. Your obsession with a decent book has created many of the people who dislike Twilight today. So you have no one to blame, but yourselves.
Edward Cullen. (Those two words alone will probably get my site at least ten more views, if not more).
-AFR
1. Dubiousness. When I first picked up the first book I was unsure of whether I would like a romance novel between a vampire and a whiny human. As I read, I reflected on some of the aspects I liked and some of the aspects I definitely did not like. I reserved judgement until I had ultimately finished the first book. I then thought about how much I had really liked the book, which lead to the second stage.
2. Delight. I had found that I really liked the first book and immediately set about devouring the second and third. Luckily, they were both already on hand, my brother having rented all three to begin with. I read them both and again found myself enjoying them at that moment. Though I found some of the scenes dry, the stories were entertaining at at least kept me guessing and interested. Looking around for the last book I found, to my chagrin, that we were not in possession of the last book. This wait for the book led to the third stage.
3. Disinterest. As the wait seemed to become longer, I found myself becoming disinterested with series on a whole. What at first seemed like good books, slowly turned into just run-of-the-mill fantasy novels the longer I thought about them. After the initial suspense and rush to get my hands on the three books, the adrenaline died down and I found myself not liking the series anymore. This lead to my last stage.
4. Disgust. Perhaps that is too harsh a word. But having not partaken in the last book because of its probable similarities to the other three, I found myself not jumping on the Twilight bandwagon and entering the craze that surrounded the books by then. This craze was what brought on my disgust, I believe. The media attention, the fan girls, the Twihards, all contributed in ruining what started out as a somewhat decent series. Then when the movies started coming out, I was really sickened by way the books were being taken. They were becoming standards for choosing boyfriends, standards for living, and the messages they were sending out were horrifying when thought about in depth.
So, thus, the life cycle was complete. It went from enthused to indifferent to disgusted. And before all the Twihards come and bash me, well, it is your fault I do not like the books. Your obsession with a decent book has created many of the people who dislike Twilight today. So you have no one to blame, but yourselves.
Edward Cullen. (Those two words alone will probably get my site at least ten more views, if not more).
-AFR
Thursday, July 1, 2010
On the Innocence of Frogs
Ask anyone I know and they will tell you one thing: that I love frogs. Frogs to me are one of the most awesome creatures to ever grace this beautiful planet. Which is why what I am about to say has really put me in a somewhat foul mood today.
I currently work at a golf course. I do many things there including greens cutting, bunker raking, irrigation, etc. and today was no different. I was string trimming with a weed whacker and we were almost done with all eighteen holes. Now, we had been told to trim the pond edges after the rest of the course was done, so once we had finished the last two holes we moved to trim them next. Now this is where my story starts.
I had forgotten about the frogs that happened to dwell upon the pond edge, their habitats right in the way of our trimming. And while we walked over to the edge I came to a horrible realization: we would probably be mowing down frogs in our quest for short grass. I was horrified to say the least. At that point though, there was no turning back. We had an hour until lunch and I decided that I would have to try to brave it out and talk to the managers after lunch to see if I could switch jobs.
I would like to think that all the frogs in my trimming area escaped unharmed, but I know for a fact I hit at least one. When I saw that frog's dead body floating in the pond, honestly, I almost cried. To inflict such suffering on a creature I loved so dearly was very hard for me to bear.
We were sent home at lunch, so I will not have to do that job again today, and you can bet your buckets that I will be not doing that job ever again.
But there is a point to my story, a question I would like to pose to readers. Why are humans probably one of the only animals on Earth that kill other animals needlessly? And to follow up on that, are humans really that advanced from other animals, so advanced that they look down on other animals and feel nothing in taking their lives?
Now, I am not advocating for animal rights, far from it. Personally, there should not even need to be something like "animal rights". There should be no need to have to institute a set of rights that should be inherent in our existence. Other animals do not need them, so why do humans need to create them? For one reason: because we treat other animals like crap.
Before I go pointing fingers at everyone, note that statement applies to the human race as a whole, not as an individual. Some might say "survival of the fittest" is the reason why humans are so powerful or advanced and thus need advanced terminology like rights, but I say the opposite. Humans are the least advanced species on the Earth in my opinion. Before you say, "I am superior, I have a gun," take a minute to think about that. Are humans advanced because they can use tools? I say no. A frog can jump thirty times its body length, a cat has claws and built-in night vision, even mosquitoes have wings. Humans have none of these advantages. Humans are weak, cannot jump high, cannot run fast, and most nowadays cannot even survive in the wilderness for a couple days without processed food or television. Is that advanced? No.
Anyways, if you managed to read this far, I commend you. You survived one of my rants! Now give yourself a pat on the back and watch the television for a little longer, while your food cooks itself in the microwave.
-AFR
I currently work at a golf course. I do many things there including greens cutting, bunker raking, irrigation, etc. and today was no different. I was string trimming with a weed whacker and we were almost done with all eighteen holes. Now, we had been told to trim the pond edges after the rest of the course was done, so once we had finished the last two holes we moved to trim them next. Now this is where my story starts.
I had forgotten about the frogs that happened to dwell upon the pond edge, their habitats right in the way of our trimming. And while we walked over to the edge I came to a horrible realization: we would probably be mowing down frogs in our quest for short grass. I was horrified to say the least. At that point though, there was no turning back. We had an hour until lunch and I decided that I would have to try to brave it out and talk to the managers after lunch to see if I could switch jobs.
I would like to think that all the frogs in my trimming area escaped unharmed, but I know for a fact I hit at least one. When I saw that frog's dead body floating in the pond, honestly, I almost cried. To inflict such suffering on a creature I loved so dearly was very hard for me to bear.
We were sent home at lunch, so I will not have to do that job again today, and you can bet your buckets that I will be not doing that job ever again.
But there is a point to my story, a question I would like to pose to readers. Why are humans probably one of the only animals on Earth that kill other animals needlessly? And to follow up on that, are humans really that advanced from other animals, so advanced that they look down on other animals and feel nothing in taking their lives?
Now, I am not advocating for animal rights, far from it. Personally, there should not even need to be something like "animal rights". There should be no need to have to institute a set of rights that should be inherent in our existence. Other animals do not need them, so why do humans need to create them? For one reason: because we treat other animals like crap.
Before I go pointing fingers at everyone, note that statement applies to the human race as a whole, not as an individual. Some might say "survival of the fittest" is the reason why humans are so powerful or advanced and thus need advanced terminology like rights, but I say the opposite. Humans are the least advanced species on the Earth in my opinion. Before you say, "I am superior, I have a gun," take a minute to think about that. Are humans advanced because they can use tools? I say no. A frog can jump thirty times its body length, a cat has claws and built-in night vision, even mosquitoes have wings. Humans have none of these advantages. Humans are weak, cannot jump high, cannot run fast, and most nowadays cannot even survive in the wilderness for a couple days without processed food or television. Is that advanced? No.
Anyways, if you managed to read this far, I commend you. You survived one of my rants! Now give yourself a pat on the back and watch the television for a little longer, while your food cooks itself in the microwave.
-AFR
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