Tribute to a Hero

A few weeks ago I went to a memorial service and watched my friend Dave stand before hundreds of people to talk about his best friend, Scott. It is hard to watch someone have to do this at the young age of 29 years old. But Dave delivered an honourable tribute to his dear friend’s life. He found the perfect mix of light hearted humour, reflections of Scott’s life, his own life long memories and what Scott meant to the world. He did so standing confident and strong. My heart was sad for Dave, having to be in that position, but at the same time I felt proud of him for a job so well done.

On March 20th of this year, Scott was killed in Afghanistan. He died in the line of duty, along with three other soldiers. I had met Scott only a handful of times, through Dave. What little I did know of him, I knew he was a great person and I knew what a great friend he was to Dave. His energy filled a room. He was positive and interesting to talk too. The last time I saw him was a couple years ago. I had given him a ride home. We talked about the life he was building for himself and I asked him many questions about the time he had just spent on his first (or maybe second?) tour in Afghanistan. I didn’t know much and it was interesting for me to learn from someone with his experience.

The night I learned of this tragedy I was visiting family out of town. My mom and I were up late and I was in the kitchen baking a cake. My mom was flipping through the channels when I heard his last name spoken and saw his picture on the screen. I hadn’t yet heard why they said his name as the channel passed by. My heart stopped and sunk to my stomach. I ran to the TV and turned back the channel to find that my worst fear was true. I felt sick.

In the past I saw and heard of soldiers dying on the news. I felt sadness and thought of their friends and families, then eventually moved on. But then I saw a name and a face of someone I knew. And it became real. The reality of the world we live in hit me. I thought of the thousands of men and women that are serving our country, with the mission and goal of building, supporting and strengthening another country. I thought of Scott, who volunteered to go back again for his third mission. I thought of his dedication, devotion and strength. And then I cried.

I cried for many reasons. But mostly I cried for the 7 month old daughter Scott leaves behind. Shortly after the night I drove him home, Scott left town and fell in love. And if Facebook taught me anything it’s that he fell head over heels in love. I cried thinking of his fiancé, who lost the love of her life and the father of her child. I cried thinking Scott won’t get to see his beautiful baby grow up. I thought of his parents, brother, family and friends and the heartache they must be feeling right now.

But then I thought of positive things. I thought of how evidently happy he was. Scott’s fiancé is an amazingly talented photographer and I thought of all the beautiful pictures she must have of him with their baby. I thought of all the amazing stories people will tell their daughter about her dad. I thought of the genes she carries that will show her mother and Scott’s family a piece of him every day.

To Master Corporal Scott Vernelli – though I didn’t know you that well, you’ve taught me a lot. You made me appreciate the value of our lives and the people around us. You opened my eyes to the brave men and women who sacrifice their lives and fight for our country. I took time to read more about the Canadian Forces and the mission in Afghanistan. I have a better understanding of the world outside of my every day life. I will see you in every soldier I see and remember this message. Thank you. You’ve defined for me what a real hero is.

And To Dave – You did a great job and your words were spoken from your heart. You’re a good man and I’m grateful to call you my friend.

Master Corporal Scott Vernelli

1980-2009

My Non-friend Craig

As I've stated in a previous post, I find myself currently addicted to reading the "Best Of" Craig's list.  (http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/all/) 

This has provided hours of entertainment for me. Which led me to think about Craig. Is he real? Why does he have a list?

Well folks, without further adieu, I introduce you to Craig Newark:

Here are a few random facts:

-Craigslist gets more than 20 billion page views per month

-Craig started this site as a hobby in his living room, in San Franciso in 1995

-It now reaches 570 cities in 50 countries

There. Now you can all sleep better tonight.

You're welcome.

Favourite of the Day: Today, while cleaning out my basement I found letters and notes I saved from Grade 7 through to graduating highschool. What a flashback to go through and read those! What idiodic things we highschoolers deemed important. It made me happy to be such a pack rat to have kept such gems. I can't wait to share the letters and notes with the girls. Well, the girls I'm still friends with - they are going to crack up. I had a great trip down memory lane today.

Full House

So tonight I bought this closet organizer rack thing. It had to be assembled. When I took all the parts out of the box, Pipe 'A' did not fit into Pipe 'B'. I was not happy. I didn't want to put everything back in the box and return it to the store. I tried as hard as I could to jam it in there, but I couldn't do it.

Then I found myself in a sitcom and pulled off a genius move. I covered the ends of both pipes in margarine - and it worked! I was so excited. I didn't think that would work in real life.  

Tonight - I was Danny Tanner. 

  

Time To Say Goodbye

In February I went to Las Vegas and I completely fell in love with the water show at the Bellagio. The lights, the water, the music - it was an experience for me. I really can't explain it, but it touched me. I would have watched it 100 times if I could have. I watched it during the day and at night, but you can't beat it at night with the scenery and lights all around you.

I had no idea I liked this type of music. I've never really listened to it before. Andrea Bocelli makes the hair on my arms stand up. And Sarah Brightman? Ya, that broad's alright I guess. (just kidding) If anyone actually takes the time to watch this video, my favourite part starts at 3:20.

The night I watched it I had just come out of the Bellagio after watching an amazing Cirque du Soleil show. I was with good friends, we were all dressed up and we watched in the rain. I like the rain. 

What a night.

Lucky Charms

I am in the midst of doing some major spring cleaning right now. I am getting rid of clothes I don’t wear and things I never use. This was prompted by Suze Orman. She said something that made me take a step back and look at myself.

She said; “People who respect their things respect their money.” Hmmm. She continued on saying that people who have clutter probably also have debt. “Interesting” I thought, as I peered into the mountain of clothes growing on my closet floor. Then I wandered into my basement full of junk and wondered how on earth I have accumulated this much stuff and wondered why it’s so randomly strewn about. (Though a section of this ‘stuff’ belongs to previous roommates who have left it there. Kiley/Dana. *cough cough*)

I have debt. I worry about money. I know I could be more financially organized. I often wonder if the people in my life worry as much as I do. Is this normal? It’s not exactly something you bring up on a Friday night over beer either. I’m sure worry to an extent is healthy. What is normal, I’ll never know.

But getting rid of crap sure is refreshing and rejuvenating. I get excited when it’s finally done. Sometimes I open my newly organized closet just to look at it, then close the doors again.

I am shedding my snakeskin and hoping my more organized self will be motivated to respect my things and in turn, be a wise rich soul.

Part of me realizes that deep down, I will always be me and Mount Kilimanjaro will soon be the breeding grounds on my closet floor. Until then, I will bask in my superiority over the clutter lurking in the shadows of my basement.

Also, I’ll be wishing to find a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Using a Leprechaun tactic as Plan B can’t hurt.

Roy and his Monkey

After eight months of living with me, Roy finally made a friend. I have no details surrounding this mystery friend but I do know he or she existed because they came to pick him up once. The friend and Roy were going to go hunting for fossils. I don't know what they were looking for or why but Roy was so excited for it and I was quite happy for him. I knew he was looking forward to this day for a long time.

Upon his return I enthusiastically asked him how his day was. He told me it was fantastic. I asked if he found any fossils. He told me he had. Then his excitement level rose as he revealed his big surprise.

(This may not be exactly how the conversation went, but it is pretty close)

Roy (barely containing his excitement): I saw a monkey!

Me (annoyed): No, you didn't.

Roy: Yes I did!!

Me: No - you didn't.

Roy (his level of excitement decreasing): Why are you saying that?

Me (still annoyed) : Because we don't have monkeys here. You did not see a monkey.

Roy: Yes I did.

Me: No you didn't.

Roy: It was in a tree.

Me: No it wasn't.

Roy: Are you saying I don't know what a monkey is?

Me: That's exactly what I'm saying. You clearly do not know what a monkey is.


Roy: Well, I took a picture of it and I will prove it to you.


Me: Good. I look forward to you proving me I'm wrong.

So, that was the end of that conversation. Roy was going to get his pictures developed and show me the monkey.

But shortly after that he moved back to China and we both forgot about it. We never discussed the incident again.

A few months later I went and checked my mail. I was fully expecting my usual boring bills but was delighted to find a letter from my old friend Roy. I slowly opened the envelope but was surprised to see no letter inside. I did however find one photo. When I removed the photo from the envelope the back was facing me. I read the words "here is the monkey I saw".

I turned the photo around, anxious to see what I'd find. Of course, we all know it wasn't a monkey.

But I sure wasn't expecting to find a picture of a porcupine.

(not the actual picture, but I don't have a scanner and can't show you the real one)

Fishing in the Dark

Fishing in the Dark
By the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

I love this song.  A lot. It's on my "shower" playlist on my iPod - which consists of songs that I sing to myself in the shower while pretending I'm starring in my own concert. If this were a real concert no one would go.  The songs on this playlist differ greatly in genre and theme. There is no flow.  It's for me and me only.  

So anyway - we played this song the other night when we went fishing in the dark.  I wasn't falling in love with anyone but it was still fitting.   Because really, how often do you actually fish in the dark? 

Fishing makes me think of three things: 

-Going up north to Wawa on fishing trips with my dad, uncles, brother, sister and cousins when I was a kid

-standing out on the Dock at McCarrell's Lake.  My dad and I wrapping balls of foil on the end of a fishing line and casting out into the moonlit sky to attract bats.  Then they would swoop around us as the foil reflected the light of the moon. 

-paddling in a canoe for countless hours on Lake Midgen with Emmlia and her Dad.  I had mosquito bitten, swollen eyes and a bad sun burn as we fished and followed a beaver aimlessly around the Lake, for a reason I don't seem to remember

All three of these things make me smile.  

Random Thought

Do animals know when they're pregnant? 

Not a Pauly Shore movie, just my life

I got summoned for Jury Duty. This should be interesting considering the way things tend to happen when I'm a character in the plot. Apparently they choose you based on your look. What will that mean for me? Maybe I should dress like a lunatic and hoard cats in my purse.

It makes me think of that scene in Devil's Advocate when Keanu Reeves pegs every member on his jury just by their clothes and body language. What? You don't remember that part? Oh right - I'm the only person who has watched that movie 86 times. I really love that movie. Vanity is my favourite sin. Okay, I'll stop now. Since no one got that joke anyway.

And of course, I also love the wit of Curb Your Enthusiasm and the idiocy of Larry David. Which is why it cracks me up in this 'jury duty' video when he says "well, my cousin once stole an Almond Joy from me"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MFebZlUJ7E

HOW do they think of this stuff?

I go to the court house on May 4th. Unless I get sequestered, I will share my experience on here. If I don't show up with cats in my purse, I will show up with an Almond Joy in my purse. And hope that someone steals it.

Favourite of the Day: I raked my yard today.  I actually hate raking. But I'm happy I got it done. I'm happy it's sunny and warm.  I'm happy 98% of the snow is gone. I'm happy it was a new Office today too. Which included a funny cheer leading reference from 'Bring it On' which, you guessed it - made me happy too. 

Roy - Chapter 1

This week I was pleasantly surprised to find I had received an email from my friend Roy. I've wanted to blog about Roy for quite some time, but I honestly had no idea where to begin. There are SO many good stories involving him and our time together. I could probabaly write a book actually. I've decided to simply start with how he came to be a chapter in my life.

Let's go back to April of 2006 (maybe 2005?). I decided I wanted to bring in some extra cash by renting a room to a University student. In my mind, this was a great idea. I wanted a person who would be there for the school year only, who may go home for Thanksgiving, Christmas etc. Ideally, I wanted a male who was studious and wouldn't destroy my house hosting any type of frat-themed party. I went to the University and put up a posting.

Months went by and I didn't hear anything.

Then one day in August I was enjoying a quiet morning on my couch watching The Young and the Restless when I got a phone call. It was a guy telling me he was calling about the room I had for rent. I was caught off guard for two reasons; one - I had forgot about that posting and two - he had a strange accent, which briefly sounded Australian and I had some fantasies of Cane Ashby showing up at my house (sorry, had to make a Y&R reference there).

This guy explained to me he was an exchange student from China who had just spent a year in Ireland and was now transferring to the University in my town. The strange Aussie accent was in actuality, a Chinese/Irish mix. Anyway, he said he was looking for a place to live and asked if he could come over right away. Right away? I really wasn't ready but I said okay. He said he'd be at my house in a few minutes. So instead of thinking about what I should do when he arrived, I frantically began to clean.

Sure enough, a few minutes later he arrived. He started walking around my house and I got insanely nervous. I had no idea what I was doing or what I should say. He told me he wanted to move in. I thought I should ask him for references. Sure, he had references - IN CHINA. I asked him if he wanted to look at a few other places in town and then decide. Nope, no need - he liked my house. Okay. My head was spinning and I was thinking "say something smart, do something smart, handle this sitaution" But I said nothing. I did nothing. He said he had all his stuff in his car. So - he went outside and got it and carried it inside. And moved in. Just like that.

In less than five minutes I went from watching mindless television to living with a stranger from China.

He told me he hadn't slept or showered since he arrived in Canada. He asked if he could have a shower and take a nap. Why not? Could my day get any weirder? Five minutes after he moved in, he was in my shower.

I'm embarrassed writing this. I sound like the biggest idiot in the world. Anyway, he showered and went to sleep.

I panicked.  The logical next step? I bailed.  Left my house as fast as I could. 

Prior to this fiasco, I had plans to go to a bonfire at my friend Tyler's that night. So I went to his house. He tore a strip off me and basically said I was insane. It was well deserved. He soon had me convinced I had let a serial killer move in with me and I was scared to go home. I decided I was going to stay at his house and he'd come home with me in the morning. As the night dragged on my anxiety level was building and I knew I had to go home. Tyler then had me convinced this guy had already robbed me blind. Anyway, I went home and my new roommate was still fast asleep. I went to bed - but I didn't sleep that night. At all.

The next day I was pondering what on earth I was going to tell my parents. I also knew my brother was going to have a field day when he heard the story. Anyway, my 'roomie' finally woke up and came over to me to chat. He spoke English fairly well. He told me about his family and schooling plans. He then told me he wanted to pick a new "North American" name. He decided on "Roy" as he had recently watched a boxing match and really liked Roy Jones Jr. Okay, sure - Roy it was.

He lived with me for the next 9 months. It was an adventurous 9 months and there were some funny moments and great stories. At the time, I may not have enjoyed some of these moments. I was, at times, a crazy bitch to him. I will admit that. I will tell some of these stories later. But before I do, I want to get the nice parts out of the way: Roy was a nice person, genuine, honest and for the most part, only had the best intentions. I never had to worry about him destroying anything or disrespecting my things - nothing like that. Best of all, he was clean. As far as being someone to co-habit with - he was a good roommate. The conflicts we did have were mainly due to our different lifestyles and the way we were brought up. I feel guilty for the way I treated him sometimes. I tried to remind myself that I was basically the only person he knew in the entire continent and he was lonely. Anyway, now that he's gone I am glad we keep in touch and I'm always happy to hear from him.

Future blogs will delve into all that is Roy. I haven't decided what story to share next....him learning about snow, sunken pirate treasures, our fight about the monkey or his call to 911 for 'feeling strange'.

Stay tuned.

Favourite of the Day: 

Well, this wasn't today, but I recently went to see "I Love You Man".  And I loved it.  It was really funny.  If I had to pick something today, it would be my appreciation for Family Guy. Because the writers of that show are ridiculously talented.  I like things that make me laugh.