Let Me Set You Straight

There are apparently some people out there who if you asked them to their face if they were superstitious they would say No...and then in the next breath they do one of my pet peeves of all time...forward chainletters onto people's Facebook walls.

So let me help clarify a few things for those of you who feel the need to forward on those things:

1) No, you do not have to forward on that post so you don't get seven years bad luck
2) No, your crushes name will not appear if you forward that 10 times and press F7 while picking your nose
3) No, you do not need to forward on that post if you love Jesus
4) No, Jesus will not stop loving you if you don't forward it on to 77 other people
5) No, Facebook is not overpopulated and you won't get kicked off if you don't forward it to all your friends

So please save us all the pain of having to delete the chain letters off our walls and just post the funny videos and pictures. I promise you...nothing bad will happen!

(Forward this on to 17 people if you don't believe me..come on, I dare ya!)

Almost Famous

This may be the most famous I ever get. My sister phoned me today to tell me that my picture is on the webpage advertising the 10K run for the 2008 Saskatchewan Marathon! It might be hard to tell it's me due to the blue sunglasses and headphones along with my red Hbc Run for Canada shirt, but trust me...the exhaustion I felt at that point was very real and it is me!

I think I'll sign up again this year! Anyone want to join me?

An Early Sunday Morning

Every once in a while I do something that makes absolutely no sense. This past Sunday was one of them. Normally on Sunday morning my routine is the same. I go to bed late Saturday night and set my alarm for around 9:15am or so. Then when it starts beeping I scramble in the dark trying to find it and after elbowing my wife in the face and knocking over my glass of water on the bedside table I finally feel my fingers grasp it, just to have it fall off the table and get lost in the pile of clothes lying on the floor. After a minute or so of this battle I finally slam my head back against the pillow and wish I could sleep for another hour or so. But I soon realize that although Pillow Creek Community Church has extremely comfortable seats, I just dont' seem to learn much and I force myself into the shower.

But this Sunday was different. The alarm clock battle still happened at what felt like the dawn of time which was in reality around 7:30am (I didn't even know there was a 7:30am on Sunday). Unfortunately I lost the battle with the alarm clock and bolted from bed at 8:00am when I realized I had slept in...I had decided to go to Sunday school. I used to always go to Sunday School at my old church, but since attending this new church I was still in the feeling out stages...which has gone on about 3 years now! So it was time to get involved and today was the day.

I looked in the bulletin ahead of time to see what the topic was..."Living the LIFE at West Portal)". LIFE is an acronym for something (I'm not sure what) and relates to our small groups. They used to be CARE groups, but I guess they figured those groups weren't about caring anymore so they got rid of that :-) I at first thought that maybe only small group leaders could attend, but I figured I'd crash the party if that was the case...wouldn't be the first time! At church I ran into a few people who attended the 1st service and the shock on their faces to see me up at this hour was priceless. I explained to them I was going to Sunday School and they gave me this weird look like I was some kind of pedofile. Realizing what they were thinking I quickly added that I was attending ADULT Sunday School, not stalking the kids at kids Sunday School. The relief on their face was quite evident and I secretly saw them hang up their cell phones from dialing 911.

The class was in Room 112 and being the smart guy I am with a Bachelor of Commerce I knew that in order to find this room I just had to find Rooms 111 and 113 and then enter the room in between. I walked down a hallway and found Room 111...the Library. I then looked to the right and found Room 113...the Men's bathroom. In between those two was about 6" of wall and no door. I was stumped at first, but luckily I had read Harry Potter and knew how they got to the hidden train station. So I took a running start and slammed into that 6" of wall thinking I would magically appear in Room 112. Apparently the designers of the church had not read Harry Potter when they built the place back in the mid 1900's and all I got was a sore forehead and arm as I lay on the floor dazed. A passerby graciously helped me up (what loving people at this church) and directed me to where Room 112 was...clear across the church down a completely different hallway. I sauntered on over there thinking to myself that I should mention to one of the pastors that they might want to try renumbering the rooms.

I walked into the class and immediately sat down at a table. I didn't want to do the typical thing of playing shy because it was my first time there and be all timid. I figured I wanted to get right into things and I sat down right next to this other lady. The pastor there was quite surprised to see a new person in the room and I noticed a few other people frozen in time as they stared at this new person who dared to venture into their Sunday School class. I signed the attendance sheet and watched as the lady beside me signed her name...and one more. I suddenly realized I had sat in her husbands chair but she was too nice to tell me! So I scooted over one and graciously apologized. Now I was facing the complete opposite direction from the front and realized that I was not in a good spot. So off I went to my own table...all alone...so much for getting to know people! Luckily by the time it started two other people who I semi know joined my table and the class began.

I was excited for the topic of "Living the LIFE at West Portal" and couldn't wait to get started. However, as the class began I realized that wasn't today's topic...that had been last weeks topic! Arrgg! I think they should put next weeks Sunday School class into this week's bulletin because by the time anyone reads the bulletin the class is over! Anyways, I digress. The topic was "Let's talk about any of the past topics we've talked about so far." Hmmmm...not such a great topic for someone who is here for the first time! But I wasn't about to let that stop me and at our table I asked what this previous topic on Barbarian Christanity was all about. We had some great discussion on that and we eventually went on to a new topic for that week which was "If God knows everything, why should we pray?" It was a great topic, however all the discussion questions following that just talked about the Lords prayer. So although I didn't feel like we really talked about that topic, I did learn some good stuff about the Lords prayer.

The class ended and we all walked out. The pastor had been talking about this book called "Surprised by Jesus" that a lot of the previous topics had been from and he was putting it back into the library. So I quickly grabbed him after the class and asked to borrow it. So far it's a great book and I'm looking forward to my holidays to start to read it. And in regards to this class, just like the Terminator, "I'll be back!" and I encourage anyone else to also come join me...I'll save you a spot at my table.

The Princess Shop

This really has nothing to do with me and I can't even relate to it, but I just came across it and I think it is a great idea so I wanted to write about it here. Some people in Saskatoon have started an organization called The Princess Shop. Here is what they say they do:

The Princess Shop is a nonprofit organization based in Saskatoon SK and established in 2007. The project's mission is to provide less-fortunate female students with a beautiful gown for their Grade 12 graduation.The founders of the The Princess Shop hope to build confidence in Saskatoon's female youth and create a memorable graduation experience for all girls.The Princess Shop... where princesses prepare for the Royal Ball.

I think this is a great idea. Like I said, I can't really relate because I don't have any old dresses or anything but Grade 12 graduation is such a big day for students and to be able to help those who are a bit less fortunate is such a great idea. If anyone wants to donate no longer worn dresses, bridal dresses, gowns, makeup, jewellery and now they are even taking wedding dresses! They are opening up a drop off spot on 21sts street soon, but for now you can email them at the.princess.shop@shaw.ca to tell them you have a dress or other items for them. They also have a group on Facebook so if you like this idea join the group to show your support.

I sometimes (maybe often depending on who you talk to) wish I was better off than I am. But man, when I really think about it I am so blessed it is unreal. I have a house, a good job, a car, a lovely wife whom I love, a great family and a relationship with my loving God! What could I possibly complain about...the fact that I don't have a larger TV, don't have cable, or don't go on three vacations per year to some hot island? Sometimes I wonder if God looks at me and wonders why I keep asking for blessings as if I've got nothing. Shiela reminds me often that I sometimes get materialistic and I tell her I don't, but when a person looks at what he has compared to so many others and yet still wants more...how can that not be materialistic. I need to be more thankful!

Want To Play Some Sports Over Christmas

There is a tournament on over the Christmas holidays called the Best Athletic Team Challenge. It looks like a lot of fun and if you want to join the team let me know as I have to enter our team by Friday.

The way it works is that you play a variety of different sports including a minimum of one game of volleyball, soccer, floor hockey and then your choice of either Dodgeball or Ultimate Disc. The team will consist of 8-12 players and it is over three days which are Dec 28, 29, 30. Cost would be around $35 if we had 12 people. All games are held at the old Saskatoon Soccer Centre.

So let me know if you want to play! It looks like a ton of fun and a great way to stay in shape over the holidays!

This Says It All

Rant #2 - Don't Stop Me From Celebrating Holidays

I'm tired of hearing about all the people out there who complain about certain holidays and how we can't celebrate them like we want. For example, most stores and restaurants won't say "Merry Christmas" anymore and instead say "Happy Holidays" because not everyone believes in Christmas. For all you people out there who get offended at certain holidays I've got three words for you..."GET OVER IT!"

Yeah, that's right....Get Over It! If you don't believe in Christmas, whatever, but don't make a big stink about it and tell everyone to stop celebrating. If you don't like the fact that airports put up Christmas trees, don't make a stink about it and tell them to take it down (which some people of a certain religion did). Just ignore it and live your life. Nobody is forcing you to look at its beauty.

Obviously we aren't all going to agree with everything, but just let things go sometimes. It's time people stopped fighting for all their "religious rights" and just let everyone live. If it's not normal to wear a scarf when you play soccer, then don't. If you can't show your legs because of your religion, then don't play soccer, don't complain and say you have to be able to wear pants when you play. When people are getting killed in the streets all the time, don't complain when the police tell you not to wear your ceremonially (yet extremely sharp) dagger down the street or into a bar. It really comes down to a safety issue a lot of the time and that needs to trump your religious rights.

I mean seriously, how far is it going to go. Maybe I find it offensive that people wear turbans. Maybe I should make a big stink about it and start knocking off people's turbans because I find it offensive (I won't, but you get the point). Actually, did you hear about the religion that has started in southern Arizona? The religion is based on the fact that God wants you to be healthy by eating right, exercising and not being overweight. The followers of this religion are very strict on what they eat and they exercise daily. That's all fine, but wait until you hear how they witness. These people witness by going out in groups of 4-5 people and walk around until they find someone who is overweight. Then they surround the person and verbally abuse them about their weight and tell them how God won't let them into heaven unless they start eating right, exercising and lose weight. And the police there can't stop it or charge them for this abuse because it is within their religious rights.

Ok, that last bit on the healthy religious group was made up, but you see where I'm going with this. Complaining about your rights all the time because of religion is stupid. If you don't agree with certain holidays, please keep your mouth shut and ignore it. Let the rest of us enjoy our holidays and celebrate it the way we want. Oh, and by the way, "Merry Christmas!"

Rant #1 - CUPE Workers Get Back To Work!

For the last 5 or so weeks the CUPE workers have been on strike in Saskatoon. These are the employees that work at the University such as the janitors, food services, etc. They went on strike because they didn't like what the University was offering them. Keep in mind that these workers already are paid extremely well for the type of work they do. I tried to find an exact number but couldn't, but I've heard through the grapevine that these workers are making around $12-$15 per hour...and that includes those who just make pizza or run the till in the bookstore.

Now I don't know all the details but this is a rant and I'll focus on the aspects that I want. The University offered them a 17% increase in wages and benefits over 3 years. However, 6% of that raise is based on acceptable performance. In other words, if they get a poor performance review they won't get all of that 6%, although they still get the other 11% which works out to 3.67% per year. The union thought this was terrible because they did not think any of it should be based on performance. One of the union reps even said and I loosely quote "tying wage increase to performance is an archaic way of thinking!"

WHAT!! I have never heard such lazy words in my life. So basically, these workers just want to show up to work, do their job (they don't even have to do it well, just show up and pretend to work) and they want a 17% increase. Meanwhile, the rest of us who work for companies have basically all our wage increases tied to performance...if we don't perform they won't be giving us a raise and will probably fire us.

These CUPE workers are some of the laziest people I know of. All they have to do is actually do their job well and they will get their total wage increase. And besides, it's a union, so if they feel the performance review is unfair they can just grieve it and the union will have to prove why they got a low review. It's a perfect system and actually makes these CUPE workers care about their jobs, the university, and the students they are serving. Kudos to President Peter McKinnon for not backing down on that issue as I feel he strongly believes that these workers need to be doing an excellent job in serving the students.

So to any CUPE workers out there....GET BACK TO WORK AND STOP BEING LAZY!!!