Happiness

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200 words, Alberta, Calgary, Canada, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, First World Problems, Gratitude, happy, Life's like that, perspective, reality check, summer

Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.

― Henry James

For me too, Henry. For me too.

Feeling that warm sun on my skin.

Eating ice cream on a park bench.

Taking evening walks when it’s still light out.

Riding my brand new bike on Calgary’s many pathways.

Summer really makes me happy.

But here’s the thing. We haven’t really had much of a summer this year. It’s been all rain, rain, rain. I keep telling myself better summer days are coming. I mean yesterday wasn’t bad. It was sunny in the morning and it didn’t rain all day. I rode my bike and sat out on a patio with a good friend but…

…there’s not much time left for ‘better summer days.’ I’m seeing signs of fall. Wasps are acting all aggressive already, as they do in the fall and today I noticed leaves are turning and some are on the ground and I’m just not happy about it!

But I have a home, food in my stomach, good people who love me and I’m reminded gratitude is what REALLY leads to happiness.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

 

 

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Don’t Use Your Signal… I like The Suspense!

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adrenaline rush, Alberta, Calgary, Canada, Diana Schwenk, driving, First World Problems, heart pumping, humour, Hump Day Chronicles, laughter, life, Life's like that, morning, rant

All that obey-the-rules-of-the-road malarkey is overrated. It certainly doesn’t apply to you. I’ll get the gist of what your intentions are when you cut me off and thank me with a wave of your hand. Driving is boring otherwise. How else would I get my heart pumping like that first thing in the morning?  Better yet, it’s fun when you cut me off real close so that if I don’t hit the brake while checking my rearview for a tailgater and bracing for impact, you’ll sideswipe my front end.

But don’t just cut me off. No I don’t get the full affect that way. Slow right down the minute you get in front of me. Better yet, hit the brakes, and then signal you’re turning left (the order of events is important here) and hold me in that lane seemingly forever until you’re able to turn.

I mean you’re in a hurry to turn left right? I saw you in my rearview as you rushed up at warp speed and shot into the right lane, just barely missing my rear bumper. It’s like you were playing a race-car game, the way you navigated your car – sharp right, sharp left, BOOM in front of me and then stop.

I totally get it. If you had stayed behind me and then turned left, you’d have been delayed by nanoseconds…

But you know what really gets my circulation going and gives me that wide-open-road feeling? I love when I’m a few car lengths behind you on Memorial Drive and you got a good clip going and I got a good clip going and I’m feeling sorry for those people on our right who are pretty much crawling in line to exit on that ramp to Deerfoot North. Yeah the light ahead is green and you and me we’re gonna make it through that light – I can feel it – FREEDOM!

But wait. Quelle surprise – you want on that ramp too? I guess there’s no way you were gonna get stuck in that long line, NOOOOOO, not you. You’ve got important people to see and places to go. So you do what anyone else would do in that situation; you slam on the brake, mere metres from the exit and cut into that lane over the solid line like some modern-day Mario Andretti causing two lanes of traffic  – ours and theirs – to hit their brakes.

YEAH THAT’S JUST FREAKING BRILLIANT, YOU’RE QUITE THE DRIVER NIMROD, WHERE’D YOU GET YOUR LICENSE ANYWAY, FROM THE BUBBLE GUM MACHINE?

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

If there was a dashboard cam recording me on my morning commute, it would be a funny thing to watch! For you that is, probably would embarrass me to see it. 😉

What’s your biggest traffic pet peeve?

Technology: Does It Connect or Disconnect Us?

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cell phone, communication, community, connecting, family, First World Problems, friends, social, social media, stories, technology, Tourist in my own city

A recurring conversation I find myself a part of, is whether technology has marked the end of connecting with people or opened up a way to connect that would not have been possible in days gone by.

Louise wrote on Monday in her post 52 Acts of Grace l week 2 about how difficult it is to share even a smile with people on the sidewalk or C-train, because most folks seem to be staring at the tiny screen on their cell phone.

I’m sure we can all share tales of being at meetings or out with friends only to be interrupted or completely ignored because someone is texting or Facebooking or Tweeting or taking selfies or…

I’ve been guilty of it myself.

I have a friend who admonishes me every time I take a picture, convinced that I’m missing the real-life-sized experience when I’m looking at it through the screen of my Blackberry Q10.

And I admit that any picture I’ve ever taken pales in comparison to the beautiful beach, mountain range or sunset I view in person with my own eyes.

Maybe while trying to capture the moment, I lose it all together.

And then there’s safety!

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been walking down the street and I have to stop dead in my tracks, because the person approaching me is staring at that screen, completely unaware of what’s going on around them.  I cannot guess if they will go left or right and so I stop. When they finally sense my presence it shocks them – some have even given me dirty looks!

More frightening are the times I cross the street and someone making a right-hand turn while using their device narrowly avoids hitting me with their car. I’ve learned to make eye contact before stepping into the cross walk.

So when I read Louise’s post on Monday, I mentioned I was texting on Easter Sunday. I couldn’t be with my family. My brother and his family and my mom were having lunch at the Willows Inn in Hudson, Quebec and the next best thing to being there was texting each other Easter wishes and real-time photos.

So you see sometimes technology does connect us. Only problem is, I was walking while texting and almost tripped on a crack in the sidewalk!

Below, the pictures we took and shared in real-time

Mom and Mike at Willows Inn

Me on the corner of 14th Str and 13 Ave SW

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

So what do you think? Does technology connect or disconnect us?

Wringing out every last drop of summer

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Alberta, Calgary, Canada, Diana Schwenk, First World Problems, humour, joy, living in the moment, summer

It’s not safe to take a selfie while driving. However, this image, found online, serves as an accurate re-enactment.

YESTERDAY, I WAS DRIVING TO AN APPOINTMENT

looking forward to a meeting

wearing my favourite summer dress and sandals

and tapping my fingers on the steering wheel to some exceptional tunes playing on the radio

when the radio announcers interrupted with the following dialogue:

“Can you believe it’s August 5th already! Summer is almost over! I love you summer…don’t go summer, it’s too soon,” said the one in his most whiny voice.

[The Sound of Laughter] “Pack up your lawn chairs buddy…haul out the snow shovels…it’s done! Summer is over,” said the other, tormenting the first and ME!

“I hate you, I hate you,” said the first. “Summer, I love you, pleeeeaaaaaseeeee don’t go,” he pleaded again.

B A M ! !

There it was – the dreaded message of DOOM!

All summer, I’ve been working hard to enjoy every moment – IN THE MOMENT – that I possibly could, putting to the back of my mind any anxieties I had about my favourite season ending.

But in one felt swoop, the realization that summer would not last forever hit me like a ton of snow slipping from the roof of a barn!

I HATE YOU TOO SECOND ANNOUNCER GUY!

Realistically, I know we still have some sweet hot weather ahead. I know I was over reacting when these radio personalities messed with my equilibrium.

But I also know that summer doesn’t last long here in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

Not in comparison to the summers most of my online community experiences south of the border, or even in the eastern provinces of Canada where Indian Summer continues to bless them with warmth and sunshine into September and October.

But you won’t be getting the best of me Second Radio Announcer Guy – No way, Jose!

I aim to wring out every juicy drop of summer I can, for as long as I can!

In your face!

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

What’s your favourite season? How do you maintain your equilibrium during times of stress?

*no actual radio personalities were harmed during the writer’s experience of, or writing of this post…not yet, anyway…

 

 

HEY BOZO that’s my parking spot!

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200 words, anger, blessed, Calgary, compassion, Diana Schwenk, First World Problems, kindness, Parking space, perspective

I felt sorry for myself because I had no shoes – until I met a man who had no feet ~ Jewish proverb.

It had been a long week.

I’d been fighting that nasty bug going around.

I’d had my head stuck in numbers and policies and although this is necessary work and I appreciate its value, I was tired and happy to be going home.

When I got home, my parking spot was blocked by another vehicle.

I felt my blood pressure rise along with my temper and wrote a note that said

“… you’re blocking my spot, can you please call me when you move!”

I found a two-hour parking zone down the block and marched home like a crazy woman on a mission with anger burning in my heart.

Then I remembered that there are those who…

can’t afford a car

don’t have a job

or don’t have a home.

By the time the guy called to say, “I’m so sorry, I thought I’d only be a moment, I’m gone now…”

I replied with, “…thank you so much, no worries!”

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

How is it that I often forget how truly blessed I am?