Our ultimate fate

Today's Topic: The Reality of Death

This is a topic that I've been thinking about writing for awhile. I wasn't waiting for the near death experience or anything I was just waiting for the creative juices to really flow on this one because trust me, I know this is a touchy subject. However, I think the sooner you come to terms with it, the more comfortable you become with the subject. In one of my earlier blogs, I touched on this a bit with the idea of forever. Since then, I guess you could say I've had a few things "inspire" me to take the subject a bit further.

It's not so much a scare for me as it is a reality. For myself, I believe that my ultimate fate in this life on this universe has already been set up for me. So to that, I ask you this. Have you ever thought about what happens next? Awhile back, I watched One Week starring Joshua Jackson, and I have to tell you, it really was a great movie. I was a bit worried because of the indie feel to it and I wasn't sure how to feel about Josh Jackson when I looked at the movie jacket. Maybe it was the constant barrage of Canadian content that heightened this movie for me, but I found myself deeply connected to the character of this story. The plot surrounds itself with the idea of death and what you would do if you got shocking news that you had a terminal illness. Jackson's character sets out on an adventure, and does not pay any attention to his boundaries of his fiance, his family or his fate in general. It's a story about finding one's self, something that I sometimes find a struggle too. But I reassure myself that it's human nature to think like that. The idea of death doesn't really hit Jackson until the end of the movie, when he has to make the ultimate decision of how he tends to battle the illness. I won't put a spoiler alert in here because I won't ruin the movie for you if you haven't seen it, but I will say it's worth a watch.

The movie deals with a question of why things happen the way they do and why young people are put in the position they are when the natural order and progression of life doesn't fall into place for them specifically. It also asks the viewer, "What would you do if you knew you were going to die? What story would you tell?" It really got me thinking about a lot of things, like why people are so uptight all the time. Wake up and realize death doesn't wait for you, hence the title of the movie "One Week." One week to live. What would you do? That was my interpretation anyway.

I heard a story once from my grade 12 English teacher, Mr. Candeloro, who one day told the class a story about death and fate which involved a king and his servant. The king had sent his servant to the fruit market to get the best fruit in the land. While the servant was at the market, he saw what appeared to be Death approaching him (the classic grim reaper). Frightened by this, the servant hurried home and told the king of this news. He feared that Death had finally caught up to him, and he must flee England and leave for uncharted territory, into the wilderness of Africa. Angered by this, the king marched down to the market to see if he too could spot "Death." It was as if Death was waiting for him when he got to the market. The king approached Death and said, "Death, why is it that you scared my servant today? Is this some sort of cruel joke? You have him so freighted that he has left my kingdom and fled to the jungles of Africa." Startled by this, Death replied, "Your Highness, I was not trying to frighten your servant. I was only startled by seeing him today, as I was not supposed to see him for another two weeks. You see, he is going to die in the African Jungles. That is where I was supposed to catch up with him." Amazing right? I thought to myself, "Wow, there really is no escape to your fate." Even if you knew, or thought you knew like the servant, there is nothing you can do anyway. At that moment, I think I finally realized that nothing lasts forever.

As humans, we have all experienced some sort of death, even on a daily basis. Killing a fly, squashing a spider, accidentally (or purposely) hitting something with your car, watching a television show or movie where someone dies...it's all around us. And then the sensitive stuff, losing someone you love or losing someone or something who had an impact on your life. You're never ready for it. Ever. You could plan your whole life, heck even know the day, and you still wouldn't be ready for it. I lost my best friend to cancer over three years ago, which was one of the hardest run ins with death I have ever had to deal with. Through all the tragedy and heartbreak and the only now memories I am left with of her smiling face, it taught me one thing. To live.

Who knows what waits for us on the other side. Whatever it is you believe in, just remember what you stand for, and who you want to be remembered as. If you ask me, there is no second chance. Maybe you're an animal in your next life. Maybe you are reborn into a new soul. Maybe you earn your wings, and fly to places in the world you never had a chance to see. Maybe you finally take that trip to Hawaii, California or China. Maybe you become the guardian angel for your best friend. Maybe you whisper to people at night while they are dreaming, and tell them everything is going to be okay. Or maybe, you just lie six feet under, finally getting the rest you needed your whole life. But in reality, that's it. Nothing, absolutely nothing, goes with you. It's all for show. Death doesn't wait for you to finish up, so hit the start button now if you haven't reached outside your boundaries and started living. Start today.

You make choices in your life every day. If you know you're making the wrong one, please, don't make it. Every action turns into a memory, whether it be good or bad. There is no erase or undo button like there is on a computer or at the tip of a pencil. At the end of the day (pardon the pun), you either face death head on or you wait for it to come and find you. It's okay to make a jump every once and awhile.

Either way, remember, don't take it all so seriously. It's not like you are getting off this planet alive.

The Healthy Trend

Today's Topic: The Trend of Eating Healthy

Okay so I guess I've realized that I am being sort of a pessimist with some of my blogs now but this will be the last argumentative one for awhile, I promise. I'm sorry folks, but I have to do this and make the case for being healthy being nothing but a trend in the modern day world that North Americans live in. It's really starting to bother me that everywhere I go people are telling me to eat nothing but fruit and lettuce (I may be exaggerating a bit). I know I have readers from different countries so to those of you reading this from the other side of the world, I hope I can share some insight on why everyone feels like they have to go to the gym on this continent.

People, let's face it...thin is in. And it's everywhere. Everyone tells you to eat right. Everyone is telling you to exercise. Yes, people are stressing about salad. It's almost become a major food faux pas to being eating "garbage" not even all the time, but AT ALL. Please, don't get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a healthy lifestyle. To each their own, I understand that. I just want to point out a few flaws in this healthy eating society.

There is one thing that I am certain generations of people are going to look back on us and laugh about it. The treadmill. Seriously? You are wasting electricity by running on an object for minutes or even hours at a time, in a building, in front of a window or television. So you walk or run for what the machine tells you is "kilometres." There's only one problem, they aren't actually kilometres because YOU DIDN'T GO ANYWHERE. What did you just accomplish? You were stationary that whole time, and you had to pay to do it! But boy, was it a good workout. This is something I like to call human stupidity. Try and tell me this makes sense to you and it's not just a trend.

I feel like a huge fatty at the grocery store. I do my very best to eat balanced meals by taking my trip around the food guide for most meals (especially supper which is my favourite meal of the day besides big breakfasts on weekends). This is why I feel like a blimp when I take my food to a checkout in a busy grocery store. The girl in front of me has everything blue menu, low in fat, and some of the foods she has in her cart, I have never even seen them on the store shelves. I'm sorry but I know that some of that food just doesn't taste good but people torcher themselves by buying it and eating it because they feel like they "need to be" healthy. So after she's done, the first item I put on is my guilty chocolate pleasure of Swiss Chocolate Rolls. Sometimes it's Haagen Dazs. I am automatically way less of a healthier eater then the girl who was just in front of me. Do you ever find yourself doing that at a grocery store...looking in other people's carts to see what they have? And then you feel slightly better about your groceries if you find that person with all the Hungry Man frozen dinners in their cart? I'm big time guilty of this.

Is it just me or does society have it COMPLETELY ass backwards. Why does healthy food cost more money? People already feel bad enough because they don't eat healthy enough and then when it comes time to pay the grocery tab, you break their hearts even more by emptying there wallets. If people were that concerned about eating healthy, wouldn't it make sense to make better food cheaper? Just saying.

But, there is still one place who doesn't care about your health. Meet The Heart Attack Grill in Chandler, Arizona. Let me give you the restaurant experience. First of all, when you walk in the door, if you're over 350 lbs, you eat for free. You'll then be greeted by a very questionably dressed waitress who's posing as a nurse, takes your order and attaches a medical hospital style bracelet of your order onto your wrist. From this point on, you know you're doomed. Don't bother asking for a diet coke, the word "diet" is not spoken of in a restaurant like this. Grab your plate and load up at The Fry Bar, an all you can eat flat liner fry experience that are cooked in 100% pure lard. If you order the mighty burgers, don't go much bigger then a single or double bypass burger or you'll have nightmares about what you just ate. If you dare to order the quadruple bypass burger (seen here) get ready to ingest, wait for it, 8,000 calories. Holy Christmas. And I felt guilty about eating Haagen Dazs. Their motto serves them well with a "meal to die for" attitude. You have to give the guy who owns this restaurant credit though. In a society that counts the calories in a head of lettuce, he is a marketing genius.

I had a friend (your welcome in advance for the shout out) who wrote her thesis on how bigger people used to be the symbol for power and wealth, which I found to be completely fascinating. It used to be that the bigger person you were, the more money you had, the more powerful you were, the richer your foods were, the happier you were. So, what happened? Did one day a bunch of pissed off skinny people throw a riot somewhere demanding more people be like them? It's very interesting how some things come in full circle. Was it just ignorance? We didn't know what we were eating was supposedly "bad" for us? Somewhere the clouds came in, it got foggy and when it cleared up, there was the carrots and apples.

I think you yourself have to decide where to draw the line and I think it's like that for a lot of people. I don't have a craving for a quadruple bypass burger cooked in lard or the heart stopping double down from KFC. I do enjoy a good burger and fries from now and then and why not? I used to live with a personal trainer who told me that our bodies have a natural sort of way of telling us that we need those fatty acids in our body. So really it's our mind telling us that we crave these foods. Thank you brain for telling me that a McChicken from McDonalds still tastes delicious.

I am probably in no position to give advice, but I'm going to anyway because this is my blog and I stand behind my words. Eat what you want, when you want to. Do not let the person dressed in a muscle shirt or Lu Lu lemon outfit make your food buying decisions for you. Be happy with what you eat and make yourself comfortable. If you want a fresh crunchy salad, go for it. If you also want the chocolate bar, that's okay too. Too many people get caught up in what the person behind the mirror is going to think of them. You're only on this planet for a short time so eat what makes you happy. Take chances with food and don't always count the calories if you don't want to. On the other hand, if you want to make a change, then that's okay to. Just love the foods you have because no one should put their bodies through misery eating foods they don't like.

Don't get caught up in body image and eating healthy. I promise you, it's only a phase and a modern day trend. I still believe that one day, wealth and happiness will once again be the symbol for the biggest people around. And then I WILL SAY, I told you so.

TML...Toronto Makes me Laugh

Today's Topic: Why you shouldn't be a Leaf Fan

Before you start throwing stones, at least give me a chance to explain my reasoning behind such a statement. Yes, I am die hard Montreal Canadiens fan, so you might consider this post to a bias one. However, the evidence just stacks up on why Leaf fans are so miserable, so blind and in denial. If you truly consider yourself a fan of the sport and you appreciate hockey as much as I do, you will at least take this into consideration. This is my attempt at explaining why you shouldn't support a losing franchise the way you do. It's okay to still be a fan, but please, don't gloat. Your team has little to show for itself in the last 30+ years.

Before I get into the bad and the ugly, I'm going to start off with the good things Leafs nation has done in the past few years. You got rid of John Ferguson Jr. That was an excellent call. In his place, you went out and got Brian Burke, a man at the top who has brought Stanley Cups to franchises in the National Hockey League. This was an excellent call. You went out and got a coach who knows how to coach with Ron Wilson. That was another excellent call. So you were set, new coach, new GM, new philosophy but still, you were producing the same mistakes, same mental errors and the same poor effort. I realize that the leafs are young and growing. But how long do you keep using that excuse? So what exactly happened?

I blame the lockout on the Leafs stumble to failure. Before the NHL lockout, the Leafs had made the playoffs for six consecutive seasons. Since the lock out, they have missed the playoffs for five straight seasons. Now being one of the biggest cities in the world, one of the most expensive and "elite" franchises in the NHL, why can't they even pull it together for one playoff run? I'll tell you what it's NOT. It's NOT the coaching, Ron Wilson had great success with the San Jose Sharks with a much less talented team. It's NOT the GM, Burke has a proven track record. It's NOT the players, they have many promising prospects. I blame it on two things: 1. John Ferguson Jr. and 2. Fan Morale.

John Jr.; The man would struggle running the popcorn machine at games, let alone manage a professional hockey team. His mistakes, his unthinkable acquisitions, his head scratching tactics, his lack of knowledge about the sport and the team, his in ability to draft players, his little hope in turning anything around...his mistakes set the leafs nation back at least ten years. It all starts at the top and it trickles down from there. The question I have though is that if the Leafs were losing for so long while he was the GM, WHY didn't they get rid of him sooner?? If you are that bad at your job, don't you usually get fired? I don't even want to remark at the bonehead moves he has made, but John Ferguson Jr. should be a curse word to any devoted leafs fan. He is one of the single reasons why you are in the shape you are. You should tie him up in front of the ACC and declare a public stoning.

Next, fan morale. Year after year, you lose. Yet, year after year, you still buy tickets. The most expensive tickets in the NHL. Not only do you buy tickets, you support an enormous condominium building being built right in front of your arena. So that's great, you can't even park in front of the stadium anymore unless you are a VIP. So you go and pay AT LEAST $20 to PARK you vehicle, if you are thirsty at the game, you pay $6 for a drink or $9 for ONE beer, and you pay at least $5 for cold popcorn. Why? Please tell me that I am wrong with what I'm staying. STOP THE MADNESS. You're supporting a team that hasn't even made the playoffs for the past five years. If anything, the worse the Leafs get, the more expensive the tickets, the concessions, the souvenirs and the parking becomes! You are all loyal despite being treated poorly. That is retarded. It doesn't make sense to me.

In a 2008, ESPN The Magazine took a survey on sports teams rewarding fans. Teams were graded by stadium experience, ownership, player quality, ticket affordability, championships won and "bang for the buck"; The Leafs were ranked 121st out of the 122 professional teams in the Big Four Leagues (major professional sports teams in the United States and Canada). In particular, the Leafs came last in ticket affordability. This was not that long away. Nothing has changed. How about not buying tickets? Maybe boycott it? Won't that drop the price? Without fans, there is no game. Keep that in mind.

At the start of the season, I made a statement on Facebook that said: "The leafs win four games and all of a sudden every fan crawls out of their hole they have been in hiding in for the last five years while they stunk up the league. Wake up. You have 78 games left." A bunch of people agreed with me. Some didn't. Some used the excuse "You're just jealous the Leafs beat your Canadiens this year." No, MY Canadiens have treated me great as a fan, we almost went to the Stanley Cup Final last year. Since the lockout, we have only missed the playoffs once. I support a winning franchise. You should too. The Leafs fired out of the cannon this season with a 5-0 start and first place in the Eastern Conference. All hail the great and powerful Leafs. Now, they are 5-5-3, good for 11th in the Eastern Conference. Don't worry, I won't say I told you so.

I hope things only get better for the Leafs Nation. After all, they are a Canadian team and hockey really is a Canadian sport. I will admit, they show promise but until your team actually, performs, I stand by my reasoning. Don't support a bunch of losers. Support something that rewards you. Otherwise, you'll always be depressed and you'll just keep getting let down year after year. That's my evidence, but of course since I am a Habs fan, you better take it with a grain of salt.

The one great thing about being a Leafs fan though; if you ever want to see the Stanley Cup, it's right down the street from your arena. Some fans wait decades to see it in person. It's in Leafs fans backyard...curse? On the other hand, Leafs fans, you might want to go take a visit because trust me, it won't be in your arena anytime soon.