Puddles -> Swamps

Puddles -> Swamps

The winds changed again

bringing in the cold from the North

rearranging the garbage of the spring

The snow melts

to reveal the litter that has collected over months

The sidewalks are dirty and there is an air of rotting

as puddles form swamps in open fields

I yield

It's too cold to go for a walk today

Spent a lot of the day rebooting. Now I'm rocking the Win7. Not sure what I think about it yet. Need a couple days to take it out for a drive. I don't know if things are faster because it's a fresh install or if Win7 > Vista. I dunno. Peace out.

Uninvited

Uninvited

The uninvited guest
a pest
that rings the doorbell
and then impatiently knocks
The clocks show it's a late hour
and the power I need
to call up patience is fleeting
I was sleeping
and not interested in what he had to offer

I dunno. I don't like the uninvited. So annoying. So so annoying. Peace out.

Drowning

Drowning

I've been spelled and cannot see you
or at least I pretend that you don't exist
or at least I try to not be at your beck and call
after all
What's left to be said?
The memories blowing around in my head
like a northeastern storm
the rains come down
and soon I'm drowning

I spent 15+ minutes trying to come up with something to write about. I think it was one of the worst writer's block I've had since I've started this streak in the new year. It's a good thing I don't have high standards and will publish just about anything. Peace out.

Too Early for Tulips

Too Early for Tulips

I went for a walk today
but it was too early for tulips
The snow is just starting to melt
not even the green shoots are out yet
The sidewalks are wet and dirty
and the streets are covered with sand
I had my headphones on
but I was given a friendly nod from this one man

Haha, this piece is definitely a vehicle to introduce what I want to talk about today and is not a piece to be taken seriously... unlike my other pieces. /s. It's getting pretty warm around here nowadays although I'm not fooled and believe that snow will come again before spring truly sets in. I went for a walk today. I don't think I'm getting enough vitamin D but that's a different story altogether. I like spring. It means I can run outside again and write about running outside again. Running is a nice fall back topic for me to write about. I also like spring for the tulips. I saw a little segment on the CBS news last week (I think it was) and they were talking about how there are no tulips in California because tulips need the winter/cold cycle to do whatever plants do in the winter. That's so sad I think. Tulips are worth the snow. Hahaha.

On a totally different note, I hate drivers. As a pedestrian, I assume that all drivers are jerks. That way, I can avoid getting hit by them. Similarly, when I'm driving, I assume all pedestrians are idiots. That way, I can avoid running them over. But today, as a pedestrian, I wanted to kick a car. It's similar to the feeling of wanting to run people over when they don't know how to safely cross the street. A car totally rolled through a stop sign as he was turning left. 99% of drivers would have stopped at the stop sign and let me cross the street since I was totally there and had the right of way. In practice, I think a good rule is you should be allowed to kick a car if you are close enough to kick the car. I don't know why but that incident got me really riled up. I wanted to hurt that driver so badly. Is sidewalk rage something? Anyone want to write a paper about? Peace out.

Reformat

Reformat

Start fresh with a reformat
a clean slate to make new mistakes
A speedy clean install
a thing of beauty
that only comes around once or twice a year
I regret that it only gets worse from here

I love reformatting my computers. Actually, I like working on clean installs. It just feels so fresh and clean. I'm in the middle of cleaning up my netbook right now. I can't wait. Peace out.

Long Days

Long Days

Sometimes
the longest day is the shortest
We lose an hour
but we don't miss it
The day is long enough
bring on the night
darkness
the absence of light
a refrain from the judging eyes
of people who put us in boxes

A total aside: I think sometimes when I'm writing and listening to music at the same time, I end up writing lines that rhyme with the lyrics of the song but don't make much sense rhythmically in the poem.

Anyways, Spring forward has come around again. I feel like I write about it every year although that may not be entirely true. When do people start getting tired? Is it an age thing? Or maybe it's an attitude? I know that at conferences or other "sleep over" events, I don't have the energy to stay up late anymore. Is it cause I'm older? I dunno. I have my theories about what it is but I will leave it as a tease for a future piece. It's an idea that I'm mulling over at the moment. I'll probably rush it and write about it too soon as I always do but whatever. Peace out.

The Cube

The Cube

The cube is beyond my grasp of understanding

forced to solve it with brute force memory

algorithms memorized and forgotten

fingers trying desperately to remember

R U R prime U prime

gibberish to the everyday mind

Muscle memory is the only way

for me to remember the moves for more than one day

I usually pride myself with having a good memory. Unfortunately my memory is not so good when it comes to memorizing the PLL algorithms needed to solve the Rubik's Cube. Before yesterday, I only knew 6 of the 21 algorithms required to be memorized and I thought I had learned 3 more but as of now, I'm back to only knowing the 6. The 3 that I learned yesterday have been forgotten. *sigh. Peace out.

Dry Pants

Dry Pants

Puddles and snow

and the last remnants of ice on sidewalks

slick as can be

waiting for the unaware

wanting to throw them to the ground

In an act of amateur ballet

the poor victim fights for balance

using seldom used core muscles

contorting and thrusting limbs out

in every direction

flapping arms and kicking legs

trying to remain upright

fight

You can do it

Don't worry about the people passing by

Fight with all you got to keep your pants dry

Yeah, I know. I'm brilliant. I'm writing about the weather again. It's been unusually mild here. Snow is melting and there are puddles everywhere. I took a little walk this morning to see if there were any routes with entirely dry sidewalks that would be good candidates for running paths... Candidates. *sigh. Five more days until the next Lost episode. Peace out.

Preachy

Preachy

What the world needs now
is another day to sleep
to think over the decisions made yesterday
and to dream plans to not repeat the mistakes

What the world needs now
is a leader to rise up
to think over the decisions made yesterday
and to invoke change not in our words but in our actions

What the world needs now
are people who are willing
to think over the decisions made yesterday
and to treat others the way they want to be treated

I dunno... different style from me today. I don't like it. I think I do better writing emo-pseudo-romantic style things. Oh well. Peace out.

Thick Skin

Thick Skin

I grew thick skin
to keep out the rain
and the harsh winds
Protection from the stones
being launched by the trebuchets of life
It grew ever thicker with the passing of time
I guarded my heart and shallowed my mind
to avoid the thoughts
that like mazes I ran through
lost in the what-ifs and the games that I imagined people played
On rainy days
I watched from the inside
safe from the storm
unreachable - immune to being harmed
The walls grew thicker with each new instance
I might be safe but I no longer have substance

This is more of an old school type piece for me. I actually came up with a concept before actually writing today. I just thought of it last night so I don't think I have had enough time to mull it over yet and I don't think it's a full grown idea at the moment but it was good to get something down before I forgot the idea all together.

Yesterday, I was peeling an orange with a fairly thick peel and I was thinking, "Wow, this huge orange got really small once I took off all the skin." There was no meat and hence the idea for this piece was born. It's still a young thought at the moment. I apologize for not letting it get more mature. Peace out.

Uncertain Days

Uncertain Days

It's hard
on the uncertain days
when you reach for the notes
uncertain
that you'll be able to find them
in the noise
of today's cities
with cars
stereos
planes, trains
fighting for audible attention
The tangible sounds of the world
bombarding your ear drums
drowning out your own thoughts
and your search within yourself
grows ever harder
The note now is even more elusive
you take a breath and stand back
belting it out
too bad it's flat

I dunno. I watched the rest of the Oscars this morning. Everybody wants to create something beautiful. I've said that many times. But when I watch the Oscars, I always think to myself, "I could do that." I could be a sound mixer, do make-up, write a screen play or direct a movie... I probably can't do any of those things at an Oscar level but maybe I could. Maybe everyone could. Maybe everyone has the talent for their 15 minutes. I only want 4 minutes. Peace out.

Resist

Resist

Resist or persist
You are my dream
or at least a usual resident
that drops in once in a while
when I've scrounged up the strength to sleep
after days that are too long
A song or melody
that dances on the tip of my tongue
or just beyond my ears
Fears and laughter
swirl around
marbling together as they drain
from my mind as electrical impulses
and transferred chemicals
the nerve endings dancing with excitement
I concede
I'm too tired and alone
Go ahead
Make yourself at home

That was my stream of conscience piece. Weak, but done. I watched part of the Oscars tonight and it got me thinking... do I have a story to tell? A great story? Everyone dreams about writing the great american novel or canadian on my part. I wonder if I have a story in me. I wonder how often the great stories people "write" are just reinterpretations of their own lives. I dunno. I've flirted with the idea of writing something longer, of more substance. One part of me wants to get a complete outline finished before I write a full sentence, and another side of me knows that if I don't write a sentence, I'll never write a paragraph/page/chapter/book. But do I have a story? I think that's the question that needs to be addressed first. Peace out.

Broken Embraces

Broken Embraces

Broken embraces

and shattered faces

behind glass masks

that don't hide anything

The song rings

familiar and strange

from eardrum to brain

It all sounds the same

and oddly haunting

containing the hint of something

jealousy probably

I dunno. I really should stop writing this nonsense. Maybe in a thousand years, poor high school english students will be dreaming up explanations to show how much of a genius I am. Oh to dream. Peace out.

Wish

Wish

She made a bet on the stars

thinking they were aligned

forgetting that they don't foretell the future

but are only a picture of the past

She bet that miracles happened everyday

an ordinary fare

reliable

dependable

She gambled wrong

she should have wished upon a song

I dunno. I wrote this while listening to a Lost podcasts. I think it's about time to let my streak end again. It will soon unless I get a huge burst of inspiration. Peace out.

Winter Shade

Winter Shade

She sports a winter shade of pale
a few months hiding from the cold
diluted sun through frosted windows
enough light to brighten the room
The gloom of shortened days
are here to stay
the earth was shaken
to relieve the stress of the plates

I dunno. I started writing about one thing and then I got to thinking about the earthquake in Chile. Apparently scientists have claimed that due to the severity of the earthquake, the earth's axis was shifted and now the day is a few microseconds shorter than before. Crazy stuff. I wonder if people can notice such small measurements of time. I doubt it. Peace out.

Into the Fog

Into the Fog

Come
and take a walk with me
into the fog
that is our memories of years past
Details hidden by the forgetfulness of age
and moments that were once momentous
have collected dust on history's page
jam packed with fleeting emotions
and short lived obsessions
Enter the fog
and feel blindly for exceptions

My memory isn't as good as it once was. I don't know if it's something that has come with age or if maybe it's because I don't journal as much anymore. I used to be really good at remembering dates but now that I don't really have a written record of when things happened, I can only guess at the dates at best.

Today was the NHL trade deadline. It really reminded me about how many things I've forgotten or how badly I've lost track of time. Nobody remembers who was playing in the Stanley Cup 3 years ago... even if we followed it intensely. The Olympics have come and gone and it won't take long for us to forget about all our favourite athletes we cheered. Haiti is forgotten with the new events in Chile. Things will only be brought back to our attention on their anniversaries in a succinctly put together 3 minute news segment. Oh well, I've rambled long enough... on to something new. Peace out.

Winter Feigns

Winter Feigns

Winter feigns death as the jet stream restrains the cold
from encroaching too far south
but spring is still asleep
not ready to wake just yet
It's the same every year
the warmth comes early
and we get overly excited
ready to say goodbye to the harshness of winter
and ready to embrace a new season
But I keep my jacket handy
and my snow shovel at hand

It's been quite "warm" the past couple days for winter. It's just early March. It's not spring yet... and I'm writing about the weather/seasons again. Boy am I suffering from Olympic withdrawal. JoyTV cut off the last few minutes of Lost tonight. Sigh. Life is so hard. Peace out.

Bye bye Bookmark

Bye bye Bookmark

I've deleted the bookmark
never to return
This period has ended
and it's sad
There's an emptiness that is left behind
The streets are empty
and there is ample parking
the traffic has gone back to normal
the neighborhoods are quiet
the games are over

The Olymipics are over. I don't have to talk about them anymore. I bookmarked a few Olympics related sites during the games and I would visit them all the time. They haven't really been updated in the past few hours. There's nothing to update. It's over. I think there is a general sadness because they are over. Maybe more so for these particular games because they were in Canada. I dunno. I don't think I own anything with the maple leaf on it. I'm not the kind of person that wears his colours but was there ever a time in Canada when more grown men shed a tear of joy than yesterday? Peace out.