Investments

I drew a line
and took it back unsure of the angle
I threw a ball
and it came up short 
because my muscles lacked the memory
I tried to add
but was forced to subtract to make the bottom line look right
I practiced all these skills for a night
and it has yet to pay off

I'm currently listening to an audiobook about basic economics.  (Last week, I had someone search in google for "poems about conditional statement" and it lead the user to my poem "conditional statements"... haha.  Now I will have something for "poem about economics".)  Anyways, I think the author is in love with "market forces" but I am learning some cool things here and there as I listen to it while running or working out.

Something that stuck out to me so far was the idea of recouping initial investments.  When I was in Paris all those years ago and Montreal some years ago, I saw artists on the street that were drawing portraits for quite a lot of money.  I'm not sure why both cities I'm referencing are french, but whatever. I remember thinking, "wow, it would be nice to get paid $X dollars for such a short amount of work".  It only takes the artists a few minutes to do the drawing, but it took them years to develop the eyes and hands to be able to draw.  In the same way other professionals and athletes must invest in their skills before they can make the big dollar for what looks like easy/short work.

It begs the question: "what should I invest in?"  I dunno.  I think the world would be such a different place if everyone knew their answer to this personal question.  Peace out.

prince's island

hot sun
rolled up sleeves
ice cream melting on the sidewalk
went for a walk today
prince's island
runners of all varying degrees
pounding pavement
wearing out knees
buskers singing for change
but things always stay the same

Went with a co-worker for a walk today along the river.  It was the first real hot day in Calgary and people were out in force trying to enjoy it.  I should have changed into my runners.  My toes hurt from my dress shoes. :(  I don't ever really walk in them. Peace out.

dangerous

don't trust the smart, beautiful blonde they said
she's dangerous
her hair a mess and finger nails painted black
i lacked the will to divert my eyes
i tried and i tried but failed
i couldn't capitalize on that split second of time
when my mind's alarmed sounded
i should have picked up my things
but instead
i looked for a ring on her finger

This was not what I intended to write about at all today.  When I was walking to church yesterday, I had this idea to write about forgetting things so that you learn them again from the start... without any bad habits that you may have picked up along the way.  Something about not trusting yourself and starting fresh again.  I think this piece was a result of watching too many Ed Sheeran videos today... like 3.

Lately, I've been thinking about going back to the basics.  Maybe even do some guitar drills daily or something.  That's the problem with being self taught: you pick up bad habits and no one's there to correct you.  I wish I could lose some of my bad guitar habits.  I've recently wanted to get back into drawing and start painting so I was watching some videos online for some drills that would help beginners.  Apparently, I have to hold my pencil differently.  Haha.  I wish myself luck holding a pencil differently.  I even bought a book a few months ago about how to improve your penmanship.  I've started noticing people writing "incorrectly" and judge them for it.  I want to explain to them that their penmanship is poor because the way they write their Bs is wrong.

People learn wrong things as they grow up.  They start believing things that people tell them about themselves that may or may not be true.  Wouldn't it be great if we could start all over?  With the wisdom we have with age?

BTW.  They usually have a ring.  Peace out.

Linger

A girl smiled at me today I think
I might have accidentally given her a wink
To deflect her perplexed look
I held up a book
as if I was proud that I could read
or that reading books made me special

Why am I still thinking about her?
I guess some thoughts just like to linger

I love Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.  I started watching it on Netflix the night before I left for Troy.  I only got about 25 minutes in, but it was enough to see one of my favourite lines from the movie... which is easy because I think it comes super early in the movie.  "Why do I fall in love with every woman I see who shows me the least bit of attention?"  Was in my 2nd meeting with this girl at work today.  Found out that she went to the UofM.  Probably co-existed there for a few years.  I wonder if that's why she looked familiar to me.  Or maybe I'm just deflecting.  Peace out.

Tea Please

Table for two, I tell the hostess
She walks us to our table in the corner
So much glass
for better people watching
Your tea's too hot like usual

I sip mine with pinky in the air
and ask myself what am I doing here
Your mind is somewhere far away
longing for yesterday

When we still laughed and words came easy
and your hand would gravitate to mine as if they were soul magnets
Fingers intertwined
We'd sit there and pass the time
and people watched us instead
as I'd spread some butter over bread
They'd wonder about love's mystery
A boy
A girl 
and two cups of tea

Haha.  That was a fun piece to write.  On the train this morning, I was listening to a podcast where writers would write in (shocking I know), and ask relationship questions to the hosts.  One question this morning was concerning the first year of marriage and how they heard that it was the hardest year.  I wonder if it truly is the hardest year.  Of course, the hosts answered with the "it's different for every couple", but I wonder if it's not the best year.  And I wonder what happens when the best year ends and another begins.  And why do all the special teas smell so delicious and taste like regular tea?  Peace out.

Elizabethtown

The rain falls down
on Elizabethtown
The St. Lawrence River has her fill
Tulips and daffodils
Come one come all 
to Victoria Hall, Brockville

I dunno.  This is just really funny to me.  Peace out.

Suspend

Temporarily delete your past
soot, memory, ash
The freedom to start anew
tree, leaves, grass

No longer the person we once knew
free to do things that aren't you

Today's piece was inspired by someone deleting their facebook account.  My sister used to do that a lot too.

I like the idea of starting fresh.  I like starting new journals because I feel as though the act of writing in a new book means that the mistakes I've made in the past no longer have a hold on me.  I like the idea of not being held to things I've said or stances I've taken.

I remember when I was in France, I had a cousin who greeted all his female friends with a kiss on the cheek and all his male friends with handshakes.  I was 15 at the time, but I thought that was so cool... and I was sad that I couldn't do that with my friends.  You see, I had already set the precedent.  I historically didn't do that, and it would have been weird to start.  Peace out.

Again

I check drawers I never opened
And thoroughly search under the bed
I close my suitcase with a sense of dread
I fight to ignore the voice in my head
It tells me to check that drawer again
My will bends
And breaks
I give my head a shake
And go over the room once more

It's not about rereturning but it follows the theme of doing things again.  I'm traveling for work tomorrow.   Traveling brings out the OCD in me.  I always feel like I've forgotten to pack something.  And when I leave the hotel, I go over every inch at least twice.  But I promise I'm normal in real life... mostly.  Peace out.

The Rereturning

I've been here before
I've scratched my name into the door
as if I was a person of importance
I rinse
and I repeat
I seek the beat with tested algorithms
We clap our hands
finding the rhythm 
My soul yearning
My fingers spurning
The rereturning

No, that is not a typo.  I'm such a creature of cycles.  I don't ever do anything new.  I just take turns doing different things that I've done in the past.  And when I get bored with the revisiting, I revisit something else.  I re-return.

I was looking for Scars on 45 in iTunes today and scrolled past S Club 7.  I miss them.  I re-returned.  I'm sure I've missed them before and had the same feeling of nostalgia when listening to their stuff... again.  It's funny cause the other night, I was thinking that I should listen to more music rather than listening to so many podcasts.  I cycle between the two and I guess right now I'm podcast heavy.  I immediately started getting overwhelmed by all the music I wanted to listen to.  I immediately thought of Kate Walsh, William Fitzsimmons, Scars on 45, The Fray, Lady Antebellum.. and I just thought about Peter Bradley Adams.

With that list, I was surprised to find myself playing a bunch of P!nk songs on guitar today that I don't think I've ever heard P!nk sing.  I've only heard the covers.  And now I'm rambling, so I'm done.  Peace out.

Arrows

I shot an arrow last night into the dark
and woke up this morning to find out I broke a heart

Watched the finale of Bachelorette today.  It's a show about how 1 girl breaks the hearts of 24 guys so that she can say yes to 1 of them.  That's crazy.  Peace out.