This week's thoughts

I've made mention in previous posts about things that have popped up in my newly minted life that have caused some contemplation and curiousity. This last couple of weeks has been no different so I thought I'd share some of my reactions to these oddities. To be honest, I am not sure if I have more thoughts on the comings and goings at this stage in my life, or that I have been blessed with the time to both acknowledge them and ruminate on them. Either way, they are present and make for good writing topics.

Thought (1):

Many of you know that my daughter's wedding is looming. I had always heard others in my life who had reached this point commenting on the perceptible increase in stress as the "Big Day" approaches. I can recall thinking they obviously hadn't planned anything of a significant scale before, and based on my experiences with major sporting events like large high school tournaments and OFSAA championships ... I've run dozens at my schools plus two OFSAA Rugby and one OFSAA Basketball ... I initially felt that the planning for a wedding couldn't be worse than that, and after all, I had planned my own some 30 years ago. 

Oh, you silly man, you have no clue, do you?

Since my only experience with wedding planning for my child comes with a Covid laced sugar coating, I really have no way of knowing whether this is "normal", or if it's simply the consternation that comes with the pandemic. For what it's worth, I suspect that while it's definitely made things more difficult, the wedding process has living up to the hype. My paternal heart absolutely aches for my daughter Maddi and her fiancee Chris. Transitioning from the look of sheer elation that night on the shores of the gulf when she said YES, to the look of despondence she wears now under the constant pressure of checking off all the boxes, both Joyce and I are at a loss on how to make this better, like any caring parent would wish. 

For some back story on this, you should know that Maddi + Chris started off like so many other young couples with moderate plans that included extended family, and they were able to find and secure appropriate amenities to accommodate those desires. As the pandemic played out, as I am sure you can empathize, they have had to alter those plans numerous times, and finally relented, under the threat of losing their deposit payments thanks to the threat of the unknown ebb and flow of government policies related to the coronavirus, scrapping the grandiose for the more manageable by opting for a cottage location for a wedding on the beach. Sounds quaint and easily done, no? Well, NO is certainly the correct answer! Rather than list all of the compromises, adjustments, hassles and disappointments, just know that things have not gone smoothly partly due to Covid, partly due to the remoteness of the cottage, partly due to the timelines, but mostly due to crappy luck. 

The one saving grace through it all is that time waits for no one, and the whole thing will soon be over, regardless of what the final details look like, and Maddi + Chris will be able to finally move forward in the development of their personal form of marital bliss.

Thought (2):

I usually steer way clear of publicly discussing politics, (a) because it's a losing arguement every single time and (b) because I feel strongly that one's voting decisions are private, but I am going to step out of my comfort zone on this with a little rant about this upcoming federal election. While I admit that I am not waving the flag at the front of the Justin Trudeau fan parade, I must also admit that I'm not doing it for any of the other leaders either. Do I agree with what Trudeau has done thus far in his tenure and am I happy with the direction he is steering the good ship Canada? Do I have confidence that one of the other parties has more competence?

NOPE! Far from it!

The major problem for me, and maybe for so many others, is that I can't honestly etch my seal of approval on any leader, which leaves me falling into the recent trend of voting someone OUT rather than voting someone IN. To put it another way, my vote will be choosing the lesser of all the evils? I have had a few discussions about this frustrating trend with people I love and respect, and to a person, we are all weary of being faced with this mode of thinking. It has been purported that the trend toward a career in politics rather than being a service one does later in one's life is the culprit, and you really can't argue against that train of thought when you see the mess that politics is in all parts of the country. As the signs were hammered into the ground around my new neighbourhood, the faces staring back at me were definitively younger than I personally feel they should be, and without falling prey to agism, it struck me that the candidates may all be guilty of looking at the potential perks rather than the service. They most certainly lack the wisdom of experience, IMHO.

My other issue with the election announcement is the timing, same as so many others have lamented. Why create even more chaos than is already present amidst the surging tsunami of the Delta variant? After spending billions on much needed Covid aid, the last thing that is needed is the cost of an unnecessary election, but as previously stated, the myopic viewpoint wins out, and the lure of a possible majority win is too enticing for the Trudeau-led Liberals. In my limited understanding of the inner workings of Parliament Hill, I have formed the opinion that a minority government is better for you, me and the citizens of Canada so that one party cannot create their own version of Nirvana ... AKA the trump years as proof, anyone?

As the saying goes, "It boils my blood!"

Thought (3):
As a final thought, this is more of a 1st world problem, but with all of the cycling I've been doing, I dodged a bullet for the past two weeks by getting out there without provisions in the event of a blow-out. For those not into cycling, I ride tubeless tires which means that I am less susceptible to puncture flats, but I can still get stranded if I blow a hole in my tire. I always have a tube with me in case because you fix a blown tubeless tire by putting a tube in it, but that's no good if you don't have a way to inflate the tube. Well, I was having an issue with my tubeless front wheel losing pressure and I used my last CO2 cartridge before I could get some new ones. 

Stay with me ... the point's coming ...

I ordered some new CO2 cartridges and it took forever for Amazon to deliver them. I finally got a hold of a real person for some assistance, and while apologizing repeatedly, they said the best they could do was refund the cost since they could not tell me where my delivery was because it was not an Amazon fulfillment. That part I don't get! Other than knowing that it had left the warehouse, the agent was at a loss to explain it. I settled on the refund, which happened immediately BTW, and ordered some new ones, making sure it was actually Amazon fulfilling it this time, and since I have Prime, they were a 1 day delivery. Yesterday the knock on the door signalled that delivery, or so I thought, but it actually turned out to be the original package. Not more than 30 minutes later, the second package arrived. Needless to say, I'm well stocked for a while, and both Joyce and I feel more at ease as I set out on my two-wheeled adventures. 

Here's the thing though. 

Is Jeff Bezos making so much cash off the pandemic that Amazon can refund a purchase without stopping the delivery? Granted that it's not a lot of money we're talking about here, but if that is repeated multiple times, it wouldn't take long to add up. I will admit that I understand it is financially easier to simply refund the purchase than to pay some customer service rep's time and energy to track down this missing package, and I'm not one to stare a "gift horse in the mouth", but it does seem a little ludicrous to me. 

Anyway, those are the fruits of my grey matter this week.
In the immortal words of Forest Gump, "That's all I got to say about that."