Lessons from the Beach

I spent the goodly portion of my life in a learning environment, be it as a receiver from elementary up to and including post secondary, or as a facilitator, again from elementary to post secondary. It's likely a 60-40 split, if I'm honest, between the classroom stage and the extra-curricular stage, but the learning was no less profound regardless of the setting. Being immersed in a learning environment was precluded by my innate desire to constantly seek opportunities for growth, and the change of surroundings to the Wasaga Beach area has not disappointed.

Some recent lessons have come directly. 

Some have arrived following a circuitous path. 

In no particular order of importance or impact:

A) You SHALL not pass!

Obviously not the kids I met
because that would be creepy

I was "oot 'n aboot" on the Dark Matter on one particularly gorgeous morning and happened upon three cherubic faces prancing and gyrating in an effort to alert me of their latest business efforts. Waving a hand-printed sign advertising their wares, they hoped I might consider a purchase. Little did these little pixies know, one of the lesser known MAMIL (Middle Aged Men In Lycra) rules of conduct is that one never passes a child's lemonade stand. The 1000 watt smiles immediately singled their delight as I asked what they had to offer as I retrieved a few coins from my handlebar satchel, and after settling on a cool glass of iced tea, they informed me ... like all great salespeople ... that I should make sure to come back next week because the fare would be expanded to include cookies. They were pleased to have made a few shekels, I was pleased to have supported their cause, and all was right in Fergusonvale. If you venture into the Flos Rd 4/Highway 27 area, look for these cutie patooty sisters on the northeast corner. You won't be disappointed.

I've learned that the MAMIL rules are legit!

B) Service Canada is fraught with ineptitude

I'll likely be looking at a stay in the proverbial doghouse for releasing this information, but Joyce and I recently attempted to apply for her CPP (Canada Pension Plan) payments since she had crossed the entry threshold for eligibility. The process was a new experience for both of us and included accessing the Service Canada portal after making an account. Coming up with an username and password is a familiar task these days so we hurdled obstacle numero uno with ease. Clicking CONTINUE launched the application for said account with its three options:

(1) Use a GCKey, 

(2) Use banking info, or 

(3) Use provincial info. 

Well, (3) was not an option since it only applied to Alberta and BC, and (2) was less desirable since it always makes us nervous sharing such info online, so that really only left (1) as the path to choose. The resulting pages asked us to set security questions, another task that was far too familiar, but also included a request for the birth names of one parent, we assumed to ensure she was who we said she was. After filling out the info, the responding error message suggested trying the other parent, yet to our dismay, making the suggested change only returned the same error. Perplexed but 100% certain we had answered correctly (unless her parents had some "splaining" to do), we tried one more time, and the responding error message now informed us our account was locked, leaving us no recourse other than contacting Service Canada directly. You can likely guess that we encountered ridiculous wait times on hold, and we opted instead to submit a request to have them phone us, anticipating a multi-day wait. 

I'm moderately surprised to reveal that it was only a 34 hour wait, and the pleasant sounding lady who called patiently explained that this was a common issue with their system. Wait, excuse me? You're aware that the system has a profound glitch but the glitch still remains? The only recourse was to have them snail mail us a PAC (Personal Access Code), a "service" that shouldn't take more than 10 business days. 

The happy ending to this tale is that it only took 7 business days to receive the PAC and we were able to finally access Service Canada's portal to apply for Joyce's CPP. The post script to this is that we haven't heard whether or not she's approved, but at least the process is started.

Cue the exaggerated eye roll, but we learned that first instincts are often valid.

C) All AGM's sound the same

Since our present unit is our first exploration into all that is condo ownership, we were recently eager to experience our first condo AGM. I tried to digest the legal gobbledygook prior to the Zoom meeting and thought I had a passing understanding of the issues that would be discussed. About 1 hour prior to the scheduled commencement of the Zoom call, we received a message from the management company that we didn't have enough owners registered to make a quorum, the threat of rescheduling hanging in the air. Since only 16% of owners were interested enough to connect, we signed on anyway with high hopes and were greeted with a few faces, some we had already met and a host of new ones including those of our management company. We all proceeded to wait 20 min for doors to be banged on in an effort to rustle the final few needed to make a quorum. Eventually a quorum was declared and the "festivities" proceeded.

Once the meeting was underway, I was besieged with flashbacks of GBSSA or OFSAA AGM's, procedures and protocols, but in the end, very little changed that would effect us personally. 

We certainly learned a thing or two about our condo development.

D) Way better than Netflix

Sitting on the hill that overlooks
JC Massie Field was perfect!

We treated ourselves to some Friday night entertainment recently, and came away with a refreshed attitude about the wide variety of opportunities that exist should one simply extend some energy in a search, opportunities that far surpass sitting on one's Gluteus Maximus streaming yet another questionable choice in the Idiot Box.

Thanks to a Social Media post from a former GC State colleague Mike Sabourin, we learned that the Barrie Rugby Football Club was hosting a Friday Night Lights game at JC Massie Field in an effort to enhance the experience for its players through a prime time exposition of what it offers. As it turned out, Barrie was hosting the Oakville Crusaders in a season finale under the floodlights, cheered on by a few hundred supporters, not the least of which were Joyce and I. 

What the game lacked in execution ... this was U16 after all ... it more than made up in effort and energy as each squad played their hearts out, and featured much that delighted the crowd, based on the loud spontaneous cheers that erupted. In the end, Oakville proved the better side on that night, but the Barrie fans certainly had things to be proud of. 

The best part, I would wager, from the kid's perspective was the post-game social that Barrie had set up for their guests to enjoy after the game. If you're not a rugby convert, the "beer up" is a highly anticipated and appreciated component of any "friendly" and makes the game just a little bit different because it's expected that you bash the opposition silly then share a beverage after reliving it. Since the participants were of the U16 variety, the "beer" was likely of the root variety, the pizza was tasty, the sweets hit the spot, and new friendships were created.

We learned there are absolutely things to watch that are way better than Netflix!

E) Wasaga Beach rocks!

Like all moves, there were a few trepidatious moments signing the agreement to purchase, what with new people, places, amenities, and services to recon, but we've been gosh-darned pleased with our first few months here. I've settled into all that is offered for cycling in the Georgian Bay area, and we've enjoyed so lovely walks on the beach. The weather recently was so stifling we looked to escape the sun for a bit by visiting a well marked trail in one of the Simcoe County Forest plots on the concessions nearby. We surmised that a shady wooded walk followed by a dunk in GBay would be awesome.

I see a relative cornucopia of trails as I navigate the side roads and concessions, so I convinced Joyce to take a flier on one not too far away. Parking the RAV, I spied a sign that indicated the trail was a part of the Ontario Federation of ATV's and guessed that it would weave its way through the wooded plot. Well, weave is not nearly strong enough descriptor for the zigging and zagging that was asked of us, and despite Strava telling us we'd walked 5 km, the map showed a path "crookeder than a dog's hind leg". A discussion was had about the ridiculousness of the path winding back on itself repeatedly, and some old-fashioned bush wacking gave us an escape from the madness, allowing us to walk on the side of the road back to the RAV.

We DEF learned that well marked trails don't always equal enjoyment.

We were both showing signs of the day's exertion, so quickly drove down to our FAV free parking spot, and treated ourselves to the refreshing water's of Georgian Bay. Whether it was low water levels or high beach build up, the water's depth is pretty shallow this summer, making for very warm lake temperatures for quite a distance out from shore before the bottom eventually gives way, providing a welcomed respite from the heat. We even had the foresight to pack a couple of "travellers" for a beachside aperitif to round our a glorious afternoon.

Definitely learning about the perks of living near the beach!