Second Chances

Sometimes I manage to land in a cesspool and come up smelling like a rose. In spite of my recent stupidity, I somehow wound up with exactly what I wanted. I’m back in Forest Lawn again (yeah!), back on night shift (Hooraw!) and down to just four nights a week (the same four nights Maureen works). It just doesn’t get much better. Best part is I didn’t even have to eat all that much crow. Believe me when I say second chances like this do not come along every day. To this end I find myself repeating the test pilots’ prayer, “Please God, don’t let me f**k up!”

The same is true for stray cats. Over the years I have offered more than a few strays a second chance. The day we had to say goodbye to poor Odo we returned to a very empty home. When we moved in here seven years ago we had four wonderful cats; now only Max remained. So we loaded our empty cat carrier into the car and set off to the Calgary Humane Society (4455 110 Avenue SE) to see what we could find. In the end we wound up adopting two strays, one kitten (Minnie) and one six year old gentle giant named Bear. Bear is a big suck, just the kind of cat I adore. He sits on my chair (doesn’t really fit in my lap) and purrs like an approaching freight train. He loves to have his enormous belly scratched and will actually let me brush it, something no other cat liked at all—good thing since he’s a long-hair.

The riding continues--I went out Monday morning after work and while it was pleasant enough, one of the people sharing the bike path was anything but. I was busy climbing back on my bike after walking it across a roadway when this moron came blasting past me swearing like a stevadore just because I was stopped on the side and he had to go around me. Why he felt the need to ride flat out, I have no idea. Why it was such a big deal to him to have to slow down and go around me, I'll never know. What I do know is that his rudeness ruined what could have been an otherwise enjoyable ride. Thanks a lot bozo. Oh, and one other thing: the bike paths are not a racetrack and you are definitely no Lance Armstrong.

Last Cat Standing

Odo 1993 - 2010 RIP
Originally uploaded by Unknown species

Once opon a time there were two wonderful little kittens: Spot and T'pring. Although not littermates (Spot was six months or so older than T'pring) they soon fell in love and were allowed to mate. As soon as Spot was pregnant, T'pring was neutered for this was a once only mating. Time passed slowly and Spot grew and grew. Then one day we heard them: five little bundles of fur mewling. They were dubbd "The Little Onlies" after an old Star Trek episode. Odo was the last of these five to pass.

A Little Creepy

Spidey 6875
Originally uploaded by Unknown species

Sometimes life can get just a little creepy. There are times when I wonder about such things as free will and fate. Are some things meant to happen and some not? Are there forces over which we have no control directing our lives? Or is it all our own subconscious mind, bending our lives to its own agenda. I do not know nor I suspect, does anyone else. When things 'just happen' is there a reason? And when things fail to happen, is there also a reason? The more religious among us would say yes, this is simply the will of the Great Maker at work. No matter what name or form they choose to give this Great Maker, his plans are always too convoluted and mysterious for us mere mortals to comprehend. Maybe, and then again maybe not.

For most of the creatures on this planet, life is fairly straightforward as is their so-called fate. They are born (or hatched), they mate, produce the next generation and die. Everything else is simply maintenance. For humans this is never so simple. There are relationships, careers, family and our place in whatever society we choose to live in. All of these things either lead or push us in one direction or another. Where we wind up would seem to be random but is it really? All the rest of nature appears to be following a plan, why not us?

My own life has been a series of things that seemingly 'just happened' or just did not happen. If there is any master plan, the planners never let me see the blueprint. Like most people, I have no idea what tomorrow will bring. I left DOMO when my knees gave out--not something I saw coming but there it was. I could no longer do the job so it was time to leave. Someone far wiser than me once said, "You can never go back." She was referring to a dead relationship at the time and she was right. Neither of us could ever go back to the way things had been. The same appears to be true when it comes to other life choices.

One can only move forward, never back. After leaving DOMO I tried going back to the familiar--the taxi. For most of my life it has been a haven to me, somewhere I could hide and do my thing. Not any more. After just four shifts back dispatching I was pulled off the board and sent home. I was angry and bitter at first but in the end I think they did me a favour--now I have no choice and must move forward. Whatever I do from here on in won't involve pumping gas or taxis. That only leaves a couple of million other options.

Fate, random chance or my own subconscious? Cannot say. Saying would be knowing. Do not know; therefore cannot say. Zathras had it right. Perhaps my life is meant to go a different direction now. Maybe someone will finally buy one (or more) of my pictures (shameless plug--the link is to your right). Either way, I know I will survivve this just as I have survived all the other twists and turns fate or random chance have tossed me.

Buzzed Again

SUM 3 6180a
Originally uploaded by Unknown species

Yeah, I know it's corny but those who know me will smile at least. Besides, it is a great shot and one I'm especially proud of given the way I feel about stinging insects. They scare the living bleep out of me but this guy was right there and I was already shooting the roses in macro so voila.

I really like how the macro setting allows me to get up close and personal. As with the other shots, not everything turns out. Not being able to use the viewfinder does make it hard to aim since the LCD screen is virtually invisible in the bright sunlight. So mostly I point and shoot and hope for the best--sometimes I get lucky.

Then there were the birds; red-winged blackbirds to be precise (Agelaius phoeniceus for those of you who like Latin) This pair has gotten rather used to me since I come out once or twice a week to photograph them. After I've been sitting there by the marsh for a while they relax and come quite close.

Oh, and just a shameless plug but if you do see any pics you like either here or over on my Flickr page, please remember they are my property and don't steal them. Got to my Redbubble page (follow the banner link on the right) and buy them. If they're not already posted there, drop me a line and I'll put them up.