When I'm 64
At the club
The words from an old Beatles song are close but off by one year as it’s true. I’ve turned the dial to hit the big 65. Well….it’s official, I’m old. The picture above was taken recently and I didn’t post it on social media -well……because, I think I look old. I imagine we all have some sort of image in our mind that we are still 25 years old, or we don’t really look as old as we do and no doubt, there are times when I still feel I can run as fast as I used to. But I took a look at this picture and realized - I’m getting (correction - I am old - and that sucks) This recent birthday was a milestone as they would call it. As I understand it, I am now eligible for a number of senior citizen discounts etc. I recently had to decide whether to take one of the government pensions now or postpone it till a later date. I decided to postpone because the information they provided suggests to not take it unless you need it as it will continue to grow if you delay. Not sure If I need it? Who know’s?
So…what else has been going on? It’s been a long time since I’ve sat down to write. I’ve been very busy at work averaging nine plus hours every day. I am working harder now than I did while at my previous job which I guess was not the original plan. It’s a different type of “hard.” Much more physical with less mental stress. However since tennis has re-opened in Ontario it’s been very, very busy and we’ve been run off our feet literally every day. As I like to say, it’s been a gong show. Every day we would see lineups outside with all kinds of new people looking to take up tennis. Lots of positive about that but the issues on the supply side will be soon rearing their ugly head with challenges in getting product in a timely fashion. There is a shortage of tennis courts available because a lot of people ask us where they can play and I learned quite quickly that the local neighbourhood clubs/courts are full with waiting lists. I guess that’s a good thing but it does highlight the issues. I am somewhat surprised that these public clubs still get to operate as they do on public land. If every club would let in another 100 people we would managed to take care of a lot more new players - not going to happen though.
Sarah at Western
Of course another life changing activity is we dropped off Ms. Sarah the beginning of September at University. Boy, did the time go fast. She decided to accept a scholarship to the University of Western Ontario as she had received a conditional acceptance to the Ivey Business School. The next steps are up to her as she has to maintain a high academic average along with proving she is a good fit to fully get in and if she does then she will finish her final two years graduating with HBA. Part of me had hoped she would go to McGill in Montreal or Queens in Kingston, but it’s her choice and she wanted to go to Western. Don’t get me wrong - this is a great school so I think her choice should work out fine and of course we are very proud of her.
Day 600 of the lockdowns is ongoing and the life changing Covid 19 challenges is wearing all of us down. I don’t know about you but I’ve had it with these people (whoever you are) that continue to refuse to get the vaccine because it’s their right. Well, the rest of us have rights which includes living a life without fear of getting sick, or worse dying. Seriously…….I mean, where have you all been the last 18 months? People have lost their jobs, have not been able to see friends and family and the number of deaths has been staggering. But there is a small group out there who continue to protest that it’s their right…..well yes it’s your right to be excluded from basic activities that we enjoy. Don’t want to go to work…fine, or you don’t want to eat inside, go to a sporting event, whatever it’s your right. But stop protesting at hospitals where medical professionals are working long hours to keep you safe. Smarten up people. In my humble opinion our local government was very slow to the party with the adoption of vaccine passport. No - then yes, while other provinces were already months ahead of us. Show some leadership….that is what we expect and stop pandering to your base. (Got that off my chest)
At the tennis club we have to show proof of being double vaxxed. No issue for me and I’m hoping all of this will push more people to go and get it done. I don’t get it. We had to get all of kinds of shots as children so why are people getting all stressed?
I am still working….yep, hard to believe. What started off as a few days here and there has been a full time gig. And what a crazy time it has been. i have so much respect to anyone who works retail during these times. The place I work has been crazy, crazy busy as tennis as been one of the beneficiaries of the pandemic. Every day we see new people who want to buy a tennis racket - they tell you a story, have not played for a time but played in their youth…don’t want to spend a lot of money…yada, yada, yada. Same story generally. It’s great to see. But with the capacity restrictions we had to live within at the beginning of the summer it’s been a gong show. Two hour lineups to get in the store became the norm. And although you would think we are used to lining up by now there is always a few who still don’t get it. I think what I dislike the most is wearing a mask all day. I’m not against the concept of a mask but by the end of the day I go home with a slight rash on my face and of course, I can’t seem to hear what people are saying to me. The hours are generally long and I can safely say I’m working harder now than when I did at Wilson. It’s a different hard of course as I don’t have the same stress as before. I guess I have to figure out how much longer I can last :)
I not sure why but I find it interesting to read articles about the change in the workplace. the pandemic has changed the way people work certainly for the short term but quite possibly forever. The need to get up and fight traffic and drive to an office has been replaced by wearing your sweats and turning on your computer video conference softwear. As I sit and write this my wife is behind me working at the desk as she works 2 days a week from home. With the advent of Zoom and other forms of video chat systems it is apparent that the workplace of old is not the workplace of today. Like everything it has it’s pro’s and cons. I would expect or hope that the quality of life is better. You no longer have to commute to work and that extra time in the morning and or at the end of day becomes yours. You can schedule your meetings at different times of the day so maybe you can fit in a mid-day workout or a walk? However, what you might be missing the is the old fashioned watercooler meetings that you would have every day. Sometimes we simply need interaction with others - to engage, and compare notes. I do feel sorry for all the businesses who were setup to cater to people working in an office environment. The hard working couple who put their live savings into a small eatery downtown who would have been busy at the lunchtimes is possibly facing potential ruin. Restaurants who were forced to shutter for so long had to continue to pay rent, taxes etc and if they had a patio maybe they could pivot to ensure it was busy in the summer but many simply could not. And the challenge to find staff became a new issue. The famous CDN chef Mark McEwan who heads up a number of well known restaurants and stores files for protection recently. Ultimately someone will bear the brunt as suppliers will likely not see all of their money.
Well….as I’ve said before, sorry for taking so long to write. I’ve certainly had a few idea’s in my peanut brain to ponder and express but some days it’s simply not there. Anyways, continue to enjoy my nonsense and see you soon. I will leave you with this picture. It’s from Blondies a recently discovered find nearby.
