Being a Canadian Team in a mainly US dominate competition

Here we are sitting at 3 games to 2 games lead during a baseball competition that means that the winner will be names the World Series Champion. There have been times when I have been sitting here and thinking why are we considered the Canadian Team versus why we are just not another one of the teams competing for the World Series. It is so hard to be sitting and thinking that we are the only non-American team and why are we always referred to as the “Canadian Team”.

For someone that has been born and raised in Canada it can be extremely frustrating when we heard that baseball was founded in the US and no other team should be allowed to win the world series (I was told this by someone that I know). If the “World Series” was only allowed to be won by an American Team, it should be names the “United Stated Series” because that is entirely different than the “World Series”. We also must remember how many players are not American that are participating in the World Series because we have players both in Canada, United States and a lot of the other international countries so we have to respect that.

I have even heard people say that because baseball originated in the United States (it’s an American game), but I must correct the person because baseball evolved from the older bat-and-ball games already being played in England in the 18^th century. Baseball wasn’t founded in the United States it was imported into the United States, and we have to accept that.

This year we are seeing that the first NLB game was played in Japan, and the final game is going to be played in Canada. Sure, it might be the Los Angles Dodgers that was the team involved both of these games, but we have to respect that the first and final games were played outside of the United States, so the World Series is really a World Series this year.

I am not writing this after game 6 or 7 because I want to be totally neutral because right now we don’t know who is going to win the World Series, but I want to ensure that we are getting credit for being part of the final series of the season and yes we are a Canadian Team, and the only Canadian Team. We are going see what happens in the next couple of days and I am going to be happy to say that the Toronto Blue Jays, win or lose, have really shown we are as good as any American team.

I must say that I am extremely proud to say that I am cheering for the Canadian Team (the Toronto Blue Jays) and I would really welcome the World Series Title and Trophy back here in Canada after 32 years.

 

 

 

Sharing thoughts/idea

How often have we decided to share an idea or a thought with a colleague only to find out that they have run with the idea and now what you thought was your idea suddenly appears to be their idea. This can happen far too often, and we all need to understand that just making simple comments to a colleague can change who owns the idea.

So often in a work environment people are bouncing around the various thoughts and ideas as they are trying to figure out if it is a good idea or not, but little do they know that the sharing of an idea could result in an idea being “stolen” as used as someone else’s idea. There are a lot of times when someone has an idea, and they aren’t certain if it is a good idea or not, but they will start to talk to over to with colleagues and a colleague may shoot it down saying they don’t think it will work. Well, the idea is such a good idea that the colleague decided to take that idea and decided to suggest it to management. All a sudden your idea has become an idea from a colleague and management likes it, who really gets the great for the idea, well it is gong to be the person that when to management with it not the person that originally came up with the idea.

So often there are times where an idea might not seem that great of idea, but it is just the seed that starts others to do some thinking and your small idea because a bigger idea and you don’t get any credit for it because your colleague has taken it as their idea and moved it forward. When we have even a basic idea, we all need to ensure that we keep the thoughts to yourself until we can at least find a way to let a bunch of colleagues know the idea not just one person.

Sharing a thought or idea might seem like such a simple thing to do but we need to ensure that we aren’t giving away too much detail because that idea might suddenly become an idea of someone else. Yes, it is nice to be able to share thoughts and ideas with others, but you have to be careful the amount to detail your share because your idea might become their idea.

A collaborate team is so much better as now one know where the original idea comes and everyone is given create for the work. No one can say they were the main contributor to an idea.

 

Eating out with food allergies - one issue I have

Something that really bothers me when eating out is when I am charged 100% of the upgrade your side option when it isn’t my choice.

I understand that there is a cost for upgrading a side option but when I have already told you that I have a severe food allergy to an ingredient that can be in that item why can’t the cost of the upgrade be reduced by a bit. What I am talking about is when I go into a restaurant and they serve calamari which is considered shellfish, and I am severely allergic to shellfish (both types).

Shellfish allergy - There are two groups of shellfish: crustaceans (such as shrimp, prawns, crab and lobster) and mollusks/bivalves (such as clams, mussels, oysters, scallops, octopus, squid, abalone, snail). Allergy to crustaceans is more common than allergy to mollusks, with shrimp being the most common shellfish allergen for both children and adults.

One side that is available most often is French fries and they are quite often cooked in the same fryer as both the calamari and shrimp. This can cause a cross-contamination issue so it is something that I must be extremely careful of. It has been interesting talking to some servers, and I ask if the calamari is fried in the same oil as the French fries or chicken fingers. Some servers are aware and can answer that yesterday and others will go back to the kitchen to confirm. 

So, my challenge when the French fries are cooked in the same oil as the calamari is always the cross-contamination risk, so therefore I cannot have French fries and must select an upgrade as my side. The restaurants that I like are the ones that have a couple of options for a standard side (soup, French fries, salad) and then you pay an addition cost for other sides. If someone says they are allergic to something and it can be in the basic side option, it would be nice to have the cost of the upgraded side reduced a bit to let the customer know that restaurant understands the challenge.

I posted my comment "but..."

How often have been seen a post and after the first couple of words there has been the word “but”. When you start to make a post and then you add the word, “but” you might be telling a lot of people that what you originally said isn’t fact however what you are now saying might be facts. 

What you are communicating is for everyone is to ignore what you originally said as you have information that might make the original comment, null and void. When you are posting comments make sure you have the facts because when you add the word, “but” you have just told everyone to ignore what you just said because what you are saying now is more of the facts.

If you are trying to prove something as a fact do not post a comment and add the word “but” because what you have told everyone is to ignore what you said before the word “but”. That is going to make it rather difficult for anyone to believe what you are saying as you have just put part of your comment into questionable facts.

I understand that I should believe you, but I think you are not stating the facts.

This simple statement basically says that you are not stating the factors and all the words before the “but” are not worth anything. Being able to understand that when someone says the word, “but” they are basically telling you to ignore anything that they have said before the word “but”.

It is amazing how may people will have an entire conversation with you and then part way through it will add the word “but” and then you have to question whatever they said before that as fast. I love you “but” I don’t trust you. So why have you said “I love you” when you are saying I can’t trust you.

Adding the word but to any sentence can make a big difference to what you are you saying. Make sure that you are saying are the facts and do not use the word “but” because you are putting off of your comment into question.

“The bus went down the street where I thought it might go but it didn’t go where I thought I was going to go.” So therefore, what are you trying to say? You are probably trying to stay “the bus that I was on didn’t go on the route I thought it was supposed to go on.”

So when you are posting comment in groups, please make sure that you have facts and don’t add the word “but” to your comment otherwise people aren’t going to understand or trust anything you have said.

Customer service does matter

Recently we were in a hotel for a mini vacation and the breakfast experience left a lot to be desired. The hotel offers a buffet style breakfast each day of your stay. Of course, breakfast hours are different between weekday and weekend so you have to be aware of that. 

We went down for breakfast about an hour after breakfast started and found it busy but we have seen this same breakfast area busier than today and had a good experience. This time was so different as our first encounter was there was no coffee available and that quite a while for it to be refilled. We then headed to where to where the food was an that was even worse. Of course, there was a couple of ruby teams staying at the hotel so they were all down trying to get some food. Well by the time we could get to possibly have some food it looked like a tornado had gone through as there wasn't much left of anything at all. We were able to grab an egg patty each and I got a few hash browns and my husband got a few baked beans but that was it. There were not pork patties at all so that was a very frustrated situation.

We had a very small breakfast and finally after about 15 minutes they started to refill the eggs, hash browns and pork patties. This was after we figured we would make do with the small amount that we had and grab something later on in the day to make up for the lack of breakfast. We were not the only ones upset with the lack of food available as an option for breakfast. The breads and bagels had been wiped out along with any available fruit so the choices were extremely limited.

We did go and speak with a manager only to be told that what can we expect when everyone comes down at once. Her comment was “They are doing their best because everything needs to be microwaved". The staff should be monitoring the food levels to ensure that things don't run out when it is busy. We hadn't been anyone even checking the levels of the various food items so if that was their best I wouldn't want to see a bad day.

Customer service is very important especially in both hospitality and retail as customers are where the business can either win or lose. I hope that the next couple of days were going to be a better experience otherwise I know that I will be doing a review about my experience.

Edit: we spoke to the manager again the next day after the breakfast experience was much better and she let us know that the General Manager and herself (Operations Manager) went into the kitchen the previous day after we spoke to them and got things moving a bit better. She also recommended that they get an additional microwave. So, this shows that if there is an issue, it's important to make someone aware of it because if you don't say anything they won't know there is an issue.

Bucket List Items

I think all of us have things on our bucket list that we would like to either do or events we would like to see. One of my bucket list items was to see an Il Divo concert because that is a group that I have loved listening to, and it is something that I have been able to relax to and it makes me happy.

Well, we found out that Il Divo was going to be preforming at the Falls View Casino Resort in October 2025 and of course I needed to find out the pick of tickets and the cost of hotels. It didn’t take us very long to figure out that we could find a hotel in Niagara Falls as well as get some tickets for the concert so here is another item that I will be quickly checking off my bucket list.

It is so nice when you can see someone perform at the Falls View Casino Resort because it only seats 5,000 people so that isn’t a lot of people, and you do feel that you are close to the performers which is also a nice experience. One advantage of going to Niagara Falls to watch a performance is you also might be able to get a couple of days away from home to just spend some time together and relax and not think of all other things that you should be working on.

I had another group on my list and that was the Tenors and I have been able to check that off my list twice because once we did it in Toronto at Roy Thompson Hall and then the second time was in 2024 when we saw them at Falls View Casino Resort so that was wonderful.

Making sure that you can continue to check some of the smaller things off your bucket list is important. You might not be checking off the major things but at least getting some of the smaller things off the list is important and I have been able to continue to do just that. 

A dream

So many of us have a dream that we would like to happen and for me that dream is to have a craft space and workspace that works totally for me. I keep calling this space my studio because it is a spot that I would like to be able to work and a space where I can do my crafting.

When someone asked me what the ideal spot is I cannot put it into words right now because I don’t know the size of the space, but I do know that I would love a place that my computer is separate from my sewing machine and serge. I even would like to have those two machines sitting where I can sew on both without having to move either of them. Being able to have spots where the difference devices are where I can use each of them without having to move another one would be wonderful.

Sometimes I look around and figure that I might be able to do that all where we live currently but then I realize that there are so many limitations that wouldn’t work here. I am always looking at an ideal space and it doesn’t have to be a large space but being able to work and craft within the same room would be amazing. Sure, I know that currently I work on at desk and I also craft at my desk, but it would be nice to have those two spots different so that I can do things that make me happy. What I would like to be able to do is not have to constantly move things around so that I can do the other thing that needs my attention.

I think we all have an ideal space that we would love to have where we can do all the different things that we enjoy. Even with the spots that I have been trying to figure out I haven’t figure out a spot where I can do some drawing and that is another spot that I would like to have. Being able to have the various spots to do you work/crafting is important and maybe you don’t have it right now but knowing that you can always dream about that space is important.

For me, that space doesn’t have to be large, but it also needs to be a spot where I can escape and do the things that I love and know it is the spot that makes me happy.

Car noises and lack of respect

When you live in a high destiny living area it can be a challenge to deal with all the various car sounds that we deal with. Some of the noises we deal with are just cars trying to speed around the corner that is near our unit so it can get noisy.

Something else that we have been dealing with is cars that seem to be doing almost back firing which means it can be extremely loud. Some of the sounds can also been interpreted as gun shots which we have always heard around here. I know that these cars are just mistuned cars, but it can get a little much when you hear that constantly from around 3 pm until at least 10 pm. I have checked into this issue and of course bylaw enforcement says you need to have the license plate for each of the cars. When you live 10 floors up and you cannot identify which of three cars is making the noise it is rather difficult to get a license plate.

Something else that is happening is that cars don’t seem to understand that when there is a school bus with flashing lights you are not allowed to pass it in either direction. So often we hear horns either because the bus isn’t moving quickly enough or someone is trying to pass the school bus and disobeying the laws.

The other challenge that we have been watching is cars trying to pass another car within the curve that is right by apartment building. There isn’t an extra line for cars to pass and especially even it is in a curse in the road. We have been amazing that there haven’t been any head-on accidents with cars trying to pass another car in the curve. The other thing is this curve is also the entrance to another apartment building so cars cut the curve tight so that they can get into the apartment driveway.

Living in a high destiny area can be a challenge and when you are on the road you must be so careful because of the other cars that are speeding around. It can be such a challenge to even drive out of the apartment building driveway because you never know when a car is going to appear out of no where and do something stupid.

Understanding and respecting the rules of the road can be a challenge and making sure that your car is also tuned correctly is important. If your car is making lots of noises when you accelerate maybe it’s time you get it checked because you might enjoy the sound it is making but think of everyone else that has to deal with that sound and what effect that sound has on them.

Motorcycles thinking they can drive where they want

 Ontario Highway Traffic Act

Lane splitting falls within a legal gray area. Although Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act, R.S.O. 1990 c. H.8 (“HTA”) does not make specific or express reference to “lane splitting,” the common elements of lane splitting may fall outside of the type of driver behaviour permitted under Ontario’s Rules of the Road. For example, the HTA requires vehicles to stay within a single lane and sets out express circumstances under which a motorist can legally exit that lane to pass another vehicle traveling in the same direction. 

In particular, Ontario’s laws emphasize that:

• Motorcycles must follow the same traffic rules as cars.
• Changing lanes without signaling, and moving between vehicles in a non-designated lane, violates road safety regulations.

Motorcyclists caught lane splitting in Ontario may face fines, penalties, or demerit points on their license. Police may also interpret lane splitting as dangerous driving, which can result in more severe penalties under Ontario’s aggressive driving laws.

There are so many times when we are driving when the traffic is heavy and we watch a motorcycle think that they can drive between two lanes of traffic just because they are a smaller vehicle. Well, it is very simple to say that what they are doing is against the law (if caught or involved in an accident) and they are both making it a risk for themselves but for other vehicles as well because what if I wanted to change lanes and a motorcycle suddenly appeared out of no where.

We were in a traffic jam the other day and we watched numerous motorcycles drive between two lanes of traffic as if they had their own separate lane where they are allowed to drive. A motorcyclist is not just putting themselves at risk, but they are putting other drivers at risk because someone that is driving a car, or truck doesn’t expect a motorcycle to suddenly be in an area that they have considered clear in a second or two before. When vehicles are driving at a reduced speed no one is expecting some vehicle to appear out of nowhere at a speed that exceeds the speed of what all the vehicles around are going.

It was so amazing to watch the motorcycles just got between the two lanes of traffic as if all the traffic was going at the speed limit. What the motorcyclists don’t think about is they are approaching some vehicles especially those that are trying to change lines withing a blind spot because there aren’t in view and then all a sudden, they are in view. The view of a lot of other drivers is those motorcycles are driving aggressively and that isn’t something that should be allowed on the roads.

I have done some research that ways that yes, lane splitting helps reduce congestion, but it is only reducing congestion for individuals that are on motorcycles not for other vehicles. So, you might be reducing the commute time for a single person or maybe two while vehicles that can carry up four or more passengers are sitting in traffic so how it that reducing congestion.

A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a motor vehicle steered by a handlebar from a saddle-style seat

If a motorcycle was to do lane splitting the only way I can see it working is if they are driving on the shoulder of the left more lane which isn’t normally used for any vehicle even in an emergency. So maybe, lane splitting is something that could be used in the future, but every driver needs to be aware of it happening and there still needs to be rules and regulations (laws) of where and when it can be used. Driving on the left shoulder might be allowed but driving between lanes of traffic at full speed shouldn’t be allowed.