End of the year

It is now the end of yet another year.  What have you accomplished and what didn't you quite get done?

For me, I can say that I have grown through my writing as I continue to write as much as I can.  Of course, there are days when the schedule just doesn't work for me to sit and write, but at least I am seeing that I can write a lot more without sitting and dealing with writer's block.

I know that I didn't reach all of my goals for 2013, but I will review them either tomorrow or early in the new year.  I can say that I am happy with what I have accomplished and look forward to writing out my 2014 goals as well.

Time to sit back and enjoy a bit of time with people you love.  Tomorrow is another day and a start to another year.

No Solicitation

Solicitation – In criminal law, it most commonly refers to either the act of offering goods or services, or the act of attempting to purchase such goods or services. (wikipedia)

Yesterday we ran into a situation where people don't respect the No Solicitation sign that is up in our building.

A knock came at our door, and it was a lady asking for money for disabled children in the 3^rd world countries. Of course, she just had a laminated piece of paper and didn't show any confidence when she was asking for money. I do not give any money at the door because there are so many scams where people have causes, and it's either them or someone else that gets all the money, and nothing goes to where they are saying it is to go.

Shortly after that knock we got another knock at the door (less than 5 minutes apart) and this time we were handed a gift which was a book and CD from a religious group. Again, another interruption to our day which was frustrating. Before we could get back to the kitchen another knock, and it was the same group, and it was because the girl thought she had given us her clipboard. I did yell “What now” before we opened the door because it was frustrating. Of course, the girl had found her clipboard before we answered the door.

People do not understand what they are doing and why it is wrong. We have had situations where people tell us they live in the building, so it's OK for them to knock at our doors and ask us to buy things or donate time or money.  We continue to try and explain what is wrong and people quite often apologize to us, but we then hear them knocking on the next door as soon as we close our door.

NO SOLICITATION means do not knock on someone's door asking for their time, soul, or money. Also, do not knock on my door to offer me something for FREE. Free is never free when you are standing at my door.

Ice Storm 2013

This past Saturday evening, the Toronto area was hit by a major ice storm. The storm has resulted in hundreds of thousands of homes without power. The trees around the city couldn't handle the weight of the ice, and the old trees breaking brought down the power lines.

It has been a challenge for everyone in the city over the last couple of days to manage due to no power or knowing someone that has lost their power. Today we were out for a bit to try and assist in getting the family some supplies only to discover that all the salt, deicer, batteries, and flashlights were sold out. Of course, everyone figures that they live in a city, so batteries and flashlights are something that we normally have to think about. I am glad that we had some batteries, so they can be used in the flashlights that the family has.

As I am writing this there is still almost 200,000 customers in the city of Toronto without power, and it is almost 42 hours since the power first went out for some people.

To everyone that is working to restore power to the city, THANK YOU, and know that you are appreciated. For those that are without power, I hope you will get your power back soon. To everyone, stay safe.