My 10 Rs

Well! FINALLY! Blogger forgot I existed for a week and wouldn't let me sign in to post! I hate it when that happens, which is about once every other month, ever since Google took over! Why is it, when some company buys out another who has a good, working product, that the once good product just falls apart under the new ownership???

Ok, enough ranting... my good friend Canadian Flake tagged me with the letter "R" to write my 10 favourites about, so, in no particular order, here goes... (Warning! Long post ahead!)

1) Relaxation - I love to relax, either alone, or with my family and close friends. My life is very stressful, (at least I think it is) so being able to kick back, laugh, or otherwise enjoy myself is very important to me.

2) Reading - Reading is one of my favourite ways to relax. I can lose myself in a good book, and completely forget that the world exists around me. I love to read fantasy novels and always find myself IN the world I'm reading about and am always disappointed to have to return to the "real" world I actually live in!

3) Rebel - my Sheltie. Well, OUR Sheltie, my family is attached to him as much as I am! We adopted Rebel this past February, and he has become part of our family! He is so affectionate, cute and SOFT! He is 7 years old, but sometimes acts like he is still a puppy. He loves to run and play, but when I'm in relaxation mode, he finds a spot close by and curls up on the floor, content in the knowledge that I am close by. If I move to a different room, he'll follow me, tail wagging gently, looking at me expectantly. I usually have to stop, bend down and give him a good scratch behind the ears, or along his back, to which he pants, wriggles and "grunts" with pleasure. Then he'll lie down, give a big sigh, and go back to whatever doggy dream he was having before I moved. He is one special little dog!

4) Railroads - Ever since I was a kid, I have had this fascination with trains. I used to be a Model Railroader, which means I built model trains, but I haven't done anything with that for a few years now. Too many other things to do, but I have a few of my models on my desk above my monitor, and look at them daily, dreaming about the model train layout I want to build in my basement someday. I still do love to watch trains roll by, and if I am approaching a railroad crossing while driving, I always slow down to check to see if a train is coming. If I see one, I try to be the first to stop at the crossing so I can watch it thunder by right in front of me. Something about the throb of the diesels, the trembling of the ground and the sheer size of the train captivates me.

5) (Half way there) Renaissance Music - I actually enjoy music from all eras, from the Dark Ages to modern electronic trance, but for some reason I am particularly drawn to the music of the Renaissance period of history. Especially church music of that time frame. Composers like Palestrina, Thomas Tallis, William Byrd and others wrote such gorgeous music for the Roman Catholic Church choirs. I am not a Catholic myself, but their music touches something deep within me. Hearing music written in 8, 16, even 48 parts (meaning up to 48 different musical lines, all being sung simultaneously in layers - very hard to describe, actually) gives me goosebumps, and usually brings tears to my eyes. I had the wonderful experience of singing a 6-part Renaissance piece while in high school, and, even though we were, by musical standards, a mediocre choir at best, hearing 40 some teenagers, singing together in harmony was a very moving experience! I really wish that someone hadn't kicked the plug of my tape recorder out of the wall that night, and that I could plug in the tape and listen to it again.

6) Recognition - Now this may sound vain at first, but hear me out. I like to be recognized for the work I do. I firmly believe that all people need to be recognized for what good things they do. This is something that I find sorely lacking in today's society, especially in the workforce. For some reason, we, as a society, tend to focus on the negative, and neglect the positive. Case in point: I used to work for a company that wanted to improve production quality. I was the lead tester for this company so I was directly involved in this process. The new production manager brought out a huge whiteboard one day, which had a graph on it, labeled "Production Errors in Parts per Million". Every Friday, I would receive an Error Report, which I then had to plot on the graph, showing how many errors were made by the 5 ladies who assembled the circuit boards I tested. Within 2 months, all 5 ladies were depressed, discouraged and feeling very unappreciated as only errors were reported. If one or two of the ladies had an error free week, it wasn't noted, just the fact that the "team" had so many errors that week. I, anonymously, of course, put in a suggestion that a lack of errors should be reported as well, but that was shot down, quite rudely, I may add, by my manager as "coddling employees" and ineffectual. I was shocked by that attitude, and quietly, on my own time, designed a small certificate which I gave to each of the assemblers if they had an error free week. Even I was amazed at how fast morale turned around and at how production quality AND quantity increased, but it was short lived. After a few weeks, my manager noticed the certificates and tore them all up and put me on report for issuing them. Morale took a swift dive after that, and eventually, I was fired for being a "trouble maker". A few years later, I heard that the manager had been fired for "systematically destroying the entire production department" but unfortunately, the damage was done. I don't relate this story to brag about what I did, but to illustrate how positive recognition can have a powerful effect on those who receive it, and even on those who see it given to others. Why North American manufacturers can't see this is completely beyond me!

7) Realism - I admit it! I am a REALIST! I have no patience with these "Eternal Optimists", or "Consistent Pessimists"! LOL! My dad has a saying which, the first time I heard him say it, I had to stop and think about it, then I started laughing. I use it myself sometimes, if I can remember it at the time. When someone asked my dad how he was doing, he would always reply, "Not so good, I couldn't be better, and not so bad I couldn't be worse!" Some think it's a long-winded way to convey the typical Canadian "Not bad!" response to the question, "How are you?" People tell me I should say "Great!" every time someone asks me how I am. My response is, "That would be a lie, most of the time!" LOL! I believe in speaking the truth, and if that means I have to be negative sometimes, so be it! People who are constantly optimistic end up being disappointed all the time. Life isn't a bed of roses, and if you think it is, well, roses have those pointy things on them, called thorns! LOL! But at the same time, life isn't a bowl of cherry pits either. People say, "Life is what you make it" and to some degree that is true. But, I have found during my almost 40 years of living, that sometimes people, circumstances, situations, events, etc... can wreak total havoc on one's life which is completely out of the control of the person being affected. Having others come up to me when this happens and say "Every cloud has a silver lining!" makes me want to scream! At the same time, hearing people predict doom and gloom all the time also gets on my nerves. Life happens! Get used to it! Realism also means that when making predictions, forecasts, etc., you don't paint everything rosy, or bleak, depending on which side of the fence you are on. I have had many people, especially in business, constantly forecast wonderful results, then wonder what happened when those unrealistic results don't materialize. They don't seem to realize that reality is just that, REAL! I have no control over what other people think, say or do with the information I present. I can only present it as best I can, then leave them to make their own decisions. For some strange reason, that doesn't compute with most sales managers! LOL! Hint, that's why I'm not in sales, and why my few businesses haven't done so well... I need a good BSer who can sell my products or services and leave me to provide them! ;-) 'Nough said!

8) Role Playing Games - Yes, I am a gamer... of sorts! Ever since middle school, when I discovered the WWII version of Dungeons and Dragons, I've been fascinated by role-playing games. I particularly like the games which I can play on my own, and don't require to have a bunch of people around to play. I've enjoyed playing RPGs on my PC, but have found that, for ease of playing, the Playstation 2 platform is my favourite. One of my favourite PS2 games is called Champions of Norrath, and it's sequel, Return to Arms. I have played the game solo several times as different characters, and also with my daughters. I can literally spend days playing that game. I also really enjoyed playing games on the PS1 before the PS2 made it obsolete. One was called The Legend of Dragoon, which was a very complex single player game, so complex, I couldn't finish it! Final Fantasy 7 was another game I spent entire days playing, and never completed. I'm not a hardcore gamer, in that I absolutely HAVE to finish every game I try. I play for enjoyment, to relax. If I find myself getting too stressed, I quit the game and do something else... like read! On the PC I have just discovered an online game called RuneScape, which, while designed for teens, is still a lot of fun for us adults to play... IF you can ignore all the snot-nosed kids running around insulting everyone they meet... LOL! If you like RPGs and want to meet up with me in RuneScape (it's free!), my character's name is Kalerian, and I am usually found around Lumbridge, killing goblins for sport! LOL! Oh yeah, be sure to identify yourself if you meet me, I don't usually participate in chats while playing that game, due to all the kiddies roaming around!

9) (Almost done...whew!) Rainstorms - LOL! I had to find a way to get thunderstorms in here... since we're experiencing one right now as I type this! I love a good thunderstorm, so long as there are no twisty winds involved! I have also begun to actually enjoy the rain part, as it has been so dry here this summer, I have been having trouble keeping my flower gardens alive! Each time it rains you'll usually hear a hearty "Whoo Hooo!" from me! I'm happy because it means my plants will get watered without me having to pay for it! LOL! Rainwater is also much better for plants as the water that comes out of my faucet has all those nasty chemicals added to it to prevent bacterial growth. Problem is, they also hinder plant growth too! (Side note: my dog, Rebel, hates t-storms and is, at this moment, running up and down the hallway growling and barking at each flash of lightning and rumble of thunder! Too funny!)

10) Recreational Sex... DID I JUST SAY THAT OUT LOUD? LOL! Just kidding, although I'm sure I would enjoy it if given the chance! LOL!

Hmmm... I am stumped on number 10!
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Oh! I know! Road Trips! I love to travel and driving is one of my favourite ways to get somewhere! It actually ranks ahead of flying and taking the train, although, if I need to get to my destination in a hurry (or if said destination is overseas) then flying is the way to go. I love being able to see the countryside I am travelling through and often plan to stop and see some extra special scenery while enroute. Something you can't do while flying or riding the train! When we go on a driving holiday, I usually drive the whole way, which is fine with my wife, since she's not the most confident of drivers, and the long hours behind the wheel don't bother me at all. So far, I have driven through 4 Canadian Provinces (Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia.) and 17 states (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida). Someday, I'd like to drive all 50 States and 10 Provinces in Canada. I'm hoping that our next road trip will be to the Maritime Provinces in Canada as I love the ocean and the quality of life in the coastal areas.

WOW! That took me several hours to pull together! What a challenge! I sure hope it didn't take you as long to read it as it took me to write it! Thanks for the challenge, Flake! Can't wait for the next one!

Have a great week everyone!