Category Archive: the others

No, that’s all me

Categories:

Mon. January 23, 2012

On Saturday I was downtown celebrating a friend’s birthday. She had decided that as part of her celebration we would all go for swing dance lessons. Hoo boy. Well, I gamely joined in. The room was large, and attendance was heavy. We we split into leaders and followers. Eventually we were paired up. For each move we shown were asked to practice that move with our partner. They moved through each move way too fast. I was stumbling through some of them, and as the person leading that often prove disastrous. After every move the followers shifted down so we all got new partners frequently. With things moving quickly, even if I hadn’t picked up a move we had to move on. Unfortunately, the following movements built on the previous ones. The ballroom was also rather hot meaning that I was sweating like mad. Between movements I had to wipe myself down to get back to a presentable state. Wow. In terms of first impressions that’s pretty bad. Think: bad sweaty dancer. Blargh.

When all movements were shown we were expected to pull it all together. I was able to eke something out, but it wasn’t great. It seemed like most partners I got had at least some experience, making me feel like more and more of an idiot. Well, after the lesson, finally the lights came down and the jazz band started. The band came from New York City. They were wonderful. We were told that there were a few people among the dancers who were more experienced and would be able for partnering for practice. I eventually had a chance to practice with the music. I clumsily pulled the routine out. It wasn’t graceful at all. The partner innocently asked me “Were you partner with people that didn’t know what they were doing?” I replied “No, that’s all me.” Thanks. I’m willing to take the blame for me own lack of skill. And from that…I stopped dancing for the night.

Slammed.

Tags:

Leave comment

Just a bystander

Categories:

Sun. November 13, 2011

Last night I sort of fell asleep in a bit of a stupor. I mean, I don’t remember falling asleep. In fact, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. is a bit of a blur. Anyway, one big thing I do recall is waking up at about 1 a.m. or so. I woke up to hear screaming of some sort coming from what must have been the hallway. The screams were female and sort of short yelps. From what I could hear there was a little bit of commotion to get her to shut up. I was too sleep-drunk to get up and peer through the peephole in my door, but eventually the noise stopped. So there I was lying in bed wondering what the hell just happened. Did I dream that? Was that for real? If it was, did I blithely ignore someone in need? Somewhere down the hallway there’s a unit that seems to have some college-age people. Maybe they were just drunk and being stupid. It’s all hard to tell. Would I have acted any differently if it was obvious that something bad was going on? And what of my neighbours? Surely they heard some of what was going on as well. Would we all be guilty of bystander effect?

Way too many questions. I’m not going to let it all bother me, I guess. I’ll chalk it up to drunken stupidity on their part. And hell, how dare they disturb everyone on the floor.

*shakes fist*

This post has no tag

2 comments

Street smarts

Categories:

Fri. October 7, 2011

There once was a time when I rarely ventured downtown. After working there for 4.5 years I got used to the place. There can be a lot of weirdness down there so there’s a need to be aware of one’s surroundings. I don’t think it’s fear so much as street smarts. Not everyone out there is friendly. Earlier, I was walking to a subway station after having taken in a show. As I was going three young people were walking in my direction, kind f shoulder to shoulder. From a quick analysis they seemed to be dressed shabbily. Based on their walk I could have assumed they were drugged or slightly drunk. I wasn’t going to go far out of my way to avoid them so I just kept pace. As I got closer, the guy in the middle seemed to start mirroring my position. Soon, it looked like he was going to intentionally try to bump me. I deftly avoided, but I felt the side of his shoe collide with mine. No harm, no foul. I just continued on, but I had a heightened awareness of my surroundings. I made sure that those guys didn’t turn and follow. And I mean why would they? Would they really cause a fuss in the middle of Queen St. W? If so I know how to draw attention.

So this situation has got me thinking. What if they actually bumped me? Would they have accused me of bumping into them and then starting a fight? Would they have pulled a knife to get my stuff? Whatever. No point overanalyzing because none of that happened. All the same, it’s bullshit. I guess it’s all a part of being in the city, but…WTF?

Tags: ,

Leave comment

Ride to church

Categories:

Sun. July 3, 2011

At around noon I was about to leave my place to head for church. A peeked out of my door’s peephole and spotted someone waiting by the elevator. I decided to wait until she got on before I headed out. When I closed my door, I was surprised to see that the elevator door was malfunctioning. I had experienced something similar earlier in the day when I left for run club. The elevator door had closed, then reopened on its own. It was silly, but I figured it was just a one time thing. Apparently not. The door was opening and closing for the woman several times. I got on hit the close button. The door finally closed. Turns out the woman was an older Filipino mother. She had grey hair and was pretty innocuous. I guess she recognized that I was Filipino as well so she asked if I was headed for church. I responded in Filipino in polite language. I guess she sensed that I was a good guy with the polite language, and with the missal in hand. She asked if I was headed for the nearby church. I said that I was. Out of the blue she asked if she could get a ride over. She was planning on walking, but she decided to ask. It all happened so fast, and I figured that she was harmless, so I agreed. As we walked over to my car she asked about my family and what provinces they were from. Apparently she had two kids that were about my age. Just like me, they could understand Filipino but weren’t adept at speaking it. Anyway, by the time I parked at the church I felt that I trusted her. She was too much like my own mother. In the end, I made a new acquaintance. She was very thankful for me helping her.

I know. I have a trusting nature. It’s the type of thing that can get taken advantage of. All the same, I feel like I can trust my judgement. I would like to think that I can tell if someone’s up to no good, you know? Besides, she was making as much of a judgement call on me as I was about her. Maybe it indicates that I have a general sense of faith that not everyone is out to destroy me. This is a good thing.

Tags: ,

Leave comment

Matters of security

Categories:

Wed. March 30, 2011

I had full intentions of arriving at work on time today. I wanted to get there at a good hour so that I could leave slightly earlier, which would allow me to make it to the running club. I haven’t been there in a few weeks and I’ve been feeling like I’m in need of a good run. Anyway, about 5 minutes into the drive up I noticed that I didn’t have my badge with me. Graaagh! I needed that badge to get through security at work. So I turned the car around and headed back home. When I got back to my building there was a woman in security gear looking really frustrated. She asked me if I knew where the building manager was. I knew that she was summoned in order to accompany some Enbridge people who had to go suite to suite. I took some time to walk her to some of the usual spots where we’d be likely to see the manager or the custodian. Unfortunately, we saw neither. At that point I left her in her frustrated state.

When I went up to my suite, I overheard some people greeting some other homeowners asking to go in. I could only assume it was the Enbridge guy. After getting my badge I went back down to the security lady and suggested she head up to my floor. She was thankful, but we both agreed that it was silly that we even had to deal with the situation. It’s true. What’s the point in summoning a security person if the person being escorted goes in without him or her? From there I started my trek to work. A ten minute detour became a twenty minute one. I suppose it doesn’t hurt to be helpful. I am a believer that even small acts of kindness will come back in one form or another. So hey, if this building gets broken into, maybe I can hope that my unit will be spared? That’s how it works, right?

Tags: ,

Leave comment

Bad renditions

Categories:

Fri. March 25, 2011

Did karaoke earlier at a place that wasn’t particularly packed. After we were done and left our little room I noticed that none of the staff wanted to make eye contact. I wonder, is that normal? Do they not want to associate horrible renditions of pop songs to a face? It’s a fascinating dynamic. Surely they’ve seen and heard some really awful things. How in the world do they survive working in such a place if they act so ashamed? Pfft. No matter. I will continue to sing and be stupid. Karaoke is not a time to be self-conscious. Uh huh.

Tags:

Leave comment

V-Day cookie

Categories:

Mon. February 14, 2011

I was walking around after work. Over at the corner of Queen and Spadina this really cheerful woman was handing out things from a basket. As I passed she gave me a cookie from that basket while exclaiming “Happy Valentine’s Day! Spread the love!” The cookie was thin and heart-shaped. The heart was dotted with sprinkles and had a little centre of some blue chewy thing. It was in a small plastic baggie and had a quoted line of prose written in Times New Roman on a little slip of paper inside. According to the slip, the line on mine was from The Secret Life of Bees. Anyway, I’m sure I smirked when i got it, but at the very least I gave her thanks. She was just so earnest. I stuffed the cookie in my pocket. Well, one obvious thought crossed my mind.

Random chick just gave me a Valentine's cookie at Queen and Spadina. The cookie is probably poison. #AntiVDay
Mon. February 14, 2011 6:18 pm via Plume  ReplyRetweetFavorite
@jnery
Jay Nery

Yeah, what if the cookie was poisoned? Accepting food from a total stranger? Craziness. Well, hours later, I remembered how earnest and enthusiastic the youthful woman was. And upon looking at the cookie I figured that if there’s something wrong with it I probably wouldn’t be horribly poisoned from it. So…I did the unthinkable: I ate it.

And here I lie, writing about it. My faith in humanity is restored.

Tags: , ,

Leave comment

Take the pressure off

Categories:

Sun. December 26, 2010

This morning I ran a little over 10K with my running group. For most of the way I ended up running with someone who only took up running about a year ago. She was telling me about how her goals have changed over time. When she started out in the half marathon clinic about a year ago she was feeling a lot of pressure from her family to run as fast as she could. See, her family is full of speedy runners and they were all telling her that she had a lot of ability. She had a speedy time goal and she worked feverishly for it. As much as she had the ability, she wasn’t finding the process enjoyable. Every time she came back she felt worn out and entirely gross.

Somewhere along the way her doctor identified an existing heart condition. With that in mind she decided to actively change her mindset for her runs. Instead of focusing on speed, she decided that she would focus on running comfortably and at a speed that her heart could take. Ever since she’s made this switch, she’s been enjoying herself a lot more. Yes, she’s not running as fast as she used to, but at least she’s not cursing herself. Without the pressure she was putting on herself, she seems to be smiling a lot more. Knowing all of this, I’ve been encouraging her to become more aware of what her body is doing. I remind her now and then to gauge her breathing and her heart rate. So far, it looks like she’s thriving.

Seems like I’m doing a good job…

Tags: ,

Leave comment

Older posts «

Switch to our mobile site