Lifestyle

A Life Enriched By Ethnicity

My first non-white friends were the Kims from South Korea. Mr. and Mrs. Kim sought a better life for their kids Hak Gin, Hak Il, and Mejung by relocating to Tungsten N.W.T. Yes, the town was named after the metal mined. The Kim kids did not have much English upon arrival but the warmth of a cold weather sub arctic northern township earned them a little after school help inside the two room school house. Both Hak Gin and Hak Il became my friends.  I was probably their closest friend during fifth grade.  I was invited to their home for dinner and Mrs. Kim would be amused by my reaction to her traditional cuisine. Although father Bok Kim was a stern man, it was a joyous household of song and laughter.

My days as a promoter of health products always brought me in touch with different ethnic groups. I typically viewed other ethnicities as more open to a “pitch” and generally the statement holds true.  My travels in prospecting strangers (basis of my livelihood today as a public accountant) put me in contact with Phillipina Rose, and Sri Lankan Arjuna. Both became my friends.  Rose and I would sing karaoke one Sunday afternoon and talk philosophy on another. Arjuna received my moral support as he encountered hardship in his new homeland. I would remind Arjuna of his fiery spirit which would carry him through troubled times.

Membership in a private personal development club enabled me to sail the Caribbean on chartered cruises (two successive Januarys).  While partying one night alongside cabin mate Randy, along comes Ochuko. One of the biggest bonuses of membership in this club was stumbling upon this soft spoken thoughtful Nigerian on the periphery of the dance floor while admiring the moves of those marvelous mesdames.  Fate would have us hailing the same cab upon disembarking in Miami. Have been friends ever since.

My client database composes very cool Pakistanis…and recently three new Sri Lankan friends have become quite close.  One of these three has come to learn my sentiment that I think he’s whiter than most whites given his manner and traits (and he reads my blog…so I know you’re grinning).

Dancing lessons and one lovely Russian lass blessed me with exposure to the Russian heritage and those distinctive traits of intelligence, passion and beauty known to this part of the world.

More people with experiences far greater than my own from a land I’ve never seen will continue to come into my life and enrich it with adventure stories, their aspirations, things they miss from their birth place, and characteristics of Canada for which they express gratitude.

Lifestyle

Youtube Channel for Guitarists

I must share my gratitude for StichMethod Guitar over at Youtube.  Ian’s down to earth approach, self deprecating humor, and technical framework for delivering material is superb. I’m discovering tremendous value in his Blues Master Class Series of which his next release is eagerly anticipated. Ian knows how to break down the mystery of how fabulous guitar riffs are formed without inundating the student with theory. He’s comforted that any musician can obtain good theory elsewhere and is passionate about ensuring that students learn the essentials of navigating the neck with his “pentatonic never lost system.” Although his free lessons are presented from the basis of the minor pentatonic for now, I won’t be surprised if he starts expanding into other scales and even modes. Anyone can now purchase quality video content from professional teachers utilizing youtube as a medium of communication. It’s quite impressive really. If you play guitar and feel like venturing beyond basic chords and into some soloing, I highly recommend Ian Stich from the Stich Method. As a bonus of tuning into the StichMethod, you’ll be curiously awestruck by Ian’s fascination for his favourite band Phish which has obviously been a huge influence for Ian’s passion behind the instrument.

Uncategorized

Top Ten Traits of the Trump White House Employee

  1. Employment insurance benefits have run out
  2. You’re indebted to Trump
  3. Conducting sociology of patronage lab experiment
  4. Sado-masochistic tendencies
  5. Parole condition
  6. Transferee from broke Atlantic City casino gaming pit
  7. Flunked communications studies
  8. Possess twitter account with voluminous redneck followers
  9. Diagnosed with attention deficit disorder
  10. Wear suits with the Trump label
Uncategorized

Boy Scouts Speechless After Speech

I suspect that an astute POTUS would have went away from the teleprompter having sensed that the wrong speech was loaded up for the Boy Scout brigade and made light of the error while creatively addressing curious boys with merits of their organization, benefits of community service, nation building through team cooperation etc.  Instead, I guess Trump will castigate and maybe fire some guy handling speeches. Does anybody have a snapshot of the look on the face of some Scoutmaster bemused by Trump’s ramblings over political hardship amongst innocent boys eager for a return to scheduled jamboree fun?

Philosophy, Politics

CSIS Lawsuit and Your Tax Dollars

Here we go again. Now that Khadr has been awarded $10 million dollars in lieu protections inherent to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, next up is some malcontents working over at Canada’s spy agency.  Apparently a group of four is looking for $35 million from you the taxpayer because they were called names in the work place.  They were likely bullied. It’s probably true. Unlike other Canadians who have been in such situations who would have tendered their resignation and moved along, these folks have learned some things that I bet you never picked up in grade school regarding “The Charter”. Forget free speech or supervisor’s incompetence in dealing with complaints. Now it’s “The Charter” which could potentially impact you the taxpayer for years and years to come because of the evil nature of some of your fellow Canadians.

This will be a very interesting case because it could be precedent setting for any employer and not just the civil service. Employers dismissive of deploying proactive positive work place climates or who become lax in executing such measures could be faced with law suits from the “victimized”. This could be just one more overlay of business risk which would likely disenfranchise many employers from hiring. Obviously I do not condone or tolerate racism, bigotry, harassment or discrimination in the work place but I am one Canadian who believes in the free enterprise system and the activities inherent to keeping such a system vibrant.  I believe that any Canadian who does not feel that they are treated properly should seek out a climate or create one that does. I also believe that any organization which tolerates behavior of the aforementioned is doomed for failure because of the inherent morale and productivity issues that consequently arise. Whistle blower legislation providing employment security for complainants in the civil service is a reasonable measure.

This taxpayer is getting sick and tired of paying off the malcontents.  If you don’t like a situation, leave it but don’t come looking for my wallet because you were too lame to put the free enterprise system to work for you.