Les Truffes!

What a revelation- in our local open air market- to find a small booth featuring vegetables far removed from normal grocery store fare. Along the two narrow aisles are several baskets bursting with vibrant colour which display any number of unfamiliar looking, hydraponic, organic and sometimes ugly vegetables and/or roots. Many of these shall remain nameless because the plans we'd made for a brief walkabout with the stand operator flew right out of our minds when we found ourselves face to face with a small basket (about a quarter full) of truffles! At first glance all we could see was a black asymmetrical mass made up of what appeared to be earthen covered blobs which while they varied in size did not vary in ugliness. Truly the worst looking "veg"? in the place yet absolutely the most exotic and beyond a doubt the most expensive. After we had agreed that these were in fact the real deal, we were understandably overjoyed as well as totally surprised at our find. Then something strange happened to us and we morphed into truffle 'hiders' as we tried to keep anyone else from noticing this treasure trove in a basket. We actually "stood guard" shielding them from view and protecting those ugly truffles as we tried to calculate how many if any of the miniscule blobs we could afford because there was no question about us ever being able to manage paying for one of the larger ones. We ended up buying two teeny truffles and watched the man wrap them as if they were precious pieces of Murano glass being readied for air transport. On the way home we stopped at our neighbourhood Italian restaurant and turned one of the truffles over to the chef who kindly agreed to add it to our favourite pasta dish. There are no adequate descriptors to let you know how amazing the meal was. On Sunday night we arrived at a friends' home for an anniversary dinner and instead of the de rigeur bottle of wine, box of chocolates or bunch of flowers, we offered our hosts a little earthy truffle. Not as expensive as a bottle of Cristal but so much better and more appreciated.

Gone Fishing

There appears to be a parallel link between online dating and fishing yet despite many similarities, if you think about it, fishing is probably easier as well as more efficient. You go fishing and you are in the great outdoors not stuck at home in front of your computer. You go fishing and get to reel in any fish that bites. YOU get to decide if that particular fish is a keeper without any of the double talk or false representation that you surely would have had to put up with online. If you've decided that a particular fish is not for you, all that is required is that you dump it back into the lake. Unlike online, you do not need to fret about causing the jettisoned fish any feelings of rejection, it's the cleanest kindest "no thank you" there is and as yet there us nothing like it when it comes to getting rid of an online wannabe. When you go fishing there are no videocams so a bad hair day is a non-issue and you'll not be reproached by any fish for the sloppy way you are dressed or for your 1920 waders. You do not need to hide behind a cyber false identity when you go fishing, you can be your true self and know that you will only be judged on your hunting prowess not the amount of university degrees you hold or the work you do. You get to fish in a group or alone and again unlike online, no negative comments will be made regarding your choice. I think that the best part of fishng is that you get to be quiet. You do not need to type a million fancy words a minute and even better is the fact that you really do not have to listen. If we are honest, we'd have to admit that fishing beats online hands down!!

Take Me Out To The Ball Game

Whenever trying to enhance the at times oppressive atmosphere of your work place and in an effort to team build, what better way than to have a "night out" at the local stadium for a rousing spectator sport experience. Hire a bus, invite any and all co-workers with significant others and extended family members, simply board the happy yellow bus and off you go for what will definitely prove to be a memorable time. Of course while your intentions are pretty honourable (though you do confess to being a bit of a sportsaholic) you still have to do a fair amount of promotion if your idea is to fly, besides which you need to reach the necessary magic number to be able to hire that school bus at a reasonable rate. You must then make a seating plan for the game itself ensuring that nobody is placed beside a person that they are not overly fond of which is quite a challenge even though you deal with this type of issue on a daily basis and it is one of the reasons you've decided to take on planning this excursion. You can only hope that once all is said and done, nothing goes awry; you pray that no one gets lost in the crowd and that the collective behaviour of the group is in no way an embarrassment to your company. If all this is in place then you can count on a good time being had by all.

Feedback

All self-help gurus advise us to seek feedback in instances when there is a negative end to an interview and we have not been selected for a position we had applied for. This appears to be easier said than done and the masses usually take the rejection and move on to the next without ever asking what they might have been able to do differently that could have resulted in a different outcome. It occurs to me that the power of feedback is such that it should be encouraged in most situations where we seek to ensure positive rather than negative outcomes. Having a handle on self-improvement is indeed an empowering thing and wherever possible we should be brave enough to request feedback because although it can sometimes make for difficult listening, it is sure to enrich most of our future endeavours both within and without the working milieu. How cool would it be to ask for feedback in the dating arena? Just suppose that you meet someone with whom you are contemplating a relationship and while there are those starter flames, for some inexplicable reason they flicker and extinguish before you get to see the fire. Instead of hearing that you two are probably not a "fit" and letting things go, you'd be best advised not to go quietly and or gently into the night but to ask for "feedback"! If you do, you'll know if the "fit" is there the next time you see sparks fly.

Fads, Passe Fads, and Followers

Everyone likes to think of themselves as having at least a few individual qualities that make them unique, unlike anyone else. How then do we explain the incredible power of the "FAD" which turns all of us at some point or other from the individuals we pride ourselves on being, into bumbling followers suddenly intent on emulating either another person or something we consider worth aping that that other person does. We unilaterally give up all potential creativity as we are starstruck by the "latest" FAD and we just cannot let it race by without jumping on the bandwagon no matter how fast, jerky or short-lived the ride. Being a follower is not necessarily one of those admirable traits therefore, increasingly, people have chosen to keep the fact that they are followers under wraps. This is done easily enough by allowing the bandwagon to run it's course and then just as it returns from a public run of several successful months and is about to settle into the old bandwagon parking lot for has-been fads, these followers jump on! You might argue that if the fad is past its prime the follower is not a follower, but I believe that a follower is a follower even once removed. The only thing missing and this is what essentially differentiates between the two types of followers is the manic vs laconic speed with which they follow. Following is a multi-level action and in the future when using the word, certain qualifiers will have to be included to ensure the correct meaning has been represented. We all remember that way back fad called scrapbooking and almost all of us have been in homes whose bookshelves and coffee tables house a wide array of these "masterpieces" which were put together LOVINGLY by the scrapbooking fad followers, and while I thought I'd heard the last of this one particular fad, I was wrong. The snail followers have jumped on the scrapbooking bandwagon and are now in the throes of a true fad resurrection so I guess we'll just have to make more room on those shelves because after all even if you are not a follower you can't totally fight a fad!!

Insomnia

Why is it that sleep is never elusive when one is on holiday but get to the night before you return to work and your brain decides that sleep is NOT for you! Furthermore you are kept awake by a myriad of thoughts that fly through your brain at the speed of mach one. There appears to be no point in trying to slow down the process or endeavouring to clear your head because somehow you just know that most of your efforts in those arenas would turn out to be for naught. You actually do have two or three choices but these involve elements of luck and talent and none are foolproof. If you choose the medicated path and elect to pop a few or imbibe some magical sleeping potion you must remember that the wake up is foggy and in fact the whole day could be a definite drag as you suffer the long term effects of ' les somnombules'. You might try a normal?? drink, whichever tempts you from Port to warm milk keeping in mind that the former is probably the more effective if you are under the age of 65. Personally I think that warm milk is a seniors placebo. You might be best off writing down any disturbing thoughts you might have swirling about in your mind as these are without a doubt formidable detriments to your getting a satisfying and restful sleep. Finally, you may consider a journal or a blog and quite possibly these options will turn out to be the most cathartic and sleep inducing of all the choices available in order to help you to help yourself. Bonne Nuit???

Monday In The Park With Fred????

A cool sunny holiday Monday is the ideal day to take a meandering stroll through a beautiful wooded park with a new someone whose smile shines as brightly as the sun. You do not know where the walk will lead but you set off down the path anyway hopeful that you have chosen the perfect ambulating companion. If you have been able to reign in your old ways you will succeed in not jumping the gun and will start (if you are meant to start) only when the pistol shot is heard and not a moment before. This will allow you to "walk" in the moment free of plotting and unnecessary committment which pretty much guarantees a perfect trip down the lane with nary a hidden agenda in sight. In fact if you have chosen wisely not only will your heart be protected, but you will avoid the pitfalls of ill advised "rush" decisions and enjoy your afternoon as it was meant to be enjoyed.