The world is your oyster...

I actually tried these for the first time this week, interesting...

Where have ou been for the last 6 and a half months? I have been waiting for you to miss me and it just didn't happen so I decided to come back anyways. It's July 31 and it's one of the most beautiful days of 2011 so far, and we have had our fair share of them. 

It's been a long time since I shared my useless thoughts with the world, at least in writing format. I generally share useless thoughts with people on a daily basis, but this is a different medium. I said boldly that this was going to be an epic year and 7 months into this 2011, I don't think I will be wrong.  don't want to count the chickens before they hatch, but it's been a stupendous year to this point. 

Here is an update in 1000 words or less...new job is rolling at full steam, better money, been reunited with friends as colleagues, VEGAS dirty 30 baby, good friends, great family and an even better relationship...had my twin sibling tumor removed, beer, sun, great books, great sports and many other things that make even me smile. I'd say that's a damn good start anyways. I still have 5 months left and I have some pretty sweet tricks up my sleeve that have yet to be unveiled. Stay tuned. 

...

I recently visited the home base of NB and I learned a lot of things. That is after all the essence of life, to be continually learning (Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty.  ~Henry Ford). So what could I possibly learn there you say...well I learned that I am from NB but I am now a person who hails from Toronto (say what you want, but you can't judge if you haven't lived here). I am also a person who learn much of what I know in NB, and that made me a better person. I am much like Blade (the odd vampire trilogy) as I am a Hybrid a day-walker. Being in NB taught me that NB is great but it's not for me, and that I also would not do as well as I am doing in Toronto if I hadn't learned what I did in NB. 

We can't just say we are this or we are that, because we are what we are and what we are is a concoction of everything we have seen and learned. If you choose to shut out a complete part of your life then you aren't what you should be and that's sad. 

Hybrids forever...

The JLS aka the feel good story of the summer

Welcome to the HOF Roberto Alomar and Deion Sanders

One of my childhood favorites and an amazing flare for second base.

A two sport star truly deserving of the Hall

"look good play good , play good pay good , pay good live good , live good eat good, eat good die good" Deion Sanders

The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense...

Welcome back, good times had by all recently I hope. I have been wondering what would be a gripping and relevant topic for me to share with you...well it seems that this topic should have been covered a long time ago. What is it you ask? Well here it is, "What's the Difference between living in Toronto and living in New Brunswick?"

NB Flag (I hope you know)

Toronto Flag (if you're curious)

VS

Although it may seem odd to compare a city to an entire province, let's all keep in mind that the population of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is at least 500k more than the province of NB. Here is a little background on what made me think to choose this topic, here are some examples.

1. "How can you live in Toronto? It's so busy there and so dangerous."
2. "Why did you move from NB to Toronto? I heard it's really beautiful there."
3. "Toronto is so big, I would be so worried about living there, I don't think I could get used to that."
4. "When are you moving back to NB? Wouldn't you rather be here?"

Those are some basic examples of things I have been hearing for the last 4 years, since I picked up and moved to another province for the second time. For the record, when I hear things like this, it's all I can do to not shake the person speaking. I mean really, people need to spread their wings and experience things, so they don't need to ask these questions. But my friends, that is a topic for another time.

the Differences: (this is by no means a comprehensive list, so share anything I may have missed!!!)

• The Runners: What are the runners you may ask if you are reading this in NB? This is a phenomenon that I will never get used to no matter how long I spend here and it is something that Toronotians have lived with for years and have likely participated in...the act of running/sprinting/bounding/given'er/scampering to get on the subway, go train, bus, streetcar or additional for of public transit. THERE IS NO NEED TO RUN TO RAM THIS DOOR, THERE WILL BE ANOTHER MODE OF TRANSPORTATION COMING!! Please spot doing this as you look like a complete moron and someday, someone inside the train you jump onto, is going to punch you in the face. 
• Point NB on this one: People from NB are not in such a damn hurry and we realize that there will be another train, I hope someday that can we find a way to pass this knowledge onto people here. Stop being in such a damn hurry!!!
• Open Minds: Now this one could be touchy subject, but that's not really a concern of mine. People in NB ask the questions above because they have grown up and in most cases lived their whole lives in NB. There is nothing wrong with this per say, but it certainly doesn't lead to a well rounded view of society, Canada or the world in general. People here are much more open to different activities, different people and most importantly different sensations. I can't fully blame this one people in NB, as it really is a different mentality, and people there need to get out an explore a bit more. 
• Point Toronto: This may sound way to serious to be coming from me, but people need to be more open and show a curiosity/vigor for life and people and the World. I'm not saying that I am world traveler by any means, but living here and Vancouver and Anchorage along with NB, has helped me see that there is a lot of cool beans out there. 
• Stuff: Ok now this may be the deal breaker on the whole argument...I know this may come as a surprise, but there are hundreds of things to do in Toronto on any given day!! This may sound very odd when you consider that there may only be hundreds of things to do in NB in a given year...:) During my 24+ years in NB I never heard anyone say a sentence like this..."Hey you wanna come to the Raps game with me tonight, see the Foo Fighters tomorrow and then head to the lake-front for the fireworks festival?"...the main reason for that being that none of those things have ever happened in NB. There are all kinds of population arguments that can be made as to why none of these come to NB, but we don't have enough time for that....My point being, if you like doing things and being entertained and having options, then Toronto is for you. (Also consider that Toronto is within an 8 hour drive of many large US markets like Philly, Chicago, Pitts, Cleveland, Indy...ect)
• Point Toronto: The great thing about Toronto and other great cities throughout the world, is that there is a plethora of activities to partake in and if you choose to never be bored...you never will be. Now I don't know about you, but that doesn't sound too darn bad to me. As I have lived both scenarios in multiple cities and areas of NB, I can say...Change is the essence of life, so be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become. 

Sidenotes: Although Toronto does have 4.5 professional sports team (the Argos being the half), they are all terrible and very hard to root for. I will say that Leafs fans in general are pretty delusional and they are the most entertaining things to watch while attending a Leafs game. Toronto has been deprived of a winner since the back2back World series years of Joe Carter and the boys 17 years ago. it also appears that the Jays are the Hardest working team we have right now. Too bad...

The Final Score: Well I don't have  a final score, so too bad if you wanted one. Basically from the perspective of a young professional, Toronto (or insert your CITY of choice here) is my preferred place to be. That being said, NB is a great place to grow up and I still talk to a lot of great people from there. Many of which still live there. The people in general are more laid back in NB and they just make me laugh here. People here are not dangerous and please stop asking me how I can ever get used to 'all of the people'...we are humans, and humans adapt. 

They are both great, but for now, and for me, Toronto wins. deal with it...but as the saying goes, 'To each their own", we should all live by that. 

JLS...we own this city...

When are you moving home?...

I will say this question is not foreign to me in any way...it is only slightly more popular than other great questions such as..."when are you getting married?"...and "when are you going to start a family?"... Strangely enough the answer for all of these questions is very similar. Not any time soon...when pigs fly up to a take out window and order a coffee at Tim Horton's wearing their sweet flannel jacket, which seems to be and NB issued one.

In case you are not aware, I, along with Jana and Mike, just returned from God's Country, aka, Nouveau-Brunswick. I will say that I had not been back since last December, so it was great to see some new scenery. Every once in awhile you do need  a break from watching people eat random yummies from off of the floor of the the lovely Toronto subway car...so on that front it was great!

I also very much enjoyed seeing friends and family and my beauty new niece. I missed some people due to time constraints, but that is bound to happen when you consider how awesome and I am and how rarely I am home...lol ;), so I will see you all when I am back, or when you realize that it costs the same for me to go to NB as it would for you all to come here!! :) But I am sorry if you were missed, it's never my intention, but family takes over.

It was also great to have some good work meetings and look to generate some revenue, so overall it was very productive...

With all that lovefest stuff being said, I have to say that I didn't find the magical moment/thing/gust of wind/great meal/anything you can think of that made me think..."Man this is sweet, I should really move back here and find a job"...let us dissect that thought for a moment: 1. it is fun in short doses, but I wouldn't say it's sweet, 2. Moving back there would mean many things, not the least of which would mean that I would likely have to do that drive again (which is like volunteering for a lobotomy), 3. What would my skills allow me to do there? I have experience selling sports, and technology, so my options are inherently limited (however I could grow a mullet and sell for Hafford motors or something...)

So to sum it up, NB was an awesome time for  a change of pace, but I will take Toronto any day so I can kick it up a notch and have more than one pace as an option. So if anyone wants to visit, you know how to find me!!

JLS aka the NB lovin Toronto livin bad mutha

Random Thought: I wonder if I could afford to hire a driver for the next time I want to go to NB, because that 1400 km's is not something I would wish on anyone, but would pay someone to do...

COME AGAIN
You are now entering the longest covered bridge in the world 1282 feet:

Swing a cat and other words of wisdom...fear the flying squirrel...

Well it has often been said that you can't swing a cat in the subway without hitting a special person...and people are always right out sideways trying to get on the train...sometimes I really cabbage other peoples cool toys.

Now I realize that to a lot of you people reading this, that group of words likely didn't make any sense, and that's because it wouldn't make any sense to you unless you were from the east coast of Canada...New Brunswick more specifically and Carleton County if you want to be precise...to shed some light on this keep reading and then visit www.dooryard.ca...

Every group of people has their own slang, every country, province, city, school, group of friends right down to the individual have their own odd things they say that make other people look at them like they have 5 heads...I for instance say things like...'it's better than a kick in the nuts'...or 'i wouldn't kick her outta bed for eating crackers' (sorry mom)...and 'she'd do in a pinch'...'giver'...or a classic like 'we go way back, way back in the woods and bend em over a tree stump' (innappropriate I know, but I was young :)

Now when I say these things around people who have never met me/heard these words together before...they generally cock their heads and say 'what the ...?...' which is precisely what I was hoping for. People talk like this in my opinion to make others not know what the heck they are talking about.

So you say, that makes no sense...the whole point of people being able to talk is to communicate and get their feelings/points/message across to their audience...well that's not for me. For some strange reason I am all about making the person have to think about what my message might be, simply because I can. I consider myself a very cunning linguist...and I like to test it on a daily basis...ask anyone who has spent more than an hour with me and they may just tend to agree...or they are lying...

So think about people you know and I 100% guarantee you that if you do now hang around with boring, monotonous people that you will be able to think of one person who says things that are unique to them or to your group of friends...newfies ask people 'what are you at' for what are you doing and 'where ya to' for where are you or 'I'm gonna get a shower' like they have to go buy when instead of just having a shower...so they are all around us...they live inside us...which is odd, maybe that's why I am gaining weight (stupid extra person inside me)

New Brunswick is very full this type of thing and people often say to me, man you NBers sure do talk funny...are you guys retarded or something...I respond with, we aren't retarded buddy, we just like to head to the camp with a case of beer and play bammington in the willy wags while we hang with our cuzzint's, and big whoop if you think we are retarded...I'm gonna be fair t' middlin' no matter what...champ!...enjoy your b'dayduh break...

JLS...the mystery wrapped up in an enigma inside and iron box with 14 locks on it while the half ton mom sits on top of it...get into it

Random thought # 9 or 10: puckerbrush, right out straight, so drunk that drunk is sober, common sense ain't so common, fill yer boots, dog wettin' and piss cut are also classic and amazing sayings I have heard in a sentence...look em up!!