Observations about my summer

- Having a full-time day job has completely changed my sleep cycle. I can't stay up into the wee hours of the morning or sleep past noon anymore, even if I try.

- After abusing the shit out of the free coffee machine at work with daily double shots of espresso, I am damn near immune to the effects of caffeine.

- This town is A LOT more boring than I ever gave it credit for.

- I have the same love/hate relationship with the Blue Jays as I do with the Leafs.

- I'm horrible at sports.

- Public transit continues to piss me off.

- Doing nothing all day is sometimes a good thing.

- I rarely have interesting things to say

Fuck you GO Transit.

I pay 142 bucks a month for a GO Transit pass so I can get to school (Pickering to York University and vice-versa), which is pretty bullshit as it is, but I have to deal with nonetheless. Today from Pickering, I took the Eastbound train to Ajax. During the 5 MINUTE ride, I am approached by an employee checking tickets. Cool, he's doing his job, although he totally missed the dude that was standing next to me that booked it to the next cabin as soon as he saw that he walked down the stairs to check tickets. So he finally gets to me and asks to show me my ticket. I show him my pass and he examines it, taking a lot longer than usual. He then asks me for some ID. Thinking nothing of it, I take my driver's license out while asking him, "Uhh...why?". While taking down my information he informs me that my pass is only valid from York University to Pickering and that I need to purchase a ticket to ride from Pickering to Ajax. What the fuck? I pay 142 bucks a month and you're telling me I have to pay another 7 bucks a day for a 5 minute train ride? Now THAT is some fucking bullshit.

Now I've had other problems with GO Transit before, but since I tend to let shit slide, I just deal with it. Some examples that come to mind are:

1. The buses and trains are NEVER on fucking time. Not once in my life have I ever got on the GO running on schedule. This has fucked me over way too many times.

2. The disgusting state of the buses. I expect it from the TTC (which is surprisingly cleaner), not from GO.

3. The lazy/stupid/rude employees. What about driving a bus or punching tickets gives you the self-entitlement of acting like a fucking douche? It seems every employee I deal with doesn't have any correct information or any information at all when I inquire about something. Not to mention the piece of shit drivers who refuse to drive a bus when I'm the only one on it. I don't fucking care if you feel like a taxi driver, do your fucking job. Also, when it's like -20 outside, and you're still waiting to leave, LET PEOPLE ON THE FUCKING BUS! I'm freezing my ass off while you sit and read/eat/sleep in a warm bus that doesn't leave for another 20 minutes. Thanks asshole.

Now I can expect a hefty fine in the mail because I refuse to spend another 7 dollars for ONE stop on the train.

Fuck you GO Transit.

Fuck you Jason Bay.

Seriously. I hate you now. I was a fan of you when you were a very good, yet kind of under-the-radar outfielder playing for the shitty Pittsburgh Pirates. Even with NO protection at all in an awful lineup, you put up good numbers. And the best thing about it was you (were? are? whatever...) CANADIAN. In a game dominated by Americans (and more than a handful of stars from other countries), it was nice seeing one of few Canadians having success in the MLB. Hell, I even still kind of liked you when you went to the HATED Boston Red Sox. Then you go and get an American citizenship. Why this pisses me off, I have no idea. Whatever, you live there, I probably shouldn't care, but for some unknown reason it makes me dislike you very much. So whatever, we don't need you. This guy is better anyway...



Yes this is old news. But it got me thinking. How many players have I disliked just because they were on a TEAM that I didn't like?

Manny Ramirez - Hated this guy's guts when he played on the Sox. Some of my fondest baseball memories include going to Jays games and sitting in the 100 level left field seats just to rip on him the entire game. There was no doubting that he is one of the best players to ever play the game, but because it was helping the shitty Red Sox, it made me want to sock him in the face (no pun intended?). He gets traded to L.A. and suddenly the cocky, childish and frequently lazy Manny that I grew to hate, suddenly becomes likeable because hey, that's just Manny being Manny.

Dany Heatley - Big fan of this guy as soon as he came into the league. When you win rookie of the year, and then score 41 goals in your sophomore season, it's hard not to like a guy. I was even gonna get his name put on the back of my Team Canada Jersey. Looking back on it, I'm glad I didn't. He got traded to Ottawa after the whole vehicular homicide thing and the hatred began. Every time the Leafs played the Sens this guy seemed to give them fits. In fact, he still does it. Now he's demanding a trade because he doesn't get along with the coaching staff. And not just a straight-up trade, which Ottawa has reportedly granted him, a trade to a team that he approves of. What a cock. Now this dude has gone from a guy I'd want stitched on the back of my still blank 2002 Team Canada Jersey (still the best one if you ask me) to a guy I don't even wanna see on the national team in 2010. Fuck you Dany Heatley.

I'll add more when I think of them, I'm going to bed. Peace.

Blah

So today after taking a quick bike ride to the bank, I noticed how uncharacteristically (this summer at least) nice it was outside. I decided to take a bike ride down the Harbourfront Trail. Now I do this the occasional time and typically stop at the park at the end of Liverpool, but I decided to go farther today because I had the time and wanted to see what the rest of the trail was like. Maybe 15 minutes later, my handlebar starts to get loose but I think nothing of it and ride on. Next thing I know, the handle bar comes out and I nearly nose dive into the concrete. I turn back, already dreading the LONG walk home knowing that I'm going to have to push the thing all the way back. That's when I discovered the front brake has decided to clamp down on the front tire and won't release...great.

One thing that made me feel a little better however, is the amount of people that stopped to see if I was okay and offer their help in fixing the piece of junk I was dragging with me. Even though I politely refused and assured them I would be okay, it was nice knowing that in the fucked up world we live in where crime, tragedy and basically negative shit dominates everything else, that some people actually give a fuck about someone else.

Maybe gestures like that really mean nothing and I make too much of it, or maybe I just appreciate them more, but we can all agree that everyone was more considerate of others the world wouldn't be as shitty as it is right now.

So next time a stranger opens a door for you, offers you a hand, anything, think about it.

Maybe some idiot will blog about it.