I have moved!

Hello there!

I have moved blog sites. So, if you are looking for my words of wisdom, they won't be here. But you can view them just as easily here:

http://etgrowup.tumblr.com/post/10093765107/welcome-again

So, check it out!

The Art of Subway Orders

Hello all!

So, I went to Subway the other day to get a sub to eat. Obviously.

My sister was with me and when we were walking home after getting our subs, we started talking about our method of choosing our fillers. You may scratch your head and say why would you ever need a method to order a sub?

Well, my friends, it is an art form to get the perfect sub. Let me explain.

I only put four things in my sub. And so since I don't have that much, I try as much of the four as possible. So, my method is to say cucumbers...(wait till they are almost done their row)...pickles...(wait until they are almost done their row)...lettuce...and so on. My theory is that if I say them slowly they will finish each row more thoroughly.

I tested out another method as suggested by my sister. I said all four toppings at once and said that's all. She thought that if they knew I only had four toppings that they would put more of each on. And that theory is wrong! It more or less confused them by telling them so many things at once.

So, I will stick with my original way of ordering. I like to consider myself a pro because I had subs like they were going out business in first year university.

After reading this, are you like "Erica, I am going to stop reading your blog cause you're an idiot." or do you have art form when ordering your sub? Please share.

Elevators

Hello all!

So, I currently reside in a high rise condo building. And there are many older folks in my building. And no, I do not live in a retirement building, in case that's what you are thinking...

So, there are about 20 floors in this building and we have two elevators to service all 20 floors. Usually, its not a huge issues but when one elevator is out, you really notice that it only has two elevators.

But I have noticed a very humourous situation when it comes to waiting for elevators. People love to think that they have an immense amount of control when it comes to elevator buttons. I was waiting for the elevator with this older lady and both elevators were hanging around the 18th floor. This lady incessantly kept pressing the up button. I think she thought that the elevator just didn't know that people were waiting on the ground. That if she kept pressing that button, the elevator would just immediately race down to the ground and pick her up.

I don't know what it is about pressing buttons that makes us think we have some control. I heard on Ellen one time that if you press the door close button at the same time you press your floor button that it will go directly to your floor bypassing all other floors. I tried that and Ellen lied. It doesn't work.

Next time you are near an elevator watch what people do when they are waiting. I bet you that at least one person will press the button more than once hoping to control the elevator.

Do you?

Filters of the Mind

Hello everyone!

I come to you from my wee little cubicle on the edge of Scarborough. And in case you think I am not doing work - that is false. My video is rendering. And if you don't know what that means...look it up.

So, the office I work in, falls a little on the side of being conservative. Though, there are no doubt wildcards. But in the name of office unity, we all put on the facade of being "conservative". Some perhaps more than others...

But alas, through this new office environment, I have learned more than ever that I must really think before speaking. My filter is on high alert when I enter the doors of my office. I am careful what I say, what I talk about and I learn to close my mouth when taboo subjects come up. It is like a brand new me!

Though, I must say, as much as most are quite conservative, these are the loveliest people I have ever worked with. Even though, I may not talk about Bachelor Pad (which I have yet to decide whether to watch or not... you may advise if you like...), I can still find many other worthy conversation topics. Probably better than Bachelor Pad. In fact, most definitely.

But alas, my filter is on most securely between the hours of 8:30-5:00pm, except for short periods of time when I speak to certain individuals. You know who you are.

"I Believe You Have My Stapler?"

Hello all!

My apologies for the long wait. But lots has happened since the last post. First of all, I got a job! It is my first time into the culture of the office.

So, I have watched "The Office" since the beginning but nothing could have prepared for the life of working in an office. I have been conditioned to factory/warehouse life for so long that its hard to adjust to office life.

Let me explain - in factories and warehouses you have the same break and lunch everyday. There is no flexibility in this whatsoever. In an office, I can take a break whenever I want and lunch whenever I want. So weird.

And then there is the whole concept of always being busy. I had to curb my all consuming fear that my supervisor would walk by and "catch" me talking to somebody for 1 minute. In one factory I worked at, you could not talk or listen to the radio. It was like boot camp. So, now I can relax and talk for a bit with my co-workers and not worry that I will get my head cut off if I do.

And finally, another big difference is the lack of a broom in my hand. Whenever I had nothing really to do, the rule of thumb was to pick up a broom and sweep. Perhaps the cleaner in the office might appreciate me not curbing that tendency.

I am sure I will have more stories about working in an office but for now, this is my intro to the office culture.

Question - I will give you an invisible handshake if you can tell me where that quote is from for my blog title.

Always Look Before Crossing

Hello All!

So, as most of you know, I have recently returned to Ontario from Alberta. The transition has come fairly naturally except for one event that should be as natural as showering.

Crossing the road.

As far back as I can remember, I can remember being told "always look before crossing the street!" And I did all the time. When I was crossing the street I would make sure those turning right were stopping or those turning left saw me crossing.

But I was a wee bit spoiled in the land of Alberta. You see, in Alberta, one merely needs to stand at the edge of a road and the cars will stop for the pedestrians. This happened on time for me when I was not even at a crosswalk.

But if there are white lines on the road indicating a pedestrian crosswalk, those cars will stop without any hesitation. When I first arrived in Edmonton, I was hesitant to cross without using any form of lighting signal. But when I was at a crosswalk, a fella who was approaching the crosswalk barely slowed his pace before stepping out onto the road. But sure enough, the cars stopped creating a Red Sea effect on a busy Edmonton road. I scurried on through behind him before the cars smelled my Ontario blood.

So, alas, here I am back in Ontario and having had that pedestrian power for so long, it is difficult to give back my power to the cars in Toronto. I have to remember to always watch the cars and make sure they will indeed stop for me. There is no longer a luxury of expecting cars to stop but merely attempting to dodge them and avoid getting honked at.

It makes me wonder why in Alberta, cars hold a certain amount of respect for the pedestrian while in Toronto, there is very little respect. Some might say that it ties in with busy, snobby stereotype while Alberta has old western values. Who knows.

But all I can say, is you best be careful when crossing those Toronto roads!

I say Angry Birds, you say...

Hello all!

I am now writing this back in lovely Ontario. My first day back, I made certain to make it to the lake and sit there for a bit with a friend! And it was glorious. Oh, how I have missed water.

Anyway, I recently purchased an iPod Touch and have been slowly figuring out all its features. This morning I discovered the Voice Control. Now, this is the oldest joke in the book ever since those automated voice services because they inevitably give you the opposite of what you want.

But, I was curious if it would open up games I had on my iTouch so in a clear voice, I said "An-gry Bi-rd-s". And the voice said back to me, "Playing Recovery". Which is an Eminem album. I laughed at that and said, yeah, I suppose Eminem is a bit of an angry bird.

It makes me wonder how they program that voice control. Like if I said Jesus, I wonder which worship artist it would go to. Curious investigations that I might just partake in this week.

Hope you all are doing well!