I Love My Job, I Love My Job

Why do people tolerate jobs that drive them crazy? Answer: complacency.
When a person reaches a certain age, he/she dreads the idea of weighing anchor and starting over in a new company.  Therefore, people tend to put up with a lot of crap for years.  In hindsight, it probably would have been better to pull up anchor.

Why do people tolerate jobs that drive them crazy? Answer: attachment to stuff.
If people didn't become overly attached to their house, cottage, car(s), etc, they wouldn't need to worry about the repercussions of changing jobs at any stage of their career.

A lot of 40+ year old people could probably retire early and enjoy their life more if they didn't have so much stuff!  We have to work to maintain our stuff!  We need a place to put all our stuff.

I have read many articles about middle aged couples that had enough of the rat race, quit their jobs, sold their "stuff" and set off to see the world.

I've often said to myself, "I wish I could do that."  What is stopping me: "My attachment to my stuff".

I've often thought about quitting work, selling my "stuff", buying a trailer and travelling.  Why don't I do this?  I'm too attached to my stuff.  This does not mean that I will never work again or that I don't want to work, but I won't need a $100K+ salary.

The only thing that each person has that is worth anything is their "health".  You can't buy it or sell it.  Without good health, nothing else matters.  Health is the great equalizer.  There are no guarantees with health.  Do not waste it.  Do not take it for granted.

If we knew then what we know now, would we be doing what we are doing?  Probably not.

Life is meant to be lived.  So live it.

More: "The Flops at Waterloo Town Square"

Okay people, take a step back and look at the big picture.  There are some major problems with the "Shops at Waterloo Town Square".  The main problem is that there isn't an anchor store.  An anchor store is a large store that attracts a wide range of shoppers to a particular shopping area.  In most shopping areas it would be similar to The Bay, Sears, etc.  The other smaller or niche businesses benefit by being located in close proximity to the anchor store.  This is not rocket science.  I'm not saying that you necessarily need The Bay or Sears, but an anchor store is definitely needed.  Bottom Line: You need to attract shoppers.

The following are some other problems that do not help the situation.

Parking: There is a two hour time limit on the mall parking lot.  I'm not talking about street parking.  I'm talking about the mall parking lot.  People have been getting parking tickets for spending too much time shopping.  How ridiculous.  How are you supposed to spend time shopping and browsing stores and maybe getting a bite to eat in under two hours?  Especially at Christmas.  This is a major turn off for shoppers.  You can't even go to dinner without the fear of getting a parking ticket.  Preposterous.

Restaurants: A restaurant was added to the mall that is only open until 3pm weekdays and 4pm on weekends. How ridiculous.  "Hey, lets go do a bit of shopping after work and go to dinner."  Oops, the restaurant is closed.  How dumb.

Hours: The shops have poor hours.  Mon-Wed & Sat (10 am to 6pm), Thu-Fri (10am to 8pm).  Try staying open later all week.

The combination of these issues and more create a detrimental effect on the area.

There more turnovers in the mall than an average bakery.  It is not appealing to go into a shopping establishment and see that a good portion of the stores are closed, out of business, or about to go out of business.

I know this is a little soap-boxy, but I think Uptown Waterloo has tons of potential.  The people running the show need to WAKE UP!!

That is all.

Bicycle Ads

Remember the days when you used to hop on your bicycle and go for a nice relaxing ride?  You used to put on a pair of shorts, a t-shirt, a pair of sneakers and grab your CCM bike complete with banana seat out of the garage and go.  Those were the days.


Now you need $1000 bucks worth of "gear" (not including the bike).  You need a moisture wicking jersey with tacky logo that "you" paid a lot of money for the opportunity to wear; padded, non-chaffing "bicycle" shorts; super aerodynamic, multi-vented helmet; wrap around non-fogging polarized sunglasses; hydration backpack with dual-siphons; cycling shoes with pedal clips; compact flat tire kit complete with mini-pump; and maybe a long lasting battery operated headlamp for those days when you need to ride at night.  As for the bike: carbon fiber frame, 18+speed; super-gel articulated comfort seat, self-adjusting disc brakes, etc.
All of this gear is supposed to help you cut through the air like a knife reducing your drag and therefore the energy you have to expend to ride your bike.


"Hey mom, I'm just riding to the store.  Be back in 5 minutes!"


What a bunch of no-minds.

We have the largest selection...

Do you remember that last scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark?  The one showing images of the giant warehouse?  That scene reminds me of big box DIY stores.  They have everything; except what I need.  I have the uncanny ability to select a type of screw that does not exist in the known universe.  I emphatically tell the “Associate” that I removed the screw from my toaster just 30 minutes ago, and I purchased said toaster in Canada at this very store in the year 2010!  Please, please, you’ve got to believe me!  NOOOOOOO...my cinnamon raisin bagel is getting stale!  Wake up, wake up!  Oh my, what a horrible dream.

Always the last place I look

Why do people always say, “It’s always in the last place I look.”  It will always be in the last place you looked unless you are STUPID.  If it’s not in the last place you look, it means that you found it and kept looking anyway.

The Flops at Waterloo Town Square

Many small businesses in the Uptown Waterloo business district seem to fail.  I’m sure many people have sought help from many learned people and consultants to assist in determining why this happens so frequently.  Here’s a thought:  Try being open when people who spend money aren’t at work!!  DUH!

Sorry, I'm off my game lately

To all my faithful readers (whoever you may be) I've been lax in my postings lately.  I am getting back on the proverbial horse.