five for fighting

five thoughts on my mind at the moment:

one, as previously discussed, my two-year-old has a bit of a pronunciation problem. as a result, she has been seeing a speech therapist for several months now. over time, her articulation has improved somewhat, but not rapidly enough in my estimation to warrant any resounding cheers of triumph. but then, during tonight's thunderstorm, she turned to me at the dinner table and stated in a clear, strong voice, "the thunder and lightning is scary, daddy." i nearly fell out of my chair with wonder. notwithstanding her failure to grasp the niceties of subject-verb agreement, this was probably the first time she has ever uttered a phrase of such complexity that i actually understood. who could have seen that coming? i felt like i had been struck by lightning.

two, during an after school chat today with one of my senior students, the subject of peer pressure came up again and again. at one point during our dialogue, my young charge made the case that she should probably trust the little voice inside her head when confronted with difficult decisions. i took issue with her general hypothesis, however, noting that sometimes it is more advantageous in the long run to abandon one's instincts (fears? insecurities?) in favour of a why-not, what-the-hell attitude as long as that approach does not threaten one's personal safety or integrity. my argument was that every now and again, it may be to one's benefit to experiment with the boundaries of one's tolerance in order to determine whether those personal boundaries had been set too narrowly in the first place. we agreed to disagree.

three, if i am to die of a heart attack one day (not an unlikely scenario), it will probably take place on a baseball diamond somewhere in southern ontario. for today i realized that i take this game much too seriously. the clue? i spent over 90 minutes this evening preparing my lineup for next tuesday's match against one of the weaker teams in our division. and as of this hour, i still don't know which of our players will be available to compete in next week's contest. i even caught myself employing contingency models involving alternative scenarios assuming the presence or absence of certain players from my roster. yes, i have absolutely no idea what that means either.

four, for what seemed like the 384th time since i moved into this condominium five years ago, tonight i was forced to listen to a story about the names of the grandchildren of one of my elderly neighbours who had trapped me alongside my daughters inside the building's elevator system. "so, is this seven and two?" uh, yes it is. and you should know that by now since you've probably asked me that question 384 times since i moved into this condominium five years ago. "oh, i also have a granddaughter named seven. with an h. does your daughter spell her name with an h?" uh, no, she doesn't. and you should know that by now since you've probably asked me that question 384 times since i moved into this condominium five years ago. "and what about little two? does little two spell her name with an h?" uh, yes she does. and you should probably... ok, so you see where this is going then.

and five, as i made my way up and down the aisles of my local metro earlier this evening, i couldn't help but recognize the soft strains of the top ramen instant japanese noodles calling out to me just a few feet away. as you recall, it has been several months since i swore off those tender, juicy, artificially-flavoured prefab noodles in a cup. maybe i'm in withdrawal. maybe i'm hallucinating. or maybe i'm just itching for a fix of perhaps the most delicious hot water treat known to mankind. whatever the symptoms, i've got 'em bad and i need something, anything to take my mind off my cravings. and pronto. otherwise, i'm afraid that i may not be accountable for my actions. help.

"you have enemies? good. that means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life." - winston churchill

"with the pride of the artist, you must blow against the walls of every power that exists the small trumpet of your defiance." - norman mailer

"do not follow where the path may lead. go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail." - ralph waldo emerson

"not all those who wander are lost." - j.r.r. tolkien

"read, every day, something no one else is reading. think, every day, something no one else is thinking. do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. it is bad for the mind to continually be part of unanimity." - christopher morley

as promised: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRz4FY0ZcwI