On July 27, 2014, under the Florida starlight, I got down on one knee and asked the love of my life for her hand in marriage. With no hesitation, she said yes and we’re now happily engaged. Looking forward to Steff and I’s future adventures together, wherever they may take us!
off topic
Off-Topic: Tip the Scale
About a year ago, I was standing on the outdoor scale at the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas. As someone who hadn’t stepped on one in a very long time, those rising numbers came up and smacked me like an uppercut to the chin. I know I hadn’t done anything to keep that number down, but having the number be that high and exposed in a public venue like that was a certainly a wake-up call.
Though I sat on my butt for far too long, I finally found the motivation to do something about it. It’s been over a month since I started hitting the gym and I definitely feel better. I’m better able to withstand the stresses that come with this cardio-focused workout. Strictly from a visual perspective, I think that my face and my gut are less pronounced than they used to be as well. Having recently stepped on the scale, the results caught me off guard.
Off-Topic: The Joy of Reading
Over the past few decades, whenever anyone has asked me what my favourite book is, my answer has been Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Part of my reasoning is that it’s a great novel. The other part is that I have a very limited pool of books that I’ve read to draw from. Take away the books I had to read for academic purposes (including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) and I could count every novel I’ve read for leisure on one hand. The last book I read for fun was Angels and Demons almost a decade ago. This shortcoming of mine has been something I’ve been self-conscious about for a long time.
Off-Topic: Time Capsule Blog Idea
Many years ago, while looking at my blog’s publishing options, thought it’d be a cool idea to start a blog and write posts that wouldn’t get published until 100 years from now. I’d write about my life and the happenings of the early 2000s and beyond, and when the 2100s hits, this random time capsule blog will start publishing posts out of the blue, detailing life as it were 100 years ago. There something romantic to the idea that I love. However, the idea is heavily dependent on these blogging mechanisms of today still working a century from now. Say what you will about the major blogging players today, but who the heck knows what will exist tomorrow? Oh well, one can dream.
Off-Topic: Toronto To Host The 2016 NBA All-Star Game
Even before the Toronto Raptors became a thing, I dreamed for a day when the NBA All-Star game would be hosted in my neck of the woods. As a child, I loved watching the NBA’s finest duke it out in a once-a-year dream match. More importantly, I’ve been obsessed with the NBA dunk contest ever since Harold Minor blew my mind with the legendary between-the-legs dunk. Sure, the contest has been more terrible than not in the last decade or so, though it’s monumental enough of an event for me that I haven’t missed watching one live on television since.
With the news of Toronto getting the 2016 all-star game as a means of celebrating the franchise’s 20th anniversary, my childhood dream has come true.
Off-Topic: Tangential Ranting From A Reformed Sneaker Fiend
While I have owned hundreds of video games in my lifetime, I’ve never considered myself a collector of video games. To me, having a collection of games was merely a side effect of playing a lot of games. Also, I almost never buy games just for the sake of having them, as I generally have a plan to play everything I own eventually. To me, my one true collection was/is my sneaker stash.
Off-Topic: Royals By Lorde and the Rare Phenomenon of Genre-Neutral Hit Music
I’ll never forget the moment when I first heard Royals by Lorde. Steff and I were in the car. As I tend to do, I flip between radio stations playing all different types of music. Stopping on our local alternative rock station, I was caught off-guard by the sounds of Lorde’s harmony over 808 drums. “Why is this station playing this song?” I asked. “No idea,” Steff replied.
Since then, it’s not just our alternative station playing it. Come to our neck of the woods and you can find Royals on our urban station, pop stations, rock stations and even our adult contemporary station. She’s managed to create what I call a ‘genre-neutral hit’.
Off-Topic: Creative Bankruptcy
There was a period in my life when drawing was a passion of mine. Armed with a piece of paper and a pencil, I would spend hours drawing assorted pieces. Then one day, I stopped. At a certain point, I could no longer find it in me to just let the pencil go where it needed to. Instead of a blank canvas being an opportunity to explore, it became an insurmountable obstacle. I haven’t drawn anything in earnest since.
There was also a period in my life where making hip-hop beats was a passion of mine. If you’ve ever listened to The Recurring Bosscast, then you’ve heard a few of the 100+ beats I created during my run. Though the process was never easy – especially since I was never formally trained in music – I honed my craft to the point where I was really proud of the jams I created. But just like my penchant for drawing, my ability to just go with it disappeared. Instead, I’d sit in front of FL Studio, making a lot of noise, while not piecing anything together to form a composition. I haven’t created any new music in years.
What happened?
Off-Topic: From C to Shining C
As I continue down the path of guitar proficiency, I still reflect heavily on that one fateful day over 20 years ago when my dad tried to teach me how to play. He sat me down with his full-sized acoustic, and asked me to play a C chord until I got a feel for it. On that day, I never did get that feel. Instead, I felt the pain of the strings slicing through my fingers, the pain of my hands contorting in an awkward manner, and the pain of my childhood dreams being crushed by the presumed reality that I’d never be good enough. Until Steff gave me the Rocksmith guitar bundle last year as a Christmas present, I hadn’t picked up a guitar in earnest since.
In the last few months, I’ve overcome the once insurmountable psychological hump I created for myself back then and am enjoying the instrument with the limited skills I currently have. I definitely see myself continuing to work at it from this day forward. However, I can’t help but think about how I could have grasped the concept of guitar playing back then had certain things been handled differently.
Off-Topic: Being Past My Prime
“I ain’t as good as I once was, but I’m as good once as I ever was.” – Toby Keith
That guy on the left in the grainy screen grab is me, circa 2003. Back then, being the best baller I could be meant the world to me. I put in countless hours to make the best of my abilities, which I put to great use as a member of house leagues, school teams and on streetball courts around my city. Heck, I even took part in the And1 Mixtape Tour’s open run when they came to Toronto, where I got to play in front of thousands at the Air Canada Centre.
When I step on the court now, my mind still thinks that I’m 18 years old. However, I’m struggling to come to grips with the fact that my body clearly isn’t where it used to be.
In Third Person 