Let’s hear it for the narc! The term comes from “narcotics officer,” those dedicated police officers who fought the war on drugs by infiltrating the drug rings to bring them down from the inside. It has since grown to apply to just about any law enforcement professional who’s drunk on their 2 cents worth of power. They are the ones who think zero tolerance is too tolerant. They’re the ones who’ll lock you up and throw away the key for the most minor of infractions. They don’t speak softly, but they carry a big stick…and a big gun, a big gun of pepper spray, all kinds of weapons. As long as they’re big. I recently came face-to-face with a narc and I tell ya, it was all I could do to keep from laughing my ass off.

Continue reading An Ode to the Narc →

I played with Lego when I was a kid. I’m sure we all did. It was always a source of envy between my brother and me. Even though I was the boy genius with a wall full of honour roll awards, it was my brother who could get his hands into the Lego bucket and just build. He could always make the best aircraft. Airplanes, helicopters, those were his domain when it came to Lego. But me? My Lego creations sucked. It seemed like all I could make were bigger blocks. Slap some wheels on a bigger block, and there! I made a car. Slap some wings on. Now it’s an airplane. Make a really, really big block, leave some gaps for doors and windows, and I could make a house. But generally, my Lego creations sucked.

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I’ve spent quite a few years of my life working in the small town of Drayton Valley. We also know of my love for the movies. Now, Drayton Valley does have a movie theatre. It’s so close, I don’t know why I haven’t gone to it more in my life. The Cardium Theatre is your typical small town theatre. One screen, not exactly state-of-the-art, you buy your tickets at the concession stand. The big Hollywood releases rarely open in it. They’ll come to town about two or three weeks after they come out in the big cities. So now, as I drive past it every day on the way to work again, I keep asking myself why I haven’t taken advantage of this theatre in my own backyard more often.

Continue reading The Movies →

I’m working again. I’m a produce clerk in a grocery store. When I first got the job, my sister asked me if I thought it was beneath me. I told her that no, it wasn’t beneath me. When you’re hard up for cash and want to make an honest living, there’s no such thing as a job being beneath you. But then, I started having flashbacks to junior high health. This being the early 90s, emotional well-being was stressed as much physical health, so there were units devoted to job-related stress. Within this unit was the differentiation between “job,” “occupation,” and “career.” And now, as I look back on this unit and comparing it to what my sister said, I still believe that a job in a grocery store isn’t beneath me. But, a career in a grocery store is very beneath me.

Continue reading Aspirations →