Sunday, February 24, 2013
One Dave At A Time: I'm Becoming my Dad
One Dave At A Time: I'm Becoming my Dad: Let me start out by saying that I loved my Dad. Before he passed away we lived together for over five years and he became more than just a f...
I'm Becoming my Dad
Let me start out by saying that I loved my Dad. Before he passed away we lived together for over five years and he became more than just a father but a great friend as well. Having said that since I was a teenager there were certain idiosyncracies that drove me crazy. Much to my dismay I think I absorbed these through osmosis as I'm now doing many of the same things.
Growing up and into adulthood my Dad was always telling my siblings and I to turn off the light and not to waste electricity. Today I find myself saying the same things to Indra and Isaiah. I guess when you actually pay the electric bill it makes sense.
One thing that drove me crazy was that my Dad was always picking little pieces of fluff, food, etc. off the floor. It would drive me insane watching this. Of course, now I do this and drive Indra insane while she watches me. I also can't stand it when people don't put things back to where they found them (admittedly I probably also inherited this from my Mom).
My Dad would lose it if you borrowed a pen from him and returned it with the cap missing. I must have done this dozens of times as a kid. I've now inherited this same OCD symptom. I have to ground myself when people give me back a pen with no cap.
A not so great thing I do that my Dad did is blow up when I'm angry. I've been working on this as Indra doesn't appreciate it when I lose it and start screaming. I seem to have got a handle on this issue except for when I'm driving then all bets are off. Ironically my Dad was pretty calm when driving and I was the one grumbling under my breath for him to drive faster. I remember that he and my Mom were always arguing while he was driving about which turn to make, how his driving was in general, etc. Indra and I seem to have the same relationship in the car and she never even witnessed it. Although she did get me a GPS a few years ago to prevent me from getting lost.
I did inherit some great things from my Dad. His rugged good looks. His ability to empathize with others and want to help. I'm nowhere near his level of selflessness but am working on it. I also suck at saving money which is the opposite of him.
I guess if there is someone I am emulating I couldn't have picked a better person. Miss you Dad.
Dave the Dude.
Growing up and into adulthood my Dad was always telling my siblings and I to turn off the light and not to waste electricity. Today I find myself saying the same things to Indra and Isaiah. I guess when you actually pay the electric bill it makes sense.
One thing that drove me crazy was that my Dad was always picking little pieces of fluff, food, etc. off the floor. It would drive me insane watching this. Of course, now I do this and drive Indra insane while she watches me. I also can't stand it when people don't put things back to where they found them (admittedly I probably also inherited this from my Mom).
My Dad would lose it if you borrowed a pen from him and returned it with the cap missing. I must have done this dozens of times as a kid. I've now inherited this same OCD symptom. I have to ground myself when people give me back a pen with no cap.
A not so great thing I do that my Dad did is blow up when I'm angry. I've been working on this as Indra doesn't appreciate it when I lose it and start screaming. I seem to have got a handle on this issue except for when I'm driving then all bets are off. Ironically my Dad was pretty calm when driving and I was the one grumbling under my breath for him to drive faster. I remember that he and my Mom were always arguing while he was driving about which turn to make, how his driving was in general, etc. Indra and I seem to have the same relationship in the car and she never even witnessed it. Although she did get me a GPS a few years ago to prevent me from getting lost.
I did inherit some great things from my Dad. His rugged good looks. His ability to empathize with others and want to help. I'm nowhere near his level of selflessness but am working on it. I also suck at saving money which is the opposite of him.
I guess if there is someone I am emulating I couldn't have picked a better person. Miss you Dad.
Dave the Dude.
Monday, February 11, 2013
One Dave At A Time: Killing People Slowly
One Dave At A Time: Killing People Slowly: A few weeks ago I celebrated my eighth year clean and sober. That means I haven't taken a drink of alcohol or had a mind altering substance ...
Sunday, February 10, 2013
One Dave At A Time: TV Nation
One Dave At A Time: TV Nation: When I was kid I loved watching television. Heck, I love watching television today (love movies as well but that's a different blog). I was ...
TV Nation
When I was kid I loved watching television. Heck, I love watching television today (love movies as well but that's a different blog). I was one of those kids who would rather spend the day watching TV than out playing games with the neighbourhood kids. I loved to lose myself in the shows, the plots and the characters.
The first shows I remember watching are the kids shows we group up loving. My favourites included Mr. Dressup, Sesame Street, The Friendly Giant and, of course, Uncle Bobby. I can still remember the tickle trunk, Big Bird, et al, the rooster and The Clickety Clack Express. Saturday mornings I used to watch this show hosted by a magician called the Dale Harney Show. I remember that show had this feature called, "It's A Fact", and it would provide an interesting tidbit of information to us.
As I grew older my viewing appetite widened to include such shows as The Trouble With Tracy (a terrible show buy interesting if you're just a kid), All In The Family (classic) and Leave It To Beaver. When I was in grades seven and eight my buds would come home at lunch with me just to watch an episode of Leave it To Beaver. To this day I wish I had a Larry Mondello shirt. That would be awesome.
I also watched the classic game shows Price is Right, Let's Make a Deal and the Canadian classic The Mad Dash. Where you could win upwards of $75. Big bucks baby!!!! Canadian game shows always had those big prizes.
As I grew older I began to get into Barney Miller. The repeats were shown after school. Remember the episode when Wojo's girlfriend baked magic brownies and everyone got stoned? That was hilarious. Primetime TV I would watch with the whole family. CHiPs, Happy Days, Eight Is Enough, SWAT and much more.
My brother got me into Tihe Twilight Zone and the life altering show of Star Trek (original series). Star Trek would be a life-long endeavour. My last year of university we had a Friend's (yes the TV show) thing going on, I lived with two buds and below us lived three women and we hung out all the time. Saturday nights we would gather in front of the tube, beer in hand, and watch Star Trek: The Next Generation. I remember one weekend there was a marathon of the original series on, which I watched, and my roomy Mark lost it after hearing the theme song for the hundredth time. Later in life I would go on to become an avid fan of Voyager, Deep Space Nine and Enterprise. I remember at college the first public speaking class we had to write a speech in 15 minutes and present it. I had majored in political philosophy at university so my speech was how Start Trek: TNG is based on political philosophies. I know, I am quite the geek which brings me to one of my favourite shows of today The Big Bang Theory. Or as my friend from those university days, Janice, calls it BBT. Those guys rock and I have collected my own action figures for ages. I have Trek figures, including an original Captain Kirk. Unfortunately most of my figures have become lost over the years during my travails. I had an original Scotty but his leg got melted into a candle during one of my many drunken, drug laden, parties in that fuzzy 10 years somewhere between 1995 and 2005.
Another big show in university was Cheers. My first year I lived in residence on the second floor. We were also known as the Cheers floor. Every Thursday night we would gather in the TV room to watch the show. Everyone would sing the theme song when it started and shout Norm in the appropriate places. It was a hoot.
Over the years I have loved many shows. Here are just a few of my favourites: Seinfeld; The Wire (probably the best drama ever); Fringe (a modern day X-Files); Rescue Me; Arrested Development; Breaking Bad; Walking Dead; Dexter; Sons of Anarchy; House of Cards (my latest fave). I'm know there are a ton of great shows that have slipped my mind. What are your TV memories?
Dave the Dude
The first shows I remember watching are the kids shows we group up loving. My favourites included Mr. Dressup, Sesame Street, The Friendly Giant and, of course, Uncle Bobby. I can still remember the tickle trunk, Big Bird, et al, the rooster and The Clickety Clack Express. Saturday mornings I used to watch this show hosted by a magician called the Dale Harney Show. I remember that show had this feature called, "It's A Fact", and it would provide an interesting tidbit of information to us.
As I grew older my viewing appetite widened to include such shows as The Trouble With Tracy (a terrible show buy interesting if you're just a kid), All In The Family (classic) and Leave It To Beaver. When I was in grades seven and eight my buds would come home at lunch with me just to watch an episode of Leave it To Beaver. To this day I wish I had a Larry Mondello shirt. That would be awesome.
I also watched the classic game shows Price is Right, Let's Make a Deal and the Canadian classic The Mad Dash. Where you could win upwards of $75. Big bucks baby!!!! Canadian game shows always had those big prizes.
As I grew older I began to get into Barney Miller. The repeats were shown after school. Remember the episode when Wojo's girlfriend baked magic brownies and everyone got stoned? That was hilarious. Primetime TV I would watch with the whole family. CHiPs, Happy Days, Eight Is Enough, SWAT and much more.
My brother got me into Tihe Twilight Zone and the life altering show of Star Trek (original series). Star Trek would be a life-long endeavour. My last year of university we had a Friend's (yes the TV show) thing going on, I lived with two buds and below us lived three women and we hung out all the time. Saturday nights we would gather in front of the tube, beer in hand, and watch Star Trek: The Next Generation. I remember one weekend there was a marathon of the original series on, which I watched, and my roomy Mark lost it after hearing the theme song for the hundredth time. Later in life I would go on to become an avid fan of Voyager, Deep Space Nine and Enterprise. I remember at college the first public speaking class we had to write a speech in 15 minutes and present it. I had majored in political philosophy at university so my speech was how Start Trek: TNG is based on political philosophies. I know, I am quite the geek which brings me to one of my favourite shows of today The Big Bang Theory. Or as my friend from those university days, Janice, calls it BBT. Those guys rock and I have collected my own action figures for ages. I have Trek figures, including an original Captain Kirk. Unfortunately most of my figures have become lost over the years during my travails. I had an original Scotty but his leg got melted into a candle during one of my many drunken, drug laden, parties in that fuzzy 10 years somewhere between 1995 and 2005.
Another big show in university was Cheers. My first year I lived in residence on the second floor. We were also known as the Cheers floor. Every Thursday night we would gather in the TV room to watch the show. Everyone would sing the theme song when it started and shout Norm in the appropriate places. It was a hoot.
Over the years I have loved many shows. Here are just a few of my favourites: Seinfeld; The Wire (probably the best drama ever); Fringe (a modern day X-Files); Rescue Me; Arrested Development; Breaking Bad; Walking Dead; Dexter; Sons of Anarchy; House of Cards (my latest fave). I'm know there are a ton of great shows that have slipped my mind. What are your TV memories?
Dave the Dude
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)