Public Vs. PrivateThis is the persona you put forward. I was thinking about this a while back, especially surrounding the whole Britney Spears thing.
It is no big surprise to anyone who knows me that I'm a big Britney fan. And I'm always amazed at the things people bring up about someone,
especially a star. For some reason, we have this
tendency to bring the hate onto people in a higher social strata. Is it a form of
jealousy? Not sure.
For example, if you talk about Michael Jackson, the first thing people mention is that he's a child molester. Given, there is evidence to support such claim; as of yet, he has never been guilty of that crime. I like his music. Does that make me bad? (well, in some circles, yes).
So, when I'm talking to people, and Britney comes up in conversation, (which for some reason, it often comes up in my conversations) people talk about how she's a slut, or a druggie, or some bad thing. They don't look at her music, nor what she's done with her talent to sell albums and make something of herself.
Before I get flamed with comments, I do understand that she was mostly created by the record industry and that it is an image they want to sell. But she does write most of her own stuff.
Anyway, the whole point to this blog was to look at the image we portray ourselves in the public vs what and who we really are.
As mere mortals, we most likely have the same persona with our friends and colleagues as we do in the privacy of our own homes. I know some people have a 'work' face and a 'home' face, which helps with the separation of work and home.
I know that I'm different at work than I am with my friends and family. It would not be good for what I do to be who am at work. Yes, elements of my character are always there, but I do have a
different persona.
Where am I going with this? It's just a neat idea, as what are stars really like in their private lives? I know
there are magazines and shows dedicated to finding out that answer. Celebrities do everything int heir power to remain private, which is good.
Maybe I shouldn't even be asking that question...
Damn...Pragmatism is back to haunt me.
Labels: britney, pragmatism
All Systems Go!
I am free and clear of anything.
I was under, and I didn't feel a thing!
I'm quite happy.
Rawl and the Colon
It's early, and I'm up.
I ate jell-o and Soup broth last night at bout10:00pm, and went to bed.
As of now, no food in my system, and I'm pretty sure (99%) sure that my system is pretty cleared out.
I can't wait for solid food.
Time of Entry: 8:00am.
Y'know, I think I'll be ok.
So far, so good.
Linda's home, and making me more Jell-O!
oh wait...churning....
Labels: Colon, Purge
That 2nd pack was pretty fast acting...
That was pretty fast acting.
Churning, gurgling, and squishing. that's what I hear from my stomach.
Labels: Colon, Purge
Just took the 2nd packet.
Let's see what happens. So far, not an unpleasant experience.
I think I'm pretty clean already.
Labels: Colon, Purge
Y'know, the most difficult part of this is not eating.
Soup Broth and OJ don't really cut it.
Labels: Colon, Purge
Eating (or drinking) Chicken Broth, OJ and Jello.
Y'know, it's not that bad an experience, yet.
Labels: Colon, Purge
it's about 10:40, and I'm getting hungry.
Ah, always room for Jell-O.
Labels: Colon, Purge
I am on round three.
Labels: Colon, Purge
So far, so good.
I'm not too uncomfortable yet.
Labels: Colon, Purge
Churning in the stomach, and some slight discomfort.
I think it's starting....
Labels: Colon, Purge
First Packet...Just mixed it up, and drank it back.
Mmm...Nice. Not a bad taste. Reminds me of Citric juice.
Let's see what happens....
Labels: Colon, Purge
Pre-Scope Day....
If this is too Gross, I'll remove these posts....This is the Purge Day!
But it's 7:40, and I was up at 6:30 with Linda. Just drinking O.J, since I'm not allowed solid food today.
Currently, I'm
making some coffee to have, to take care of my '
caffeine' fix.
Almost time to take the
Pico-
Salex.
Labels: caffeine, Colon, Purge
Prevention may be worth something...Tomorrow I'm not going to work. That may sound like a good thing, but here's the reason.
I am going to be undergoing a
Colonoscopy on Wednesday, and Tuesday is the 'cleaning' day.
...yeah.
Why would I talk about this on my blog? Well, it's not a secret, nor is it something to be
embarrassed about (pardon any pun you may see there!).
To explain; When Mom was in the hospital with Colon Cancer, her sister had just recently (4 months previous) had polyps removed from her colon. My Mom's brother in Trinidad has part of his colon removed because the found cancer there.
Since my mom was relatively young (60), and she had a pretty advanced case; as well as her family having such early cases, the doctors suggested that
Jasse and I get scoped.
It's all to make sure there's nothing there and to keep an eye for any early detection.
Which
Jasse did today. I don't know how it went, but I assume it's
ok.
And I get to 'clean' tomorrow.
It's gonna be crappy day. I'll try to blog with updates.
Labels: Cancer, Colon, endoscopy
Re-inventing yourselfTrying not to bog down this blog on 'house stuff', I'll try to steer clear of that topic today.
This topic is something I've often thought about. I know growing up, I've often had to re-invent myself
because I wasn't sure of who I was. Again, that's the eternal cry of the youth, which most of us have been through.
In the media, the spin doctors have a great time 're-inventing' their clients. So many stars,
athletes and
musicians play a certain role; both on screen and off. But to keep them popular, they hire
people to make them look a
certain way.
I don't know if you can go past a few days without hearing about a star doing something and then something else to try to get back their popularity.
If
only us
lowly people could do that, imagine what your daily grind would be? I know at work, there is politics. It would be funny to have people on the local level take care of the
public perceptions of you. Your publicist could make you seem like the best person in the world and have people always help you.
But when you think about the
absurdity of that (not only the amount of money it
would take), wouldn't it all boil down to just being nice?
It's a lot cheaper. And for the most part, takes no re-inventing.
full circle? I think I'm still pretty oblong at this point.
Labels: politics, re-invent, work
Debt and Life...
So, Linda and I firmed up the details and things for the
mortgage of the house. Yes, we're
officially going to be poor.
Poor, is really relative. We'll be fine, but it'll be tough. Trying to keep expenses down and having a somewhat enjoyable life will be a goal. I'm sure we can do it. It's been done in the past by people, and I'm sure we can do it.
Again, learning well from my parents, they '
ve always told
jasse and I to heed the advice of elders, so I asked some of my friends and co-workers. They all wove tales of what I expect. However, they've all seemed to have
survived relatively unscathed.
It's just scary for me. Entering this unknown realm;
uncertainty around every corner; hardships seem the whim of a slap-happy being;
Life? yeah.
Tough? You bet.
Labels: house, life, morgage
Back to normal...Yeah, well. the Big news is that things are back to normal. However, normal is a bit different.
To confirm, yes; Linda and I got a house in Whibty. It's gonna be a lot of work, but I think we'll be fine.
We've had nothing but support from friends and family, so I'm quite excited.
And Jasse got me an "iTalk," so I can start the 'Rawlio Podcast'. That won't be for sometime, as I'm going to be getting iLife, and there's some interesting programmes on that.
Interesting tidbits?
Life: is this the next step: Many of my friends say so.
hmm..
we'll see.
Labels: house, life, Linda
We bought a house!
At about 3:45pm today, Linda and I offically bought a house in Whitby.
Without giving too much information, it's close to downtown Whitby (brock St. & Hwy 2), 1920's built home.
So, everbody can stop bugging me. I finally move out and now I'm in Whitby. We'll be moving by the end of May.
Yeah, fast.
Does that make me a Whitbian? Whitbite? Whitbyterian?
Labels: house, Linda, Whitby
Happy Birthday
'
Tis the ides of March.
It's my birthday, and I'll cry if I want to.
Yeah, it's my birthday today. Not sure what's planned. I only really have one thing I want to do today. I want to go see Mom's Grave. Other than that, Linda's got the day for me.
I've not blogged this week because I'm off. Just to let you know.
How old? Let's just say
I'm about 88F.
Labels: Birthday, Ides of March
So, it does work...
I was back surfing the CBC website to see if they have the links up for thier page to pitch a show.
And Yes, it does work. It's on the left side.
Pitch a CBC show
Or you you can click this.
Man, it's only for Radio. I guess CBC television doesn't want to do it.
Could Rawlio's world go Radio?
hmmm...
a 1/2 hour daily musings of my life? Would the CBC go for it?
I've heard worse
powered by performancing firefox
No more Corner Gas...
So, why is this hard for me to believe? I thought the show was doing well? Why did I like it?
To me, Corner Gas was like Seinfeld in the Prairies. However, not ever been to the Prairies, this seems like an odd show to like.
I'm still sad that they're not going to renew the show, and that it's the last episode.
Which goes to a previous blog about me wanting my own show. I know many people want their own show, and that doing a TV show would be a cool thing. I do think I could have a good show. What it would be about? That's a good question. Does it have to be original? Sure, to sell ads, right? But is there truly original shows on TV?
For instance, me not being a huge TV watcher anymore, I'm pretty select on what I watch. I do channel surf to see what's on now, and I'm always surprised at the types and genres of shows being produced.
Just before me blogging this, I noticed a show with Tina Fey. It was called '30 Rock' or something like that. Tina Fey was one of the head writers for Saturday Night Live, and it looks like she either pitched this show, or they offered her a show. I'm not exactly sure what the show is about, but after watching parts of it for about 10 minutes, I get the impression it's a show about working in NBC. Maybe a 'close to fictitious' staff who run a TV show, or something, which invariably Tina Fey is the boss. What is a bit sad (or upsetting, or just plain weird) is that it seems Tina hired many SNL wash-ups, like Tracy Morgan and Molly Shannon.
Again, is Hollywood (or TV?) really that hard up? I still wish that link on the CBC website to pitch a show was up and running.
Would my show be 'Rawlio's TV show?' Nope. Maybe a similar vein of Dawson's Creek, with my friends as the cast and characters. Rawlio's World? Yeah, I can see that show...
Labels: Sad, SNL, TV show
PrioritiesWhat are your priorities? OK, this is a rhetorical question, as I don't really want to know your actual priorities, but it's a neat thing to think about.
In my job, I see many people, and it's always interesting to see what people find important. For some, it's money. For others, it's fitting in and being popular. Even some people's priorities are just making sure they always have the best of whatever, to say they are 'cutting edge.'
Again, it's hard to say what's important. Going back to that Happiness entry, can one solidify what is important? Again, too subjective. Some people, they need to always be ahead. For others, it's to have as much money as they can.
Is there anything wrong with what you consider a priority? Does someone have a right to tell you whether your priorities are correct? Are you allowed to reshuffle your priorities at a whim?
Again, all tough questions. I wish I had the answers. I know what is right for me. I can empathize with others on their choice of priorities. But to tell someone they're priorities are wrong is just as wrong.
Kettle: Hi Pot. You're really black.
Pot: Yeah. But kettle, are there really black pots anymore? I'm all shiny and new. I'm made of steel.
Kettle: True, but I think it's like being guilty for something and accusing that person of the same thing.
Pot: Oh...I see. I hate old phrases. When will they be phased out?
Kettle: My guess is when they come up with a better adage for this idea. Like what would be the modern version?
Pot: Dunno. Maybe the idiot calling the moron stupid?
Kettle: Oh...wait! how about the stupid moron calling the idiot dumb.
Pot: Well, dumb is really a disability. The lack of speaking...
Kettle: crappy. Let's use yours instead.
Rawl: Um, guys...Can I get back to my Blog?
Pot & Kettle: Certainly!
Labels: adage, happiness, priorities
Trying a Firefox Addon...
This is to let me 'blog' from the browser, and add things from websites.
hmm....
powered by performancing firefox
Seeing the ChangesMany things go through my head when I'm driving. Again, which is why I would like to try a podcast that I record on my way to work, or on my way home. Just thoughts one has when driving.
It's a time when have the chance to explore thoughts and ideas uninterupted by people or things (for the most part...). And this is mostly where I get some of my ideas.
Yeah, going back to my rant about young people and not knowing much, is it a matter of nature vs. nurture? Are people less smart because of the environment they grow up in, or is it becaus they are coddled?
I'm only know realizing that the complaints the older generation had against me are the same ones that I have against the younger generations. I know that older people say I had it easy because they didn't have the access to certain foods or luxuries that I had. And in turn, I say that younger people have it easier due to the luxeries I didn't have when I was their age.
But again, who's really the ones to complain? My parents? My grandparents? My great Grandparents? If I had most of these people still alive, I could ask, but I'm only really left with my dad.
I know Dad would talk about having to feed the chickens and cut sugar cane before going to school (Remember, he's from old school Trinidad, in a less-developed area). At first, my brother and I didn't beleive that they actually had to do such activities. When Jasse went to Trinidad a while ago, he actually found out that these things were true, and that my dad and his siblings actually had to do such things.
I can imagine my dad talking with his friends about how I have it easier, with computers, cell phones, electricty, TV, etc. And I complain that the youth of todya have it easier with email, and newer, faster computers.
Even Linda is surprised that when I was in University, email was not really a big thing, and especially in High school, it was almost unheard of. I remember having a monocrome moniter and a the old computers with teh 5 1/4" floppy drive. This was a huge sucker that the sales person took my parents for a ride when he sold it to us.
(I do hope that guy rots in hell for selling my parents a crappy old computer for way too much money!)
Really, I have to wonder if my generation has seen the advent of the 'technolgical' age, or is it the generation after me? I don't take cell phones for granted, nor do I think that the internet has always been around. Heck, I remember surfing on Yahoo! back in 1994 when it there was no other search engine.
Ugh, I'm getting old. And my birthday's coming up. Maybe that's why i'm getting melenchoic...
Labels: changes, Jasse, Linda, rant, technology
How much do we rely on Technology?This is a question I've been thinking about for a while. I've been lucky that I didn't lose power for any long period of time this past weekend. I heard on the news that some people in Toronto have been without power since Thursday. Losing your power for that amount of time in a very developed area seems almost inconceivable, but apparently it happened.
Even when I was in Pickering during the big Black-out a few years back, we were connected within 27 hours, which was a lot later than most of the province. But with a bad storm, losing power for 4 days seems insane.
So, Without power, you are pretty much stuck without the creature comforts we're used too. No Internet, No TV, no computer, etc. Maybe you can charge your Cell phone in your car, and use the radio in your car, but for teh most part, no cooking and no entertainment.
Am I stretching the truth when I say we're stuck without technology in the absence of power? Well, not really. Once you can use some kind of knowledge to get by, I'm sure that having no power doesn't matter. It just makes things a bit more difficult, but not impossible.
And not having your phone for a few days? Not a bad thing. Not being connected to the Internet, I know there are worse things. But for being completely useless without power is too much.
This makes me feel a bit better, as we're not as dependant upon electricity as we think. I know some people would need power for heath reasons, but for the most part, it is possible to get by with no electricity.
maybe I should change the title to "Are we too dependant upon Electricity?"
Labels: Power, technology, weather
Christmas Lights - RevisitedOK, OK. I've talked about this back in January. I'm going to revisit this entry again. I was driving home this evening, and I saw at least 3 sets of Christmas lights still on. Again, when I first mentioned this, some people commented how they leave their Christmas lights up because it's easier to not take them down. Sure, I can see myself doing that when i have a house. But I know I wouldn't have them on much past New year's Day.
But today? March 2ND? At least 3 people had them on. What's up with that?
Again, I like the lights, but there is definatly a time and a place. Sure, there is snow still on the ground, and that Christmas is too early in the winter to be considered a winter holiday. If Christmas was in February or March, at least we would have the [pleasure of having a winter to enjoy when Christmas comes.
Which goes to the whole "Crazy Weather" debate. I saw "An Inconvenient Truth." I'm a big fan of
Al Gore and his politics. I do believe that our actions for the past 200 years have had an adverse impact upon the environment.
I do believe that our weather patterns are changing radically because of the pollution and other nasty things we're putting in our air.
But back to the original thought: Why keep your lights on? C'mon people. Turn off your Christmas lights. I don't have my Jack-o-Lantern out still, nor do I have a Horn of Plenty sitting on my dining room table. Sure, they're neat things to have around, but the season is over.
It's time to decorate with Shamrocks and Pots of Gold!
Whew! Just under the Friday Night Wire!
Labels: Al Gore, christmas, weather
What is happiness?What makes you truly happy? This is a loaded philosophical question that has stumped many a folk for the past 5000 years.
Being a Philosophy student in my past, I remember talking about this. I know what makes me happy, but I'll be damned i that makes someone else happy. And what makes you happy for sure won't make me happy.
But what is true happiness? I know that my parents have taught me what makes them happy, and that I should find my own version.
But is that what true happiness is?
I think to my cat (or my dad's cat), Tabby. I know that she's quite content with a nice place to sleep, a person to snuggle up with, and a nice firm scratching behind her ears. (y'know, maybe that's what I like too....). Is her basic needs all that is required for happiness?
Then again, are we as simple as felines, or other smaller mammals? The adage of "Money can't buy you happiness", is not quite true. For sure, it won't make you truly happy, but it would make things a bit smoother.
I don't know what I'm saying. It's just that this question sometimes pops up in my head. Not because I'm not happy, but just seeing some people, and the way they act. You can see that some people are truly unhappy with their lives and they try to take it out on others.
oh well.
Labels: happiness
