Stop Collaborate and Listen

I Hate Every Red Light

Okay, everyone name this object.

If you said "traffic light" you'd be correct.  But more importantly, it's a red light.  

And what do you do at a red light?  

That's right.  

Then, why do so many people ignore them?  

That question is a little harder to answer.  It's one that I've been asking myself for about two years now. 

But we've all seen it.  In fact seeing someone ignore a red light is a part of my daily commute. It's so common that if I'm the first car stopped at a red light, I hesitate and look both directions before proceeding when it turns green.  

I think it's saved my life a couple of times.  

Just last weekend I was heading out, waiting to turn left onto Terminal Avenue. My light turns green, so I do the usual hesitate, look, then proceed maneuver.  I'm just about to hit the gas when a silver sedan goes barreling through the red light. Had I not taken that extra couple of seconds, it wouldn't have been pretty.  

But some aren't so lucky.

This year alone there have been several major collisions in intersections. There was one last weekend near Aulds Road that was so bad emergency crews had to pry apart two of the vehicles to free the victims.  

I'm glad I didn't come across that accident.  That's the kind of thing that'll haunt you.

I didn't want to show that picture, so here's a kitten instead.

Look, I know that Nanaimo's traffic lights can drive you nuts.  I hit every red light on the way to see Melissa last night between Comox and Woodgrove Centre, and I was one of only a few cars on the road at that time.  But running a red light just isn't worth it.  And if you make a habit out of it, it will catch up with you at some point.  

Yellow doesn't mean "just one more, just one more" or "I can make it if I gun it."

It means be prepared to stop.

And everyone would be a lot safer out there if we all kept it in mind.

Oh, and if I could get you to go ahead and slow down a little bit, too, that'd be great.

Comfy Feet

Foot Gloves

Never underestimate the importance of comfortable feet.

Have you ever stepped in a puddle? You end up with uncomfortable feet for the rest of day and everything feels like work.

Aw man!

Keeping an extra pair of socks around is one of my personal keys to happiness. Socks, Advil and a granola bar are always in my bag because they all have the power to save the day.

Well, I've finally found a place that gets the importance of socks. Reddit Gifts!

Reddit Gifts started out by doing a Christmas Secret Santa Gift Exchange a couple of years ago, and since then it has really taken off.  It actually set a Guinness World Record for the most people taking part in the same gift exchange. So yeah, it's pretty popular.

More recently the organizers decided that gift exchanges don't need to be just a Christmas thing, so they've started doing them year round.  And one that caught my eye is the sock gift exchange.  I randomly get someone and then I go out and buy him or her socks.  And someone gets me and that person buys me socks, too!

I finished my sock shopping today, picking out 3 nice pairs of socks that I'll pack up and send out tomorrow.    My recipient lives in Saskatchewan, so I hope they'll help keep his feet warm.

Batman socks! 

Now, I feel like I should include a disclaimer here.  I have terrible luck with Secret Santas.  Any anonymous gift exchange really.  I always take a lot of time carefully picking out something for my recipient, and then more often than not get nothing in return.  I'm not sure why it works out that way, but going all the way back to the 4th grade it's been like that.

In theory, I should be getting socks of my own some time in March.  We'll see!

But no matter what happens, the gift giving itself is always a ton of fun so no regrets!

I hope I get toe socks.

Wait, no I don't.  Who wants foot gloves?

Good news everyone!

I'm on Twitter!

You can follow the ponderences of my brain batter here.

And you should definitely follow The Wave and The Wolf while you're there.  

We shoot for an 82% Interesting Post Average.  

Also, for some reason Twitter keeps recommending that I follow Snooki.  Her Interesting Post Average is far lower.

Little Car

Problem Solving By Procrastinating

Why doesn't putting something off and hoping for the best solve any problems?  Wouldn't it be nice if you could just ignore something until it went away and then you'd never have to deal with it again? 

The Power of Positive Thinking is a total lie, at least when it comes to cars. 

Case in point, my car. 

Meet Little Car.  She's a 1996 Toyota Tercel who does two things - she makes my life easier, and she makes my life harder. 

Pictured here making my life easier.

Today, she's making my life a little bit harder. 

But to be honest, I should have confronted this problem a few weeks ago. She's been having mechanical problems and I've been adopting the, "ah, it'll all work itself out" repair technique. I even fooled myself into believing it for a few days when the problem had almost gone away.

Foolish mortal. 

Saturday, I pull into the gas station to fill 'er up, and when I get back in the car it won't start.  Just a hopeless clicking sound while other customers start to line up behind me.  Ugh.  So embarrassing. 

I call Melissa to see what we should do, and while we're debating a tow I give it one last try. I turn the key, cross my fingers, and...

C'mon baby...

Success!


I don't know how, but somehow in that moment it actually did sort itself out. But I don't know how many of those it has left in it without some attention, so off to the mechanic we go today. 

The challenge at the garage is that I don't know a lot about cars.  I can see if something looks worn, or if a tire needs replacing, but most of the time I have to take their word for it.  And it's not even like I don't trust them, it's just that every item on that list costs at least $50. 

Money better spent on other things, like coffee.

Wouldn't it be amazing if you went into the mechanic, he looked your vehicle over, hit it on the engine block with a wrench and then said, "There, problem solved!" and sent you on your way with a fixed car, no charge?

I'm still waiting for that one. 

But until nanobots fix our cars while we sleep, the mechanic it is. 

So I'm off to Midas today at 10.  Wish me luck!

Better Beans, Better Coffee.

I'm Paul Morrow, and I'm going to have a different year.  

And I don't mean better. People say the word "better" all the time to describe how they want their life to be, but that's not defined enough for me. What is better, really?  

Is better moving to a new city? Is better switching the brand of coffee you drink? Is it a complete change in your life, or an upgrade on your current life?  If you can't really define where you want to be or what you want to do, it's hard to get there.  

That's what I've come to realize recently, anyway.  

I should probably tell you a little about myself before going too much further.

I don't have anything in my nose, do I?

I'm 33, married to my beautiful wife, Melissa. She is seriously the best thing that has ever happened to me.  No exaggeration. Like a best friend that I also get to share a bed with. But I could fill a whole post telling you about her, so I'll move on.  (psst, that's her down below.)

I'd accept her charges any day.

I'm a DJ. Well, "on air personality" is the preferred term now. I work for 2 radio stations in Nanaimo, BC, on Vancouver Island. One of the prettiest places I've ever lived.  

I'm the Weekend Personality on 102.3 The Wave www.1023thewave.com Sat 9-3 Sun 10-6

It's a Hot AC (pop music) station that plays songs from the 1980's to now. We play Lady Gaga, The Script and Swedish House Mafia, but we also play Bryan Adams, Blondie, and all the best New Wave. Let me put it like this, if I say Madonna is coming up, it could be almost any of her singles.  

This Madonna...

...and this Madonna!  All for one low price!

I'm Evenings on 106.9 The Wolf  Thursday through Sunday, too   www.1069thewolf.com 6pm-Midnight

It's a rock station that plays all the greats, Ozzy, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, more Rush than anywhere I've ever worked and lots of cool new music too like the Black Keys and the Rival Sons. And don't worry about the 90s rock. We've got you covered. I can never get enough Stone Temple Pilots or Alice in Chains.  

Keith Richards.
He might be as old as the Rockies, but goddamn Doom & Gloom is a good song.

I've been working in radio for what feels like a long time, since 2006 I think. Maybe 2007. 

Nanaimo is the third city I've worked in. I started in Peace River, AB, moved to Kelowna 2 years later, and then Nanaimo about 2 years after that. 

Okay, now here's the thing.  

Ever since I've graduated from BCIT, I feel like my life has been mostly out of control. Not spiralling towards disaster or anything like that, but that I'm trying to get somewhere and I've been somewhat successful, but not really by design. More by stabbing in the dark.  

Is that a terrible thing to say?  

Again, it's not a bad thing. I'm quite happy with most aspects of my life. Happily married. A nice (new!) apartment. A career that rarely feels like work but is at the same time incredibly rewarding. But I still feel like I'm living the life of someone 10 years younger than me. Like I should have a plan.  

So, that's the kind of year I want to have. One where I make plans and follow through with them.  

I don't expect it to be easy.  So I'm starting small.  

This blog is actually Step 1. It's something I've always wanted to do. 

It's going to be a place where I talk about the city I live in, the people I talk to, and the experiences I have.  

I'll be sharing it with Melissa. She'll be free to post on it anytime that she likes too.  

I'll try not to make her mad too often.  

It begins.  

Oh, and I know it's only rock and roll.

But I like it.