What does it take for a door donkey to move?

Apparently not a half a dozen or so people walking into you.

Let's play a game of guess that stain!

Participated in my first ever race and achieved a personal best

Today I "ralked" (run/walk) the SportingLife 10K in support of sending kids battling cancer to Camp Ooch.

I made it to the finish line with a best time of 1hr and 48 minutes. My goal was 1hr and 40 minutes and I know I lost the time due to a bathroom break, and waiting in line to partake in this bathroom break, just before the 5K checkpoint.

In the end, all that mattered to me was that I did it and I was one of 26,000 people who helped raise over $2.2 million.

My husband joined me but quickly ditched me less than 300 metres from the starting line. Jerk.

That's him in his picnic table cloth shorts.

I ralked with my colleague and personal coach, Kolette, who helped me complete the race with a best time for that distance.

I trained six months for this race and walked over 800 kilometres. There was no doubt in my mind I could do it.

I reunited with my husband at the Finish Line. He finished the race, having walked it and never "ralked" it, in 1 hr and 26 minutes - also a personal best for him.

We took a selfie after we got our medals.

I can't wait til next year when I plan to beat my husband's time.

He won't know what hit it him. Or those shorts.

Context. Context would help a lot in this situation - disturbing footage from LRT train in Edmonton

Some background here

So many douchepickles on a rainy day, so little time

The train is not your office

from:		SR
to:		cj@thiscrazytrain.com
date:		Wed, May 7, 2014 at 9:58 AM
subject:		I’m sorry, I thought this was a train, not your mobile office

4:10 Barrie train yesterday, in the middle section of the train. Two women sat across the aisle from each other in the quads closest to the connecting doors, laptops open, multiple bags on the floor between them and all blocking the aisle.

They both proceed to join a conference call (both on their own phones). Lady #1 moves from her seat to sit/stand closer to the stairs (she was now behind me). She talks super loudly, goes back and forth between her original seat and her spot behind me a number of times to check some papers and n. At one point she was leaning over Lady #2’s computer as someone was trying to get past her. This person said “Excuse me” several times, tapped (softly) on her shoulder, then got a bit more assertive and spoke a bit louder before she got a clue and moved. They were still on the call when they wrapped up and got off the train in Aurora.

FYI, the call was about skin care and pharmaceuticals. I was trying to catch the name. Considering these employees are so important they can't sit still and shut up when work is over and it's home time, I could have bought some stock.

Went to bed angry. Woke up even angrier.

It didn't matter how many rounds of Angry Birds Friends I played during my 1 hour and 20 minute commute this morning, I continued to rage.

I raged all the way up Yonge Street. I raged in line at Starbucks and I'm still raging as my fingers fly across the keyboard.

Last night, I was accused in a tweet (along with another user) of spreading rumors on Twitter about how Metrolinx conducts its social media initiatives.

The tweet has since been deleted.

I did no such thing. I defended myself and proved I wasn't spreading anything. I found the tweet from earlier in the day that triggered responses from other Twitter users who questioned if a tweet sent by @PRESTOcard that read, "Ontario's election campaign is underway. We're here to answer your questions, but will be a bit quieter than normal" meant that Twitter accounts for Metrolinx and its subsidiaries, GO Transit and PRESTO, were outsourced and not handled internally. The manager of Metrolinx's media relations stepped in to assure those folks that Metrolinx and its subsidiaries handle all tweeting for their agencies in-house.

I know this. I've always known this.

I got into a Twitter discussion with another user about the recent vote conducted by Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1587 (the union that represents 1170 GO Transit employees) who announced members have voted in favour of taking job action against GO Transit if issues are not addressed in collective bargaining. This could mean possible disruptions in service for GO Transit passengers. The person I was tweeting with mentioned that Metrolinx wouldn't provide comment. I then mentioned the earlier @PRESTOCard tweet and the outsourcing accusation. Then the shit started to fly and I got royally pissed off.

(If you want a chuckle, check out this link - the government of Ontario has issued the same notice that @PRESTOcard tweeted for all of its agencies to tweet. Translation: Go ahead and chat them up but don't mention the election).

These are trying times for the government agency that is Metrolinx. Their boss is seeking re-election. People are chomping at the bit to make PRESTO an election issue (which explains the tweet from @PRESTOcard plus other government agencies) and over a thousand of its GO Transit employees are threatening job action.

Don't take your stress out on me.

You are not at home

Summer is coming

Remember the hose over the railroad track picture? Now the rest of the story...

The picture comes from Tom Bongaerts, a firefighter in the small town of Bornem in Belgium. There is a follow-up post on the Facebook page of FireRescue1.com from Bongaerts that explains the mischief behind the picture.

LOL at #freaksoflakeshorewest

With a picture like this, a little context would help. Yes, those are HIS boxer shorts. The rest of the story of how this went down is up to you

Just another Sunday morning on the TTC.

- Submitted

Put your luggage near the door. No one will steal it. BONUS! Sushi master

I can't use chopsticks despite having had lessons and group therapy.
It's always impressive to watch anyone use them - GO train or no GO train.

Ever notice how these "advocates" never pull these stunts on rush hour trains? (Turn down your speakers first)

Isn't it nice how foot riders help to keep the floors of our local transit systems spotless?

You know, just in case you wanted to get down and eat off of them, because that's super important to me.



- Submitted

May 9th is the National Day of Honour as Canada commemorates the efforts of its military in Afghanistan

The casket carrying the body of Pte. Tyler William Todd is carried to a transport plane on Monday April 12, 2010, in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Canadian and NATO soldiers attended a ramp ceremony at Kandahar Airfield for Pte. Todd, who was killed by a roadside bomb.
(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Murray Brewster)
Source

By Guest Blogger, Peter

May 9 is the National Day of Honour – a day that commemorates the end of Canada's military mission in Afghanistan.  I remember how I felt when Canada suffered its first four casualties on April 17, 2002 – the infamous Tarnak Farm incident.  

I'm not sure when I first learned of the repatriation processions along Hwy 401, but I was compelled to attend, to pay my respects for our troops' ultimate sacrifice.  I didn't know what to expect the first time I stood on Liverpool Rd. bridge in Pickering.  With sadness in my heart, I knew I would return again.  I do recall thinking that perhaps, with time, subsequent processions would not make me feel so ill at ease.  That was a naive notion, because with each repatriation, I felt worse than the prior one; especially painful were those with multiple hearses,

I don't know how many processions I witnessed, forty, maybe fifty; the number is immaterial.  On any given day, if the early morning news informed me of a fallen soldier, I knew I had to block off my calendar at 3 pm two days hence.  On the days our soldiers were brought back to Trenton AFB, my routine was the same.  In the mornings, I had to catch the 526 am train at Pickering station; on a busy day, it was the 445 am bus.  In the afternoons I had to race to Union Station to catch the LSE 1513 train in order to arrive back in Pickering and stand waiting on the bridge shortly after 4 pm.

It's very noisy standing on Liverpool Rd. bridge overlooking Hwy. 401; with time, I learned to tune out the din from the traffic below.  Other people who waited would talk to one another; I preferred to stand in silence with my flag unfurled.  Waiting involved gazing at Brock Rd. bridge, some 2 km. to the east, and watching for the fire truck parked there to signal the approaching cavalcade.  During that time, I would think about the youthful faces and the names of the soldiers I had seen and read about in the media.  I tried to comprehend what it must be like for the families and friends of the deceased knowing their loved ones had been taken from this earth without a word of farewell.  I failed in that regard; because I could draw on no experiences of my own as a baseline for comparison.  Regrettably, I am able to do that now, because I had to share this news.

When the repatriation procession would appear in the distance, I was never prepared for the gut wrenching feeling it gave me.  To this day, watching any video about the Highway of Heroes, like this NBC news report by Canadian correspondent Kevin Tibbles, evokes deep emotions.  On December 15, 2011, I watched CBC's Connect with Mark Kelley in which he interviewed Captain Wayne Johnston who was responsible for bringing home our fallen soldiers during the height of the campaign.  It was a heart-wrenching discussion that revealed the effects of the stress the captain had endured during his tenure.

As the aforementioned NBC news report stated, Americans are less open about their fallen soldiers than we are, but I believe that attitude is changing, slowly.  I was fortunate enough to take in Jerome Bell's performance of Halo (a tribute to American armed forces) in a packed Opal Theater on the Oasis of the Seas; his Aqua Theater performance is here.  When he was finished, I rose – as if instinctively – for a standing ovation.  The problem was only one other person did the same.  A fellow Canadian?  I don't know, but we stood our ground, and ever so slowly, the rest of the audience rose to their feet, too.

I hope we can all take a few moments out of our busy lives on May 9 to pay respect to those who served Canada during the Afghanistan mission.  At least visit the web site for more information and the Canadian Virtual War Memorial, too.  As a final offering, let us ponder these words from a Canadian 50 years ago.

Just another classy Friday night

Over-exaggerated excitement over my GO Transit Rail Safety week swag (GO Transit bag not shown)

Okay, the picture is bigger than I intended. I didn't assemble the train. My daughter has always wanted one so she can do it.

And here's the ever-charming GO Transit Safety Officers at Oshawa GO handing out said swag this morning.

Reason #102 why Double Decker buses suck

Sorry, my legal department is super busy at the moment

Dear Liddy,

Sorry if I got your name wrong. You were talking so fast in your phone call to me it was hard to catch it. At first I thought you said Libby, and for some reason, I immediately thought of beans -- Libby beans to be precise. My mom couldn't cook when I was a kid. Canned beans were a staple at lunch time. That and Zoodles... and these nasty, toasted sandwiches she made with Cheez Whiz and bacon bits. Yes, it was as gross as it sounds.
Anyway Libby, I'm sorry you feel I've violated your privacy on my website or was it Instagram? When I asked you where this photo you said I took was, at first you said Twitter and then it was Facebook. I don't have a Facebook site.
I'm sorry my lawyer was unable to talk to you despite you demanding to speak to him by 9 am tomorrow morning. He's a lazy son of a bitch and only awake for at most, 2 hours a day, and those aren't even consecutive hours! Plus, when you called, he was super busy (see photo). You can't tell but he's actually dictating a response to another complaint.
Anyhow Lizzie, to repeat what I told you on the phone, please outline the issue in an email to legal@thiscrazytrain.com.

Sincerely,
Cj Smith