Full-Time Employed

Dear Readers,

The one and a quarter year job search since I’ve finished my College Diploma has finally come to an end. As of Tuesday, March 31rst, it has been confirmed that I have indeed accepted a full-time position with a local, expanding and thriving company with opportunity to advance and start building a future.

Finally, I feel like an adult.

A real adult.

Things are finally starting to fall into place.

I finally have job, I’m in a relationship with a woman deeply care about and trust undoubtedly with my whole heart, and I’m starting to look for a place to rent so I can finally move out and be independent.

I know I’m only 22 and most people in my age group might see it as the world is against them, but I see it as the world is an endless array of options, just ripe for the right person to come along and start feasting on the fruits of life. Building a strong foundation to carry through and expand on.

As much as there is dark in this world, there is light.

As much as there is bad, there is good.

I find the world has a way of putting you through as much dark as possible, and then in that singular moment when you feel like letting go, you do something amazing and miraculous… you cling to life, and climb your way out of said darkness and into the light. Where warmth, happiness, and prosperity await you to b a part of it and embrace you with open arms and a comfortable smile, saying, “Welcome to where you belong. And congratulations on passing the test.”

All the best,

R.Q.

Back Online

Dearest Readers,

I have not been writing on this blog site for a while, not because I have given up on it, or because I didn’t have the time to, but, merely because up until recently, I have not felt that familiar surge… that ping… that… that zest to write. I am humble and happy to admit that zest is back.

And with it, so am I.

Time has recently been feeling as though it’s just been whirling by at such a speed that it can often times leave one feeling disoriented and sometimes breathless. It is with this speed; however, that we are able to never become too far gone from who we are and what we’re capable of. It’s that compass that guides everyone at the core of it… some, guided more noticeably than others.

On the flip side, the speed of time can do something miraculous. Sometimes, when it’s spinning by you so fast to the point where you feel you can barely breathe and on the verge of giving up because you can’t keep up… it slows. Not down to a grinding halt, but, slows down just enough to let you get back on your feet and take those necessary breaths. Slow enough to allow you to appreciate what you have

Constantly we’re reminded by the passing of time. Cell phones beeping and buzzing, just begging us with their own technological voice, screaming, “Please, for the love of God! Touch me! Touch Me!” And also, lets not forget that truth that the apps on the phone can really make time, and your battery, drain faster than expected.

Time is something precious and special.

Something tangible.

Something so simple and so powerful. It has the ability to heal, or to hurt. The ability to change for the good, or take a turn for the worst. Something so vast, abundant and infinite, and yet so limited at the same time. A glimpse into the past, a beacon for our present, and ultimately, a guide to the future, filled with unknown rewards and risks that only fate determines.

All the best,

R.Q.

2013… The End Of A New Year; The Beginning Of Another

Dear Readers,

These past 8 months hiatus from blogging has gone by in such a quick, blinding speed that it makes my head spin just thinking about how much has happened in so little time.

The world has lost a lot of great people (i.e. Nelson Mandela, Paul Walker, Cory Monteith and James Gandolfini just to name a few).

Being from Ontario, the biggest scandal to come out of our cozy, quaint province, was of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford (who openly admitted to smoking crack cocaine after he was confronted), after which things just kept getting worse and worse for him, and despite all of the information that came to light, he could not be removed as Mayor; however, his powers as Mayor have been reduced.

Whilst keeping on the subject of Ontario, we embraced an incredibly dangerous ice/wind/snow storm for multiple days in a row, collapsing trees on power lines, cars and even houses. The main roads were kept in “working order” although the side roads in the suburban areas were absolutely treacherous with fallen trees and very low-hanging branches making the streets like a giant obstacle course/maze.

From that storm though, compassion and dedication to help neighbours spread like wildfire in an eternal flame of community. I even got involved in the action (getting cars unstuck, helping move fallen tree branches, and, checking on neighbours to see if they’re okay).

This year also saw Chris Hadfield, Commander of ISS, a policewoman who gave boots to a shoeless individual on the street, and even one dog’s absolute devotion to its master. After he passed away, the dog has been going to his gravesite every day and laying beside the tombstone for hours, before returning back to the house and doing it all again the next day. Keeping with the dog theme, there was a dog in China which did the same thing… the only difference in this occasion is that the dog in China braved freezing temperatures to stand guard over another dog that had died, proving that love amongst animals exists. There was even a kind-hearted story of a woman with financial difficulties giving back $800.00 that she found, and even a soldier coming home and dressing up as Santa to surprise his mom.

In terms of the not-so-positive events that gained people spotlight… Miley Cyrus going off the deep end, Rob Ford (even though mentioned above, this still classifies as bad publicity), the Kardashian Family (no explanation needed there), and even Robin Thicke being involved in a raunchy scandal.

Overall though, this year has been full of surprises and I can’t wait to see what the next year holds.

Wishing all my readers the best in terms of happiness and health.

All the best,
R.Q.

Movies In Review: Spring Breakers

Dearest Readers,

The recent flop to stink up the theatres of 2013 just so happens to be none other than, “Spring Breakers,” starring Selena Gomez, James Franco, and Vanessa Hudgens.

I recently went to see the film, yesterday to be exact, and to be honest, my original impression was that the movie was going to be pretty decent (based on the plot line and one hour, 32 minute run-time).

The movie started off with a rather raunchy (border-line uncomfortable) opening and images of what appears to be a hormone enduced beach party on a Floridian beach, with alcohol, naked women, and lots of other suggestive content, danced across the screen with a voice over of Selena Gomez.

After the opening is finished, we flash over to another part of the US and get introduced to the four female leads of the movie in their classroom environment, still being ‘cooped up,’ for spring break. Eventually, after a few more scenes of heavy alcohol and drug abuse, three of the female leads (all except Gomez’s character) steal a professors car, rob a local restaurant, then take the money and burn the car in a ditch/secluded roadside.

As if things can’t get any more crazy, once the four girls get down to Florida, after more partying, the four girls find themselves in jail, only to be bailed out by a local drug and arms dealer (James Franco), known as, “Alien.”

As if the movie can’t possibly get any worse, Selena Gomez goes back to the school while the other three girls stay with Alien and commit a serious of robberies, murders, and violent attacks on other people, including a massive shootout with a rival drug lord at the end of the film. In between the middle and the end it’s just sloppy, repetitive voice overs and a bunch of really random camera effects and a lot of really messed up scenes (some of which vary from James Franco playing Brittany Spears on the piano and singing one of her songs; Alien giving a blowjob to a gun; to the two remaining girls that make out with Alien’s dead body on the docks of the drug lords house after the final scene).

I guess it just goes to show you that even if you put a lot of pornographic moments, lots of drug and alcohol abuse, gang-related violence, and a whole lot of house music, that it doesn’t necessarily make it a good movie.

On top of everything, even though the ticket was half price, it still was not with a dime, or a minute of my time.

All the best,

R.Q.

Psalm Sunday

Dear Readers,

Today, March 24th, 2013, marks the annual tradition of Psalm Sunday (or Palm Sunday), which is the Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast also celebrates and commemorates Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. It also recognizes the beginning of the Holy Week (the final week of Lent). The day prior to Psalm Sunday is known as Lazarus Saturday (which commemorates Lazarus being raised from the dead).

The tradition is marked in church by making a cross, fashioned from palm fronds, but are substituted in cooler climates with boughs of box, yew, willow, or olive trees. The focus of the mass for this particular Sunday is the moveable feast, which follows the service of the blessing of the palms. In many churches, these palms are then burned the year later, and the ashes remaining are used on Ash Wednesday of the next year.

The vestments are usually a deep, rich, scarlet red which indicates the colour of blood, and the ultimate sacrifice that Christ was willing to pay in order to have entry into Jerusalem.

In cultures the world over, Palm Sunday is celebrated differently, but the message has always been universal. Though time has evolved, and with the evolution of time, mankind has also done so, yet the history is still practiced and respected.

Happy Psalm Sunday everyone and God Bless.

All the best,

R.Q.

Struggle For Warmth

Dearest Readers,

Antarctica… It’s desolate, unforgiving, and cold. Kind of like my apartment at this exact moment.

Living in a condo, it’s on the smaller side of places to live, so the heat is really trapped inside of space; however, when the heat leaves, it gets cold fast, and stays cold. It’s easy to imagine the horror when I found out that the igniter for the condo’s heater died.

So, with no hot water, and no heat, the already small, uncomfortable, crammed space becomes that much more uncomfortable. The only thing me and my family can do in the mean time is layer up and keep the blankets close by until the furnace gets fixed.

With that being said, hopefully the knock on the door is the service-man. Until next time.

All the best,

R.Q.

A Close Community

Dear Readers,

I light of the most recent storm that has hit Eastern Canada over the past few days, I’ve noticed a real sense of community start to wash over the people where I live. People helping others push their cars, dig their cars out of their parking spots or rough spots in the road where the snow was too high, heck even clean driveways because of too much snow. There were even people who pitched in to help each other clear out their driveways.

I myself pitched in and helped a few people around me, but it was really inspiring to see so many people, strangers really, come together and work as a team to get through it. A friend of mine asked recently if I got money for helping them and the answer was simple.

Nope (Nor did I accept any).

For me, when I helped my neighbours, I did it not because I had to, or because I was expecting money at the end of helping them, but merely, because I wanted to. It’s my personal nature to help people and more than likely that’s the person I will remain until the moment I draw my last breath.

It’s times like this (having an act of mother nature so severe) that really define a community by the people who live in it. Most could have walked away and said, “Oh, he’s stuck in the snow. Point and laugh, point and laugh,” but the fact that they had the decency and humanity to help them, that’s where the true beauty of community lies. Doing a selfless act for someone else and help them pick up their feet.

Besides, accepting help doesn’t always mean that you failed, it just means you’re human enough to accept the fact that you sometimes can’t do everything on you own.

All the best,

R.Q.

New Year, New Stories

Dear Readers,

I know that this has been the first post of 2013, and the only thing I have to say is it’s not that nothing worth writing has happened, but school comes first, blog second. Since the new year has begun, unemployment is still affecting me and the penny has since died, but that’s about where the bad news ends.

On good terms, schooling is going well, sleeping better, eating a proper diet, my health is improving, and my efforts at the gym haven’t gone unnoticed, as my physique is become better and more defined than two months ago in November.

I know that the first blog post of the new year is not my longest, but I promise it will not be my last. Back to studying for my test.

All the best,

R.Q.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Dearest Readers,

Any LOTR (Lord of the Rings) fans, must know that it has been 9 years since, The Return of the King, was in theatres. Well, now, after a long-overdue delay, the prequel to the amazing trilogy has finally come to life in the form of, “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.”

Directed once again by Peter Jackson, the director for the LOTR trilogy, takes viewers back to Middle-earth and experience the story before the main adventure even began. Although having a running time of 169 minutes, every second of it is enjoyable from start to finish, bringing a level of deep respect to J.R.R. Tolkien.

It begins in The Shire, 60 years before Bilbo’s 111th birthday, when Gandalf tricks him into throwing a party for Thorin and his band of Dwarves, and also discuss about bringing Bilbo Baggins along as the teams, ‘burglar.’ Bilbo refuses, but when he wakes up in the morning to find out that his house is returned to its normal state, and his unexpected guests have gone, he notices the contract is still in the chair. With that, he signs, and runs after the crew to join them on the journey to take back a kingdom from Smaug, the evil dragon.

The gang gets blocked off by Orcs, an enemy of the Dwarves countless times throughout the film, and the developmental twist is when Azog turns out to still be alive, and in fact, not dead, as most people believe him to be. Aside from the Orcs, the gang also faces trolls, Wargs (ferocious, werewolf type creatures with evil, demonic characteristics), stone giants, and in the case of Bilbo Baggins, Gollum, a sickly looking creature that used to be a Stoor Hobbit, but after becoming possessed with the one ring of Mordor, became a completely different individual in terms of appearance, becoming paler, more hunched, and his eyes developing a bluish tint to help him see in the dark better than an average individual just walking in. Throughout the movie, they also encounter three of the five wizards.

Filled with wit and charm, and beauty from start to finish, sitting on the edge-of-your-seat type excitement, this was definitely one of the best movies I have watched in a long while. Plus, seeing it in the theatre allows one to experience it with a fifty foot screen and surround-sound system. Overall, this is a 10/10 hands down.

For those of you who do not know already, The Hobbit will be broken up into its own separate trilogy, with one film being released each year. Can’t wait until 2013 to see the gang again, return to Middle-earth once more, and see what they’ll experience next.

All the best,

R.Q.

Let The Countdown Begin

Dearest Readers,

It seems as though another year has just flown by, and Christmas is yet again just around the corner. In a mere 16 days, it will be the 25th. A time of celebration and warm embrace amongst friends and family. Some of us will be in a warm environment on a vacation, the warm rays of the sun, adding colour to their skin, while others will be indoors, watching the snow bluster around outside the windows, the fireplace roaring.

Even though most of us this holiday season will be surrounded by those we love and in a safe and warm environment, there are those who are going to  be less fortunate. All anyone really wants during the holidays is that special sense of compassion and respect. The humble desire to be recognized and acknowledged. To know someone is always going to be there for them.

For me I’ve always been a humble individual and truth be told, Christmas, birthdays, even other special occasions where you exchange/receive gifts, to me, the gifts are the least important thing of all. For me, it’s all about being happy with what you have and it’s something that most people take for granted. I’m more of a giver than a receiver, but that’s fine because that is part of what makes me my own unique individual, and something I take pride in.

There are even a lot of simple things that one can do over the holidays to make someone’s christmas season better and it doesn’t even have to cost you a dime at all to do it. Whether its holding the door open from someone so they can seek refuge from the cold, allowing someone else to go ahead of you in a line-up, helping people try to find something that they’re looking for, or even offering your seat up on the bus or a subway to someone else, it will truly make a difference in making them feel acknowledged.

Sometimes, the greatest gift of all besides being with family, friends, and other loved ones, a mere, “thank you,” after you do something nice.

God Bless and Happy Holidays to everyone this Christmas season.

All the best,

R.Q.