psa on using qtips to clean your ears

Dear reader,

So yesterday afternoon I picked up some bluetooth earbuds that I bought from Marcus' house (bless his Amazon Prime account). I got home and I was super excited to try them, but as with most brand new things that involve some bodily contact I wanted to make sure said body part was relatively clean.

Now usually I clean my ears out in the shower (yuck why is Kevin talking about this) because it's a lot easier for me remove any wax when it's wet. I didn't feel like hopping into the shower because I was going to go to the gym later, so I made the grand mistake of using a qtip to clean out my ears. You've probably heard that it's a terrible thing to do, as it usually performs the opposite of its intended use and pushes ear wax further in (also you run the risk of damaging sensitive parts of your ear), but despite knowing this I did it anyways.

Note that I've literally make this same mistake in the past and I've run into the very same problem I'm about to describe.

Later that night as I'm trying to turn in for bed (around midnight), I hear this overwhelming screeching in my right ear, like an absolutely headache inducing swarm of electronic wasps. I toss around in bed and I settle down in a position where I'm laying on my right side in a futile attempt to deafen the sound.

Aaaaaand that's when everything in my right ear went muffled. My heart hi-fived my stomach and I felt absolutely terrible. The experience of being pretty much deaf in my right hear is not an unfamiliar one, and I resigned myself to being partially deaf for a few days. It was extremely difficult to go to sleep and my stomach wasn't feeling too hot so I got up and ate cereal, browsed around on my computer for a bit, and then somehow drifted off to sleep later.

The last time I had this problem my pediatrician had me drop some mineral oil in my ear so that the wax buildup would break down and a week or so later I went into his office and had my ear flushed out. I figured that mineral oil would help, so in the afternoon today I set aside some time and tried putting in a few drops of the mineral oil in my ear (I need time to lie in bed and let the oil do its thing, otherwise it just comes spilling out).

It's very difficult to drop mineral oil (or anything for that matter) into your own ear, so that's another reason to not clean your ears with qtips. Anyways, it didn't seem to have an immediate effect (as usual) and I attended my ulti game still hard of hearing.

Playing ultimate with one of your ears gone is pretty hard.

I just got home an hour ago and took a shower. I was feeling really bummed out and worried that the problem would persist into tomorrow when I have work. So in a last ditch effort I got nice and drenched and then I filled my ear with water, sealed it off with my palm, and then jerked my head to the left as I let go.

And you know what? For whatever reason this worked. I won't try to explain it with vacuums or physics or whatever because I actually don't know what happened.

Yeah so don't use qtips to clean your ears.

Love,

Kevin

Ps: treat your ears right and take a break from earbuds/headsets

Psssst: that also means not playing music at max volume

journey

Today's song of the day is Papercut by OOHYO! Thank you to Phil for letting me know that they released a new song last week. If you'd like, please take a listen while you read the rest of this post.

I've always been a proponent of the saying: It's not about the destination, it's about the journey. In my journey of life one of my most important values has been friendship. As a result, my fondest memories are shared with those closest to me. The first things that come to mind when I think about my journey are the those memories - maybe the time Students' Council stayed very late after school to finish up dance decorations and we had McDonald's for "dinner" or the various hardships the Alpha-UBC squad has gone through in their first year of university. Whatever the case, I'm glad that I got to experience said moments, collecting them as part of "the journey".

While it may seem like I'm going completely off topic, I will say that I have always thought I would do a better job of parenting than my parents. When it comes time to ask them for documentation I need for whatever thing I'm doing, it takes them a bit to dig through their drawers for it. There are also things that I believe they do "wrong", such as washing dishes (they don't pre-rinse dishes) or cooking (I like preparing all my ingredients before actually starting to get things sizzling).

Only recently have I realized my sheer naivety.

I neglect to factor the disorganized state my room is in - I am only able to pull out my personal documents purely because I have fewer things to keep track of. I'm sure that if I don't improve my organization skills I would be much worse than my parents at getting documents for any children of mine.

In regard to our opposing methods of dish washing and cooking - they are not intrinsic parts of parenting. Parenting does not entail "pre-rinsing dishes" or "preparing ingredients beforehand", and I was foolish to mix parenting and basic human habits. I view my parents as parents (naturally), and I do not see them in the same way that I would a friend.

My explanation is pretty confusing, so hopefully the following sentence will help convey the message. Just because my friend does not pre-rinse dishes does not mean he/she would be a bad parent.

My parents are just people, and like everybody else they have their own habits and quirks. They have done an amazing job of raising my brother and I (or at least I'd like to think so), and this mini "epiphany" of mine has helped me realize some other things. They also have their own struggles with parenting, but the thing is: they continually improve themselves and it is a process - it is a journey. My dad did not instinctively know how to fix up a house - he had to learn and lean on others for support. The same goes for my mother; feeding and managing a family of four are skills that she developed and did not learn in an instant.

And once more I am going to go off topic only to desperately tie it back with the main message!

I've been employed at my current workplace for nearly a year now, and if I look back to when I first started working I can confidently say that a lot of things have changed, most of them for the better. As all the staff adapted to working here, we found better and more efficient ways of doing things. However all these better methods were obviously not present when we first opened the store. In retrospect I could say, "This current practice of doing this thing is better, why didn't we do this at opening?" but that would be ignorant of me. Our management would not build a store and think, "This is by far not our best way to do this thing, but we're gonna do it anyways." It is difficult to start anything perfectly, and opening a store is no exception. Obviously we tried our best, but we have also worked hard to improve.

And that is all I have for today. I hope you can take away at least something from the mess I have written. Until next time!

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This post was refreshing to write, as I actively thought about what you, the reader, would think. I had yet another realization that my writing has just been me barfing my thoughts out onto a screen, and when talking about relatively complex topics such as the ones covered today, it may be difficult to follow along. You and I think differently and we have different experience. Perhaps my examples did not resonate as strongly with you because you have not seen such things firsthand. I tried editing my writing so my thoughts would be more clear, but if there's anything I've learned by now, it's that everything's a process ;)

feels

Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit my old neighbourhood as my VUL game was located at a park in the area.

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I've been strapped on money lately (a result of overspending and getting fewer shifts at work) so I slap on some sunscreen, put on sunglasses, and start the 30 - 40 minute walk to the park.

On the way there I think about a lot of things. I think about her more than usual. I pass a center that I had my work experience at a few years ago and I remember how bad it felt to be away from her while I was "working." I take a shortcut through a field and I see the familiar sight of a huge willow tree looming over abench that I sat on a long time ago.

My aunt's house (where I lived up until high school) is pretty close to the field, and I want to drop some stuff off so I take a quick detour there. As I walk down the block I grew up on, I see both change and sameness. I wonder if the duck pond just a block away is still there, and I'm reminded of a promise I made to her. Some of the houses have changed owners and some have changed face. Everything else looks to have remained the same though.

I never did get the chance to take her to my aunt's place. I was always convinced my parents and the rest of my family would absolutely love her.

I walk to the backyard of my aunt's place, feeling a little bit like a stranger. Plants grow everywhere and I drop off the goods - a folder of my brother's studying material for when he gets off work - on the back porch. The gate latch that clinks behind me is a familiar sound.

From my aunt's house to the park where the game is there is a pedestrian bridge that spans over a highway of sorts. Again, I'm reminded of when we were here together. As a child I would peer over the thick concrete walls that prevented dumb kids like me from falling over. Now I feel like a lumbering giant looking over those same concrete walls and taking in the sounds of traffic and cars.

Once I reach the end of the bridge the rest of the trip is an uphill walk followed by two blocks to the park. The hill hugs the golf pitch & putt and I recall that the family of one of my friends from elementary school used to take care of the grounds here. That friend also happens to be what young me naively considered my second "girlfriend." For the rest of the trek up the hill my mind swirls with the past and how much fun I had in elementary school.

As I near the end of the hill I bump into two of my teammates unpacking their things from their car. I greet them and we make our way to the field together. When we arrive at the park even more memories flood my consciousness. Though my brain remains in the present my heart skips back years and I can feel those emotions all again, those summer evenings spent at the park with my cousin, those carefree school afternoons,

that time when we got into a fight and then I stormed out or she stormed out, I don't even remember anymore but knowing myself it was probably me. It rained and rained. She ended up sitting at a bench in the park and I sat under a tree at my elementary school. It was cold to say at the least. I called her and I met her at the bench. We both said our parts and made up. Bundled up in our newfound warmth, we waddled over to the local gas station and bought some hot chocolate. We waited for the next bus and took it towards home, getting off and waiting at a McDonald's for a transfer. Over some Junior McChickens we warmed up and talked and laughed and smiled. Our bus came and we made our way home.

My mind snaps back to the present, and I march on towards the rest of my team. We win both our games and everybody has a good time.

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Not from the game last week but a picture I'd like to share.

Writing this has helped me realize a few things. I use way too many commas in my writing, most of them not even necessary. I think it comes from my speaking pattern and habits as I write like how I speak. Another thing that I'm really proud of is the fact that I was able to write a post about her without feeling bad about myself. Even writing about the little story at the end made my heart well up with the emotions I felt while all that unfolded, but I managed to write it and convey it in a way that I'm happy with. Typically my posts about her end up in the "messes" pile of my box. I think my title selection was poor this time around, but hopefully next time I'll pick something better.

There's more to come!

july flowers

5

I snatch the disc in my hand, having broke free of the person marking me. One of my teammates is a blur as he sprints freely down the length of the field, beckoning towards me.

don't do it you're not good at long throws you're just going to embarrass yourself you'll never be as go-

With my feet now planted on turf, I twist my body to my left side, gripping the disc with my hands, and I throw as hard as I can towards the endzone. My right arms slowly lowers to my side as I watch the disc rip through the cool summer air. It's curving to the left and as it nears the ground I fear that it will go out the left side, however I watch as my teammate scoops it out of the air and performs a small point celebration.

The rest of the team catches up to us in the endzone and high fives are exchanged. My teammate who had just scored the point raps his knuckles against mine and says,

"That was an awesome put!"

This teammate just so happened to be an on-call player who knew our captain. He plays for the UBC team and had immense confidence and agility out on the field, so I felt proud that somebody I respected had complimented my throw.

The rest of the game went smoothly and we bagged two wins for our first week of the new VUL semester.

After the games have completed our team is packing up. I tend to take my time gathering my things, taking off my cleats, and whatever it is that I do, so I'm usually one of the last to leave. One of the girls who I had been talking to on the sideline earlier walks towards me and says, "Later Kev!" She ruffles my hair as she passes by me sitting in my bare feet and makes her way to the exit.

When we were on the sideline I was confused about some of the other girls' names and I turned to her for help. She then jokingly asked if I even remembered her name, to which I replied, "Of course - [actual name]! But some people call you [nickname]." She laughs and says, "Hmmm I don't know if anybody calls me by [nickname]," and I respond, "Yeah cause they only called you that in high school right?" She's surprised that I knew this and I said that I had overheard her talking about a few weeks ago.


9

"Merry Christmas!" I say jokingly as I open up my fist to reveal a handful of plastic pins that were placed in the wrong box. My coworker smiles at me with an incredulous look and she cups her hands together for my "gift." I slowly pour out the plastic pins into her hands and we exchange thank yous (we literally thank everybody for anything that happens where I work). She opens up a drawer and places the pins back where they belong. I return to my mission of rescuing more plastic pins, this time from the size chip box, and when I return to reach for the drawer my coworker pulls it open, beams at me, and says, "Merry Christmas!"

This coworker seems to have an endless amount of energy and she is kind to a near fault. She always has a smile on her face and it's been awesome working with not only her but all the other people at my workplace.

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Thank you to everybody who has made my July amazing so far. I have so much more to write about and I'm sure that I will find more things to write about as the month progresses, but for now these two days are what I have to share with you.