I’m tired, sick and in no mental state to write. I have a few thoughts on my mind that were intended for blog entries but I can’t seem to flesh them out. My manuscript looms over me awaiting to be edited. I feel like my life is on hold until it’s done yet, at the same time, life is speeding by.
Instead of blog entries, here some snippets of what I was going to write: (beware: tired, snarky opinion follows)
The Masters – A Traditional Tradition
it’s Masters week. The pinnacle of the golf year. The first and most coveted of the majors. In a world becoming modern the Masters reflects a more traditional age of golf. Their traditions have remained firmly cemented in the mid-century, and it’s restrictions are reflective of that. Tiger Woods was the first black member and he had to win a couple times first. There are very few female members, even today. The stuffy boring elitist stereotypes are in full force at Augusta National. But the care for tradition mean some truly great things have been preserved. Concession stand prices are cheaper than you can find anywhere, not to mention sporting events. You place your chair down and nobody steals your spot. Ever. Doing so is a major crime (heh). While people often make fun for golf for many of it’s traditions, things the Masters feature to the fullest, there is a lot of good that comes out of it.
Buying New vs Used – car shopping
If you’re buying a car, using cash, do you buy new and get what you want or buy something slightly used and get it all? New cars come with warranties and perks from the dealership as well as choice and a new car smell. Low numbers on the odometer are always nice too. But in most cases you lose as much as 35% of the value the minute the car leaves the lot. 2 or 3 year old cars are still under the same warranty and usually offer the same technology the new models do – redesigns being the exception. While the mileage is higher, you can consider the car more “broken in” and any initial manufacturing defects have probably been made clear. The big advantage is getting a vehicle a couple trim levels higher than you could new. Leather, Bluetooth, heated seats, the lot! If you have the cash for a new car, take another look at a slightly used one. Also, avoid debt whenever possible when buying cars.
New Social standard – A Proposal
Bit of a personal pet peeve/rant. I know I’m more guilty than most in this sense, but perhaps that’s what inspired the change. It’s a shame that so much opinion is attributed as fact. People will argue verbatim about which -insert consumable item- is the best. By far the worst is music, smartphones and coffee. At least in Canada it is. Our favourite coffee is the best coffee for us. Our favourite music is the best for us, our smartphone is the best for us. Sense a pattern? Here’s the proposal: instead of using the phrase “well <fav. coffee/smartphone/music> is be best because <personal opinion disguised as fact>…” let’s should say “my preference is <item> because <personal opinion>”. This way it’s clear it’s our personal taste and what works best for us but isn’t, in fact, a fact. This basically applies to all things fan-boyish. Moving forward the phrase “my favourite” should not be spoken “the best”. I promise to try my hardest to stick to it.