Dads.
The man of the house.
The one with all the bad jokes.
The one who rules the grill.
The solid pillar of support.
The man who’s been there before with life.
The one who guides.
The one who encourages your hobbies.
The man with the answers.
The man who would come running at the first cry for help.
The man who wants to make his family happy.
The guy who would take a bullet for you.
The hero who protects the kid.
And overall, a great guy.
Give your dad a hug on Father’s Day, would you?
With the days getting longer and the temperature going up, I can officially say that summer is on its way.
I love the summer. I love the longer days of sunshine; when I go out for walks in the summer warmth. I love the nights; when I can see the stars clearly in the sky at the cottage. And I love going out for ice cream at my local Dairy Queen.
But like everything in life, there are some downsides to summer. To me, it’s the heat. It can get hot outside quickly. And when that happens, I will sweat and get smelly very quickly. I even have to wear old shirts when I walk, as my sweat has ruined some shirts in the past.
Despite the sweat and ruined shirts, I love the summer. The things I love about it more than make up for them.
Last Saturday, when I was pulling out of the Burlington Square parking lot to go home, a storm suddenly started happening. Rain was pouring very heavily and the wind was blowing very hard. And then there was the fact that I still needed to get home.
At first, I thought driving home in this storm. I was then immediately proven wrong when I felt the wind against the car, making it shift a little. That was when I started to get nervous.
As I headed out of the parking lot towards the intersection, the rain started to pour even harder. And even with the windshield wipers on, it was still hard to see as the rain came down hard and fast. And when I was driving towards the intersection, I saw debris flying around the road and the trees bending, making me even more nervous.
Despite all of my worries and the weather, I was able to return to Waterdown. That was when I experienced the worst part of this: The storm had knocked out the power, and the street lights were off.
I’m very well aware of what to do in case of this; treat it like a four-way stop. However, it was the most worrying of the whole thing, as I was worried that someone would rush forward when I was pulling into the intersection, resulting in a collision.
Thankfully, no accidents happened, and I returned home safely. But I decided then that the next storm, I would wait a bit before I drive home.
So what do I suggest if you get caught in a storm while driving?
-Remain calm.
-Follow the rules of the road. If lights at an intersection are out, treat it like a four-way stop sign and wait your turn.
-Use your windshield wipers
One of my favourite things about spring is to see the magnolia trees that grow around the area I live in bloom. Not just the flowers themselves, but the process of the magnolia buds growing and then fully blooming.
Every year at the start of spring, the magnolia trees always have buds. Then around mid-April, the buds start to grow; They outgrow their first outer coating and burst through, revealing a new shell. This process goes on until the first weeks of May when the closed flower is exposed
Then one flower opens up, fully exposing its vivid petals. Then more flowers quickly start blooming soon after, turning the tree into a beautiful white-pink colour.
While I don’t have any magnolia trees growing at my house, a few of my neighbours have them on their front lawns. So when I go on a walk, I can see the buds growing into flowers. Something that always brings me great joy, as I see it as the arrival of spring. And the flowers are always so beautiful and smell good. It always makes me feel good to see those trees blooming.
I admit I love walking. I love going outside while listening to my music and feeling the warmth and the sunshine. It’s a great feeling.
Every day, I try to go out for at least two walks a day. It gets me out of the house, allowing me to enjoy some fresh air. And it gives me a break from things, such as video games.
Even better, since I don’t go to the gym or do any workouts, it’s also very healthy for me, as I get my exercise in.
I recommend to everything that they should take a walk whenever they can. Not just for your health, but also to get out there and feel the sunshine.
Last Friday, I went to the GameTime Social arcade and restaurant in Burlington with my Woodview group for our outing. And while I often don’t enjoy arcades, I loved this one.
When I went to Gametime, I felt a warm atmosphere, giving me a good feeling about this arcade. And when I went to play games, I was able to find a few that I liked, playing them multiple times. And I had plenty of credits, so I was able to enjoy myself to the fullest.
GameTime even had a small restaurant, so I had the option to order a drink or some food.
My experience at GameTime Social was great, and I recommended that we go there again for dinner. A sharp contrast to the arcades I went to in the past, as I left feeling unsatisfied.
Why didn’t I enjoy those arcades? I have two reasons. The biggest reason is that I don’t love the games, only really enjoying the Typhoon game and the ball toss. The second reason is whenever I go to an arcade, the credits needed to play the game often run out quickly.
Due to those reasons, I always found myself sitting in a corner, waiting for the others to finish up. I can’t even go and get something as the arcades don’t have a snack bar. So it’s often a boring experience for me.
GameTime was different as I was able to find games I enjoyed, had enough credits to enjoy those games, and had the option to get something to eat or drink. So I felt like I had more choices, and I didn’t have to wait around.
GameTime Social is located at 3330 South Service Rd, Burlington, Ontario, and is open from 3-10 P.M. on weekdays and from 12-10 P.M on weekends. Their phone number is 905-634-4756.
Wal-Mart has gone plastic bag free on April 22 in order to save the environment. From now on, customers will have to bring their reusable bags.
I wasn’t there the first day of this new rule, so I haven’t seen how customers reacted. But when I worked there the next day, customers were using their reusables, with no complaint.
I honestly think this is a wonderful idea, as it spreads the message that Walmart is practicing environmental awareness and encouraging its customers to do the same. Something that is very critical today. We only have one planet, so everyone needs to do their part.
Motivation and inspiration are two components of all art, both writing and drawing.
Of course, when I get motivated, I can write anything quickly. But when I think too hard, trying to come up with a new idea of what to write or draw, I end up overthinking it. And as a result, I end up not accomplishing anything at all: I’m often left not writing or drawing anything at all.
I know it isn’t just me that goes through this: Everyone does. So what do I do when it happens?
-Have a basic idea of what I want to do. When I focus too much on the details, I find that’s when I start overthinking. I try to imagine the basic structure of my drawing or writing and focus on that first.
-I shouldn’t push myself: I may have done my work quickly in the past, but that’s when I know what I’m going to do. When I try it with something I don’t have a clear concept of, I get stressed. I need to remind myself that it’s okay if I don’t have something done in one night.
-It’s okay to focus on something else: I admit I often tell myself that I will focus on one thing, trying to come up with ideas. But I find when I do something else I already have everything for, I get it done quickly. It’s a tricky one, as I want to focus on the first thing, but I know if I obsess over it, I won’t get the other piece of work done either.
People now can choose whether they want to wear masks or not. And ever since then, I have been seeing people with their masks off. However, I’ve also been seeing people still wearing their masks.
I admit, I was surprised to see that, as I had often seen people complaining about having to wear their masks. But after some time thinking about it, I understand; Even though we don’t have to wear a mask, COVID is still an issue. We still need to be careful to ensure that we don’t end up where we were all those months ago. If we don’t, we will be back where we started.
Thinking back to everything that has happened, we need to be careful that we don’t act recklessly due to our options. Because we acted recklessly in the past, thinking that it was all over and we ended up in another lockdown.
So you can choose whether you want to wear a mask or not. Just be careful if you choose not to wear one. COVID is still an issue.
For the last two days, I have been handing out COVID rapid test kits at the garden doors at Walmart, and I’ve been getting one of my greatest joys of working at Walmart: being a smile and a thank you.
Despite what people think, it’s not very often when people ask me for help when I’m on the floor. Often during my shifts, only one customer asks me for help on finding something. And when I’m at the door, the only thing I help with is telling people where the bathroom is.
Those things are still meaningful, as I still get to help people. But when I was handing out those kits, I was being thanked more often. And I was doing something important as people are still worried about the disease and want the test just in case. Those feelings honestly felt addicting, as I want to feel like that more.
But the rapid test hand-outs aren’t going to last forever. So I should be finding more joy when I help people. However, it doesn’t happen that often, as I rarely get asked for help.
I think the proper way of handling this is by reminding myself that I am doing a good job and helping people when I organize and put things away, as it makes it easier for customers to find the things they need. They won’t be able to thank me directly, but I should remind myself that they are grateful for whoever puts the product in the right place.
Amanda's Tales 