State of Being

State of...Heritage

2012-01-20T19:40:00.004-05:00

So here's a topic that has been discussed at work (and at length) recently. To give you some background, I must digress briefly.

I am Canadian. I was born in Edmonton before moving to Toronto for the first 20 years of my life. During that time, I was able to secure a US passport because my father was born and raised in the United States. He is, or at least was, "American". So from the time I was 21 I've had two passports (and therefore Citizenships?). I've always considered myself a Canadian first however since I was born there.

So here's the discussion topic. Am I an "American Canadian" or a "Canadian American". Without question I consider myself one and not the other. People at work swear that I'm wrong and without question consider me the other. Who's right? So we went to Wikipedia. Wikipedia has this to say: A Canadian American is someone who was born or someone who grew up in Canada then moved to the United States.

So by Wikipedia's definition I am a "Canadian American". But is that correct? I'm pretty sure that it is, in fact, INcorrect. Hear me out...

If I was black and born in the US/Canada, I would be considered an "African American/Canadian". The nation I was born in would be second, and my background (or heritage) would be first. I don't think the term "American/Canadian African" would be accurate...just as I don't think the term "Canadian American" is accurate.

So I asked my brit friend, Bev. He was born in England but has lived in the United States for many years. Without giving away my feelings, he said he considered himself an American Brit rather than a British American. His exact words were "Definitely an American Brit".

I'm open to other ideas (even though you'd be wrong)...but once it's been determined that I'm right, the second question is...why do Americans think that it should be the other way around? Or is it in our very nature to automatically assume that our citizenship (in our heart) should be second (aka most important)?

It's this crap that keeps me up at night.

Cheers,
LW

State of...Christmas Memories

2011-11-30T16:36:00.002-05:00

So I recently took a stab at some creative writing. It's always been something that I've wanted to try and it seemed like a good time to start. I submitted a piece that was well received, but it was too time sensitive and I was asked to try again.

Well, I just found out that my second article got picked up. Yay me! I've included a snippet below as a teaser and hope that you will follow the link to the whole article. I hope you enjoy!

Memories of a Childhood Christmas

How My Holiday Memories Will Shape My Child's Experiences

Liam Weseloh, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Nov 30, 2011

This is my favorite time of year: Thanksgiving is over and everyone has turned his or her focus to Christmas. People are busy decorating their homes with lights, snow globes, and reindeer. It is the time of year when entire cities decorate their downtown area with images of Santa and lampposts are ablaze with multicolored lights. The spirit is strong indeed, but not as strong as my memories of childhood Christmas.

I grew up in a large family in the northeast. We were eight strong on most nights and a full house was all but guaranteed around the Christmas season. We celebrated in the traditional manner: tree, tinsel, ornaments, stockings, lights, Nativity scene, ginger bread house and 24/7 Christmas carols. This, I like to think, is where our traditional experiences end.

Here is the link to the full article: http://bit.ly/uiS3hY

Thanks for checking it out! Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!!!

Cheers,
LW

State of...Qualifications

2011-10-20T10:23:00.002-04:00

Just a quick random thought...

What qualifies as an "Egg Salad Sandwich"? I would normally think that diced egg, mayo, onions, lettuce, and maybe chives? But what if there was just diced egg and mayo? Is that technically egg SALAD even though there is no real "salad" component? Should that just be considered an Egg Sandwich?

Does it depend on how the egg is cooked? If it's a fried egg with the mayo on the bun, is that not the same? Or does it need to be hard boiled and diced to qualify as an Egg Salad sandwich? If so, why does a regular salad with diced hard boiled eggs not constitute an Egg Salad?

And really, who thinks up this crap? Oh yeah...me.

Cheers,
LW

State of...Fatherhood

2011-10-20T10:22:00.006-04:00

Lots going on at work, lots going on in life. Now that I have a few hours sitting on a train from Toronto to Windsor I thought that I should put down a few thoughts to blog.

In case I haven't told you, my wife and I are expecting our first child in late January (obviously not pictured above). Thank you! We pulled the goalie and my little swimmers did the rest. Swimming genes must run in the family. Below are the real pictures of our little Jedi (that bottom one with the hoodie on he/she DOES look like a Jedi).

So we are now just a few months away from our next Life Changing event. Friends with kids tell me to 'get my sleep now', 'get a routine', 'breast feed', 'don't breast feed'....it's all very informative to hear people's own experiences...am I'm sure I will be no different in several months time giving out free advice to others in my shoes.

I was talking to another friend who is expecting their first. They are about 6 weeks behind where we are but going through similar experiences. We talked about names; how that name will be with our child for the rest of their lives (unless they play NFL football and they can change it to a spanish number, or become a singer who wants to change a bad name for a symbol). FOR. THE. REST. OF. THEIR. LIVES. Think about that for a second. I've lived with a unique name, through good and bad (mostly good)...but now the pressure is squarely on us. We will determine if that child gets ridiculed for the rest of their life. What if choose poorly? Beth would be a nice name for a girl...but her name would sound like a hotel chain. What about something nice like Savannah? Do you think that she would be born wearing stripper clothes or wait until she was 15? And boys names are no easier. Don't want to be too 'normal' but at the same time, I don't want him getting beaten up. And more importantly, how does it sounds as a hockey name?

We are currently going through the 'babying' of our house. Not baby proofing yet...just babying. That means getting the nursery painted...which means getting the guest bedroom done (so we can move the den/nursery items into the guest room), and also getting the basement done (so we can move the den/nursery items into the basement- and start my/our ManCave). Only then can we begin to work on the nursery.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. Not in the least. I enjoy fixing up the house. I enjoy planning for our baby to be brought home. I really enjoy planning for the ManCave. I'm just saying that it's a lot of work - and trust me, I know it's not about to get any easier when the little munchkin comes home. Maybe I SHOULD be getting my sleep now while I still can?!

I was told once that when a couple has their first child they lose contact with 80% of their friends. #IHaveNoStatsToBackThisUp (thanks John Stewart) but that sounds terrible. I look at my closest friends and know/hope that this doesn't happen to me. But I fear that the old 'that won't happen to me/us' phrase gets thrown around too much. So I urge my friends to stay in touch. I can only imagine that the 80% number is mostly due to the couple having the child. Unless our friends hate our baby, I can't see how that would be any different. It's up to us to try and maintain that friendship through the insanity of babyhood. But I want you all to know that I don't want to lose touch with you (except those who know who you are)...so let's not let it happen. Okay?

I'm sure that the next six months will have a LOT of family time. Lot's of mothers and fathers, mothers-in-law and fathers-in-law, brothers, sisters, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law. I thank my lucky stars that I have good ones of each. I feel sorry for those people who have issues with the "monster-in-law". That must make things ten times worse on everyone. I need to remember to treat them all nicely - they are all potential babysitters!!!

Okay, that's about all I have. My station is coming up. Life is good. Wife is good. Work is good. I really have nothing to complain about right now. Disgusting isn't it?!

Cheers,
LW

State of...Guilty Pleasures

2011-06-12T09:21:00.005-04:00

My old swim coach used to tell me that excuses are like buttholes....we all have 'em and they all stink. Well, guilty pleasures are very similar. We all have 'em...and likely probably stink. Here's my most recent one...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ij9CbUUsnJE

I'm not proud of it, but it is what it is. Yes, it's actually a two-fold guilty pleasure...not only is this song so damn catchy, but it's a clip from the new show "The Voice".

I'd actually not ever heard this song before the Xenia version. I didn't know it was originally a Jessie J song (featuring B.O.B.). So I sought out the first version (thanks Sirius) and was able to check it out. It's a little more polished and probably a bit more 'catchy' but the voice just isn't the same as the less heralded Xenia. She's got a very different kind of accent in her voice that forces me to listen to it.

I've got plenty more guilty pleasures, but I think I've done enough by sharing these two right now. Maybe this will become a multiple part series....maybe not.

Cheers,
LW

State of...Giddiness

2011-05-26T22:11:00.003-04:00

Guess what came in the mail yesterday?!?! My JP Arencibia signed baseball bat!!!

I need to give a huge shout out to my friend CC for making this happen. Without her I'm highly doubtful that my request would ever have reached the proper people. Thanks Caron!

So a few hours after my State of...Disappointment post I got an email from CC asking if she could pass along the blog post to her friend at the Blue Jays organization. Well, sure enough...within 24 hours I had an email from the Jays saying that my request had not fallen on deaf ears and that JP had definitely not forgotten and would have the bat sent right away.

I don't really care how it happened or why...I'm just so excited that I finally received my JP Arencibia signed bat! How cool is that?! In fact, you should check it out here:

Pretty sweet right?

If you're on twitter and not following JP Arencibia you should definitely check him out. He can be followed at @jparencibia9. He is definitely one of those athletes who interacts really well (and regularly) with his fans. It's a nice refreshing change from the days when athletes would charge for their autograph. Again with my naivety but it seems that some athletes just 'get it'.

Keep up the great work JP and the entire Blue Jays organization. You guys are doing a great job and I will continue to support as best as I can. See you in Baltimore in a week!

Cheers,
LW

State of...Fandemonium?

2011-05-23T20:40:00.003-04:00

I need to give credit where credit is due....this is pretty cool (http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/27694626/29494935):

I didn't realize that the Tampa Bay Lightning had this many fans. At least, I didn't realize this until I took a look at the recent box score from the playoff game.

The game on Saturday drew a 107.4% capacity crowd - or 21,216. Damn! I can't stand to think of the Bolts winning a second Cup before I get to see my Buds hoist the mug...but this does make me feel a bit better about their recent success.

Cheers,
LW

State of...Disappointment!

2011-05-15T23:04:00.007-04:00

Those of you who know me know my MLB loyalties lie with one team...the Toronto Blue Jays. Having grown up in Toronto I cheered on the team long before they had any success. It wasn't until the mid 80's that they really gave us something to cheer about - remember the 'Drive of '85??? Barfield, Moseby, and Bell made up one of the most feared outfields in all of baseball!

I've stayed true to my loyalties and have cheered on my Blue Jays ever since...and they've rewarded me with not one, but TWO World Championships! Not only that, but now that I live near Philadelphia they've given me a lifetime of bragging rights in the area - thank you Mitch Williams!!! I swear, he should have gotten the MVP that year! Who cares if I have to bask in the glow of the early 1990's?!

Last year I was watching feverishly when the Jays called up the much hyped catching prospect JP Arencibia. This was our future catcher with unlimited potential. In his first major league game he did not disappoint. He swatted a 2-run homer on the FIRST PITCH he faced at the major league level! He would finish the game going 4-5 with two homers and a triple shy of the cycle! What a debut!

So when JP made his twitter debut I was obviously a follower. And I wasn't the only one! He's now up to nearly 22,000 followers. Maybe low compared to other superstar celebrities, but well on his way! He tweets with the best of athletes! So when JP offered a signed bat for some fun trivia I knew I had my work cut out for me. I've included the interaction below - but suffice to say, I was able to answer his question correctly (see "Winner, winner, chicken dinner..."). I was getting an JP Arencibia signed bat! How COOL!!! Sure I'm a grown man (arguably), but I still get giddy when I win something that I'm really excited about.

Well, that was nearly 5 months ago and guess what....no autographed bat, yet. I did receive a direct message on 12/28 from JP that stated "ill send it to u when i go home im currently on vacation....". I know he's a rich celebrity, but surely he's back from vacation now, right? Of course he is - he's the Jays nearly-everyday catcher! I saw him on TV just the other day.

I've tweeted him back a few times seeing if he's had a chance to look into this...but have yet to receive a response. I'm sure it's just an oversight as he is incredibly busy with the season. But you'd think he could take the time to fulfill on his own contest, right???

My plan is to put the bat up in my office at work - presenting it proudly as a symbol of my decades of loyalty to the Toronto Blue Jays. It has a place next to my Roy Halladay bobble-head and my Ernie Whitt signed baseball.

Below are the tweets from JP Arencibia leading up to my victory. If you scroll down to the bottom you can read them in chronological order as you scroll upwards. I remain firm in my belief that he will eventually hold true to his word. He seems to really love the interaction he's allowed with twitter and I do think that enjoyment is honest.

Look, is a signed bat the be-all, end-all? Of course not. It would be cool to have and would definitely be something that I would cherish forever. I'm sure I could find a similar item on ebay for a reasonable price...but that's not the point. I guess my point is...it's nice to see an athlete able to interact with the fans in a positive manner rather than the mindless trash we see with other celebrities. Maybe I'm naive but I do like to see the best in everyone. And sports is no different. Right now I'm that little kid standing outside the locker room waiting for the star player to come out and sign his baseball because he said he'd do it after the game. He said he'd be here...so here I stand.

I will post an update when I have one. Hopefully I'll have good news to report soon. I'll even post a picture of the winning item, if and when I receive it.

Cheers,
LW

jparencibia9 jp arencibia

@hamswims Winner Winner chicken dinner....