Clear my head

Today, I need to clear my head; if the constant stress and headache of work wasn't enough, I have a life-changing decision to make and I preach next weekend .....So everything is a hodge-podge soup up in my brain.
Work is a flaming plane twirling to the ground, firing the last bit of ammo at any enemy force it sees.  Probably one of the biggest mistakes my boss made was hiring someone else for the office.  For quite some time I was oblivious to the ridiculous around, but having to explain the ridiculous and answer questions about the ridiculous you realize....it's ridiculous.  It's like you hear your voice on tape and your reaction is, "Do I sound like that?"
Then you realize you work in ridiculous, like up to your neck in ridiculous and that often pain in your chest or head is the constant strain you've put on yourself to somehow make right in the ridiculous; a necessity so you can walk past the mirror and not flip the bird to the guy on the other side.
So what do you do?
Money is money, bills are bills; people count on you to provide.
People say you need to do something you enjoy, but I believe that's a modern fairy-tale; you think my great-grandfather who shoveled coal was happy? No, he survived.
Yet, in the same breath how useful are you if you work yourself thin and even into the grave?  Sometimes you do have to stand-up for yourself and do what's best for you and leap into the unknown.

Days gone past

This evening we were gathered at my parents to celebrate my sister's birthday; can't believe my little sister is 34!  My mother had pulled out old photo albums  to reminisce, but it immediately turned into who looks like who.  We always notice in old pictures of my dad how much my brother looks like him, but now we also notice how all the next generation looks like their ancestors.
My sister then said something profound, "It won't be long and the kids will be looking at our pictures and will have no idea what the things are in the picture with us."
Immediately I remembered when I'd look at pictures of my parents or grandparents when they were younger and it seeming all foreign to me.  And now if you look at my baby pictures I can see how they would seem foreign: the style of the 70's/80's, the grainy/sepia colour of the film, old cars or obsolete items like rotary phones with cords.
As always when we get together, my siblings and I, we like to tell stories and laugh; taking turns picking on each other.
In a final heart warming dose of nostalgia we enjoyed my sister's traditional birthday dessert, Pistachio Ice Cream cake, my Nana's recipe; each bite taking us back to basking in her love.
Even though I seem like an old fool basking in the past I can't help but do it often; there's comfort and strength wading in the waters of the familiar past.

Here we go again...

Another long period of time has come and gone between posts and yet I cannot abandon this blog once for good, and I come back yet again with resolve again to be a faithful contributor.  In this roller coaster life, I find myself back in Birch Hills again after spending the past 2 years in Caronport again.  The effect of this move is quite odd:  although we have been gone for 2 years, it seems sometimes that we were only gone a mere week or so which then in-turn makes all the evident changes(kids getting older, trees that have grown) seem very weird.  The greater adjustment is having to in a sense start-over from square one with friends and social life in a place that is very familiar to us as some of our close friends in the area have moved on as well.  I have begun new work; this time I am working for Culligan in Prince Albert.  My new work has raised a looming question for many:  When will I return to ministry?  Some assumed that my completion of my Briercrest degree was to lead to bigger-and-better things in ministry for me; my mistake might have been in allowing people to think such.  The truth is, I don't know when a return will happen.  Being outside of ministry has allowed me to be reflective of my time within.  When people used to ask me how the ministry was going when I was in it I would often answer, "We'll know in a few years"  Well, a few years have come and I am beginning to see that my efforts were very self-centered and fruitless.  I realize now that I failed to really challenge people and encourage lasting change in their lives and don't see much fruit in the orchards I worked.  Most of the youth I mentored are not walking with the Lord, and the churches I worked with have often stepped back rather than moved ahead. So, it has been a struggle to grip a return.  And the only thing I can grasp and offer people as a response to when I return is that right now I am focused on paying the bills and getting Rachelle through school.  However, I realize the heat will intensify once Rachelle is done school.  For now, I am Moses tending sheep in Moab; once a person of significance, waiting for direction to the next big thing.  As for this blog:  I need to keep writing, even if I am the only reader.

Quest for the Best: Onion Ring

Recently I found myself craving onion rings, and surprisingly Original Joe's doesn't have such.  It was always too early for them before work, and I usually just feel like going home afterwork, so I finally fed my craving on my day-off.  Out of boredom, I decided to amuse myself by trying to find the best onion ring in Moose Jaw, but within reason; I didn't try every onion ring in Moose Jaw, but narrowed it to 4 choices.  So for your amusement I looked for various elements in the onion rings and ranked them accordingly; much like something I saw on a food show.
#4 Grocery Store Brand
I thought I should do a cook-it-yourself brand of onion rings; a person who was too embarrassed to order a large amount of onion rings could bask in their gluttony in the privacy of their own home.  However, there was one problem: I couldn't find any.  I went to the 3 big stores in Moose Jaw:  Wal-Mart, Superstore, and Sobey's (sorry Safeway, I didn't want to go back downtown) and none of them sold onion rings for you to cook for your family; I guess you have to make them from scratch.  This kind of surprised me; I didn't expect 30 brands of onion rings, but didn't expect none.  Perhaps it is a sign of the sad decline of this greasy snack that wreaks havoc on your breath.  I expect I could find some at Costco, but I'm not driving to Regina for onion rings.  I realize onion rings are best when deep fried and not everyone has a fryer, but more people seem to own fryers; perhaps people with fryers are above generic rings and make their own.  Anyways with nothing to try, grocery stores rank at the bottom for onion rings.

#3 A&W
I know I just shocked some of you; there are people who love onion rings at A&W like they love their rootbeer; perhaps this is where objectivity or difference of opinions come in.  However, let me assure you this is not a case of me being over-critical or biased.  Let me say what's good about their onion rings. First, you seem to get the most bang-for-your-buck; they were the cheapest of the rings I ordered and had the most rings as well.  Second, they were fresh; I actually saw the guy in the back drop my order into the fryer and had to wait for it.  Third, they are different; you can distinguish A&W rings from any other as they use more dry breading.  That being said, let me tell you why they are at the bottom of the rings I tried:  they're process is open to bad experience as mine was.  I know they're a fast-food chain, but I never know what I am going to get; I have had great rings at times, but this last time was one of the worst.  These rings were super greasy!!!  These rings soaked through their individual bag, through the take-out bag, and through the notebook they were sitting on.  The breading never seems to stay on the onion; you eat it and you got crumbs everywhere and you're mostly eating oily onion; which is true for many times that I've had them.  And this is always a knock on their rings: they are super, super salty!  I don't know if they are trying to increase pop sales, but I am always super thirsty when I have their onion rings.  I may have got the most rings there, but I also threw-out a whole whack of them. 

#2 Dairy Queen
Dairy Queen is the Switzerland of onion rings and this competition.  My initial thought was I can enjoy these with a meal, but I'm not going to go out of my way to get them.  For just under $3 I got 13 medium-to-small sized rings.  They had little-to-no saltiness.  I don't believe they make them in house; in fact I felt they were something I could buy in a grocery store and reproduce at home, but they were worth it.  I don't know why I don't eat more at DQ over other fastfood chains; their food is pretty good.  But for this comparison they were not bad like #3, but they were not great like #1

#1 Burger Cabin
The Burger Cabin is a local spot in Moose Jaw that is only open in the summer in Wakamow park.  People often dismiss local places like this for the bigger chains, and that is a mistake.  Burger Cabin is a throwback to pre-fastfood burger joints, and is reminiscent of some of the places you encounter at the lake.  That being said it is a great place for onion rings.  For $3.45 I got a dozen moderate sized rings, with just the right amount of seasoning.  These rings are beautiful; they are a textbook example of what an onion ring should be.  They were hot, but weren't greasy.  When I was there I saw the perfect example of their deliciousness when an elderly couple who had ordered ahead of me and upon receiving their order the woman instantly grabbed a ring, crunched it down, and smiled like she was 10 again.  So if you are ever in the predicament I was, don't waste your time and just go straight to the Burger Cabin for rings in Jaw.

When your server says it's the kitchen's fault...

I have spent time as a server (which I was horrible at) and I have spent time in the kitchen, including my current employment at Original Joe's.  Something I must stress to you when you eat at a restaurant: when the server blames the kitchen they are trying to cover their own butt.  The modern kitchen system is designed to be error-free for the cooks preparing your food; unless it is rang in wrong by the server, which it often is.  One of my colleagues in the kitchen was furious because their friend informed them of a meal in our restaurant where the server tried to blame it on the kitchen instead of owning up to their mistake.  Let me tell you why it cannot be the kitchen's fault: When an order is entered it is printed on a ticket, not hand-written, and it is easy to read; if you made any special requests for your order it is printed on there as well.  The ticket is inspected by supervisor and directed to the kitchen.  When your food is plated it is double-checked with the ticket before going across the window to the expo to be served.  In the expo it is again inspected according to the ticket and ensured that all details are correct.  Then after all checks it is delivered to you.  I don't know how many times we will get food back in the kitchen and it is qualified with, "the server entered it in wrong", but I know the majority of the time the server blames it on the kitchen to save face.  I mentioned before that I was a horrible server, but one thing I can be proud of as a server is I never threw my kitchen under the bus.  So the next time your server blames the kitchen, don't be so quick to forgive and tip big.