Bob Unembellished ⋅ 62 ⋅
More than a quarter of a century writing on the internet. I've shared a lot. I've learned a lot. Let's go for a half century!
Entries 40
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Middle of May and I’ve been home from Taiwan now for about 2 and a half weeks. Already my other life is a faded memory. I feel living half my life there and half my life here that I am a set of ...
Small town life in Book Two
Living in a small town, I become attune to the rhythm of life. I’m out on the porch as the sun comes up and I hear my neighbours all about 7:30. The ones on the right come back from their morni...
I try for honesty and relatability. I probe by giving examples and then asking related questions. I’m easy to talk to and like to connect with other people. That’s how I ended up talking to a gu...
I was thinking how little things send our lives in different directions. And how a 1% change in direction can, over time lead us to a much different place. I was thinking this in relation to Don...
Opposite world in Book Two
In Canada, I sleep so well. So deep. I tell myself that I am recuperating from my overactive lifestyle in Taiwan. Maybe there is some truth in that. I certainly have a much more comfortable life...
I had a couple of glasses of wine when I was barbecuing the chicken breasts. And then a couple more afterwards. I almost never have more than two drinks anymore. But sometimes I let myself overi...
3 Things about being back in Canada in Book Two
I’m back in Canada, and honestly, I’m sleeping better here than I did in Taiwan. Weird, right? In Taiwan, I was exercising like crazy — knocking myself out every day — but somehow, Canada’s g...
Wheelbarrow in Book Two
Yesterday I sat on the front porch for a few hours late in the afternoon. I watched my neighbours up the street working on their front garden. It looks nice. Much nicer than a decade ago when th...
Fancy wine and cheese in Book Two
Yesterday I forgot what day it was. It could have been Friday. It could have been August 2, 1945. Life is hard for a time traveler. And it is hard to stay grounded as a retired sea captain. I ...
The Carney Protocol in Book Two
I was at the dentist yesterday. I had my six month check up and cleaning. The hygienist, who was new to me, is male, fairly young and an interesting conversationalist. He told me things that I n...
I had a dream. I was still working at the Guelph Mercury. I wasn’t part of the sales team. I was a junior reporter, so junior that I also helped with production. We had morning meetings in a dam...
time and sleep in Book Two
I think I slept 18 or 20 hours yesterday. And today I feel like I am on track, back to self, back to normal. It’s been rough. Coming home is always a little jarring. a 12 hour time change, not t...
Honestly the air quality never bothers me in Taiwan. It’s probably because I am used to it. I would rather have 30 degrees and poor air quality like I had when I left than what I came back to -...
While I was in Asia, a friend of the family had a baby. A boy. Cute baby. I’ve known her parents since Taichung days and our children grew up together. I was the MC at her wedding a couple of ...
Back again in Book Two
Q: What’s a very Canadian thing to do on your first full day back in Canada? A: Go to Costco! So I went and got all my favourite things, spent a ton of money on meat mostly. It is weird and n...
Tomorrow I fly to Canada in Book Two
Tomorrow is the day I leave Taiwan. I have a bunch of stuff to do today. A second deep cleaning of the apartment. Packing. Actually, that’s about it. I want to go out to my favourite noodle r...
Art, because in Book Two
Vonnegut once said “I admire anybody who finishes a work of art, no matter how awful it may be.” He’d be proud of me today, awfully proud. I did what I said I would do. I stayed in and listene...
Strong magnets in Book Two
On my walk along the river this morning, I saw a guy that I stop to chat with when I see him. He’s an expat from Ohio, living here in Taiwan now for about 7 or 8 years. Like most people I know...
I've got a green thumb for writing in Book Two
I’d like to write everyday. I think it is a good habit, a gift you give to yourself. And a gift that keeps on giving. It is so great to look back at the person you once were. And writing is a p...
YouTube loses its way again in Book Two
The algorithm was great. The year was 2017. YouTube got good again. It was good at the very beginning. I was there. I remember Boh3m3 and Lonely Girl. I was there before Google bought it. It...
That's not a burrito in my hand in Book Two
I’m afraid my American friends are starting to not like me. It’s my own fault. I have the rest of the world on my side, which is one of the reasons I don’t mind talking about Trump and the Repu...
Bob's Philosophy of Drift in Book Two
To be idle and aimless without getting bored is true contentment. Since I retired and since I’ve been living alone in Taiwan for most of the past six months I’ve found a real acceptance of slo...
Funny, but not in the way you're thinking. in Book Two
When I worked as a real estate agent, I used to flip through the local glossy real estate magazines and marvel at the random ugliness of my colleagues. I’m not bragging. I’m not the best looking...
Greenlanada in Book Two
I don’t mean to be a shit disturber, but Canada would be a better home for Greenland than the USA. We have a lot more in common with Greenland than the US does. I’m not just talking about univer...
Pocket protector guy vs Biff in Book Two
Somethings, like cranberry sauce at a thanksgiving turkey dinner, are best to just ignore. The news and entertainment coming out of the White House is another. It’s Reality TV. Something I’ve ne...
