my experiences

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What To Do When Your Hotel Stay Is Lousy

This week I stayed in a hotel that was less than ideal.  I was in the Toronto area for meetings and, since the hotel I normally stay in was booked solid, I was registered in at a different hotel.

motel 6

I don’t need something too fancy, but when the first thing you do when you get in the room is check for bugs that tells you something!

On my way to my room, I pushed the elevator button and waited what seemed to be about the time it would take an elevator to travel ten floors. The curious thing was this hotel only had three. So you have to ask yourself, “What was that elevator doing for all that time?”

When I got into the elevator it was empty, but there was a fresh aroma of B.O. in it, like that was the scent they were using to keep the cab fresh-smelling.

I was only going to the second floor so I could have held my breath … except at this hotel a trip to the second floor was like riding a regular elevator to the 6th floor.

I had to use a couple of breaths to make it.

There was a trail of dried mud chunks leading down the hall, stopping just a room before mine, so I could find my way easy enough.

When I got inside the room, I saw it had everything I needed – a bed, a bathroom and a counter thing I could use as a desk.

But the room was pretty stark. There wasn’t a picture in the place, and everything was bolted down. There was some laminate planking deal on the floor.

I thought for a moment how easy it would be to clean this place. All you’d have to do is bring in a big ol’ hose, turn it on and then let it drip dry for the next guest.

That night I had one of the worst sleeps on record. If I had been doing a sleep apnea test, I would be hooked up to one of those breathing machines by now for sure. I’ve slept on floors that were more comfortable!

My pillows were just a little bigger than those squares you throw in the bean bag toss game. I found out in the morning, however, that the bed beside me had normal sized pillows. I must have been sleeping in Goldilocks’ bed all night, and let me tell you, it was not just right!

All night long there was this high-pitched, ear-piercing sound, something like the sound an old vacuum cleaner makes when the bag needs to be changed.

Again, I found out in the morning that this sound was not from a neat freak staying in the room above me, but was coming from the motor of the mini fridge in my room.

I could go on but I think that’s enough for you to take in for now. By the way, that was my first night there. I had one more night after that.

Here’s the thing: My hotel had essentially everything I needed to stay there. But the quality of my stay was the pits. You have everything you need to live in this world, but the quality of your stay will be determined by where you choose to live – with God or without Him.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What hotel horrors have you encountered?

I’d love to hear from you; leave your comment below.

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Why Your Past Can’t Really Catch Up To You

We turned back time in our house this past week. We’ve gone back to using a dishwasher instead of washing our dishes by hand.

dishwasher-services

And right now you are thinking, “Wait a minute. That’s not going back in time; that’s catching up to the present!” I would agree with you, however, our journey to using a dishwasher has a few twists and turns to it.

Back in the good old days – you know, those days that were never really as good as we think they were – well, back in those days, when Lil and I were first married, we did everything by hand.

As I recall, we even washed our clothes by hand. We didn’t really, but when my kids have kids, I’m going to say we did … and I’ll be so old by then everyone will believe me!

At the very least, we washed our dishes by hand. We pretty much followed this archaic method of cleaning soiled plates and cutlery for years. That is until we moved to Kingston.

That’s when we got a dishwasher. Oh, life was modern then. It seemed like the good life had arrived. Modern appliances would run things for us and we wouldn’t have to do any work around the house at all. Life was grand.

For seventeen years we lived in this blissful state; not a care in the world. It was even magical how the clean dishes reappeared in the cupboards and drawers.

But one sad day – it may have been “the day the music died” (American Pie) – life changed around our happy home. The dishwasher died. It stopped working; it was kaput.

I found myself washing dishes again, like the good old days. Remember them? I wrote about this in a blog last year, “Whatever You Do, Don’t Fix It” (Feb. 23, 2013).

I was getting used to washing dishes with my wife. I can’t say I enjoyed it, but I got pretty efficient at drying the various items, except for plastic. I don’t like drying anything plastic, including bags, especially bags!

One day, about six months ago, my son said he had a new dishwasher for us. I thought at first he was moving back home. But no, his friend’s father got a new dishwasher and they wondered if we wanted their old one. Mike said he and his friend would even install it for us.

I said no. Crazy, right? But I knew what would happen. It would sit in our garage for six months and then I would end up having to install it.

Well, deja vu! I just installed the washer this week, six months after it arrived in our garage with great promises.

So we are back to the modern life, the blissful happy home I once recalled. Life couldn’t be more simple, easy, fun. Though it’s louder in our house now – the blasted dishwasher makes a lot of noise and it doesn’t wash the big pots and pans.

… I’m still on towel duty, just like the good old days.

Here’s the thing: We may have had some significant Christian experience in the past. We may even keep looking back to that experience and claim it like it is current or reoccurring. But we need to have new and fresh experiences with God. We need to leave the good old days in the past.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What old experience has you looking to the past rather than for something fresh?

I’d love to hear from you on this. Leave your comment below.

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Why Your Arm Goes Numb When You Sleep

When I sleep, sometimes the circulation to my arms gets cut off. I understand that it’s good to get a deep sleep, but your limbs shouldn’t be going to sleep on you, as well.

arm asleep

In fact, when your arms do get all pins and needles, it wakes you up from whatever depth of sleep you were in so your arm won’t turn blue and need to be amputated.

I’ve been sleeping the same way my whole life, so to have this arm-numbing feeling rouse me in the middle of the night is a little disturbing. It never used to happen.

I’m thinking it’s an age thing. Stuff inside gets pinched or constricted in some way and, BAM, all of a sudden you’re dreaming about an elastic band being wrapped around your arm just above the elbow.

There have been a couple of times I’ve woken up and haven’t been able to feel my arm. I worry that my arm will get so starved of blood it’ll become useless to me. I will have to walk around with my arm dangling and I’ll be unable to use it or stop it.

Just the other day, however, I discovered that my muscles are too tight and that’s what’s causing the circulation in my arms to be cut off.

Apparently, I need to loosen up some of the muscles around my neck and shoulders. I’m wondering if I had have stretched more if I wouldn’t have this problem now.

I’ve never liked to stretch. I know experts say you should stretch before and after you work out, but I’ve never done it; I’ve never felt the need to. I’m not the most flexible guy, but I never thought it has hurt me in any way.

But maybe if I’d been stretching all these years, my arms wouldn’t feel like a couple of 2×4’s attached to my body at two in the morning.

Another theory I have is the older we get the tighter we get, the more tension we carry in our muscles, and the more they start to put the squeeze on our nerve pathways until they can’t transmit information from the brain to that limb or back.

It’s like when you’re driving and talking on your cell phone to a friend (using hands-free bluetooth, of course). When you suddenly enter an area that doesn’t have a cell tower to give you a signal, your phone call goes dead and you’ve lost the connection with your friend.

With a phone, you have to re-enter a cell area and make a new connection. The good thing with your arm is you just have to wait a few seconds until the connection is restored automatically.

So now I’m doing some exercises and stretches to limber up my muscles in hopes that my arms won’t take any more liberties of catching a few extra zzz’s while my brain doesn’t know what’s going on.

In the mean time, if I find my arm is tingling at 4 am, I know it’s not my “spidey sense” and that the “Sandman” isn’t robbing an armoured car or something (Spider-Man 3 movie).

Here’s the thing: Prayer is one of the greatest connections we have with God. If we restrict our prayer with God, we will for sure hinder our communication with Him. Praying regularly and often will keep the connection flowing and prevent you from having that numbing feeling when you have lost the means to transmit your thoughts and needs to God.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What causes you to restrict your prayer times with God?

I would really love to hear from you. You can leave a comment below.

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How Driving Around Potholes Is Good For You

I’ve never been into monster truck racing, but lately I kind of wish I owned one. In the aftermath of winter – not that I’m saying it’s over, but it better be – I need to be driving something a little more substantial than my Hyundai Accent.

potholes

The road conditions in my town are like a war zone. My apologies to those who actually live in war zones; I’m sure it’s nothing like it. But from my perspective, I’m dodging bomb craters every few minutes.

It’s our crazy winter that has created these conditions, and if the city doesn’t soon get the road crews out there fixing the potholes, the mechanics in my town will be rubbing their hands together with sinister smiles on their faces. I think my car might already need new shocks or something.

I feel like a rally driver bobbing and weaving around land minds that want to take my car out. I’m not even using the double lanes to pass cars any more. I need that other lane just to get around the missing pavement so I don’t have to drive into oncoming traffic.

I’m sure in other Canadian cities the state of the roads are the same as they are here. … Now I’m starting to worry about an asphalt shortage!

I’m not sure that it’s even possible for us to have an asphalt shortage but I can see the construction companies starting some rumours to drive up the prices. We’ll all be paying for that if it happens.

I’m also predicting a tax increase this year. The bill for road work is going to be astronomical and I’m afraid it will take them until next winter before they make all the repairs that need to be done.

When I was a kid winters were harsher, but the roads seemed to last longer. Maybe they are skimping on the base of the roads. Is it possible that they are using cheap crushed stone from China under our roads? Maybe that’s why our roads aren’t holding up as they should be.

I’m in favour of starting a “buy Canadian gravel” campaign if it will help us drive on smooth pavement.

It could be that they are using a thinner layer of asphalt. They should lay that stuff down as thick as they do for airport runways. Those planes weigh tons more than my little car but those airstrips seem to last and last.

One area that is holding up are the speed bumps they put on some roads to encourage slower speeds. I haven’t seen any missing sections in them. I have, however, been secretly wishing the snow ploughs would push them off to the side with the snow.

No one would notice in the winter. Not until the snow melted would anyone see the piles of black top on the side of the road. They wouldn’t be able to replace them either with all the work they have to do filling potholes all over the city; there’d be no time.

Well, here’s hoping my vehicle will make it on another rally car race to work this morning!

Here’s the thing: In life there will be potholes. We can complain about them; we can blame others; and we can blame God. We can ask God to fill them, but most likely He will help us and guide us around them. We just need to stay alert to God’s direction in our life.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What are the road conditions like in your city, in your life?

I would love to hear from you; you can leave your comment below.

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How Pain Can Be Profitable

The other day I bit my tongue. I didn’t just nip it, I chomped down on it hard. It’s not the first time I’ve done it either.

bites-his-tongue

You’d think it would be no big deal. It’s not like breaking an arm or having knee surgery (though it felt like I needed to reattach part of my tongue!). But for a few moments, everything, EVERYTHING stops and you are completely incapacitated by the pain.

I was in the middle of saying something to my wife at the time, and then in mid-sentence I was silenced. Lily turned around, wondering why I stopped, and then wondered if I was having a stroke or something.

I wasn’t moving; my mouth was half opened. I couldn’t speak; my eyes filled with water. She was really concerned and asked, “Are you okay?”

I couldn’t immediately reply because of the pain, but also because of the piece of toast I still had in my mouth. That’s what caused the great tongue bite in the first place.

I’m thinking if this is going to happen to me more often, maybe I should just drink Boost – that way I wouldn’t have to chew any more. I’m over fifty-five so people wouldn’t even think that’s odd. In fact, people under thirty expect that someone my age would be drinking that stuff by now.

Besides not biting my tongue, there are benefits to not chewing and just focusing my attention on swallowing.

… Things like no more cooking – Lily would like that because meals would take under two minutes. I’m sure I could chug a bottle, box or can of that stuff, whatever form of packaging it comes in.

This wasn’t even the worst tongue biting I have harmed myself with. I once bit down on my tongue so hard I put my right incisor into the middle of my tongue and, yes, I was bleeding.

To make matters worse, I couldn’t stop the bleeding either. I was on a blood thinner at the time and it wasn’t like I could put a bandaid on it. It seemed to take forever to heal.

And then about three months later I opened it up again. It’s been a couple of years now and still that spot on my tongue can open up like a boxer’s face that has had one too many punches.

When you bite your tongue hard you also can appreciate what it’s like to have your tongue pierced. You’ve seen those sales clerks or waiters who speak kind of funny because they have this little silver ball in the middle of their tongue.

They kind of talk with a lisp and your eyes are directed right to their mouths like you’re a lip reader. You can tell they’re having a hard time forming the words they are trying to say. You feel like helping them out by finishing their sentences.

Well I have three days to get my tongue back to normal before I preach on Sunday.

Here’s the thing: When you bite your tongue, the pain lasts for a while. When God wants you to learn something or correct you on something, the pain or angst you feel also lingers for a while.  Keep on being faithful through it; don’t look for other solutions. Learn the tough lessons and move on.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What lessons have you learned by going through the pain or angst of the teaching?

I’d really love to hear from you; leave your comment below.

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What’s Really Behind Decision-Making

The other day my wife, Lily, and I decided to look at living room furniture. We are on a little bit of a roll right now, just completing the final touches of our bathroom renovation that got downgraded to painting and changing a light fixture.

man-making-decision1

Still, being in that remodelling mood, we decided to look at a couch Lily has been eyeing for ten years or more. I think there’s a few reasons we ended up looking at the couch now.

The first reason is that I saw a rowing machine in a flyer and Lil saw my eyes get big. I also kept the flyer around and made mention of how good the price was.

When my wife sees that scenario happening it’s like a perfect storm to her. The pressure to purchase comes in waves that are unrelenting. And so to try to divert this storm, she stated that there will be no big purchases made until we get new living room furniture.

I say she’s just a wuss who can’t take a little stormy weather.

But the other reason we decided to look at furniture is that I’ve made it public that our living room couch is 28 years old. In the last few months, I’ve blogged about it, referenced it in two sermons, and the ultimate, I’ve sat on it.

Our living room furniture has lasted, but all good things come to an end and I think we are at that point with our stuff.

In no time, I found myself transported to a furniture store that Lily seemed to know quite well. In fact, she seemed to know it better than I expected her to.

She headed straight to the living room section and, before I could peel myself away from the 70 inch TV that was turned to the Olympics, she was talking to a salesperson.

She had her eyes on a sofa and, even worse, she was sitting down on it. The salesperson was a nice senior lady who seemed very accommodating. She may have recognized a sucker as soon as we entered, or maybe she was just very experienced in her work.

She agreed with us on everything we said so it seemed she was on our side and not working for the store at all.

We complained at how the love seat price was only one hundred dollars less than the sofa yet it was only two thirds the size – that means two thirds the wood, stuffing and material. What’s with that?

By the end of our visit I wanted to buy the sofa right there. I wasn’t sure whether it was because I liked it, or that I thought Lily liked it, or that I wanted to buy it from the nice lady who seemed like she really wanted to sell it to us.

I knew, however, we weren’t going to buy that day. Lil would never buy anything without checking prices in two, three or more other stores. We may also have to revisit this store a few times before we make a decision.

Then again, it may be another 10 years before we actually settle on getting new furniture.

Here’s the thing:  There are many influences on our decision-making. Today I read in my devotions that the heart is most deceitful and incurable (Jeremiah 17:9-10). It’s so easy for our hearts to be influenced away from what God wants. We need to be vigilant at constantly working with the Holy Spirit for control of our heart.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What influences you in making decisions? Leave your comment below.

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What To Do In A Hotel Fire

We’ve all heard fire alarms go off. All through grade school we have been trained in what to do when a fire alarm sounds. But what about when the fire alarm goes off in your hotel while you are staying on the fourteenth floor?

firealarm

Fourteen floors of sheer terror – doesn’t it sound like a movie? I remember seeing “Towering Inferno” in the 70’s. I’ve also grooved to the popular hit “Disco Inferno”, of that same era (google it and enjoy).

I grew up in Toronto and we would get US news from Buffalo on TV and there were always fires being reported at 6 and 11. It was either a three alarm fire in Cheektowaga or a four alarm fire in North Tonawanda, but you knew every night there was a fire burning somewhere in Buffalo.

With that kind of background and experience, I was ready when our fire alarm started ringing at about 11:45 pm. At that time, you’re kind of in for the night and I wasn’t looking forward to spending the next few hours outside, wrapped in a blanket in my skivvies.

But alarms in hotels are different. They are not meant to scare the life out of you, rather just to gently get your attention that something is not quite right.

At first I didn’t know what it was. I thought maybe the alarm was coming from somewhere in the room. In my sweep of the room, however, I realized it was clean and the noise was coming from out in the hall. Then a voice, that was muffled by our closed door, soothed us by telling us not to be alarmed, that they were investigating the problem, but not to use the elevators.

At that point, I casually went over to the door and looked at the map that indicated where we were and where the stairwell exits were. I took a careful mental note.

As I went back to the TV, I started to think about what I would take if we had to go. My computer was still in my backpack, so it would go with me. I was staying calm just like the nice man’s voice over the intercom was telling me to do about every three minutes.

Then I heard the fire engine sirens and I thought, “Hey, this might be the real thing.” Still not panicking, I started thinking about the lessons learned as a 5th grader at Rivercrest Public School.

We had to line up when the fire drill alarm resonated through the school halls. The teacher would get us ready, remind us of our exit, and to remain in single file.

I remember in high school, during a student protest, someone pulled the fire alarm and we all got out of class. That was exciting.

I was ready to run down the fourteen floors to the bottom if I had to. I often take the stairs when I make hospital visits. There’s been more than once that I’ve still been huffing and puffing walking into a patient’s room on the 10th floor.

Not long after the fire truck sirens stopped, the nice man’s voice said they had fixed the problem and thanked us for our patience. He had to repeat his announcement because the alarm sounded again!

Here’s the thing: Sometimes you just have to be ready for things that are unexpected and out of your control. You have to be able to roll with them. In life, we should be ready to meet God now, because we don’t know when things unexpected and out of our control might happen to us.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: In your experience, what has been your reaction to alarms? Leave your comment below.

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How Darkness Causes You To Stumble

I’m wondering if you can become more klutzy as you get older. I wouldn’t say that I have the greatest hand eye coordination but I’ve always been able to negotiate my way around things.

Falling-down

But not last night. I was working at the church and had gone out to run an errand. When I came back, I didn’t turn on any lights except for in my office. So, by the time I was done for the night, the church was pitch black dark.

The church foyer is pretty open so I made my way across it to the stairs. I started down the stairs and right near the bottom something caught my eye. It may have been a reflection or something but I looked up and then missed the last one or two stairs.

Well that was it – it would have made a great video! I sprawled out, my computer bag went flying, and I landed hard on both knees, which are not the greatest to begin with.

I rolled on the ground for a second, waiting for the pain to subside, then stood up, grabbed my bag and left. No harm, no foul. No one saw my wipe out. I didn’t suffer any kind of injury. But I felt pretty dumb.

When I was in my teens my bedroom was in the far end of our basement. There were two flights of steps to go down, and to get to my room I had to walk through two other rooms.

Instead of turning on a light at the top of the stairs, then turning on a light in my room and going back to the top of the stairs to turn that light out again, I would just make my way to my room in the dark.

I not only had the stairs to contend with, but I had couches, lamp stands, and any number of other objects that would be in my way. But I made it; I never fell down the stairs, never banged my knee into a door frame.

What happened to me last night, I don’t know. I’m just glad I wasn’t chewing gum at the same time; it might have been a disaster.

I know some people would try to tell me that I should look where I’m going. But really, I’ve been walking for well over 50 years! I think by now I should be able to cheat on that a little bit and get away with it.

Every morning I walk down a dark hallway, turning a Q-tip in my ear, and so far I haven’t jammed my elbow against the wall and sent that Q-tip clean through to my other ear.

Maybe my fall was an isolated incident, some kind of fluke that won’t happen again. Or maybe it’s the start of a clumsiness that will find me in traction drinking through a straw!

I guess I will just have to see what happens.

Here’s the thing: In the dark, even a glint of light catches our attention. Our eyes are drawn to it. But in the light, these little glints aren’t even noticeable. God has given us a great light in the Bible, and if we will read it, know it, and use it, all the little theories, fads, and ideas won’t distract us and cause us to fall.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What is your greatest source of distraction? Leave your comment below.

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Have You Ever Got Tired Of Trying To Plan A Vacation?

I have taken a winter vacation about three times in my life. One time doesn’t count because I was in my early 20’s. At that age, you neither appreciate nor understand any benefits of a winter vacation. A great portion of your life is vacation!

beach

The other two winter vacations have both been in the last 14 years. One was a trip to Florida, and Disney World, near the end of a winter, and the other more recent one was a Caribbean Cruise at the beginning of a new year.

Both times I’ve told myself that this winter vacation thing is a great idea, and we should do it again. But with ten years between the first two, and four years since the last one, we really haven’t made it a habit.

There are always very good reasons why we don’t. Scheduling is a big deal. It’s not like I can just book any time and go. I have lots of arrangements to make, and then sometimes there are meetings and activities that I can’t get out of.

Money is always an issue. It would be nice to go on a winter vacation and it not affect your wallet but, no matter how cheap people say their trip was, when you start to look for a winter vacation, there are never those kinds of deals.

Lil and I decided to take a winter vacation this year to somewhere warm. At first we had big plans – some all-inclusive resort, where the beaches have white sand and the sun never stops shining.

But every place we checked looked like it would be a way more than we wanted to spend. We then had plans of using a relative’s time share, which would cut the cost down considerably. But when we looked at the dates we could go, there was nothing available.

Now things at work are changing and I may have to change my vacation dates to make it fit. I’m thinking that if we want a winter vacation it might have to involve setting up a tent in our living room for a week!

In some ways, that’s kind of Biblical. There was a festival in Israel, called the Feast of Tabernacles, where they all set up booths (tents) and lived in them for a week. Mind you, the purpose of that was to remember that God had the Israelites live in tents when they left Egypt.

I wonder if that’s where we got the idea for modern camping … where after a week of camping you begin rejoicing that you have a solid roof over your head, a bed that doesn’t stir up claustrophobic nightmares, and you can cook without lighting a match or rubbing a couple of sticks together.

Wow, I’m getting tired and fed up with trying to figure out a winter vacation. Maybe that’s the real reason we have done it so infrequently. You feel like you need another vacation from trying to plan for one.

Here’s the thing:  We often think that if God is in something, it will just fall into place. Well, sometimes things are difficult and take a lot of work, even when God is in them. Sometimes we might have doubts along the way, even when God is in it. Many times it’s not until it’s over that we can look back and say, “See, God was in it the whole time.” … Don’t give up.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What is something you had doubts about, but, in the end, saw God in it all? Leave your comment below.

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A Restaurant Service Disaster

I am wondering if there was a restaurant servers’ work slowdown last Sunday and no one made it public. It seemed like just another Sunday to me, that is, until my wife, Lily, and I went out for lunch after church.

bad service 2

We had a busy afternoon ahead of us, with some hospital visiting, so we thought we would grab something to eat at a restaurant rather than going home first.

In deciding where to eat, we didn’t really want fast food, but we didn’t really want to be a long time in a restaurant, either. We were kind of in a hurry. So where do you go when you want an upgrade from burger and fries but don’t want to wait half an hour for your food? Swiss Chalet, of course.

So we got in the car and headed right there. Swiss Chalet was a perfect choice because you know what you are going to order before you enter the restaurant (at least one of us does).

When I was growing up, their entire menu could be boiled down to three options: You could order a quarter chicken white meat, or a quarter chicken dark meat. And if you were really hungry, you could order a half chicken meal.

Now they’ve added a number of other items like ribs and salads and a few others that my eyes kind of gloss over when I look at the menu.

So, when we pulled open the doors to the restaurant, I was ready to tell my waitress exactly what I wanted on my plate. Except when we got through the doors, we realized there were several other people waiting to be seated.

I was a little surprised at this because it was after 1:00 pm, so the noon rush should have been over by then. But I thought, “This is no problem; it’s Swiss Chalet. This line will clear out in no time.”

And sure enough, we didn’t wait more than about 5 minutes before we were shown to our table.  However, on our way to our table, I noticed there was a whole section that was empty, and in the back of my mind I wondered why we had to wait to be seated.

We sat down and I did my usual thing of turning the pages of the menu, not really looking at anything, and then closing it again … because, of course, I already knew what I was going to order.

It was about then that I noticed a few things. There were no waitresses in sight. No one came to ask us if we wanted something to drink. I started to get a bad feeling that if we stayed we would be there all afternoon.

We actually decided to try another restaurant. Others stayed, but we left – no waitress had noticed us come in anyway. The crazy thing was, on our way out there was another line up of people by the entrance waiting to be seated.

If only they knew there was just a hostess working that day, and there wouldn’t be anyone to take their order.

Here’s the thing: We can get conditioned to just accept things in our lives, even things that are wrong in God’s eyes. Don’t just accept those sins as things you can’t do anything about.  Recognize they are wrong and make a move to get rid of them.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What is something that you have just put up with in your life?  Leave your comment below.