Wednesday, June 15, 2011

QUEUE (A-Z CHALLENGE)

My favourite piece of the New Phonetic Alphabet: Queue for Everything.

Albert Noradunkian was a designer and creator of jewellery. He was Armenia before he was Canadian. His daughter was one of my class mates in high school. They lived one block over from my parents' home.

He was the one who designed and made our wedding rings. For a very reasonable price.

But he was also an observer of life. One of his more memorable comments was that our lives are controlled by the clock and the line.

Think of your own life. How is it controlled by the clock?

You have to get to work or school at a certain time. So you have to get up at a certain time. You have to get ready by a certain time, meaning having breakfast, and getting dressed. You have to leave home by a certain time, to get where you're going by a certain time. Lunch is determined by the clock. Meetings and appointments happen according to the clock. The trip home is scheduled by the clock. Evening activities and even bed time are usually scheduled by the clock.

Or think of the lines in your life.

Driving to work? Follow the lines on the road. Going by bus? What bus route takes you where you want to go? Morning coffee or afternoon coffee – get in the lineup at the coffee shop. Grocery shopping (or shopping elsewhere)? Get in the checkout line.

Think of your life. How many things are determined by the clock? How many by the line?

So, how much control do you really have over the day to day events in your life?

-------

In other news:

Trouble South of River City
Trouble with a T that rhymes with P that stands for pools

People south of River City are heading for higher ground. Roughly a thousand acres of crop land are being flooded.
The Watershed Authority says the spillways at the Gardiner Dam on Lake Diefenbaker have been opened, to reduce pressure on the Lake.
The River, already well above normal, will rise another few feet. But that will be enough to flood low-lying areas between the Dam and River City, which is about 75 miles north of the Lake.
The River is already flowing at the fastest rate in history. There is no indication the flow will increase.
The opening of the Dam has been spurred by heavy rains in Alberta.

-------------

Also brought to you by the letter Q:
• quizzical
• quandary
• queen
• quality
• quit

And from the New Phonetic Alphabet: Queue for everything.
(Oh, I've already said that.)

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Quid the floods? Is this in your area? Hope you stay safe and dry.

As for Q -- The French are up to their eyes in "Q" with the affaire DSK. If you don't understand the pun, I'll explain.

Helen said...

I am learning the clock and line theories don't apply to those of us who are retired ~ (at least me)how refreshing!

Q is for relative quiet.

Lins' lleisio said...

I live by the clock true. But not so rigidly as I used to. One benefit of working from home and for yourself. Queue too. But without both wouldn't there be chaos in this world? I quite like the idea that the table I booked at my favourite restaurant will have a chef busily preparing food, and at the time I'm hungry too.

The Blog Fodder said...

Queue't post.

Golden Eagle said...

Interesting idea. I suppose life is controlled by those two factors, at least to an extent; almost everything could be connected to time or a line, in some way.

Rubye Jack said...

I think you just named the two best reasons for why I moved to my little tiny town in Oklahoma from San Francisco. I retired and now get up when I feel like it and have few "have to be there" at a certain times. Also, I hardly ever stand in line.
As already said Q is for quiet.
Hi there, I'm new to your blog and like it.

Genie -- Paris and Beyond said...

My life is pretty flexible but I have many memories of crazy schedules and clock-related issues. You have posed some interesting questions, Bear.

Bises,
Genie

Rob-bear said...

® Dedine: I'm referring to the area just south of our city. I haven't received any further information. Our apartment is 100 feet or more above the river, so we are high and dry.
Q and DSK? Sounds interesting. I have no idea what that's about; I'd love to hear the rest of that story.

® Helen: I'm learning the same things as you. I recently needed a new watch, so I bought a pocket watch. I don't have to e so careful about time, so I don't need a wrist watch.

® Lins': You've hit upon the important difference between guidance and tyranny. Great!

About Last Weekend said...

How funny that you did mountains and singing by the fire. I was listening to a radio bio on Sir Edmund Hillary (Kiwi) the other day, first person to climb Mt Everest and that is what he said he loved doing most (singing by fire...)