Some Dude at the Train Station

The other day as I was stepping off the train I saw a somewhat elderly man, probably in his upper fifties greet his wife. (I assume) The exchange that then occurred was incredibly simple in nature, a quick kiss for greeting followed by the husband gesturing out with his hand for his wife to give him the backpack she had been carrying. Then just before starting down the exit ramp the man stopped and quickly turned back to let me pass through since he had realized that I was moving a fair bit faster than him and his wife.

This could be chalked up as just another thing I saw that day, but when I saw this whole exchange occur I instantly thought to myself, “Man, I hope I can be like that when I’m older.” I thought this specifically with regards to this man because there are several things we can extrapolate from this small string of events. The first of these is how the relationship between the man and his wife was clearly strong despite what I assume is the considerable length of time they have been together. I really hope that as I get older that there still is that love for whoever my wife is. I hope that I still want to kiss her in public even after many years together. Next I noticed the how the man took the backpack for his wife it made me think about how I want to be sure I’m both able to and willing to help out with even the small little things for those I love in my life.This is all assuming that I ever do get back into the dating game and find a wife of course, but we all know that I eventually will…. right?

Anyways, there was one more thing I wanted to touch on with what I saw from the man I saw. When he let me pass him at the ramp I couldn’t help but notice how aware he was of his surroundings. Even people my own age aren’t aware enough of their surroundings to allow people clearing moving faster than them to pass. Am I that aware? Probably not, another thing to work on.

So I guess I just wanted to tell you some random story of a dude I saw at the train station the other day and how even tiny exchanges that occur can remind us of very important aspirations we have in life. Make good choices everyone.

Ayyy It’s Up

After many hour of nearly pointless deliberations I am now finally putting up the inaugural post on my very own website, Potentially Wasteful! This has been a personal goal of mine for a few years now and while it seems like an incredibly small thing, but I’ve really wanted to have my own website, one that is 100% mine. It’s seems silly, since other than an aesthetic overhaul there really isn’t anything fundamentally different from my old blog that was hosted on Blogspot.

Except that little bit right there, “hosted on.” Somehow knowing that always made me feel like it wasn’t fully my blog. It was some sort of rental unit that I had for now, but it could never be more than that. Potentially Wasteful is the exact opposite of that. This is only the first post but I already know that this blog is 100% mine to make with it what I will. The infinite potential (eh?) of this site is entirely mine to make use of or let go to waste. (eh?) The decision to take the step forward with making Potentially Wasteful also came with the opportunity to to take another look at what kind of writing I’ve been doing for the past while. Unfortunately when I did take that look what I saw could be best described as skin deep only.

The writing was fun to do and  generally had a pretty happy feel with it, but re-reading a bunch of the old posts I felt like they only focused on positive aspects and outlooks on things, which feels like a contradiction when it was paired with a title like “The Critical Canuck.” It’s not like there is anything inherently wrong with writing positive stuff, I just want to do more than that. Not every experience or story is happy with sunshines and rainbows to spare, and that’s good as well, since negative experiences are the ones that we extract the most valuable information from, at least in my experience that has been the case. Also without the negative pieces to accompany ones with the good it ends up looking like I don’t have anything to contribute and that I’m just blindly praising whatever person or thing I’m talking about, and then the writing doesn’t feel noteworthy.

Enough of this particular rant though, another time perhaps. I’m sure some of you are wondering how I arrived at the name for the site no? Something like Potentially Wasteful isn’t usually the first idea a person pitches. When I decided to go with that as the name of this blog I had two meanings in mind, one for those who will be reading this and then one for myself. The meaning for the readers is that for the most part people that come here will be looking for something entertaining to read, and therefore according to some your use of time is considered “Potentially Wasteful.” As for myself is a reminder of how my efforts here can become potentially wasted if I allow myself to slip back into old habits of bi-monthly updates and things along those lines. I also really wanted to incorporate Potential into the name since it is such an interesting word to me. On one hand you have the infinite potential something like a blog has to be whatever the writer wants it to be, but also potential is theoretical in nature and only matters if results line up to back up the potential. It’s one of the most important ways for people to describe what they think can happen, but also entirely meaningless in the same instant. Have I rambled enough to justify using my favorite jarring gif? You bet I have!

To summarize, I’m really excited about my new blog named Potentially Wasteful. I hope to cover a signifigantly larger range of topics over time and most importantly [POTENTIAL INTENSIFIES]

Make good decisions everyone.

About This Place!

Jon here, or Jonny, Jonathan, (only if you are quite upset with me) JT, Trip, Clantoll, or even that guy with the face. Whatever random name you want to call me you’ve managed to find your way onto my website, Potentially Wasteful. Pretty apt title eh? I think you will find this site quite enjoyable, especially if your interests include Movies, T.V., Video games, esports, Edmonton, and/or moderately intelligent twenty-two year old dudes. If none of those things spark any interest from you than all I can offer is a couple of these dank memes on your way out. Have fun doing whatever you are interested in!