Communication is one of those words that gets tossed around everywhere. Family. Business. Everywhere. When something goes wrong, there's generally a failure to communicate.

We use the word so often we assume we know what it means.

We assume we know what it means because we assume we're all using the same terminology. Ultimate frisbee has demonstrated how that is a horrible assumption. We don't all know the same terminology, though what is worse is that we aren't all aware that we all don't know the same terminology.

In Ultimate, you defend one of two ways: home, or away.

My brain, familiar with these terms, skipped over them the first time. You're defending your goal, be it a net, a hoop or an end zone.

Wrong.

In Ultimate, defending "home" and "away" means cutting off passing lanes, if not half the field.

Defending "home" means you place your body in a position to force the player with the frisbee to have to flick instead of throw. This is a much harder method of tossing a frisbee, almost like throwing under hand. It requires accurate wrist motion so the frisbee stays flat, and a good, solid flick so it actually sails more than two inches and doesn't roll. When you are forcing "home" you are facing the sideline where other team members are sitting, and your back is to the rest of the field. This cuts off half the throwing field.

Defending "away" means doing the same, only this time with your back to the team sideline. This position generally forces the opponent to throw, but often down the line which means if the throw isn't straight, it either curves out of bounds, is easier to intercept or block.

Then there's this word, "chili." Not the edible, tasty food. It's more like "chilli" as in chill out, relax and slow down. Key when racing down the field and about to score. I've seen it time and again, the team gets caught up in the excitement of the moment (especially during a really good series), make an errant toss and the moment collapses in a turnover instead of exploding into the excitement of a point.

Chili, or chilli. Good advice for every day, too.

As part of a creative exercise for a week-long creative writing course I’m taking in June, I need to create some character sketches. These need to be based off five words others use to describe me.

In the comments, list five words you would use to describe me. Or email me. Thanks!

If you want to read the character sketches later, I can share them.

New neighborhood, new streets to explore.

I had to brave Metrotown on a weekend to pick up a red shirt for Ultimate. Metrotown is a gigantic mall. The Directory doesn't make a whole lot if sense so there are these kids on roller skates (roller skates!) who cruise the mall and help point you in the right direction. They're decked out in full safety gear, which has the added benefit of making them easy to spot.

By this point I've been to Metrotown enough I know where the important stores are: Chapters, which is the book store, and the sports store whose name escapes me at the moment. Quick trip.

I walked home from the Skytrain station. Beautiful sunny day. And warm. In typical Chicago spring fashion, I was dressed in too many layers. It may look 60 degrees out but really be 40.

Shedding a layer I noticed that when a house has a flight of stairs leading to the front door, it has a well defined lower level, or basement. In Vancouver that usually means finished basements, if not actual rooms or space to rent. If there was not a flight of stairs leading to the front door, then the upstairs was well defined. Windows, often a deck or patio.

Thinking back over house hunting, the houses we linked did not have stairs leading up to the front door. Those that did turned out to not be that nice or well kept.

Coincidence? Perhaps. Curious? Certainly.

This post has been sitting in Draft for a little bit. I came across an interesting article in BusiessWeek that has brought me back to it.

The article, “10 Reasons Why You Have to Quit Your Job This Year,”, makes some compelling arguments. The reasons given are:

1. The middle class is dead.
2. You’ve been replaced.
3. Corporations don’t like you.
4. Money is not happiness.
5. Count right now how many people can make a major decision that can ruin your life.
6. Is your job satisfying your needs?
7. Your retirement plan is for shit.
8. Excuses.
9. It’s ok to take baby steps.
10. Abundance will never come from your job.

I agree with just about all them, though I’d argue that number two varies depending on your industry. Not out of the realm of possibility that we all, at some point in our lives, will be replaced.

The points that struck a cord with me were points give, six and ten. I caught myself thinking back to weighing, and listing endless pros and cons, of relocating to Vancouver for, well, I really had no idea at the time. The common phrase that was tossed around in every conversation while agonizing over this decisions was “fresh start.”

Having been in Vancouver more than a year now, and being a believer in things happening for a reason, I’ve come to realize the following: your job is irrelevant.

All ten points demonstrate that a job is a means to an end, not an end in itself and not how you define yourself.

This is a very difficult concept to grasp because we often define ourselves by our jobs. Think back to the last social event you attended. What were you asked? “Hi, and what do you do for a living?” Or some variation? Sure, it’s a conversation starter, a method of finding common ground, but it also comes to define who you are. The question is asked at every social event. We answer without thinking, without realizing the greater implications. Soon, the answer becomes who we are.

I do not want to be defined by my job. I do not want my job to define me.

I do not want to search for the latest, more acceptable way to say “unemployed” or “freelancer.” Those terms do not define me, either.

I do not want to repeat those words so they become my identity to myself, and to others.

Not defining myself by my job, or by lack of job, however, presents the following question: How do I define myself?

Or, perhaps, do I define myself? I loath being shoved into boxes, being pigeon-holed. I’m not one to do the same mundane task day in and day out. I would never have left Evergreen if I were programmed that way.

The more I’ve pondered this, the more I’ve come to realize that a reason the opportunity to relocate to Vancouver appeared is so that I can find an answer to that question. The first step is realizing, and accepting, I do not want to be defined by my job, whatever that job is now, and whatever it is in the future. The second is realizing it is broader, and deeper, than my job.

The challenge lies in unearthing other definitions. Suggestions?

Tomorrow is "Election Day" in British Columbia. I can't vote, obviously, so I've paid little attention to it. My roommates are going to vote though, so there was some discussion about the election.

Apparently there was a debate, in Chinese, not too long ago. Remember that Vancouver has a heavy Asian population, so a debate in Chinese (Cantonese I believe, to be specific) isn't too surprising. One of my roommates watched it, and she made the comment that there was more participation than in previous elections, suggesting those who have moved here, settled and raised families now consider Vancouver their home.

I found that curious. Why move to Vancouver, stay so long and not consider it your home? I learned that many Chinese moved here to escape but fully intended to move back once things improved. Seems that many, since moving, have lost the desire to return and thus have a vested interest in the outcome of the election.

Naturally that raises questions for me, and the irony of Vancouver as "home" does not escape me. It's a very curious place to find myself, but staying in Vancouver ultimately isn't up to me. Such is the trade-off of a work visa. It's renewal is not up to me so there is little reason to dwell on it.

It is curious to know about an election without seeing a commercial. Benefit of not having cable! There aren't billboards, posters or any obvious signs of an election, either, which I find strange. Speaks to Canadianisms, I suppose. They're not so "in your face," in anything.

I saw the eye roll! Perhaps a smirk as well. I was right there with you until I heard this. You'll not doubt recognize a line from it:

"That shit makes me bat shit crazy!"

One of, if not the, favorite lyric of mine of all time. So fitting, and easily adaptable to any situation.

Just like American radio, however, on the odd occasion Canadian radio even plays Nickelback, it's always one of their whinny songs that the general population knows. Ugh. Honestly. If the record industry wants to keep complaining about the demise of music, it needs to ask itself why radio stations only play the crap songs instead of the better, edgier songs.

The whole album, Dark Horse, is actually pretty good. It's a more gritty, edgier Nickelback, very rock'n'roll. Not at all what we've come to expect, or the sound we generally associate with Nickelback. Pity. Dark Horse is a good album and worth a listen.

I've caught myself repeating this phrase often as the weather has turned from rainy to (at the risk of jinxing it) sunny in Vancouver. It hit 80 degrees back in Chicago before we cracked 60 here, and it was perfect baseball weather.

The right kind of warmth, meaning just a little bit cool, sunny to partly-cloudy with a gentle breeze. Perfect baseball weather. Looks like that for the rest of the week, which is good as softball season starts on Thursday. I remember an early game last year, played in cold, windy, sneezing conditions. I was incredibly glad I had bought an Under Armour Storm hoodie. Kept me warm and dry for the game.

As the season progressed, the weather improved. Guess I expected it to be the same this year, but so far, it is starting out nicer than expected.

One more month and then the season starts for the Vancouver Canadians! Technically, at the time of publication, 42 days.