While the temperatures left a lot to be desired, there were a couple of days this past where the weather and the roads were clear enough to allow my Mom and I to clear our driveway and take some day trips.
On Monday, I visited Shelf Life Magazine’s office in London to pick up copies of the latest issue and some more books to read and review. Along the way home, we stopped off at Value Village and Talize. At the Village, I added a few NASCAR t-shirts to my collection. I was actually a little … disturbed, I guess is the best word… to find a couple of Greg Biffle T-shirts. I mean, the Biff dies and someone’s first reaction is to donate their t-shirts to Value Village? Oh well, they are in my collection now and I was proud to wear one as I watched the Cook Out Clash on Wednesday night.
Speaking of Shelf Life, throughout the week I worked at updating the magazine’s website with clips of the reviews from the February/March 2026 issue. I finished the update earlier this evening so, if you’re interested in finding your next read, check out the site. And, on that note, I’ve been reading Rock Star by Jennifer Jones for a future Shelf Life review. Even if you’re not a huge follower of curling, Jones’ story is also a guidebook to teamwork and what it takes to make your dreams come true.
On Wednesday, Mom and I took our black #3 Chevy out on the road, listening to 60s Gold on Sirius XM and headed to Courtland Treasures and Antique Emporium in Delhi and the One of A Kind Antique Mall in Woodstock to take advantage of their Cabin Fever Sales (plus that they’re both great places to find treasures). With a stopover in Ingersoll to get groceries, we spent the better part of the day on the road. After being stuck inside for days on end due to the snow and cold weather, it was great to be able to get out of the house, get some fresh air and see some sights. Both my Mom and I were able to get a few items.
My key find was a box of old Stock Car Racing magazines, with a half dozen racing programs (including the 2014 Daytona 500 – the year Dale Jr. won – and the Coca Cola 600 and the All-Star Races from 2015-2017) and a couple of odds and ends thrown in. I figure I paid about a buck a magazine so a fairly good deal, plus it gives me some more reading material.
I don’t want anyone to think that I’ve neglected my job search. Far from it, as I continue to check the job boards twice a day and apply for anything that I can find that I believe myself qualified for. By my count, I’ve applied for 14 jobs in the past two weeks alone. Having said that I’ve also received several “Thanks but we’re going with other applicants” emails over the past week. It’s discouraging but there’s no point in getting too discouraged. I gotta just keep looking for those opportunities and putting my best foot forward and hope for the best.
I know for some of you this weekend is the Super Bowl. I’ve never been into football, won’t get access to the exciting commercials and have no interest in watching the half-time show. Instead, I’ll be getting ready for my Super Bowl a week later in Daytona. The advantage NASCAR has is that we’re about 48 hours away from the Super Bowl. What’s happening? Nothing. Just a bunch of people sitting behind desks talking about the odds of the coin flip going heads or tails. Next week at this time, we’ll have had qualifying, the duels and probably have gotten the Camping World Truck race in by now. We’ll still have the ARCA race and the first race under the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series banner. All that BEFORE the big event on Sunday. Even when it’s a mess like the Cook Out Clash was, in my opinion (but as I’ve said before, since this is my blog, mine is the only opinion that counts) NASCAR is still better than the NFL.
But in all seriousness, I hope everyone is surviving the cold and bad weather as best they can. As always, if you want to discuss anything covered above (or in my other blogs), chat me up on Messenger – either by text or voice message – or via email.
johnmilner.ca 