I guess I'm just talking to the walls

I had an orientation at another hospital today. I will probably only work there once or twice a month, but my employer found it necessary to take in this day long snooze-fest.
First of all, there were two of us on this orientation. Judging by the huge folder of information they provided us, there were probably supposed to be about 10-20 others with us.
The lady would ask us about a certain pump. I said I am familiar with it, but then she would say "we'll just run through it quickly anyway."

She would then ask about certain medications. I said that I used these all the time on our ward, but again she would say "Just for a refresher..."

After lunch, this lady took us for a tour of the units that we will be working on. The staff did not give me a good vibe. They just looked us over from head to toe, and didn't say hello after I introduced myself. Oh well, I hope they like working double shifts....

Halfway through the tour, she stopped to go through some policies. I again said that these were province wide changes, and that they were the same at every hospital. I cringed as she said "Well, just in case something is different....."

This went on for eight agonizing hours. I never wanted my bed so bad in my life. I got home just after Ali, and made a nice supper for the two of us.
Tomorrow I go back to my native hospital, chaos and all. I wouldn't change it for the world.
All this, and we get to go to an 80's theme wedding this weekend. It should be fun!!

Blah,blah,blah

I got my car back yesterday. Hopefully it runs for a while now.
I've discovered a new band, and they are unbelievable....how good you ask?
I prefer to support Canadian bands most of the time, and these guys (and gal) are from California.
They are called the Silversun Pickups, and you should really check them out. They have a unique sound, with very off-beat drum...beats...

Right now I'm cooking some burgers, and listening to music. I'm embarrassed to say this, but as I was going outside to flip my burgers, I skipped like a school girl to the patio. I don't know what came over me, but I can hear Ali saying "Oh my God, you're soooo gay!!"
If that wasn't bad enough. I just played air guitar with the spatula. Thank goodness I'm home alone.
I have to agree with Ali. Sometimes it just takes some good loud music to get you out of a funk. And I was the funkiest one in the land.

8 things about me

This comes from being tagged from Ali and John.

1. I have a bad habit of twisting my kleenex to blow my nose, and this drives Ali crazy.

2. I have a fear of reefs in the lake. They are so intimidating, just lying there under the water, waiting for an unsuspecting boat to hit them. I also hate weeds in the lake, especially when you're tubing or water skiing and wipe out in the middle of them.

3. I was asked to be best man in my best friend's wedding next year, and I'm actually very nervous about my speech which I'm going to deliver. He's like a brother to me, so it has to be perfect.

4. I was class clown in highschool, and was constantly fooling around during class. I think I was also voted most likely to become a movie star, which, sadly didn't pan out.

5. I would drive all across Canada and the U.S. to see my favorite band, The Tragically Hip.

6. I can do anything at the drop of a hat. My friend and I used to pack a toothbrush, and go tubing for the weekend, sleeping in the car, and eating raw hot dogs. Of course we were in Minnesota, so we had to drink a lot of beer to feel the effects.

7. I was in the Military just out of highschool, and I would probably re-enlist if my wife let me. I would like to be a medic, but would hate to move around so much. I'd like to stay in Canada, but that wouldn't happen.

8. I would like to visit each state across the U.S.A. I've been to Minnesota, the Dakotas, Montana, Washington, Michigan, Kentucky, Kansas, Texas, Wisconsin, the Carolinas, Iowa, and Idaho. The idea of putting a pin in each state visited is kind of cool.

There you have it. I thought that would have been more difficult.

Men's Union - local 126

I'm starting a Men's Union. One where we get rights, have support from each other when we need it, and have a place where we can develop a grieving process when our significant others have a complaint against us.
It seems that I have missed the boat on something. Ali has posted on how men are daft. This is a post on how vague women are. They think we should know something, but to actually say it is like pulling teeth. They quickly throw the "you should know what I'm thinking all the time" line in our faces. Men never do this. We have something on our mind, we say it. Of course with me, it takes a little prodding, but when I do start, it's hard to stop.
Too many times my fellow brothers, have we sat here as a collective group, and taken these verbal jabs in stride. This is why I propose the "I didn't know" jar. It's similar to a swear jar, but anytime your girlfriend/wife asks something the we should know and say I don't know, we put in a dollar.
On the contrary, whenever a girlfriend/wife says "you should know what I'm thinking" they put in a dollar.
Can I get an Amen!?!?!

On another note, my car is scrapped again. That's right, after a repair bill larger than my car's value, it has stopped running - again.
You think I almost lost it the first time? Ha. That was child's play. I had all the same fuel in the fire as before, but now I had a $600 repair bill to top it all off.

Back to the subject at hand. I want all brothers in blog world to extend their right hand, and repeat the following:

"I vow to work hard to understand my wife/girlfriend. I vow to understand that look from now on, and I vow to stop being so selfish (most of the time). I vow to be proud when I say you were right, and I was wrong. I also vow to say that at least once a month. I vow to give credit where credit is due. You are the boss of everything. I love you."

Men's union inaugural meeting now adjourned. Go in peace to love and serve the wife.

Time to reeeeeeeeellaaaaaaaaaaxxxxxxx

This officially marks the beginning of the May long weekend. No work for three whole days, visiting friends and family, and fishing.
This long weekend couldn't have come at a better time. Putting out money for my car (which now runs again) a crazy work week, and a depressing funk that I've been in for the last few days can all finally disappear.
All that and a day or so of Mom's home cooking should sort things out.
I can't put my finger on why I've been feeling like ass lately. It seems when I turned 29, I developed this environmental allergy - in my right eye only. It gets all red and itchy, and Benedryl apparently renders me unconscious, so that's out. Work has been stressful, it's been cold here, I haven't been golfing yet, I haven't been fishing yet, football season is still too far away, and worst of all it seems like I haven't seen my wife in ages. By the time I come home, I'm ready for bed, so I just sit there in a daze, until I finally drag my butt to bed. I think we will have a date this weekend, just the two of us.
So, there you have it. All the above problems disappearing in one fell swoop. Thank goodness for this weekend.
Have a good one. I will.

A funeral for a friend

First off, it's not a human. It's my car.
It stalled on me on Saturday, and right now it's at the mechanic. He first told me he thought it was an ignition module, and that would cost $300 just for the part.
I have just put $ 600 into this car, so I don't know if I want to keep on prolonging the obvious, or if I should just put it down.
By the way, why do people get mad when somebody is broken down on the road? While I was calling a tow truck, the looks people were giving me were pretty upsetting. It's like they were thinking "How dare YOU break down and ruin MY day?"
Yeah, sorry my car won't start....
Some people really try to sell the fact that they are broken down by putting up their car hood. Not me, I just called the wife, then proceeded to freak out in true Chris fashion by hitting everything within arm's distance - the steering wheel, the sun visor, the seat, the dash, the gearstick.....
Maybe popping the hood wouldn't have looked so bad after all. This car has caused me so much stress the last few months, that it's not even funny. I jinxed it when I said that when we have extra money, we will put it away for our house fund. Every time I say that, something goes wrong with my car.
Oh well, I'll try to relax tonight by playing baseball with my friends. Maybe I'll even have a beer and some wings. Go team!!

Everybody's working for the weekend!!!

As everyone heads out to the lake or river this weekend, I'm going to be trapped indoors.
It's been cool here, and it's supposed to rain, so I guess that softens the blow. I'll get my fun in next weekend though. I've already set up the fishing date.
I've convinced Ali to stay home this weekend too. There's something unsettling about being in bed alone, although we would both equally enjoy some peace and quiet, as I wouldn't bother anyone by snoring.
That's one of my side effects from surgery. I snore now, and apparently, it's more often than not.
On that note, what do you dislike about yourself? Is this something that drives just you crazy, or your significant other as well?

Other things I don't like about me are:

-my feet
-my temper
-my distaste for tomatoes. They never did anything to me...

I know these just bother me, 'cause Ali loves ALL of them. ;)

So, uh, what else is new?

I am finished work for a few days. My parents are coming into town, so I can hang out with my pops, and take my mom out shopping - well not shopping, but be her chauffeur.
I received a letter in the mail today from our local insurance dealer stating that my old work car, lovingly referred to as "Biff", is a high theft risk, and therefore entitled to a free immobilizer.
This is something new in Manitoba. They ( our insurance provider) have come up with a "top 100" list of the most popular stolen cars, and if yours was on it, you could get this free immobilizer.
Here's the thing - my car is hardly worth stealing. It's mechanically sound, but rusty, and hardly the "looker" that our other car is....even with me having the windows down, and singing songs with my hair blowing in the wind. (Wink)
I guess I'll get the immobilizer put in, but God help these kids if I catch 'em.
It looks like I might be able to go fishing this May long weekend after all. My buddy ( who I thought was ignoring me) had a baby, so I guess he's excused.
I have wanted to head out on that annual fishing trip for years, and it now seems possible.
I was supposed to go camping with my best friend and his girlie, but it probably wouldn't be a good idea - what with it being cold and expensive. We gotta pinch our pennies for other things right now. I promise Mike and Irene, we'll go out sometime this year!!
Three weeks until training camp. That means my Bomber jerseys will get some use, starting tonight. I now know how a Woman feels when she gets to wear a new skirt or those cute sandals...
Other than that, my bathroom is sparkling for my parents, and my hands smell like bathroom cleaner, and Ali and I are starving. Gotta get some food. Right after I re-wash my hands.

Weekend update

I went to visit my parents over the weekend. I brought my golf clubs along, so of course Mother Nature had to put her foot down and turn the weather bad. It was cloudy, and very windy all weekend.
This was one of the first times I've actually visited with my parents. Usually when Ali and I go "home" one or both of my parents are working. They were both off Saturday, so I took advantage of the time and just hung out with them.
Today I woke up to the annoying sound of wind chimes. I usually don't mind ONE set, but my mom has about twenty different sets scattered around the yard. Pair that with the wind that could peel the paint off a building, and you've got yourself a party. I'm talking eight hours of steady chiming and clanging....
After having breakfast with my dad over in Minnesota, he wanted to show me a car that was on display in front of one of the local gas stations. It was a black Mustang with silver racing stripes down the center. This was no ordinary Mustang though. It was the limited edition Shelby Mustang. I now remember the feeling that kids get when they peer into a pet store window or a candy shop. We both just pressed our faces against the glass and drooled. I think we both even started the conversation by saying "If I ever won Power ball...."
Even then I can't let my fantasies go interrupted. I started saying to myself "$47 000 American dollars would be a good down payment on a house" or "That's too much horsepower" or "With the price of gas nowadays...".
I should have just let my imagination go. Sometimes I hate being an adult.

P.S. I don't wanna get up for work tomorrow. Hmph.

It's a regular sausage-fest in here!!!!!

After work this evening, I decided to BBQ some Pioneer sausage. These are a Manitoba treat very popular in the Mennonite communities. This is pork sausage at it's best, and, of course, while I was eating it, Ali was gagging endlessly.
There's something about these little buggers that just screams summer to me. They have a distinct smell when cooking, and I have flashbacks of when I was younger and my mom would cook them.
If you ever come to Manitoba, you have to try these along with some squeaky cheese.
Plus, I bet these would go along great with some of Gigi's biscuits.

Aside from that, I just relaxed and watched Canada's last hope of bringing the Stanley Cup back North (Ottawa Senators) beat New Jersey. Speaking of NJ, there's one place nobody ever says they want to move to. I guess they call it "the swamp" for a reason.
Goodnight my friends, and if there is anyone from NJ who reads this, I was just kidding. I live in the mosquito capital of the world, remember?

That reminds me. There's a stupid "joke gift" that they sell around here to tourists. It is a little tiny bear trap the size of a quarter and the packaging says "authentic Manitoba mosquito trap."
Do people buy this crap? It's almost as embarrassing as the T-shirts with every single animal indigenous to Canada on them. Tacky junk at it's best.

Skeletal Remains Undefeated!!!!!!!

Yesterday was the first day of our baseball season. I'm proud to say that we are now 2-0.
I had to work yesterday, so I skipped out a little early, and headed down to the diamond.
I was so excited to play, and was focused on warming up my arm, that I totally neglected my poor legs. Now I'm hurting a bit.
Afterwards, we went to our sponsor's Restaurant for some beer and wings. My friend Lindsay was the first to call his wife and check in. He mumbled a few words into his cell phone, and quickly hung up. He said she gave him "the tone." It's what all men dread when we speak to our wives.
It's a little more in-your- face that the usual "fine!!" that I get, and it's effective. We know the whole time we're sitting there, our poor wives are home alone waiting on baited breath for us to come stumbling in the door at 2 or 3 a.m.

Yeah right.

We rehearse the scene in our heads, trying to cover angle of the argument that is about to follow.

"No, I only had two beers."

"Yes Lindsay and Aaron stayed too."

"I only spent $20, and that'll be it for this whole month."

We can never be prepared enough apparently, because we always lose that fight.
Last night, I was the only one who didn't get "tone."
And I let everyone know how great MY wife is....

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