Gone fishing

This will be my last post for a few days. I'm heading up to NW Ontario for my annual fishing trip with my brother/father in law.
It will be nice to get out of the city for a while, sitting on the beach at sunset, and fishing all day long. I like the idea of staying at the cabin while we're out there too. There's something soothing about listening to the waves splash up on shore, and to hear Loons calling in the distance.
Time to de-stress. It's kind of like a spa treatment for men.

P.S. I have my 2-in-1 body wash, so I get to jump in the lake, scrub up, and rinse down. I just hope the water is warm. And our host doesn't go skinny dipping again.

A ho hum kind of day

There's not much going on today. Ali and I might catch an early show, then it's off to work tonight.

I was thinking of things I used to do when I was a kid. My parents always took my sister and I camping, and I remember we used to have a canoe, from which I'd fish, hopelessly trying to catch something even though my line was only about ten feet behind the boat.
We used to go to some surrounding areas swimming quite often too. All of my childhood pictures involved me being outside, in the water, fishing, camping, or feeding large birds at the zoo. Apparently, I loved the peacocks.

These are all things that I hope to do with our kids during their early years. My dad said it best when he said they chose to have kids, and we were going to be their lives. I guess their friends didn't have any kids, but always proudly sported their new boats, campers, cars, etc.....
My parents proudly sported us.

One of my favorite pictures from when I was younger involves me and my younger sister. I was about 5 and Jen was 2. We were out for a day of swimming and fishing in a small town called Stonewall, Manitoba. The picture was taken as Jen and I sat on the dock, looking up at the camera. Jen has that "little- girl- forcing- a- smile" look, and I am proudly wearing a Blue Bombers T-shirt, with my long sun bleached hair. I miss my sister right now. I think I'm going to give her a call....

I don't like that "next blog" feature

You see that? Right above this heading, there's that evil little Next blog icon.
A few times, I've clicked on it to stumble across the odd interesting blog, but most of the time it's ads for some business, or people trying to sell you stuff. And, of course with the Internet the way it is these days, I've also clicked that icon to bring up a porn site. On blogger? Are you kidding me?
That has to be the biggest "speed bump" of the Internet. You can't even Google something innocent, such as "Mother's Day gifts" or "Discount toys" without being linked to some nasty site.

A few years back when I was in Nursing school, I decided to write a paper on disciplining your kids, and brought up the debate of whether to spank your kids or not. I went to Google to find information, but to my surprise, those weren't the kinds of articles I wanted. Somehow, I don't think gag balls and leather would be fitting in my paper.

Years ago Ali wanted an idea for a Mother's day gift. Again, no useful sites came up, just some crap which we quickly shut down.

I cringe when I think of our kids playing on the computer. I know they have filters and different settings, but I won't trust them.

This has been my rant for the day.

P.S. Four more sleeps until the big fishing trip. I can't wait!

Another wedding, another blast

Well, the wedding was a ton of fun!
Ali and I saw a lot of friends, danced hard, and had a drink or two...
This was the kind of wedding I have totally forgotten about. The ceremony was short and sweet, the two hours before cocktail hour was fun, the reception was the highlight, then the huge buffet the next was a good way to finish off the weekend.

Tonight I go back to work. I only have a few shifts, then I'm joining my brother/father- in- law on our annual fishing trip. This lake is probably the best fishing that I've ever experienced in my life.
This time, I have to remember the camera. Last year, I had the biggest fish of the weekend, and of course, no camera to back my story up.
We're doing it a little different this year. Our host has a cabin which he shares with three other guys. He booked it for us to use this year. Now, I don't have to worry if my company wants to sleep in, I can just go with our host. I'm there to fish after all, not sleep until 9 or 10 in the morning.
It should be a good time, as usual. The guy that takes us out is the manager of the local liquor store, so he always has a nice variety of import beer waiting for me in the fridge.
What more can a guy ask for - fishing and cold imported beer. Sounds pretty good to me.

One more sleep...

Tomorrow is the big day. The first Blue Bomber game of the year.
The only downside to this? Visitors. My dad is coming in for the game. We have to clean up. Fast.
See Ali's blog for further details.
I'm excited to see my dad again. It's been a few weeks, and I like hanging out, just the two of us. When my uncle couldn't make the game, I quickly turned around and gave the extra tickets to a good friend of mine who will enjoy the game as well, so I did my good deed (off the clock) for the day. Also, I can sit with my pops instead of my friend.
It has been hot and humid here for the last few days. Every time I imagine being on vacation when it's cold here, I never remember the humidity. I hate humidity. The worst was when we went to the Bahamas one August, or Cuba in July. I hate that feeling when your clothes stick to you, and sweat runs into your eyes.
Good thing I don't live down South, because I would be cranky right now.
Speaking of being down South, a few of the Blue Bombers come from Georgia/Florida/Tennessee, etc. and know hot weather very well. I shake my head as they run around the field with sweatpants and toques on their heads. It is only 80 or 85 here after all.
By this time tomorrow, my throat will be sore, and my ears will be ringing. Geez, it's only the pre-season. I gotta pace myself.

It's hot in Winnipeg

How hot is it you ask? I've finally turned on the A.C. today. The temp here is 32 Celsius.
I can't imagine having to play baseball tonight, but it's better than the cold rainy weather we've been having.
Here's how my week is shaping up. I work tomorrow and Wednesday, then it's the Bomber game, then yet another wedding. Sadly, there will be no theme, just your standard run-of-the-mill wedding. I'll get a chance to visit with some friends whom I haven't seen in a while. Ali is a bride's maid, so I'm glad I can sit with people that I know.

We also have new neighbours. I was out cooking on the grill the other night, and was wanting to go over and introduce myself. After a few minutes of awkward pacing, pulling some weeds by the patio, and observing the sky, I just walked over and said hi.
They are a nice couple, I just wish that they were a little closer in age to us. No big deal, we'll be moving (hopefully) in a few months anyway.

It was weird being here by myself this weekend. I enjoyed eating what I wanted, watching whatever I wanted, playing video games, drinking beer, and making a mess. The hard part was sleeping at night. I'm never paranoid, but when I go to bed at night, I think there are people breaking into our front door, or trying to get through the windows. I guess it doesn't help much that I've been reading all sorts of zombie books. I'm such a wuss.

I'm happy Ali is back tonight. She can protect me from the zombies and whatever goes bump in the night.

Corona and days off

Two of the best things around.
Sadly, Ali isn't around with me right now. It's her cousin's grad party this weekend, so I'm kickin' it old school (bachelor style) this weekend.
I'm having a cold beer after a busy day at work, then I'm going to BBQ some chicken. Tomorrow, I am hoping to play a round of golf, but it looks like there's rain in the forecast. All day long I looked outside of the hospital, and saw nothing but blue skies. After my shift, the clouds rolled in.
Tonight, I'm going to turn back into a 15 year old boy. Video games, staying up late, watching bad horror films, and eating junk food. That doesn't sound too bad.

Update: My car is fixed (again). It turns out it was the same part I had just replaced, not two weeks ago. Just when I threatened my car with fire, it gets fixed......
I now have no faith in my car at all, so I will be staying around the city for a while.
Have a good weekend. I'll be thinking of everyone on Monday as I sleep in. :)

Fore!!!

I finally get to go golfing today.
I'm going with a couple of friends that Ali used to work with. I just hope we don't get that awkward fourth person joining our group. It's always more fun joking around with your buddies when you don't have to worry about offending the strange guy who golfs alone.
My car gave me a scare today. As I was on the way to the Stadium, it kind of heaved, and sputtered. I quickly turned off the main road onto a quieter side road. Just as I turned to head towards home, my car stalled. The funny thing is, I hardly reacted. I picked up my cell phone, called Ali, and told her my car died. Again.
I called CAA (AAA in U.S.A.) and requested a tow. They told me that this was the last free tow on my account, and that they'd be there in an hour or so. I turned the key again just for fun, and whaddaya know? It started.
Here's my new dilemma. Do I chance driving it to the garage, or wait for CAA to get me, knowing full well that I have used my last of the towing privileges?
I'm a risk taker, so I put on my four way flashers, turned my car around, and proceeded to slowly blow through every STOP sign that I came across. I was a man on a mission. Of course, all the way there, the car ran fine. I pulled up to the garage, called Ali again, then headed for the nearest gas station. A full tank of gas and some fuel injector cleaner later, the car is still going.
Like a true die-hard fan, I continued to drive to the Stadium to watch the Bombers practice. As I was there, my worries all melted away. Now I'm just excited for the season to start.
Other than that, not much has happened today. I have plans to go see "28 Weeks Later" later this week, but I can't bring myself to call it a "date" if it's with another guy that Ali works with. Yet another thing that women can get away with, and something that men just never call pull off. Men just say "I'm going to the show with ......" and that's it.
Gotta go soon. I have to get ready for my golf date...er....um...I mean Tee time.

What part of "we'll get back to you" don't they understand?

Our answering machine clearly states the above message. We'll get back to you. So, why do people insist on calling again and again, never leaving messages, or leaving the SAME messages over and over again?
This is another one of my pet peeves. And now it's worse, due to the fact that we call caller ID on our phone/TV, so I see the same numbers repeating themselves. Of course, whenever I try calling them, it gives me a message stating that it is a calling centre, and they cannot be reached at that number.
When I finally do talk to these people, I usually cut them off during their sales pitch, but then they just skip down to the part of the script where they have a counter offer, or a lower interest rate.
This is when I wish we had video phones. One simple hand gesture, and the people would know how I felt.
On a side note, I have just bought Ali her birthday gift(s).
I think she'll be happy. I must say I actually enjoyed shopping today. It's rare, and I'm sure the feeling will pass, but so far I've had a fun day. I watched the Bombers practice, went shopping, listened to some good music, and then came home to the same 3 phone calls.

Flashback to 1985

As you may know, we're attending a wedding this weekend. The reception will be in an 80's theme, so it will be a little more exciting than your traditional wedding.
Ali and I have both purchased the appropriate attire for the evening, and we're both excited to dress up and have some fun.
One good thing about this idea is I've only spent about $20 for my outfit. Oddly enough, Ali only had to buy some leggings. The rest she had in her drawers.
Another bonus - everyone can do the 80's dance.........how many of you just swung your arms from side to side trying to repeat these horrific dance moves?

I gotta practice my 80's lingo for this one. I'll be saying "dude"to address any guy, and following every sentence with "sike!!". Sadly enough, I still use "rad" and "tubular" every now and again.
See you Monday.