I dig music

(Title taken from a Rheostatics' song)

I was sitting here watching the Colbert Report today, and he had REM as a guest.
That's one band I've always really liked, even though I haven't bought many of their albums.
This got me to thinking of some other bands that I really like and know, and although I don't have many (or any) of their albums, here are still some of my "other favorites".

The list would be as follows :

Neil Young - A legendary Canadian singer whose lyrics are like no other.

U2 - One of the world's biggest bands, I had the pleasure of seeing these guys play in Calgary years ago.

The Dead Kennedys - A classic punk band. It's interesting to think what would have happened if Jello Biafra actually won his political seat....

Nirvana - They have too many good songs to list.

The Pixies - Another band whose reunion tour was too short.

Rush - Finally making another appearance after 25 years here in Winnipeg. They were mad that their last show only attracted 6000 people, and vowed to never return. On second thought - do we want them here?!?

The Sex Pistols - A must have for any "mad at your parents & I wanna be a rebel" teenager.

Tom Petty - Classic easy listening American rocker

This post really made my day. The more I think about music, the happier I get. Who are some of your "other favorites"?

Moving, but not at a snail's pace

Yesterday, we spent the afternoon packing up the guest bedroom, and converting it into the baby's room.
We ventured from store to store, picking up the necessary items, then returned home and made our place a bigger disaster than before. As Ali says though, "it has to get worse before it gets better...."

That motto can actually hold a lot of bearing to many things. Take for example my first (of soon to be many) visits to my massage therapist. It was rough going for the first day, but then I was actually able to walk comfortably the entire following day.

As I was driving home today after dropping the wife off at work, I saw one thing that made me want to pull this lady out of her car, "and give her a good talking to".
She was driving, one hand holding a coffee, the other holding a cigarette. Usually not a big deal right? The kicker was noticing the baby carrier in the back seat. She was kind enough to have the cover over the baby's face though....

In Manitoba, they are trying to make it illegal to smoke in a car while carrying children. This has already become a law in the East coast, and hopefully we will follow suit soon. I would love to be in charge of writing those tickets. I'd cut in front of the car, get out, and slap the ticket square on their foreheads. I'd be that guy that Ali complained about. Call it a stupidity tax.

As mentioned before in Ali's blog, I was surprised to see the hostility shown towards us while we were in North Dakota. I know it was only two Emo kids who probably aren't hugged enough by their parents, but it got me to thinking about growing up in a small border town.
We used to be chased out of Minnesota as kids, sworn at as teens, and given the finger and told to "go back to Canada" more times than I can remember.
I felt like telling those two jagoffs in Grand Forks that if it was not for the fact that Canadians are carrying the local economy right now, they would not have a mall to hang out at. They wouldn't have understood what those big words meant though.
As I said earlier, I have only really experienced this in smaller towns across the U.S.
When I was younger, we took a trip down to Kentucky with nothing but good memories. We spent one Christmas in Arizona treated like royalty. I talked to many interesting people in Las Vegas.

Do me a favour, my American friends - tell small town people to be nice to us. We're harmless. We're Canadian.

Is it April yet?

And just when I thought things were looking up.... We got a small dump of snow the other day, just enough to cover the ground, then melt and make everything all sloppy. The sloppiness of the streets, and the gallons of windshield washer fluid signal spring to me. The snow just doesn't mix into my spring plans.

I'm excited for April to get here, not for the obvious reasons (ahem, birthdays) but because I think April is my favorite month overall. Of course I love June/July,but I enjoy writing the word "April" more than any other months.
This is the month that officially kick starts Spring. The robins and squirrels return, the air has that certain moist-dirty-wet grass smell, and the buds on the hedges start to bloom.

I was watching a dad take his young son for a walk this afternoon. The little boy stopped at every puddle, bent down to touch it with a single finger, then proceed to splash and frolic through the puddles with no holds barred. It looked fun, but the dad was a total killjoy.
He scorned the boy for splashing his khaki pants. If that were me, I'd splash right along with my child too. It's only water, and plus, I'd look cool to all passers-by.

I can't wait until our Butterbean is here. More so, I can't wait until they toddle around, constantly looking and exploring the neighborhood. Bad back or not, I'm following....

Right now, life is good. When I was 18 and thought "where will I be when I'm 30?", this is pretty much what I had in mind. I have an amazing wife, a good job, and soon I'll be that dad playing in the puddles.

Massage by the Mafia

Yesterday, I took myself to a sports injury clinic. The doctor came in, did a quick interview, then gave me some of the smallest shorts I have ever squeezed in to .

After a thorough exam, he told me that I have a very irritated back muscle (name is too hard to pronounce) and that I would greatly benefit from deep tissue massage. That sounds good, but I'm the worlds biggest suck when it comes to a massage.

I've booked an appointment with a guy named Igor. He's an old Russian man who was a physiotherapist years ago, and now does massage. When the doctor calls this man who he's referred to as "old, crazy, but very good" what can I expect? I quickly get visions of him having ties to the Russian mafia....

I quickly tell myself that's not the case. Then I made the call. He answered the phone with a thick accent, and had old classical music playing in the background. I'm convinced.

I want him to be gentle, but I understand the idea of deep tissue massage is to work out the kinks and knots which have formed and became quite comfortable in my back within the last 6 months. I wonder if he has a gag-ball for me to use? I hope it's not that kind of massage place.

In other news, my best friend is venturing to the city for the night. One last chance to play video games late into the night, and annoy Ali with some more high fives (after we score a goal while playing Playstation).

I'm also hoping to take my dad out fishing this weekend. He has a rare couple of days off, so I'm really going to bug him to get out. It will be good to have some father/son time. We usually only get this during football season, which happens to start in 2 months.

Last Thursday, we saw our little baby in 3D. This little person looked so real and perfect, and it looked as though they could be handed to us right that day. Alison quickly reminded me that they were still only about 3.5 lbs. and had a bunch more weeks to finish growing, but I'm starting to get impatient. I want them here - now.

Most people tell me to enjoy the quiet now, because it'll get louder when they arrive, but I say bring the noise.....

I say that Butterbean features my nose, and Alison's lips. I'm hoping they get Alison's bluish eyes and eyelashes, and my chubby cheeks, which, so far doesn't appear to be too difficult. See Ali's blog for photo evidence.

We've just finished assembling the"bouncy chair". I think we have all the big ticket items purchased, so now it's just hurry up and wait.

For the next day or so, I'll hang out with my parents. They've ventured to the big city for a quick shopping/Dr's. office trip. As usual, I'll probably get annoyed with them about five minutes after getting into the car. I'll keep you posted...

Feelin' good makes me feel good!!!

Today I was thinking of things that make me feel good, or happy.

1. Reading books to my unborn baby.

2. Resting my head and hand on Ali's belly, and feeling Butterbean kick.

3. A good slobbery kiss with my wife. (Mushy, I know)

4. Friday night in the Summer, especially during Blue Bomber games.

5. Visiting our parents in Ontario.

6. Road trips to anywhere. I heard a little rumour that the Broncos are playing in NC this year....

7. Eating fresh seafood, especially when it's somewhere in the Caribbean.

8. Hanging out with my best friend Mike, just playing video games.

9. Puppies.

10. Going to concerts.

11. Fishing with friends.

12. Drinking a big cold glass of water when I'm reeeaaaalllly thirsty.

13. Thinking of being not only a dad, but a great dad.

14. Buying my baby's first Bomber jersey. I got # 00, just like my first jersey....

15. Swimming and snorkeling in the Ocean.

16. Flying in a plane.

17. Enjoying a cold beer when it's hot outside.

18. Laughing at Ali's stupid jokes, or adding to a comment I just made about somebody.

19. Hanging out with my dad.

20. Talking about nursing stuff with my two moms.

21. Finding old baby pictures of me and my family.

22. Adding to our baby book.

23. Hearing my favorite band on the radio, and screaming the lyrics as loud as possible. (When I'm by myself)


I think most of these can happen, just by Summer coming around this year. 2008 will be the best year yet.

ROAD TRIP!!!

Yesterday we ventured South, to a little place called Grand Forks, ND.
This town is the perfect size, and the streets are laid out in a way that you can go exactly where you want to go with little trouble.

On a side note, I don't know what our American neighbours are taught, but in Canada when an intersection is out, and there are no lights, we treat this as a four way stop.....
As we approached the very first light, they were out due to a huge power outage, and it was an absolute free-for-all for everyone in the area. Nobody was even hitting the brakes, cars were cutting in front of others, and there I was.....waiting patiently, until the van ahead of me sat there. And sat there. And sat there. I finally honked the horn, yelling every curse word that I could muster in one breath, while my beautiful 8 months pregnant wife did the exact same.....two peas in a pod I tell ya.

As we were driving back home, we received a phone call from a family member. They were in the hospital, but were medically stable. I have never felt so helpless, being two hours away from Winnipeg, and being stranded on a quiet highway. It felt as if I was standing still, even though I was going 110 KM/H.
This family member is now at home resting, and doing okay, but it sure did bring back some ugly memories for Ali and myself. Sometimes I think my family was cursed.

To end this blog, I will let you know that our Manitoba Government has come to their senses, and avoiding the Nurse's strike. As with any other strike, wages/benefits/pension were the main sticking points. Now we can all breathe easy.

Have a good work week everyone.

Coming of age

They say you're only as old as you feel. My best friend celebrates his 30th birthday today, and soon I will join him in the 30 + club.

Whenever I go grocery shopping, I feel like an "adult". I don't know why, maybe it's just a thing that "grown-ups" usually do. When I look around the store, there's mostly 40-50 year olds there. I see lots of parents pushing their kids in the cart. Maybe that's why I feel older when I shop.

Of course all of this is a moot point, when they look in my cart and I have granola bars, pudding, sweetened cereal, juice, and chocolate milk. My cart is the unofficial wish list for any kid.

I quickly jump back into my "adult" role when I load up the minivan to go home....

I feel that I am where I am supposed to be at this point of my life. Parenthood, and all of the things that come with it are all that I could have hoped for. I can't wait.

On a side note, I believe that I'm over the shock (see last post) and am coming to terms with it.

I'm.....speechless.

Have you ever heard some news from somebody, and you honestly did not know what to say?

I had the pleasure of being blind-sided by some shocking news yesterday, and for the first time in my life, I honestly was speechless. I think back as far as I can remember, and I have always managed to make up my mind that instant - whether I liked it or not.

I'm having difficulty right now, because I am truly flustered.....
Maybe I'll share this info with you at a later date, but right now I don't know how I feel about it.

Not to worry though, we'll get through this, and no, it's not related to Ali or Butterbean.
I know that I can count on Ali to talk me through everything, and reason out all of the good along with the bad. That's one of the things that makes her so perfect for me.

Has anyone else ever had this feeling of being so indecisive?
If so, how did you cope?

Maybe I'll call Dr. Phil.

I should write Soaps...or sell couches

Man, my life lately has been like a bad Soap Opera....

I talked to my back surgeon yesterday, and he was "reluctant" to do surgery. He didn't rule it out completely, but he felt that there was one last option to explore.
He referred me to this guy who runs a private clinic in the city. He apparently has a PhD. in sports medicine, and he's a Physiotherapist who specializes in chronic pain, and different coping methods.
At this point, I'm willing to try acupuncture, massage, or hypnosis. OK, maybe not hypnosis, but you get my drift....

As a last option, Dr. J said he would fuse the affected disc, but I would more than likely need further surgery down the road. I've inherited my Grandfather's bad back, and have to play with the cards I've been dealt. I just wish I knew what to do so that Ali won't worry about me as much.

To take my mind off of my back issues, I went to scout baby furniture. That's right, you heard right, I went shopping - alone. I even had to steer away form the pushy salesman. The kind who lines you up as soon as you enter the door, then cuts down the angle like a linebacker coming in for the hit. I must have given him a certain "leave the the hell alone" look, because he fumbled his words, and totally messed up his approach. As he walked up to me, he said "Uh, good morning. Ah shit, it's not morning....good afternoon. It's afternoon now. 12:45 to be exact...."
I just diverted my eyes to the nearest piece of furniture, which happened to be one of the most ugly two toned couches I've ever seen. It was black, with tan leather.
As soon as I looked at it, he says "I bet that would look gooooooood in your living room."

Now, by the way he exaggerated the word "good", I figured I was on some kind of hidden camera show like Oblivious.
I told him I actually thought it was gross, and I wouldn't be caught dead with that in my house.
He asked what I did need, and directed me to the bedroom sets. I told him I wanted one dresser/change table, but they didn't carry that.

Sometimes I think it would be fun to work sales, just for one day. I could sell some real ugly crap....like that dreaded couch that will haunt me in my dreams.

STRIKE!!!!

It appears that talks between our Nurse's union and the Manitoba Government have stalled. As a matter of fact, they've stalled so badly, it it believed that the union might ask us to strike in the next few weeks.

I was in another profession the last time the nurses had a strike vote here, and I really don't remember much about that time. Now that this will directly affect me and my family, I'm more interested in the events taking place within the next two weeks.

There is already a "work to rule" order in effect, where members are encouraged not to work any extra shifts or overtime. The first people who will suffer from this is unfortunately the patients.
It will all start in the emergency room. From there, all elective surgeries will be cancelled. Aside form that, all hemodialysis patients will suffer. I hope for their sake (and ours) that it doesn't come to this.

When we hear about other essential services (firefighters, police, etc) getting decent raises, it should only include the nurses as well. What the government has offered won't even cover the cost of living.

I say boo to the government.

On a lighter note, I will be going to see my favorite comedian of all time - Emo Phillips tonight with Ali and a few other friends. His distinct style stage presence and dry sense of humor make him truly stand out. I need a beer, and a few laughs.

As you may have noticed in Ali's blog, I too have experienced all of the sympathy pregnancy symptoms. I can still squeeze into my Bomber jerseys, so I think I'll be okay.

Stay tuned.

Bumper stickers

Some bumper stickers make me laugh. Others make me roll my eyes. Some are controversial, others are offensive. I saw one the other day that made me think.

It said Health care before Olympics.

I never really put much thought into that, odd because I am in Health care, but this really does make sense to me. As you may or may not know, Canada is hosting the 2010 winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler British Columbia.

There were a list of contenders, which was narrowed down to three. Canada "won" the priveledge to host them, then the mad dash began. There is the issue of building at least three new venues from the ground up. They need a new arena to host curling, a main staging area, and other various other buildings to host the athletes and the 25000 volunteers they need. That's right - 25000.
Ten times the amount of athletes they expect in B.C.

This doesn't even include the cost of the Olympics proposal, and the cost of naming the three cute, but expensive official mascots of the 2010 games.

If the Government was thinking, they would have stepped in and stopped the Olympics from coming here. How could they justify the millions of dollars being spent when we have emergency rooms closing, nursing and doctor shortages across Canada, and a tremendous lack of operating room time from coast to coast?

I'm obviously in favor of the whole Health care issue, but I could easily argue for Education, training and development for young Canadians, roads and highways, upgrading sewer and water systems, providing clean water to Northern communities, funding small buisnesses, and so on.
What I'm trying to say is, this money could have gone to people who actually need it.
What does hosting the Olympics really do anyway? It's basically the Olympic big wigs using the different countries as playing cards, just trying to "keep up with the Jones' " by playing host. In all honesty, we're a country that can't afford to host this party.

But it'll look good on T.V.!

That's my soapbox for the day.

How men shop, and "grandparents"

Today I was driving all around the city, scouting out the stores for a cozy glider chair.
This will be a very important piece of equipment for the baby's room, as Alison and I plan on spending many hours in that chair, rocking our Butterbean to sleep.

I checked out four different stores. Not a big deal usually, but I was done checking these stores in about 20 minutes (including driving time).
I walked in, asked which way the chairs were, sat on a few, and got the heck out.

The worst culprit for spending excessive amounts of time in a store has to be my mom. She can spend upwards of three hours in Winners/Wal-Mart/Sears etc.
I guarantee I know where to find her. She first spend a good half hour looking at sheets. Of course, she finds sheets so soft I almost weep (600 thread count) but I can't be bothered with linens.
Next, she moves to the kids clothes. My two cousins are 13 and 11, and my mom is constantly buying them jackets, pj's, jeans and everything else for the school year. This gives me the sneaking suspicion that she is going to want to buy our baby a lot of stuff.
My dad is always on her case to but stuff for herself, but she is just to generous,, and has to buy for everyone else.

My dad on the other hand, just sits back and plays the role of driver. He goes all over the city, not saying a word, but you can read his body language that he is getting bored. This is the point where I usually offer to take him to the Blue Bomber store. His face lights up like a kid in a candy store, and we both tend to come out of there with a bag full of stuff all bearing our beloved "W" on it.

Right now, my parents are vacationing in Dominican Republic. They try to take two trips a year, one in February, and another in October. Of all the places they've gone to, they prefer Cuba the best.
The beaches are beautiful, the people are very friendly, and the music can't be beat.
Ali and I went to Cuba for our honeymoon, and I would love to go back there again.
My parents might decide to change their holiday plans around, as they are both very excited about being grandparents.
My dad is so excited, he actually booked Christmas off for this year. I think this is the first Christmas he will have off in about 7 years.

I can't wait to call them grandma and grandpa. It's a name they've both been waiting for.

Weddings and catchy but bad songs

My best friend Mike was married this weekend. I was the Best man, and therefore did a speech in honour of him.
When you're writing a speech about someone you've known for so long, it is very easy to write plenty of material. After about two pages, my hand was cramped from writing so quickly, and I decided to cut it back a little. I wanted to avoid the inside jokes, and opted for the "from the heart" type of speech. He's like an older brother to me, so I thought it was fitting to try to make him cry....

The wedding was good. A nice ceremony, followed by a good sized reception. It was pretty neat to see both sides of the family mingle so well. Most weddings I have gone to keep the two sides seperated for most of the night, until the drinks get flowing. Luckily, the Groom's family are huggers.

I like to think that I have a good taste in music. Once in a while, there is that odd song that comes on the radio, and I want to punch out my own eardrums because they are so terrible. Since they are on all of the top 40 radio stations, they are played every ten minutes for the next 6 weeks. After a while, I give up trying to turn the station, because I'd likely get blindsided by Nickelback or Good Charlotte (both of whom I hate) so I leave it. I regret to admit that I slowly start to like the songs, and before you know it, I'm actually hoping to hear it. Let's get one thing straight though, it's usually not the entire song that I enjoy, it's a few lines, or the way the beat picks up halfway through a song. That's how I can justify liking that Paris Hilton song that came out a few years back.....it hurts me to type that.
Anyway, this week's choice stinker song the I've grown to like is Miley Cyrus "See you again".

Don't laugh, it won't be me downloading this song. I'll leave that to Ali, so I don't feel completely like a 13 year old girl. I'll just be sure to slip it into my other better music when I make my next CD.

There, now you know one of my best kept secrets. Please don't think less of me.....

Double digits

Today officially makes it 98 days to go until Butterbean is scheduled to grace us with their presence.
For the past few days, I've been able to see little kicks, and other squirmy movements. Poor Ali is the recepient of all of the bladder shots, and she makes me jump when we're lying there, and she suddenly goes "Oohh. That was a good one."

It really pisses me off when you try to keep a car clean, and scratch free. It seems the harder you try, the more determined people are to mess up your car.
First it was somebody denting the rear passenger door with something. Next, it was some a-holes throwing a box spring away into the dumpster. Of course, they hit the side of our car, and put an 8" creased dent down the door - again. At least it's the same door.

I've managed to injure my right heel/ankle again. The pain and swelling is nothing new to me, it just adds to my frustration about the whole back issue. I feel sorry for Ali, she's the one who has to hear me grumbling as I hobble around the house. As the ankle gets better, so does my mood.
I have some serious making up to do tonight.

Have a good day. Keep your fingers crossed that Bruce's repairs won't be too pricey...