Head West young man

This weekend I will be attending a conference in Calgary, Alberta.
Calgary is one of the most beautiful cities in Canada, and there are so many things that I miss when I lived there.

I will be staying with my cousin Kara, who has always been more like an older sister than a cousin.
I look forward to laughing with her awesome hubby Dave, and some good home cooking.

One of the things that I'm most excited about, is renting a car. I love driving a car like I stole one, and a rental gives you the best opportunity to do so. Being the worry wart that I am though, I have purchased rental car insurance form my local agent, rather than paying a fortune through the rental agency.

My friend Thomas was to come along with me, but there were some family issues which will prevent him from coming.
Sunday night I will try to get together with some old friends and share a beer or two.

On top of all of this, Calgary is in the playoffs, so I will get to see the "Red Mile" first hand.
Now all I need is a Flames jersey....

Wow, we wrangled warm weather, Wreggie!

SO, it finally hot a balmy 16 Celsius today. The snow is melting, and the birds are alive in the sunlight.

I spend the last few days in Ontario with the family, and was actually able to get outside in a T-shirt.

I helped dig out little canals to channel the water out of my parent's yard.

I placed a huge Bomber logo on the back window of my car. Sadly, it's now the most expensive part on my car.

I was finally able to visit my best friend and his wife Irene. It feels like 20 years ago since I've last seen them. His birthday is a month earlier, so he had to add "Now you know what it's like to be 31" to the end of his happy birthday wish to me. Apparently, he's going to do this every year from now on.

Now that I've actually turned 31, it's not such a big deal. Maybe it worried me to think that I was just 30, but not yet into my 30's. Whatever. I'm still young at heart.

Speaking of young, I watched a great special on Neil Young called "Neil Young: Heart of Gold".
I recommend it. Did you know Mr. Young spend his early years here in Winnipeg?

Next month brings the promise of warmer weather (maybe even shorts weather) and Ellery's 1st birthday. I can't wait to see her up to her elbows in chocolate cake.
Speaking of cake, did you or any of your friends ever have money cakes when you were younger?
First, how unsanitary was that, and second, I wonder how many kids suffered from bowel obstructions after swallowing those dirty coins.

Enjoy the rest of the week.

Are you in the band?!?!

With warmer weather comes the start of concert season.

Going to see a live rock show is one of my all time favorite things to do.

This August, AC/DC will be gracing us with their presence at the Winnipeg Stadium.
There aren't many shows that we say we have to go to, but this is one!

Here is my concert resume of some of my favorites:

Bachman Turner Overdrive - my very first concert when I was 7 years old

Green Day - My first concert at the old Winnipeg Arena (my first show by myself)

The Tragically Hip - My all time favorite band, I've seen them 8 times across Canada, but one great show was at the bird Amphitheatre in Minneapolis Zoo. I've also had the privilege of meeting them backstage in Sakatoon, Sk.

The Rolling Stones - I made the mistake of taking my sister, who was wearing a skirt in Winnipeg, in October, at an outdoor show. I watched the entire concert by myself

The Rheostatics - Another of my favorites, I've seen them about 6 times

The Weakerthans - A local Winnipeg band, slowly picking up a solid following of listeners

U2 - The best stage show that I've ever witnessed (on my birthday)

Oasis - Would have been better if it were 10 years ago, but still great none the less

Various outdoor festivals - Including Los Lobos, Sheryl Crow and Wilco

Eagles - Another huge act, probably the best sounding live show I've seen

I wish Canada would get into more outdoor events like the UK. They know how to hold a festival....

I'm not a fan of freak accidents

A friend of mine got a call the other night that we all dread.

His dad had been out with some friends, building a hunting shelter.

He fell about ten feet, landing on his head and injuring his back.

It turns out that he has a complete spinal cord injury from T3 down, meaning that he'll be paralyzed form the chest down - and that's a best case scenario. He's still fighting in intensive care, and I'm praying for him.

I get stupid patients all the time. Young guys who are surfing on the hood of fast moving cars, drunk drivers, or the "tough guys" who punch their girlfriends in the face and get a raging case of cellulitis and some broken fingers.

It's unfair to see a father of two being responsible and having fun with friends end up in the wheelchair, while these other people walk out with a few bumps and a broken ankle.
I wonder where the justice is sometimes....

This is another part of the job that I don't particularly like.

Sorry to bring everybody down, this has just been weighing on my mind.

"Elite" athletes

So Jay Cutler, QB of my beloved Broncos, is pissed off that the team was listening to offers from other teams about a trade.

He took the low road, publicly announcing that he thought he was the future of the team, and would never play in Denver again.
The kid is in his early 20's, he's signed a deal for 6 year/$48 million, and he's complaining.

With today's economy and people losing their jobs everywhere, I hope nobody shows this idiot any sympathy. I hope he gets traded to a shitty team, and he never sees the playoffs again.
Let them give him something to complain about....


Maybe I'll just cheer for the Panthers full time. At least Julius Peppers is a team player....oh, never mind.

It's the meds, alright....

I've got this little head cold. The kind where everything I do feels like slow motion.

Couple that with this allergy pill that I took last night, and it was a TKO at 9 p.m.

I think the women at Shopper's Drug Mart think I'm a junkie who doesn't know how to pick the right meds. On Saturday, I went in for anti diarrhea pills. Yesterday was sore throat meds, and today was Vicks vaporub, and sinus pills. Talk about an awesome pill party!!!

Anyway, aside from that, it's finally warming up here. I can see greenish grass poking through the remnants of the winter ice, and we enjoyed a walk in the plus 4 weather.
On a side note, why does liquefied dog poo decide to stay on the sidewalk, while everything else just washes away?

Flood watch 2009

It's that lovely time of year again here in Manitoba.
As the snow and ice melts, it brings tons of water from the rivers and the surrounding area.
Our neighbours to the South in Grand Forks ND have the same experiences every year.

Our Province bought an additional "Ice buster" this year. It's a modified back hoe with inflatable platforms, and it goes out and breaks up the ice before the dreaded ice jams begin.

I wonder why people continue to build and live along these flood ways. I guess it's the same reason why people rebuild in tornado alley. Stupidity.
I agree that maybe after you fix your house and property after the first flood, you may decide to stay put. My question is - if you know that it's going to happen again, why would you not begin sand bagging around your house and set up pumps before the shit hits the fan?

There were a few people interviewed on the news tonight. They said that they are not worried about the flood, and they are not preparing for the worst case scenario. These are people who have already suffered lots of damage from the first flood. Stupid. I hope these people do not get insurance coverage for their laziness.

During the devastating flood of 1997, I was volunteering here in Winnipeg while I was a member of the Canadian Armed Forces.
They put us up in an Armoury with about 500 other military personnel, and we alternated from sand bagging duties, to delivering supplies, and manning the radios.

One particular night, I was driving with my commanding officer to a Southern part of the city.
We were on security patrol, as there was no power in the community, and the residents were ordered to evacuate.
I had directions to get to our command post, but all I had to go on was a light on a generator set off in the distance.
The river had swelled well over 10 feet past the banks, and by this time, my headlights were under the murky, cold, fast flowing water.
In our military "Iltis" jeeps, there are fording plates which we fix to the front of the vehicle. As long as the air intake just below the windshield stays dry, the jeep continues to run - even being submerged.
The water was pushing the jeep to the left, and by this time it was almost up to my armpits. I continued to head straight for the lights ahead, with the theme from "Jaws" playing in my head. I was picturing that ride in Disney World where Jaws comes up and bites the boat.
It was an eerie feeling, not being able to see anything ahead of you, your headlights under water, and being tits deep in spring melt water.

Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, as we were sand bagging later that night, the Labatt brewery truck pulled up.
They started off loading cases of beer, free for anyone to take. We were quickly reminded that this was a "dry exercise", therefore we could not have any alcohol. All of the civilians who were out helping dropped what they were doing, hoisted as much beer as they could carry, and continued to drink all of the beer while we continued to build up the temporary walls of defense.

Oh, I also got some mystery immunizations while on exercise. To this day, they never told us what the shots were for, or what possible long term effects they may have on us.

Eagles review

On Friday night, I had a chance to see a North American iconic band.
As the lights went out, and the announcer said "Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats. The show is about to begin."

And what a show it was.

Glenn Frey took to the microphone, and greeted the sold out crowd. "Hello Winnipeg Manitoba. It's summer in here tonight!!."
After the show, I heard that the band requested that the heat be turned up - to a modest 23 degrees Celsius. Add 15,015 people, and that heat just keeps going up. They wanted it warm to save their voices.

Is it just me, or could Glenn be a long lost twin to Huey Lewis?

It was a two set show, with the band playing mostly older stuff for the first set.
Of course, I was waiting for Hotel California, which began by a guy cast in a red hue, playing a slow sultry trumpet solo.
Don Henley played the drums for this song, and the next three or four songs. I always give a guy credit when he plays the drums and sing at the same time. (See Phil Collins)
Before the show, a guy was telling me that the band has opened with that same song since 1971. Not tonight.

My personal favorite of the evening was "Love will Keep us Alive". Timothy Schmit is hard to look at, but wow, does he have an awesome voice.
Mr. Joe Walsh was also here, gracing us with some kick ass guitar solos. I love how he would get up onto his tippy - toes for those longer high notes.
The band never played "Rocky Mountain Way", as I was hoping for, but Walsh still had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand with "In the city".

For a band that has been feuding for many years, they played very well together.
I found out before the show that all 4 members arrived and left at separate times, with each member having his own dressing room and attendants.

There were even arena staff assigned to keep two of the band mates split up during the intermission.

The view from our seats was amazing. We were to the right of the stage, about 60 feet from the band.
At an average price of $250 per ticket, the Eagles treated their fans to a show worth every penny.
It has been 30 years since they were in Winnipeg (they played an outdoor show in 1978), but they sound as good as they did back then.

I'm speechless...has "Hell Frozen Over?!?!"

I have gotten to know one of my patients pretty well this week.
As he was sitting in his room with his wife last evening, he stopped to ask me a question.

Patient: "Don't feel obligated to say yes, but we were wondering if you would like to accompany us to the Eagles concert tomorrow."

Me:"Uh, YES!!"

Patient: "A good friend of ours is the V.P. of marketing at the local arena, and said that we can bring you along. I'd also feel better if a nurse were to escort me there."

Me: "Uh, yeah, let me talk to my wife, although I'm sure she'll be fine with it..."

Patient: "This will be the first time I've left the hospital in 7 weeks, and I would feel better if you were to come with me. I want you to have fun too."

Can you believe that? He was the one stuck in a hospital bed for the last two months, and he wants me to have fun.
I consider myself to be a casual Eagles fan (my dad is the die-hard), but I want to go just for his sake, so that he can relax and enjoy himself. As he was talking to me, his eyes were filling with tears, and it was hard to say anything, except "I'm flattered that you want me to go."

I will be in a private suite with my patient (now friend), his wife and a bunch of his associates.

I will also be at his beck and call tonight. It has been a long, hard 7 weeks, and I'm going to make sure he can escape from reality for a little while. It's nice to know that there are still genuinely nice people in this world....

I wear my sunglasses at night.....

Title credit to one of Canada's treasures, Mr. Corey Hart.

While on my drive home from work tonight, I was waiting to turn right on a red light.
A woman exited a nearby money loan place - wearing sunglasses. Uh, it's 8:00 p.m. and it's dark outside. Why the hell are you wearing shades?

I had my window open a crack, since it is a balmy 0 degrees Celsius, and I think I said something along the lines of "Why are you wearing shades, you f'ing moron?"
I guess she heard me judging by the glance she directed my way, then picked up her pace to cross the street.

Pet peeve #5 - people who wear sunglasses at night, or in the bar. This includes you, Mr. Hart....

An alternate universe where my phone doesn't receive phone calls

One thing that really get to me, is when people don't return phone calls.
I leave them a message or two, and expect a call back.

I called my mom on Sunday (her birthday) and said Happy birthday, blah blah, call me back. Nothing.

I call the Nursing agencies that I work with about my availability. They never call back.

I repeatedly call our leasing office to remind them of our broken stove/carpet needing to be cleaned/hole in our bathroom ceiling. No calls back.
Finally, I went in to pay rent today, and reminded them that we are still waiting for a guy to come clean our carpets. The lady (who sports a 1960's beehive hairdo - I shit you not) looked up and said "Oh, he still hasn't done that? He was here yesterday....."

I said no such guy entered our home, so she jotted our suite number down on a piece of paper, and told me that it "may be a while, because we don't have anyone else on the list."
How about US, who have been on this "list" for almost 6 friggin' months!!

The lady did call back about an hour ago to tell me that a painter will be in to look at our bathroom. Here's a quick question - how does paint help hide a hole the size of a quarter in a ceiling? Plus, I really could care less about that right now, I want these carpets cleaned.

I swear to you, we don't live in the slums. I think they get better service. And returned phone calls.

Randoms (What grind my gears pt. 2)

I'd like to know what makes people think that when they're walking towards you shoulder to shoulder, that you are the one that's supposed to move...

Why the guy who works in the Telus phone store in the mall thinks that it's necessary for him to sing show tunes out loud.

Why it's considered trashy if men wear sweat pants out in public, but women can wear them and it's okay. It is trashy, however, when women roll down their waist bands into a huge lump. That's not sexy, it looks like you're wearing a diaper.

Speaking of sweats, who thought it would be cool to put writing on the ass? "Juicy" or "Princess" is one thing....."University of Winnipeg" means that your ass is too big.

Why do people insist on putting their cells phones on speakerphone while driving? I think they are pretending that they are using walkie talkies...

Watching celebrities on an infomercial, pleading for your donations, then showing that the actor has been compensated in the ending credits really pisses me off.

I'm getting tired of calling people's bluffs with these "You've won a free vacation" phone calls. If it's free, why the hell do you need my credit card number?

Why can't people just know when I'm trying to change lanes while driving? I could use the blinker, but it's too far away. My look in the mirror should make things very clear. ;)

If a person tries to add me as a friend on facebook, and I've rejected 15 times, take the fucking hint.


Just some things to think about before a nice weekend break. Have a good one.

Summertime fun

It appears that I'll get some prime holidays again this year.

During my entire 5 year career at the hospital, I have been lucky enough to get some holidays during the warmer months. This year is no different.

I'm planning on taking a week off in May, so I can enjoy my daughter's first birthday.

After that, I'll do my annual fishing trip with the father in law and brother in law.

A week in August to enjoy some camping, and finally the week of football that matters the most - the rematch game after Labour day in September.

I can't complain. There are people that have many more years of seniority, and aren't able to take time off until September or November. Life is good.

Bear sighting

One of my favorite shows on T.V. these days, is a show called "Man vs. Wild".
This stars an ex SAS soldier named Bear (Edward) Grylls who shows you how to survive in the elements, ranging from the Sahara desert to the Canadian Northwest.

I've always enjoyed survival themed shows, but this guy is as hard core as they come.
In previous episodes, I've watched him disembowel a camel to find water, eat live snakes and scorpions, and make shelters and fire while suspended twenty feet in the air between trees.

One of the neatest parts of the show is how he gets to each location. He talks to the camera while he is flying out to the wilderness, then jumps out of the plane/helicopter, free falls for a while, then deploys his parachute.

I once watched another documentary on this guy where he joined the French foreign Legion - just for fun.
Of course he completed the training, and is now a white cap owning member of the Legion.

If you're ever stuck for programming, switch to the Discovery channel and give this show a try.
I bet you'll like him a little too.

Even Ellery has caught Bear fever. One of her little toys is a yellow bear which, we of course, named Bear Grylls.

I'm all for brushing your teeth, but....

I pulled into a Domo gas bar today to fill up my tank.
It's a small Manitoba chain with the motto "We jump to the pump for you".

I noticed that as the guy was walking out to fill my tank, he had a toothbrush in his hand.
I rolled down the window and asked him to fill it up.

His response, as he continued to brush his teeth?
"Sure, no problem", followed by him spitting his toothpaste onto the ground.

My question is what was he eating that warranted him to immediately brush his teeth afterwards?
I think he could have waited the two minutes until I was gone.