Kids Again

On the first or second day we went to the beach I commented to my siblings that it would be nice to have Mom and Dad on the beach watching us having fun in the water. I admitted that it was a "kid" thing to say but we all did agree. Yesterday while we were out at Stone Island Mom said she enjoyed watching us as it reminded her of when we were kids. I thought was pretty funny given my earlier comment. She said they were counting heads from time to time just like they used to do when we went to North Beach as kids.

So we have been doing some shopping off and on but so far the only thing I have bought is a hat. I know eh, me not buying stuff is pretty weird. Mom and Dad bought us all something for their anniversary even though we tried to explain that wasn't how it worked. They bought me a silver pendant, a cross of sorts. Oh I also bought vanilla for Freda, enough to keep her baking for years to come. Other than that it has been mostly just food. My 500 Pesos per day budget has been rolling over quite nicely. Hopefully the shopping will pick up today and tomorrow.

Just to let you know I got up at about 7AM and came outside and am sitting on the patio writing this blog. So beautiful here.

Fun in the sun.

I just can't think that it gets any better than this. The ocean is so warm and we have had such a blast playing around in it. It has been like being kids again. Only we are not fighting like we used to. Not even bickering. There has been plenty of teasing though. In my family if you do something dumb it will never be forgotten. We will bring it up any chance we get.

Anyway, having a blast. Wish you were here...

P.S: I had my first Starbucks Vanilla Latte in Mexico yesterday.

Blogging from Mexico

Well as promised I am blogging from Mexico. You doubted it would happen. I doubted it would happen on my first night here, but here it is. All I can tell you about so far is the voyage. There are a couple funny stories.

Going through security at Calgary on our way to Mexico I was "randomly" selected for a personal search. The security guy actually admitted that he chose me because from a distance he though I might be Maynard James Keenan from Tool. Well once he flagged me he was committed. There is not much of me that he didn't touch in the process. In retrospect I figure I could have ended the whole process had I told him something like how he touched me in ways my boyfriend never did. That would have been funny.

Before we boarded the plane my sister though she would pick up a few little bottles of vodka to have on the flight. They sell it right there in the terminal and tell you you can take it on the plane. Makes sense that you could drink it on the plane too right? NOT. I was advised that it was not allowed. Oddly though when the steward came back around he asked if I wanted another vodka and O.J. and when I declined he asked if I was sure and said it was on him. I still declined but still ponder his motivation for wanting to buy me a drink. People are fun to try and figure out.

Next blog I will discuss my thoughts regarding young children on airplanes. Stay tuned.

Vacation Mode

Tomorrow I am leaving for Mexico, via Calgary oddly enough. I will be heading to Ottawa around noon tomorrow to hook up with the sisters and we fly out at 7:30PM. First stop is Calgary for the night where we will be meeting up with the brother. Friday at noon we are on our way to Mexico where the folks are waiting. We are all getting together in Mexico to celebrate the parents 50^th Wedding Anniversary on November 14^th.

Getting together with the family should be fun if the Down East trip is any indication. Being on a beach in the sun will be a very welcome change from work. Mom has some excursions planned but I think we were clear that we did not want the entire 8 days crammed full of stuff to do. We all work and I think we would all love some down time while we are there. I have already scoped out the Starbucks though I think it is a good hike from Mom and Dad’s place. I’m sure I will find an appropriate coffee shop where I can grab a cappuccino and read for a bit if I need to get away.

At any rate the folks have stocked up on Rum, Tequila and Vodka so I’m sure we’ll all be able to stay pretty happy.

So now all I have to do is get through the next 6.5 hours till I am done work. Not as easy as it seems since I realize I checked out sometime yesterday and am now in full on Vacation Mode. That makes it hard to concentrate on work and also explains why I am blogging instead of working.

Next blog will come to you from Mexico.

Books or Blogs, I can't seem to manage both

I have been reading a lot lately, mostly at my favourite reading spot which is the front window table at Starbucks. That is also my favourite place to blog. The books have been winning out though, hence no blogs lately.

The book I am reading right now is about the Bible and homosexuality. It basically covers literal and historical context interpretation of the writings. Literal interpretation favoured by the fundamentalist is obvioulsy just plain scary.

My biggest revelation however has been that an otherwise intelligent, educated person can truly believe that god actually wrote the Bible, albeit through man.

Yeah, yeah, I'm slacking...

I know I haven't even blogged part three of my New Brunswick Family Holiday, AKA The Voyage Home. Nor in fact have I blogged much at all. Here is a little tidbit for you all to keep you going.

Subtitle: Wanted: Dead or Alive, 2002 Pontiac Sunfire, Bright Yellow.

I have been pulled over by the cops 6 times in my life. Three of those times have been in the car I have been driving for just over a year. One of those times was for speeding which was totally legit. The second time I was questioned about the vehicle and who owned it and was let go. The cop told me he thought it was a different vehicle. The third time I was pulled over was only semi-legit. The cop who pulled me over did a u-turn to follow me then stopped me because my tags were expired. That was a $110.00 fine. Something made him want to follow me which led him to notice the tags. Makes me wonder what criminal is driving around town in one of the few other bright yellow Sunfires.

Incidentally the expired tags was a procrastination thing. I went to get them only a few days into September but then discovered I needed an E-Test. I had one scheduled for 2 days after I got pulled over.

So perhaps $110.00 will keep me from procrastinating in the future but I doubt it.

Part 2.5 or Stories from Halifax

So my good friend and tour guide Stew reminded me of something I have to blog about. This is something that shows the difference between people from Eastern Canada and those of us from Ontario. Oh, I apologize in advance to homeless and kind that I may be about to offend.

While wandering about Halifax there were two encounters that I found humorous. The first encounter involved a man who approached us in a park for money so he could get shelter at The Y. Incidentally there apparently is no Y in Halifax. The second encounter was more creative. Two girls approached us looking for cab fare because the one’s boyfriend got drunk and took off without them.

Neither of these incidents are humorous in and of themselves. What I did find funny was the effort they put into trying to get money from strangers. The stories were not elaborate at all yet they were totally complex compared to what I am used to. What you get here is the minimalist approach to panhandling. The most you will get in Ontario is a line asking for spare change. That’s if you even get that. Many just sit with their hat or Tim Horton’s cup. Not that a message is required as we get the picture.

So in the end, for me, the humor is in how the down-homers are all friendly and provide you with entertainment for your money. They are natural born story tellers. Here in Ontario they just don’t seem to put in the effort.

About Time For Part II

Picture it: PEI, August, 2009...

Two fags board the boat (Ferry, actually) from PEI to Nova Scotia. The ferry was big, it's been a long time since I've been on a boat that big. The trip was totally uneventful though. Kinda boring actually. We got to Nova Scotia and drove in to Halifax. Dan got pissed off at the GPS because it didn't take us in the way he did it previously. Despite this we did make it to the Prince George hotel. With Dan's past history with the hotel we were upgraded to the "Crown" floor, very nice room. I was totally looking forward to a nice swim and soak in the hot tub knowing that the set up would be nice in such a good hotel. Totally dissapointed that they chose that particular Tuesday night to close the pool for maintenance. That made me unhappy.

After checking in we gave our friend Stew a call, then the three of us headed out for dinner. Now four days in the Maritimes you would have thought we would have had seafood but we still hadn't. Well this was the night to remedy this. We finally chose a place right on the water called Murphy's. I am not a fan of fish so my idea of seafood is scallops and lobster. My order was easy, bacon wrapped scallops to start and a lobster wrap as my entree. I prefer lobster cold and already out of the shell. Whole lobster is way too much work for me. As we were waiting to order I heard these fateful words from the waitress to the patrons at the next table: "We are out of the bacon wrapped scallops." Just my luck. Well the lobster wrap was fantastic so I did get over it. Dan had the whole lobster. Carcass on a plate, creepy. After dinner we wandered and ended up at Starbucks, great end to a great day.

On Wednesday we met up with Stew at the Starbucks and he gave us an insightful tour of the downtown of Halifax. Insightful because our guide, Stew, works for the city and has lots of inside info that most wouldn't know. Like how many garbage cans are around and why there are no benches on the sidewalks. Who knew they were unsafe? Lunch was at a local pub, and there I got my bacon wrapped scallops. After that a bit more touring around then it was back in the car for the trek back to the cottage in New Brunswick.

I thought Part II would complete the saga but it looks like this is going to be a trilogy. Stay tuned for more...

The long Awaited Family Reunion Post...

...or Highlights From My Trip to the Maritimes. Part I

Friday July 31st we headed out for the long drive across Quebec. We made stops only for gas and to stretch our legs. Jessie was awesome, she spent most of the trip sleeping in the back seat. She complained less than Dan to be sure. We finally arrived in Edmundston NB and checked in to our pet friendly room at the Best Western. The room was well set up for pets, no carpet, and it had patio doors to the parking lot. That made it much easier to deal with the luggage too. We went for a swim. Okay I didn't swim at all but did enjoy the hot tub even though it wasn't as hot as I would have liked it. After the swim we headed downtown for a walk and a bite to eat then just relaxed.

Saturday morning we headed out to the nearest Starbucks which happened to be three and a half hours away in Moncton. Best discovery ever was that there was an H&M in Moncton, there would be shopping before we left. So we grabbed our Starbucks and headed for the family. In the end it was nice to see everybody and it was all pretty low pressure. We just hung out.

The cottage was rustic by my standards but much less rustic than it could have been. Because we had Jessie with us we ended up with one of the better rooms. The upstairs was all pretty open but there were two bedrooms downstairs with doors and we got one of them. They also had the only two double beds so that was another bonus.

The rest of Saturday was pretty relaxed, just hanging out and drinking. Walks on the beach with the dog. Enjoyable. In fact when asked later about my favourite moment the first thing that came to mind was those walks and runs on the beach with Jessie.

Sunday we headed in to Moncton for a bit of shopping. No great finds but Moncton does have an awesome mall. The rest of the afternoon and evening was the reunion. Reasonably low pressure and fairly painless.

Monday was a random day trip to "the dunes" which turned out to be fairly pointless in that dogs were not allowed. We went for a quick look around while my sister looked after Jess. Then came out and just hung out with my sister, my dad and some family member from Boston. That turned out to be more fun than the boardwalk on the dunes.

Tuesday morning we headed off to PEI. My sisters partner, Andre was not feeling well so he stayed behind and looked after Jessie. Somehow I ended up being the lead car on the trek but thanks to the GPS, I managed to get us to the Confederation Bridge which was a pretty awesome structure. We headed in to Summerside where we left the family in order to accellerate the tour as we needed to be at the ferry in time to head over to Nova Scotia. From Summerside we headed to Charlottetown and wandered around downtown. Had ice cream at Cows which is an East Coast thing. Awesome parody t-shirts there. I bought one and found one I wanted that wasn't available there but a quick BlackBerry message to my Sister-in-law had one purchased for me on their visit to Cavendish. After that we headed for the ferry and then off to Halifax NS.

More to come in Part II. Time to go get groceries now.

I make boys and girls cry...

Last week was full of drama at work. Drama like I haven't seen since grade 4 or 5. Some of it goes back a couple weeks so I'll start there. Apparently morale is improved by having monthly themes. This month is a Hawiian theme. Regardless of the theme our cubicles end up looking like a dollar store threw up on them. Just lots of tacky shit everywhere. So the drama starts because Jay and I tend to make fun of all the tacky crap. Jay is way more hardcore than I am in that he will not participate at all and will remove stuff from around his desk. I on the other hand will simply not make any effort. I'll chip in a bit of cash for the dollar store crap and let the others decorate my area, though only to a degree. There is only so much tacky I can handle.

Moving on from there. One of the girls decided to collect some money to buy one of the other team members a birthday present. I chipped in (remember this part, it's important later). Jay was totally unaware of this collection. In the past, when people's birthdays came up someone would buy them a card and the whole team would sign it. Well the girl who took up the collection, the one that Jay didn't know about, sent out an email to the team. The email statedthat there was a card and anyone who chipped in could come sign. Jay, thinking it rediculous that she would be collecting for a card had words with her and made her cry.

I was off that day, the next day within minutes of me getting to work I was approached to sign the card as I had chipped in. I told you that part was important. Well maybe it was just noteworthy as opposed to being important. Anyway after having heard about all the drama from the day before I had decided that I would no longer participate in anything work related that was not actually work. So when the card was handed to me I simpley shook my head declining it. "But you paid" I was told. Again I politely declined saying it was okay. I sat back down at my desk to continue logging on to my computer and I hear sobbing from the other side of the cubicles. Yup, apparently I made her cry too.

That certainly validated my decision to stop participating.

Jay got a talking to by our supervisor. I was expecting one but it didn't come as both supervisors dissapeared mid day. Rumours abound as to why but it seems like they may have been suspended for unrelated infractions. We'll likely find out more this week.

More drama that a gay bar. Oh, if you want to know about me making boys cry... If you ask me nice maybe that will be one of my next blogs.

Furries know how to party

It has been a busy couple of weeks. Definitely good busy. Working backwards I'll start with Pittsburgh.

Last year we tagged along when our favourite furrie went to Anthrocon in Pittsburgh. Anthrocon is a furrie convention. If you don't know what a furrie is I will let you do your own research on that. So anyway, we tagged along last year and got a one day pass for the con and spent the rest of the time checking out Pittsburgh. I really did not expect much from Pittsburgh but I was surprised. I refer to it as a little Chicago, and I LOVED Chicago. So we decided this year that we would go back mostly to get some of the pictures we lost when one of our SD cards went missing. We also decided that we would go for a full weekend pass since the price was only a bit more than the one day pass. It was a great move. We did get out and get some more pictures, museums and some shopping, but the bulk of the weekend was spent with the furries.

The highlights were the dances which put any dance here to shame. Awesome music, awesome light shows and so much fun. I danced my ass off, sadly mostly by myself. I missed my little straight boy who I was grinding with last year but I still had a blast.

We also got to watch the most incredible fireworks show from the roof of the convention center. Sadly next year's con is not on the 4th of July weekend again. That would have been a big draw for me.

Last big thing of the weekend was Saturday night's dinner. We happened across a place called The Sonoma Grille. I had an asparagus salad to start and a stuffed pork tenderloin. I can't even describe how good the entree was. Definitely worth going back for. For desert I was deciding if I would go with the Creme Brule that I knew they would have or if I would go for something chocolate for which I was having a craving. Eric, our waiter brought over the desert menus and started giving us some suggestions. The first thing he mentioned was their chocolate creme brule. I stopped him there and went for it. It was perfect.

As for the con itself, it very much reminds me of the Star Trek conventions I attended years ago. For a people watcher like me it is a very interesting environment to spend a weekend in. Freaks, geeks, weirdos and the odd normal person.

Next post I will go further back into the past and write about the previous weekend which was Toronto Pride weekend.

Celebrity sighting

I saw Bif Naked at Starbucks Saturday morning. Meghan had to tell me who she was though.

New look

I decided to try something new, just for fun. My Mom hates it, no surprise there. Most people enjoy it. It is growing on Dan. One person was jealous. I like it but it will not become a permanent fixture. Just some fun for now.

What are they afraid of?

I am reading a book called Risk by Dan Gardner. The subtitle is Why We Fear the Things We Shouldn't - and Put Ourselves in Greater Danger

I am currently reading the chapter on terrorism and how Bush promoted the fear after 9/11 for political gains. No surprise there, we all know it. What I did find interesting is the odds. Even calculating in the loss of over 3000 people in one day on 9/11 Americans have considerably more chance of being struck by lightning than being killed by terrorist attacks. Why are they so afraid? They are afraid because their government and their media tells them to be.

Like good little lemmings they are happy to follow.

Ahhhh Starbucks...

I probably get more criticism about my fondness (read: obsession) with Starbucks more than anything else. Believe me there is lots of other things about me more prone to criticism. There are two primary issues I get hit on.

First issue is the price. The simple argument is "You get what you pay for" which covers 2 things. First, when I pay $3.83 for my Vanilla Latte I am getting a beverage that is made with real espresso and real milk. Tim Horton's will charge you half the price for one of their French Vanilla Cappuccinos but you are getting a powder reconstituted in water. The actual products simply cannot be compared if you ask me. Second thing I personally am paying for when I get my Latte is the atmosphere at my Starbucks. My Lattes are often accompanied by up to 2 hours of sitting in their front window tables watching people, reading, surfing the internet, and as right now, blogging. With a registered Starbucks card (which is simply a reloadable gift card and therefore free) I get 2 hours of free wireless internet per day. I don't seem to ever read at home so the pile of books would never go down if I didn't come here. And for people watching, well Starbucks is a magnet for good looking people. Read this blog for an example.

The second thing I get grief on is the name of the drinks. People think Starbucks is too complicated. Well I of limited mental capacity managed to figure it out so it can't be that complicated. Admittedly I received some instruction from some Starbucks promotional materiel but that really only solidified the meaning and order of the words I was saying. Some of the "complication" comes from the fact that Starbucks bases their naming using Italian words. Italians are rather rabid about their love of coffee so I see why they went that route. If you go to a French restaurant you are going to find French on the menu, same with German, Italian, Greek, and so on.

So here is the breakdown of my particular beverage. Grande, Non-fat Vanilla Latte. Now I ask for it several times a week so it isn't complicated for me. Grande is the Italian part and simply refers to the size, Large. Non-fat is the milk, Vanilla is the flavour syrup, that part is optional in a latte I add it as a sweetener; I don't put sugar in coffee. I also play that up sometimes as they have some seasonal choices like Pumpkin Spice in the fall and Gingerbread for the Holidays. Finally, the Latte part I explained earlier. Now I admit this is one of the easier drinks but if you find something you like you will figure out the name.

If you still don't get this then you should continue going to Tim Horton's. I don't want that to sound like I am knocking Tim Horton's, I just don't really think the two places can be compared. The products are totally different, at least in reference to beverages other than a regular coffee. Atmosphere however is not comparable on any level.

Pretty funny if you ask me...

A friend sent me this and I thought it was worth sharing.

Protest Sign

Weekend Update

So when my friend Steve asked how my weekend was today I said it was okay. Upon reflection it was actually much better than okay.

Saturday started with a bit of running around. Despite the cool afternoon weather we took Jessie for a walk downtown and had coffee with Meghan on the patio at Sipps. Dan and I decided to catch a movie in the evening so we checked out Angels and Demons which I thought was quite good to the dismay of the critics.

After the movie I returned the call from Meghan that came in about half way through the movie. It was an invitation to go for drinks at Tango. After a few drinks there I was feeling pretty good. Tim and Brooke (AKA Gunther) and some of her friends showed up. Another drink then we took off and left the kids to play. Apparently when I got home I updated my MSN tag to let everyone know I was drunk. Go figure.

Sunday started off with Brunch of course. A bit of shopping. I was almost as excited to pick up the new bedspread as I was to pick up the next volume of the James Bond movie collection. That's right, just one more to go now and I will have them all. We watched Goldfinger which is the third movie but in my opinion the beginning of the James Bond formula.

Between shopping and James Bond there were a couple open houses and an awesome, though cold, barbecue hosted by Amy and Keith. Good times.

Today, Not So Much...

Saw another RCMP officer today at Starbucks. Donuts were definitely his best friend. He was fat, I mean really fat. Like couldn't chase a criminal for more than one block fat. Oh well.

I added a picture to my header. It's the Chicago skyline and I'm not sure if that will be confusing to people since I don't live in Chicago. I loved it there though so I thought I'd use it. If I find something more appropriate in the future I'll switch it out.

Interesting news from work, they have lowerd the salary cap to below what I am presently making. Significantly below oddly enough. So though I do keep my current wage I will likely never get an increase from here on in. So my question now is: Since there are no more raises based on performance do I only need to do enough to not get fired? Thats kinda how I read it.

Another Morning at Starbucks

My schedule is a bit modified today as I have the reelout AGM tonight. My employer has allowed me to start an hour early so I can leave at 6:30 in order to be at The Grad Club by 7:30. I was looking for time to hit Starbucks this week for a latte and a chapter or two of my book but didn't think I would have time today. That was until I looked at the time while I was in the shower and saw that it was an hour earlier that expected. I guess Dan wanted to get to work early. So I definitely had time and I sure am glad I did.

It started out like any other Starbucks visit, got my latte, table in the front window. All good. Then, in walks an RCMP officer in uniform. Vest, gun and all. He was my height but very sturdy build. Very nice to look at. A few minutes later in walks another officer. Then another. Another. Within moments eight officers standing there, all good looking. It was a metaphorical hardon in the making. Very good way to start the day.

Random

So I guess if it rains today its my fault. Yesterday was so gorgeous out I decided to take today off. I wanted to both enjoy the weather and get the rest of my lawn mowed. All that of course after some Starbucks time. So anyway the radio came on this morning and the weather report come up with possible showers. Totally out of the blue if you ask me. I was sure it was going to be awesome today. Funny thing is I don't think I saw any weather report saying it was going to be nice today. I may have just assumed it.

Speaking about how nice it was yesterday... After work we had a little going away thing for the reelout board member who was instrumental in getting us hooked into volunteering. It was just drinks at The Merchant but it was my first, long awaited, nice enough evening that we could walk instead of drive so I could drink evening. It was a nice enough evening to sit on the patio but unfortunately everyone else thought so too so there were no tables. Even so it was a very enjoyable evening and I was glad that we could show Sammi our appreciation.

Here is the actual "random" part of the blog.

A conversation a couple months back about James Bond movie theme songs prompted Meghan to buy a CD of them which I ripped to my MP3 player. Every time one comes on it makes me smile, especially the older ones. That has in turn prompted me to crave watching the movies again. Me being me, I have to watch them in order. So I have started buying the box sets. I found them at Future Shop for $35 which is a very good deal for 5 movies. So the odd thing is that they seem to be randomly packaged. In order to get the first movie I had to buy Volume 4 (of 4). Further investigation shows that in order to watch all the movies in order I will in fact have to buy all 4 volumes as the first 4 movies are spread between all of them. Not so random after all I guess.

Time to say goodbye...

Penny went for her last car ride today. In the end it was clear it was time, to the point where I wasn't sure we were going to make it to the 4:00 appointment. We did of course make it there and the vet was a lovely young lady named Kristen who was quite good to deal with under the circumstances. Dan thought her quite scripted but I thought she was fine.

There was no option in my mind other than me being with Penny up until the end. I couldn't just let them take her away to do it. So Kristen did take Penny to the back, but only to have a catheter put in for the injection. She brought Penny back and left us with her for a few minutes. She left some chocolate for Penny, the forbidden treat. I thought it was a very sweet idea. Penny gobbled up the chocolate with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. Kristen came back and before long Penny was gone. I did cry a bit but held together better than I figured (more tears came later, off and on, possibly while I was writing this entry). Even Dan cried a bit. The room we were in had an exit so we didn't have to go back through the office which was nice.

After that it gets surreal, we stopped at the grocery store, came home, had dinner then went to a movie. I'm not sure if that is what one is supposed to do after losing a loved one. I'm pretty sure I just didn't want to sit here at home.

As an aside, I'm not sure when I will be able to take her bed out of the kitchen. It seems to belong there.

End of an era...

Today is my last day with Penny. She is sleeping next to me on the couch, and snoring quite loudly I might add. In about 2 hours we will be heading to the vet. She would not sleep on the bad last night which was odd but very telling. This morning she was quite swolen and the Prednisone didn't make a big difference. Her breathing is a bit laboured and she is not moving around well. It is very obvious that she isn't very comfortable anymore so I have made the decision that I have known for a while I was going to have to make. It isn't easy but I know it is the right thing to do. I sure know I will miss her.

I also hate to admit it but I am going to be somewhat relieved. To be honest it has been a bit exhausting. Some days, because of scheduling I have had to run home from work on my half hour lunch to let her out because the Prednisone had her drinking lots so she was unable to go a full 8 hours. All that and the fact that it has all been weighing on me in general. I feel bad that I even think about it being a relief after its done but I can't help that it does cross my mind.

That being said it will be very odd not having her greet me when I get home. I also wonder how it is going to affect Jessie now that she is going to be an "only dog" after living with Penny all her life. I guess time will tell.

That's it for now.

The Good, the Bad and the What to do?

I am in my first week in a new department at work. It is a return to the dreaded Business Care but in a non-suicidal Offline capacity. Basically the things I used to do with screaming customers waiting on the line I now do by email request. I don't mind when they scream in an email though they rarely do anyway. They just ask nicely in an email. So the perks are good, no incoming calls, we can listen to music, work at our own pace. One more perk which could only be understood by someone who works where I do is that we got new computers. New system, new keyboard, new mouse and new 17" LCD monitor. Having a mouse that hasn't been pawed by multiple grubby fingers and a keyboard that is not full of crumbs is fantastic. Our cubicles are quite small so the LCD monitor is like a gift from the gods, the IT gods that is.

As for the work itself, though I haven't been scored on anything yet, I had an informal coaching session with my supervisor. He reviewed some of my work and suggested that he would likely be using me in the near future to do proof reading on other people's work before they send it. So that is definitely recognition. And according to my friend Steve it's terrific.

So that covers work. The big thing going on in my life right now, of course, is Penny. I am sitting at Starbucks right now afraid to go home because this morning was, again, not a good morning. She is definitely having difficulty breathing though not in a gasping for air kind of way. More in a congested kind of way. She has been snoring like crazy, to the point where I am not sleeping well. Add to that last, week was exhausting on its own. I was on a training shift that ran from 4:00PM till 12:30AM and Dan was away in Victoria and I had to run home on my lunch time to let them both out. I was beat by the end of it.

So because of being so tired I worry that I cannot make a good judgement about when it is time to say goodbye to Penny. She is having trouble breathing but she is still eating and drinking. She is lacking energy but does not seem to be in any pain. I don't want to let her go any sooner than I have to but I know how much easier it is going to be for me after she is gone. It is a tough place for me to be in. Oh well, day by day...

Roadtrip...

So I just finished a week of training for yet another new department move at work. The schedule was 4:00PM to 12:30AM. That has to be the shittiest time ever to be stuck in a training room.

Saturday morning Meghan, Tim and I are heading to Toronto for some shopping while Dan will be flying back from Victoria. I'm sure the three of us should have a good time, we always do.

Speaking of roadtrips, I drove to Ottawa last Sunday for coffee. Is that odd? Well more properly I went there to have coffee with a couple friends. It was a kind of last minute hit-and-run kind of thing.

The Bitch is Back...

...And she is toying with me.

So when I got home last night Penny was all happiness and kisses. I normally don't let her kiss me as she has horrible breath but she gets away with a lot these days. She was fairly energetic but I was not so it was a quick trip outside and off to bed.

This morning she was still the happy puppy. So there we go.

I just have to stop thinking every bad morning, afternoon, evening or night means the end.

The beginning of the bad days...

Today is not a good day for Penny. She spent most of the morning on the couch sleeping and even the offer of going outside for a pee didn't excite her the way it normally does. She walked to the edge of the deck then turned around and came back in. We had a pretty restless night, her breathing is a little more laboured lately. It's like she has a cold, she snores.

Dan told her she had to make it through the week while he is away in Victoria but today I have this feeling that the time is near. To be honest though I have had this feeling before and she has turned around on me.

I will leave things there as I am blogging from Starbucks and my eyes are welling up a bit.

Wisdom from Starbucks...

Forget jeans, a good pair of dresspants shows the best guy booty ever. Just sayin' is all

One tough little bitch...

So just an update on Miss Penny. After diagnosis she was put on Prednisone which the vet suggested could extend her life by a month or so. Well I had to refill her perscription because though the symptoms have come back, she is still hanging in there. The symptoms were expected to come back and my impression was that it would be a quick downhill run from there. Well the physical symptoms have been back for a week or so but she still has her energy, unlike before the drugs. She is going up and down the stairs and jumping on the bed and couch herself. In fact she doesn't seem to want any help.

So as long as she can eat, drink and bark I figure she is doing fine. I have a suspision she is hanging on so she can continue to enjoy "cheese time" every morning. I wrap her pills in bits of processed cheese slices as it is by far the easiest way to give her pills. Jessie also enjoys cheese time, as I can't leave her out. Cheese less the pills of course. Anyway, cheese slices are a small price to pay to keep her around a little longer.

I was unsure at the beginning if it was better that it wasn't sudden but now I am pretty sure that for me it was. It is going to suck when I have to say goodbye but I am happy to have time to get used to the idea of having to say it.

Time flies...

Even when you are not having fun.

I can't say there has been no fun at all. Definitely had a good weekend with friends and shopping and brunch and coffees. All the usual events that make up my weekends and my life. Plenty more of that to come I'm sure.

Work: After just a couple weeks in my new department I have been voluntold to go into training to go back to Business Care. For those of you who recall my last time in Business Care you might remember that it was a definite low point in my time working there. Now the plus side of this new move is that we no longer have Inbound Business Care. The department is now completely offline. This means I will not be taking calls from pissed off people who are too dumb to be able to read their bills or people who think their children would never rack up hundreds of dollars in text messaging. Now I will just be processing email requests to change rate plans and upgrade handsets. The work should be better but the hours, not so much. Oh well at least I still have weekends off.

Penny: The Prednisone worked fast when we started her on it but Penny is starting to show some of the original symptoms again. Otherwise she is still doing well. Her energy level is a bit lower than usual but she's still got bark left in her. In fact since the inflamation around her throat has not come back she is able to bark again. She does love to bark. I think it is one of her favourite things to do. I wonder if I will miss that barking too... Decision time is coming but I think we still have a bit of time.

It's been a week...

After having at least five people separately telling me I look tired (AKA I look like shit) I realized I actually feel like shit. It has been a particularly busy week; training at work, vet, gym, QDG, concert, reelout board meeting, brunch, coffees, etc. I know that is a balance of required and optional items but all are equally important to me. I wouldn't pass up coffee with Meghan after the gym or coffee and errands with Kim just to sit home and "rest" any more than I would skip work or the board meeting. That being said I do feel like I haven't been home much lately. I am sure I am more sensitive to that due to the fact that my time left with Penny is ticking away. When I am home I have her close all the time. I'm sure she thinks I am cracked. The fact is I feel guilty for not being home much with her.

All that being said I actually took a little ME time today. Sat at Starbucks and read for a bit. It was nice but really, I just wanted to get home to be here for a bit before I head in to work. Especially knowing I will just be stopping in long enough to let the dogs out before heading to QDG tonight after work.

Looking forward to a relaxing weekend. We'll see.

Happy Birthday to You...

...Lady GaGa

Happy Birthday to you. So we headed up to Ottawa last night to see Lady GaGa in concert. It was quite a good show, well the main event was. The two opening acts sucked. The Lady herself is a show person, nine songs, three male dancers and four costume changes. I wasn't sure how well it would go given her currently limited material. She pulled it off. The high point was the torch version of my least favourite of her songs Poker Face which was interrupted by the entire audience singing Happy Birthday to her. She seemed genuinely touched at the sentiment stating that after that she couldn't even get through the "fucking chorus" though in the end she did.

On a humorus note: I was amused by the number of parents who were forced to be there with their pre-pubescent children. Then even more amused when the two opening acts threw in "fucking" this and "fucking that all over the place as well as mention of penis somewhere in there. The only new song by Lady GaGa had lyrics to the tune of "f-f-f-f-fuck you as hard as I can..." I am kinda thinking that there may have been some parental discomfort out there which does amuse me.

On a side note, for those following up on Penny, we started her on Prednisone yesterday before we left for Ottawa and by the time we got home there was already a noticeable improvement. Some of the swelling has gone down to the point that she can eat with less discomfort and she is barking again. Yay! Prednisone is a steroid and the treatment is basically to make her more comfortable. As I understand it it's kind of like a false remission. The vet told me to make sure I didn't take false hope from it and I'm not but it is good to see her a bit more as the old Penny. It's all still just a matter of time. Really though isn't that the case for all of us.

Sad news

Well today was a pretty shitty day with the promise of more, or at least one more shitty day to come. My little Jack Russell Terrorist is not going to be with us for much longer. Cancer. Three treatment options, neither of which would do anything but give us some extra time. I have pretty much eliminated one of the options, that leaves two. I certainly have some thinking to do but in the end, not a lot of time to do it.

Anyway I don't have a lot more to say right now but I'm sure there will be more to come.

Mission: Imposible

Alright I am now on a mission. I am going to find an attractive lesbian for Meghan to date. Surely there is one out there that will fit the bill.

On the whole, lesbians are a mystery to me. Judging only by what I have seen, excepting Meghan, they have little care for their outward appearance and instead focus their energy on social or political causes. There is also equal interest in emo poetry, acoustic guitars and Birkenstock sandals.

I will give you that the above are broad generalizations (like the one that says gay men are all about outward appearance and sex-Oh wait, that one IS true) and I would really like someone to prove me wrong.

So this weekend we will be going to the Circus at The Grad Club and I am going to be looking for a 24 to 32 year old attractive, in shape, intellegent, funny lesbian for Meghan.

Wish me luck...

Looks like the "Sliding Scale" got stuck at the top...

There was a benefit event for HARS held at The Grad Club this weekend that we attended. Dan's sister and her boyfriend were down and came with us along with, of course Meghan and Tim. The night started off with dinner at Woodenheads then Drinks at Tango where Meghan and Tim joined the party. Good times and gummi-worms there as usual.

Around midnight we headed to The Grad Club figuring the party would be in full swing by then. The cover was suposed to be $7-10 but they just took the $10 per person without asking. I suspect that had to do with the shitty attendance of the event. It was quite obvious that there was some other event on somewhere as there was a total lack of gay guys there. There was an above average female presence there though I got the impression that the majority were not even queer. The dance floor was totally lacking in energy though the music was pretty good. We missed the drag performance by Miss Tyffanie which was a drag but we also missed the poetry slam which was definitely a good thing. There was an art exhibit upstairs which actually had some nice pieces along with the usual trash that comes from people who think they are artistic. I guess to be fair art is a very personal thing and even though I saw no merit in some of it, likely someone did.

All in all we did have a good time but I am happy that the cash went to HARS because we could have stayed at Tango and had just as good a time. That being said the "Circus" is in town this Friday and we are off to The Grad Club again. Here's to Queers!

Just a thought...

Anyone who says "I'm not racist but..." Probably is racist.

New Mobile Blogging

I have just discovered the ability to blog from my BlackBerry. This
is great fun for me. Sadly though, at this moment, I have nothing to
say.

The more things change...

So it seems I am in a bit of a career rut at StarTek. I applied for a position last week but didn't get an interview. Not sure what the salary for that position was. Two more postings came up. One was grossly lower paid, and I mean gross. The other was for an Interim Supervisor and even that one was less money than I am making now. Does anyone else see this as kind of funny. Shouldn't the Indians make less than the Chiefs? Surely I work for a weird company given the above example, not that we didn't know this to be the case long ago.

The next work news is that there is a new Offline Department ramping up. As luck would have it I am unable to apply as those in my queue are needed where we are. I was not sure if I was interested as I was waiting for more details but apparently my decision is made for me anyway. As it turns out I am not unhappy in my present department. I am doing well. I am not suicidal. Really its all good but it would have been nice to have an option.

So we will carry on as we do and let fate decide where I end up. If there is one thing I know I can expect from work it's change. I guess it keeps me from being bored.

Who wants to be a Leader AND a follower?

So I added a gadget thingy so people could sign up as followers of my blog but no one has signed up. Come on I know someone is reading this thing. Someone has to be the first. Someone is going to get to be first, that has to be worth something. If nothing else feel free to sign up so I don't look so lame. (Like a blog entry asking you to sign up isn't lame)

I want to be on a board, I need to be on a board...

So it is official now. I will be a member of the reelout Board of Directors. With my safety net Dan and Meghan along for the ride as well. Oh there is still the formality of having to be officially voted in at the Annual General Meeting but given the small current membership and the general excitement of said membership that we are interested (along with two others) I think we have it in the bag. Of the other two, one seems like they will be up for it and one seems to need to review the organization before deciding. Mark, the one who does seem likely to go for it, will help even out the gender division which currently skews female. There are still more women involved but we do have Meghan who is as much a gay boy as a lesbian could be and more of a gay boy than some gay boys.

The introductory meeting was a cramped little affair in the reelout office seated around a Rubbermaid bin set with tablecloth, crackers, carrot sticks and hummis. An actually quite cute effort. The meeting was fairly general, more an introduction than anything else. It most definitely increased my interest in the project. I definitely see oppertunity for me to help manage an event that, frankly, is pretty important to me.

The next step will be a "Vision Retreat" to bounce ideas off each other and to help get things going for the next Reelout.

I think my main reason for wanting to do this is not because "I want to be on a board" but because I do love the festival and I do think I have something to offer the organization. Though contrary to my own personal observations reelout is apparently doing quite well despite empty seats at the screenings and the November departure of the Director it seems to be in no danger of folding. That perceived danger was my first reason for wanting to get involved as it is something I did not want to see lost. Impending doom or not I'm still in. I think it has potential to be a rewarding experience and it won't look bad on the resume either.

So look for more updates in the future and get ready for reelout 2010

New direction

So I did something pretty unexpected. I applied for an internal position at work. I have done that on a couple of occaisions in the past and only got one interview. That was several years ago and because of my dislike for the way my workplace is run I have avoided making any other attempts to advance. I think it speaks to the vast improvements our current director has made that I am even considering it. Now it is just a matter of waiting to see if I am granted an interview. I am being optimistic that they maybe have not already got their candidate lined up and the posting is just a formality. Time will tell and I will keep you posted.

Reelout Wrap-Up

Here is a link to a video taken by Miss Tyffanie at the reelout Wrapup. Since we don't come off as total dorks I thought I'd share it.

reelout Wrap-Up

What is my address?

I was given the oppertunity to plug my blog the other day but I actually didn't know the URL for it. I think the person interviewing me thought I was just not wanting to release the address. Truth is I have not ever advertised my blog other than to my friends in my MSN tag. I have never really cared if anyone is reading my blog or not. I am not even sure why anyone would want to read it in fact. That being said though, I do enjoy the fact that some people have happened accross it and do read it. I have received some positive feedback from readers.

So to my readers: Thanks for looking inside my head. Thanks for standing by those dry spells when not much was happening inside my head. Thanks for the comments and encouragement along the way.

The Queer Community

Well Reelout is done and gone for another year and though they had some (major) bumps along the way they did manage to pull together a decent festival. If you don't know what Reelout is you should check out their website.

Amonng my Kingston family (Meghan, Tim, Dan and I) the festival this year sparked an interest to get involved. Well it did for 3 out of the family at least. We will be attending our first Reelout board meeting on February 24th and barring any major issues I believe Meghan, Dan and I will be full on members of the Reelout Board of Directors for the 2010 Kingston Reelout Queer Film Festival. We believe we have some good ideas to contribute to Reelout and hope that we can make a little bit of difference within the Kingston queer community.

We have had a lot of conversation lately about the Kingston queer community and how fragmented it seems to be. There seem to be many groups with many interests but there seems to be very little to bring those groups together. We are really hoping that we can find ways to get more of the community out to things like Reelout. Grad Club dances can be fun but they are not for everyone. I guess that could be said for any queer event in Kingston, hence the fragmentation.

Well time to go get ready for Brunch, my favourite part of Sunday. More to come on my thoughts about the Kingston queer community.

First glimpse of the end of winter...

Here it is February 2nd and though the groundhogs were 3 for 3 predicting 6 more weeks, I can actually feel the end coming. Today is sunny and above freezing. I can actually feel a difference in my spirits and I think it might be because of the shining sun. A couple days like this, here and there, might just get me through the rest of the winter.

I don't think I am the only one feeling it because there seems to be an abundance of people downtown today. Anyone who knows me knows one of my favourite things to do is sit in the front window of Starbucks and watch people. That's what I am doing right now and a day like today gives me lots to watch. I even saw a guy in shorts today, how can that not lift my spirits?

Brush with fame...

So if this guy hit on you in a bar would you walk away awkwardly? Thats what I did. DOH!

Here's how it went down. We went to The Grad Club for the Reelout Opening Gala on Friday. Preceding that was the screening of Were the World Mine which was a lot of fun. We went straight upstairs to the more loungy part of the Club. Dirty loungy but still loungy. We grabbed some couch space and settled in. I headed to the bar to grab us a drink. Stood there for a bit waiting for someone to show up when a cute boy came up to me and asked me how I enjoyed the movie. I said I though it was a lot of fun and he said it was his favourie on "the circuit" right now. The circuit should have been my first clue. At that point I pretty much ran out of things to say and thankfully my phone rang. It was Dan from about 20 feet away telling me the upstairs bar was not open yet. So I awkwardly excused myself from the "conversation" and headed to the downstairs bar for those drinks.

Only about 20 minutes later did Miss Tyffanie inform me that the cute boy was Charlie David, writer and star of the following nights feature screening Mulligans, as well as a regular on Dante's Cove and several other movies and television shows.

So now that I have all that out, I should add that Charlie probably wasn't hitting on me but I like the story better this way. Except for the part where I awkwardly wander off.