Glory Days
Thanks to my new job I get American holidays off and thanks to General John Logan today was Memorial Day in the States. It's a little different having a day off when no one else does but that kind of makes it that much better. On the flipside, I don't automatically get the Canadian holidays off as my clientele will still be working. I still get my 12 stats but not necessarily on that correct day. But I digress...I had the day off! And what a day it was...
Sadly I spent most of the day in bed. I just couldn't resist an opportunity to sleep in today after being up early on both Saturday and Sunday. Once I did get up I sat down to read the paper I had picked on Saturday but hadn't any time to read yet. When I raised my head from my paper the view I had is almost exactly depicted in the picture above. I didn't take it but I could have. It looked so nice I decided to head out for a walk.
As I walked across the bridge the bells of the Catherdral started sounding. I looked at that beautiful old church and swung (swang?) my eyes westward down the waterfront. The wharf was put up last weekend and a few boats were coming and going. I couldn't help but think two things: 1)"Holy Crap, this is nice!" and 2)"Damn, am I ever going to miss Doherty this summer.." A Beautiful summer day, 25 with a warm breeze, 3 weeks + before summer.
I continued downtown to run some errands. I stopped to see some friends, got a bite to eat and sat down and read some more of that paper. I ran into a couple of more friends and again thought of how nice it was. I love summertime; so much fun to be had and the strangely enjoyable thought that there will likelybe a wound somewhere on m body for the next 5 months.
Add to that the fact the Lydons just moved home and the Slipps arrival is impending (in two ways no less) and this summer is really shaping up. I know that some of you are coming home this summer and that's good news too! And for those of you not coming, well, sorry but, um, come the feck home! Just kidding, no need to rub it in because in reality summer is summer everywhere. Right?
Nice view though wa?
'Sider
Respect
Back in Freddy
We won our final game in Edmonton against the Balmy Beach club from Toronto on Sunday morning. Our opposition decided to tank their weekend after they lost their first two games so by the time we faced off against them they were in pretty rough shape. We were not about to offer them any sympathy as we had spent far too much time and money to get ourselves to the event. Not to mention the fact that we felt a little unlucky to not have won one of our first two games. They didn't want to play us much and with good reason; we beat them 57 - 17.
Unfortunately that win only put us in 9th place. It is a bit of a quirk of the tournament set up but some teams that finished above us were 1 - 3 while we ended 2 - 2. No sour grapes though. We went to the tournament looking to earn some experience and respect. We gained both in spades. It was great to be able to play against teams we would otherwise have no opportunity to play against. And those teams knew they were in a game when they played us. I'm very proud of the way we played.
Also, we did manage to have some fun over the course of the five days we were there. It's nice to pretend to be a pro once in a while, even if we never found the groupies. Thanks for the good wishes.
So back to work now...today was essentially a Monday but at least it's a short week. If you need a Monday laugh I advise you to click
here. Hilarious...check it.
Jagshemash
One for the Road
Day 3
So 3 down and 1 to go. We lost again yesterday against the Alberta champs, the Strathcona Druids. The score was 23-18 so obviously a pretty tight one. We had chances to win it but just couldn't capitalize. We once again had the better of them in the scrum but we couldn't take advantage of that.
We played our third game today and finally got a win in. We beat the University of Manitoba Wombats 27 - 0. We probably didn't play any better today then we did in the first two games but we did defend better. In fact two of our tries came directly from defensive pressure. The other two came from very nice sequences, so our finishing was a little better too.
We have been playing good rugby so it was nice to see it actually payoff. We play our fourth and final game tomorrow morning. I'm not sure who we are playing, what time, or for what place but hopefully we can keep up the solid play and finish this thing with a win and a .500 record.
Thanks for the good wishes.
Si
Win, Lose, or Draw
Dateline - Edmonton
I've always loved flying west. I love the fact that you can leave at 6, fly for an hour and half, spend two hours in Montreal, fly for 5, and still make it to Edmonton by 11am. We spent most of the day chilling and enjoying our scheduled naps. I thought I had a line on Oilers tickets but the tickets in question went from being free to $1600 overnight. It would have been sweet but I'm glad my Oil won anyways.
Today was gameday so we spent most of the day relaxing but did go for a quick visit to that big mall out here. I needed some new cleats and the trip was successful. The place is ridiculously massive. It is just a mall though...
So after some afternoon downtime we got down to the business that brought us here. We are here playing in the inaugural Canadian club championships. Tonight we played against the UBC Old Boys out of Vancouver. We lost 24-10. We had the better of them in the scrums and just made a couple of defensive mistakes that they capitalized on. We took it to them in the second half and we were pressing with the score 17-10 but couldn't finish. They scored a try late to seal it. We are obviously disappointed but we played some good rugby and we've got another crack at it tomorrow.
Wish us luck and I'll keep you posted.
Pace out
Cool Change
So as I write this I am sitting in my chair in the Knowledge Park building 2 for the last time. I am starting a new position with the company tomorrow; this time on the Sales team, in building 1. I was more then a little leary about joining the sales force but money is hard to argue with, and the possibility of more money even harder. The fact is that if I can make some sales I have a chance to make some more money. And given the fact that I have worked with the product for two years it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up.
I will miss this job. Primarily because I've got it figured out so I can do the least amount of work and still get the job done. But, in reality, what I will miss most is the crew that I have worked with. I really think that my pool game is going to suffer without the 45 minutes "coffee" breaks with the boys. And I'll miss the girls because I could always get the juiciest office gossip from them, especially if it involved me. Plus it was always nice to know that as long as I made it in before 9:30 I would beat Kelsey and not be the last one in the office. That's key for a guy like me.
Thank you guys; don't be strangers.
Ramping up
Peter Pan
Long As I Can See The Light
A couple of days after Sophie was born Scotty and Nicki asked me if I would be her Godfather. I immediately accepted and let them know how honoured I was that they would ask me. The formal portion of my role took place today as my girl was christened. She showed off her lungs for a few minutes while we got settled but once the basptismal got started she calmed right down. My role in the ceremony was to light Sophie's baptismal candle and hold the light while the ceremony was completed. Today was the most I had ever seen her eyes; she may or may not have seen the light I was holding but she definitely saw me. I almost think she recognized me...
I, of course, have a good mentor to help out with the role. Malcolm, my Godfather, has given me more advice than I know what to do with. With a little change in the vocabulary I'm sure I could impart some of that very same advice. Thanks to time spent around a bunch of them I will definitely be able to help her recognize the creeps out there.
It was, of course, also Mother's Day today. Happy Mother's Day Mom! In honour of you I cooked myself a very nice meal. Mmmmm...
The Doggfather
PS - Some other big news from the weekend; Pete and Tracey (and the McSlipp in the oven) are moving home. Soon. Check it out
here.
Working For The Weekend
"
I know you don't smoke weed, I know this; but I'm gonna get you high today, 'cause it's Friday; you ain't got no job... and you ain't got shit to do." - Smokey, from
Friday It is indeed Friday and it was Jackman's last day before his second stint as Mr. Mom so we had a party; a pizza party! We told the new guy that he was supposed to bring the beer and he thought we were serious. It would have been funny to see him walking in with a case of beer.
So for Jackman this weekend is really the big light at the end of the tunnel. Or perhaps the end of the rainbow; although this picture would be at the end of a lot of fantasy rainbows for most of the folks I know:
Have a good one!
Mike Reno
Word Up
"If the terriers and bariffs are torn down, this economy will grow."
—George W. Bush
Anyone can butcher the english language, even a Yale grad. In the course of day to day communication mistakes are common. The one that has caused the most constant chatter around here as of late is irregardless. Irregardless is not correct. Adding ir to regardless actually makes it a double negative. You have likely heard it though and probably even thought of correcting the person but figured you knew what they meant so didn't bother. My side of the argument is that it is indeed wrong but because it is (mis)used it exists in the language and is therefore a word. I would still not advise you not to use it in a job interview though. On the other hand you should use sqozen any chance you get. If I told you it was right you would have a hard time dissagreeing wouldn't you? It should be...let's start a campaign.
So, in seeking an answer to the irrelevant question of irregardless I stumbled across a couple of funny websites. The first one contained a list of words that were created by adding a single letter to an existing word, with sexy (or more accurately, hilarious) results. Here are the top five:
1. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.
2. Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an asshole.
3. Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.
4. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.
5. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating; i.e. the bozone layer.
I love #2...I know alot of those guys; they work out a my gym.
I also found a couple of websites dedicated to words so if you have some time on your hands click
here or
here. They are slightly more exciting than reading the dictionary which is, of course, fun.
Zip it up and Zip it out,
Barry Word
Weed With Willie
Big weekend...
Friday night Willie Nelson was in town and a few of the boys and I went to check it out; couldn't miss out on a chance to see an icon. We, as per usual, missed the opener which was the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and from all reports they were one of the best parts of the show. We got there just in time to see Willie come on stage and open the show with Whiskey River. He didn't sound all that great at the beginning but by the end of it he really came around and sounded like the old pro that he is. He played played his standards, some bluegrass, a set of blues, a hint of reggae and a nice song about Georgia.
The crowd was a real mixed bag but it was mostly old folks who had waited their whole lives to see him. They were a very subdued bunch and not because they were all fried - although that is a funny thought. A few young cowboys lit up a joint nearby and promply got kicked out; something to be said for discretion. I bet Willie would have let them stay.
Good times, good times
I got up early the next morning and played in rugby tournament. I remember when I was 19 I could play 4 games a day without flinching, stay up all night ,and do it again the next day without being all that beat up. Not so much any more; I could barely make it through the first two (half games) and welcomed a break during the third. We did have a good day though and we are now only 10 days from the Loyalists heading to Edmonton for the National Championships. The boys are raring to go and we are even bringing in some recruits. Fudgy and Thorpe are coming from Ottawa, McCluskey from Vancouver, and Michael (The Bad Lieutenant) Jordan from an undisclosed undercover location on leave from the Mounties. That looks like a pretty mixed bag too. Such is the game. Which is funny because I have often said, when people ask me to explain my love of the game, "Well, rugby is alot like a Willie Nelson concert...".
#10
Buenas Tardes Amigo
Happy Cinqo de Mayo!
A few years ago, when we were living in the Slanty Shanty, we organized an "End of the World Party". Nostradamus had predicted that the world would come to an end on May 5, 2005 so we thought that just in case he was correct we had better be having a good time when it ended. Somehow word of this party made it to the newshounds at the CBC and they called us to do a radio interview. Geoff Nicki ended up doing the interview and throughout the course of the interview neglected to mention that the real reason he had spearheaded the party planning was that May 5 is actually his birthday. He did, however, wear a t-shirt to the party that said "Kiss Me - the world is ending and it's my birthday" - true story.
So I'm not totally sure how to explain his total lack of communication over the past couple of years but if I had to guess (and I do) I would say he has been incognito in Taiwan secretly working on some kind of Weapon of Mass Destruction that is controlled by a bass guitar. It's either that or his borderline insanity. You'd think the picture on the right would be a halloween costume but it's actually what he wore to his graduation ceremony.
In the words of Ween - "And I hoped we'd see each other again"
Happy Birthday tricky Dick!
Deener
PS - for a more recent likeness of the man, the myth, check this out:
No Surrender
So get this...Scotty turned 35 this week! I know that I'm not far behind him but frankly it just seems strange to me because Scotty is really still the biggest kid I know. Which is kind of funny because now he is a daddy raising the smallest kid I know.
On the other side of the coin he is still one of the toughest nuts I've ever known. He does not act his age on the rugby field and I'm sure he feels it every morning because of it. And with the added weight accumulated over time his kicking range has been proportional. He still has one of the best boots in Canadian rugby. He definitely has the best cowlick.....check out this picture:
Looks like he's hawking Big Mac's. That 'stache on Dad is classic too. I believe they call that Shippigan dirt lip....
Happy Birthday Scotty!
Thanks to my new job I get American holidays off and thanks to General John Logan today was Memorial Day in the States. It's a little different having a day off when no one else does but that kind of makes it that much better. On the flipside, I don't automatically get the Canadian holidays off as my clientele will still be working. I still get my 12 stats but not necessarily on that correct day. But I digress...I had the day off! And what a day it was...
