Hockey Night in Whitby

Nobody was more surprised than me when we managed a 2-1 win tonight. It is a rare thing when I actually acknowledge any skill on my part, but I actually played a pretty solid game, but I had a lot of help from my team. Short-handed, they played some awesome defence in front of me.

Making the victory that much sweeter was that I was playing against an old co-worker from my current employer. He pulled a disappearing act that really screwed me and my boss over back in Nov. Needless to say that I was happy to not only get the win, but also to stone him on the one shot he bothered to take.

Came home, shared a bottle of Masi white with DW and I am enjoying a lovely buzz.

Maybe I'll have another Steph sighting tomorrow...

Another Steph sighting!

I was combing the tech pages and I saw a press release about the new Palm/Treo phone. Lo and behold when I saw the picture of the new phone...

Steph Sighting!!

I made a terrible discovery, and I was reluctant to tell Larry, but we had to tell people before they found out from someone else.

Steph is growing up Gotti!

I'm working...Honest!

(but you wouldn't know it from all the posting.)

After sauntering over to duff's site, I shamelessly followed her lead and generated a list of the Top 100 songs of my high school graduating year. Apparently if you choose to 'tag" along, you can bold the ones you like, underline your favorites, strike through the ones you loathe, and italicize the ones you can't remember. No opinion? Just leave it alone.

1. That's What Friends Are For, Dionne Warwick, Elton John, and Gladys Knight
2. Say You, Say Me, Lionel Richie
3. I Miss You, Klymaxx
4. On My Own , Patti Labelle and Michael McDonald
5. Broken Wings, Mr. Mister
6. How Will I Know, Whitney Houston
7. Party All The Time, Eddie Murphy
8. Burning Heart, Survivor
9. Kyrie, Mr. Mister
10. Addicted To Love, Robert Palmer
11. Greatest Love Of All, Whitney Houston
12. Secret Lovers, Atlantic Starr
13. Friends And Lovers, Carl Anderson and Gloria Loring
14. Glory Of Love, Peter Cetera
15. West End Girls, Pet Shop Boys
16. There'll Be Sad Songs, Billy Ocean
17. Alive And Kicking, Simple Minds
18. Never, Heart
19. Kiss, Prince and The Revolution
20. Higher Love, Steve Winwood
21. Stuck With You, Huey Lewis and The News
22. Holding Back The Years, Simply Red
23. Sledgehammer, Peter Gabriel
24. Sara, Starship
25. Human, Human League
26. I Can't Wait, Nu Shooz
27. Take My Breath Away, Berlin
28. Rock Me Amadeus, Falco
29. Papa Don't Preach, Madonna
30. You Give Love A Bad Name, Bon Jovi
31. When The Going Gets Tough, Billy Ocean
32. When I Think Of You, Janet Jackson
33. These Dreams, Heart
34. Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone), Glass Tiger
35. Live To Tell, Madonna
36. Mad About You, Belinda Carlisle
37. Something About You, Level 42
38. Venus, Bananarama
39. Dancing On The Ceiling, Lionel Richie
40. Conga, Miami Sound Machine
41. True Colors, Cyndi Lauper
42. Danger Zone, Kenny Loggins
43. What Have You Done For Me Lately, Janet Jackson
44. No One Is To Blame, Howard Jones
45. Let's Go All The Way, Sly Fox
46. I Didn't Mean To Turn You On, Robert Palmer
47. Words Get In The Way, Miami Sound Machine
48. Manic Monday, Bangles
49. Walk Of Life, Dire Straits
50. Amanda, Boston
51. Two Of Hearts, Stacey Q
52. Crush On You, Jets
53. If You Leave, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
54. Invisible Touch, Genesis
55. The Sweetest Taboo, Sade
56. What You Need, INXS
57. Talk To Me, Stevie Nicks
58. Nasty, Janet Jackson
59. Take Me Home Tonight, Eddie Money
60. We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off, Jermaine Stewart (RIP)
61. All Cried Out, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam With Full Force
62. Your Love, Outfield
63. I'm Your Man, Wham!
64. Perfect Way, Scritti Politti
65. Living In America, James Brown
66. R.O.C.K. In The U.S.A., John Cougar Mellencamp
67. Who's Johnny, El Debarge
68. Word Up, Cameo
69. Why Can't This Be Love, Van Halen
70. Silent Running, Mike and The Mechanics
71. Typical Male, Tina Turner
72. Small Town, John Cougar Mellencamp
73. Tarzan Boy, Baltimora
74. All I Need Is A Miracle, Mike and The Mechanics
75. Sweet Freedom, Michael McDonald
76. True Blue, Madonna
77. Rumors, Timex Social Club
78. Life In A Northern Town, Dream Academy
79. Bad Boy, Miami Sound Machine
80. Sleeping Bag, ZZ Top
81. Tonight She Comes, Cars
82. Love Touch, Rod Stewart
83. A Love Bizarre, Sheila E.
84. Throwing It All Away, Genesis
85. Baby Love, Regina
86. Election Day, Arcadia
87. Nikita, Elton John
88. Take Me Home, Phil Collins
89. Walk This Way, Run-D.M.C. and Aerosmith
90. Sweet Love, Anita Baker
91. Your Wildest Dreams, Moody Blues
92. Spies Like Us, Paul McCartney
93. Object Of My Desire, Starpoint
94. Dreamtime, Daryl Hall
95. Tender Love, Force M.D.'s
96. King For A Day, Thompson Twins
97. Love Will Conquer All, Lionel Richie
98. A Different Corner, George Michael
99. I'll Be Over You, Toto
100. Go Home, Stevie Wonder

There ya go. Now you know how ancient I am.

RIP - Don Adams. "Would you Believe..."

I know I'm a little late with this one, but I did want to note the recent passing of Don Adams, better known as 'Maxwell Smart'. He is also known to the younger generation as the voice of Inspector Gadget from the original animated series.

His distinctive voice and the catch phrases from the Get Smart series are instantly recognizeable and really became part of the TV fabric.

Another loss, for sure.

Literary Obit

M. Scott Peck died. Sadly, he will forever be mixed up with Robert Frost and his poem of the same name. (having made the name gaffe in Trivial Pursuit, I know how easy it was to make the mistake.)

I do wonder, however, if the people who write these self-help books look back and wonder if it was all worth it?

It's wrong, but I felt good about this news...

Kristin, I hope, will appreciate the poetic justice in this tale.

A few years ago I was involved in what can now be called an ill-advised relationship.

(How's that for an opener???)

I had been on the online dating/meeting scene since the end of my long-term relationship and I'd say that I could be fairly classified as "active". Depending on your perspective, I could also have been called "opportunistic", "slut-puppy", "player" and, DW's personal smile-maker, "man-whore".

The short version of all that is that I got lucky. A lot. And, yes, there were times when I wasn't necessarily "exclusive". I won't get into some kind of substantiation for my actions, because out of context it won't make sense. Was it the right thing to do? Probably not, but it does take two to tango, and I can safely say that I met my fair share of opportunists of the opposite sex so my actions were hardly an anomaly.

So now you have the background, I'll get back to that relationship I mentioned.

But, Mossy....why would you consider a relationship 'ill-advised'? I hear all of you ask.

Well...

1. She wasn't, um, quite through with the marriage she was in.
2. Oh...and did I mention that she lived about 800 miles away?
3. Oh yeah...um, she was also the chat administrator for the dating site I was on at the time.

(How's that for a nice trifecta?)

Anyway, she and I became quite an item, albeit a relatively secret one. We did manage to spend a fair amount of time together with some of her trips and in spite of the obvious danger signs, I really thought there was something there.

However, I successfully managed to sabotage the relationship (Yes, I got caught.)

That was a trigger for a really awful period in my life. I managed to lose my job of 4 yrs about 2 weeks after that whole sorry episode and public falling out and chat room lynching (and lemme tell ya, some of the rumours that flew were really, really juicy. Way better than the real thing.) I did my best not to lose her, but she eventually decided to walk, and I can't really say that I blame her, although there's a strangeness about a married woman dumping her lover of 8 months because of infidelity. Needless to say, we're not in touch anymore.

I'd heard a few tidbits about her afterwards, but I really wanted to forget about all that and just move on and learn from my errors in judgement.

Tonight, however, DW was on MSN with an old friend of hers from her own chatting days. This woman, oddly enough, was the one who brought her onto that same dating site. (Yes, DW knows the whole sordid tale and loves me anyway.) That same friend was asking me about coming to a "GT" (get-together) because Jewell (former blogger and also former member of the same site) was coming back from Australia for a visit. We were relatively non-committal but DW's friend mentioned, with a laugh, "Oh, Mossy doesn't have to worry about seeing ****, she won't be there."

The Readers' digest version of all this was that after the breakup with me, she wound up dumping her husband and moved to southwest Ontario, chasing some guy she'd met online. Probably from the same site, if I know her. When she left her husband and moved, this guy apparently wouldn't give her the time of day. She chased and chased for the better part of a year before giving up. When last heard from, she had apparently moved back to her family home in the prairies. There was some talk that she'd tried to go back to her ex, but our source seemed to think that didn't take.

I know its wrong and I'm probably really shallow and self-centred for feeling that way, but I got some perverse pleasure from the news that she's dealing with a little "nemesis"-type suffering, while I've managed to turn things around, personally and professionally. She could have chosen to ignore the pot-stirrers, and the rumour mongers and say that whatever happened was between us and was nobody else's business, but she chose not to, and I was tried and convicted in the kangaroo court of public opinion and she let other people make her relationship decisions for her. Again, I wouldn't expect anyone to condone my actions (I certainly don't), but she made her choice and I made mine. From what I heard afterwards, I would have wound up cast aside once she got away from her ex, so I can't really feel bad for her current fate.

Me? Shallow? Yeah, sometimes. Welcome to the dark underside of the Stone.

Hockey Night in Ajax

Much to my surprise, my team managed a 4-1 win last night. Granted, I shouldn't have been beaten low stick-side with seconds remaining in the 2nd, but we still fought the other team pretty hard. Granted, its not as strong a team as we'd prefer for a real challenge, but there was enough talent for us to practice on.

Unfortunately, it was a late night (10PM start time) and DW was unconscious when I got home. However, I treated myself to a sleep-in so we could actually wake up together this morning. Sometimes it makes all the difference.

Ya know...

I have 2 blog entries in draft (one of which includes this weekend's madness) and for some reason I have little-to-no drive to finish them at the moment. Am I lazy?

(Having said this, I'll probably wind up finishing them tonight or tomorrow or something.)

Steph Sighting

Poughkeepsie, NY (AP) - Reports continue to come in regarding the disappearance of The Steph. One recent sighting in upstate New York had The Steph driving a tractor trailer with a load of chickens apparently headed for processing. Our Intrepid field correspondent,
Recondo, told us that it could only be her, because the bug deflector on the truck had the words "Dirty Gypsy" painted across it. While he couldn't confirm it, he was certain that the driver's side door of the truck was painted with the legend "Steve Kline's Future ex-Wife", lending more credence to the sighting in question.

A driver hauling a load of premade cotton candy along Hwy 44 just outside Poughkeepsie also contacted our office with a sighting. He reported a similar vehicle, but also added that the driver was heard talking to someone, presumably the load of chickens. All he was able to make out was "yeah, babies...Momma's gonna get your little feathered asses processed", and "ooh, that Stevie Kline...he can bunt up my infield any ol' time", while cursing him and trying to run him off the road. He swore that in between her rantings to her fowl cargo, she could be heard yelling, "GO, GO, GO, MOVE THAT [expletive] COTTON CANDY, GO, GO, GO!!!!!!" While regaining control of his vehicle, the driver of the chicken truck made a sudden turn toward an off-ramp and disappeared from view.

Authorities continue to investigate.

Dirty Gypsy speculation #2

After finding herself in a drunken stupor following her birthday, The Steph is at her best Dirty Gypsy self when she spots a handsome young bus boy tidying up the bar. Smitten, she follows him around like a puppy, declaring to one and all, "S'up, my Bitches....isn't he the SHIT" Not wanting to argue with the sauced one, they all agreed that he was indeed the Shit. After 45 minutes of extolling his virtues (having cornered him with her boozy grin and practiced pressure point holds) she finally demanded that someone marry them immediately or suffer the consequences.

The lad's command of the English language was, charitably, lacking. Back home (no, not on Mepos, Balki) this kind of behaviour was often the precursor to the ritual involuntary vasectomy practiced by some members of his clan with women issues. After carefully weighing the odds, he realized that cooperation was probably his wisest course of action and began to nod like a bobblehead in a 4x4.

Steph's friends finally dragged the dishwashing guy out from the kitchen and explained the situation. Drawing on his own tenuous command of English, he performed a ceremony for the two of them in his native tongue. Little did Steph and her terrified intended know that he had just issued a curse upon them that promised festering armpit sores and terminal halitosis for the unwary couple.

When they were last seen, Steph was dragging her new ersatz hubby out the door with cries of "oh come on, honey, you're gonna just love Tulsa...I hear it's really the shit..."

(enjoy...)

Caution: Blunt Talk ahead

I haven't been this tired since the end of my Sergeant's qualifying course.

I must be getting older, because I'm sure I used to be able to deal with more than this.

How the fuck can I feel this exhausted after 2 days of teaching? I used to be able to do more. Am I out of practice? Or maybe its because I so completely loathe the classroom delivery process that its taking an equal toll.

As I remarked to dtrini when we went for Sushi at lunch, I'd happily stick some other poor bastard with this task. Unfortunately, I'm the best qualified poor bastard to actually do the delivery, therefore, I get the onerous task.

Maybe I shouldn't bitch. Maybe I should accept the fact that this is one of the "be careful what you wish for" moments in my professional life. I did want a certain measure of control over design & development and I did relish the thought at having a department to create from scratch. So, I am doing what I want to be doing. I am also gainfully employed by an organization that has, for the most part, given me carte blanche to do what needs to be done. How many people can honestly say the same?

I'm still tired, though.

And I'll still bitch about it.

Why? Cuz I can. ;-)

DW is equally wiped. She's putting in a lot of hours across both jobs and the Wondertwins have been more than a handful lately, so that really wears on her. Unfortunately it seems like we're just in "grin & bear it" mode until the dust settles.

Tired? Me?

Fuck, yeah.

I think its just the drain of being "on" when I'm in front of the class that's really taking its toll, more than anything else. There's also a lot of adminstrative shit that needs to happen for this particular training gig (scheduling staff around existing commitments, getting course materials printed and collated, etc., etc.) Granted, its not like I'm chewing tinfoil every day, but there's got to be a better way to get all this stuff organized...to say nothing of giving me an avenue to maintain my sanity.

Between work for both me and DW, plus an incredible stack of kid commitments, its a wonder we're both not in adjoining padded suites, wearing straight jackets, and writing "Kill Clouseau!" using a marker held between our toes. (I bet you're having some great mental imagery with that one; right, sports fans?)

Hmmm....in other news, I started my hockey Monday night. We've got a great team this season and its really nice to have some guys from my team last year in this years' pool. (the league pools all of the players who sign up and they get "drafted" onto one of the 10 teams.) We played well and still managed to lose 3-2. I have no major complaints with my level of play (which is something of a miracle for those who are used to my crying jags about' how much canal water I sucked' after each loss.) My other league starts Thursday and I have the usual "new kid" jitters about joining an existing team as the new guy. If nothing else, I'm hoping that this team is in a more balanced division than the one I played in over the summer. Cuz that was just icky. One of the refs remarked to me during one particularly memorable pasting, that he hadn't seen so much rubber since he was sending alimony checks to his ex. I wasn't amused.

*sigh*

I think I'm just in babble mode now. I'll have to come up with another "Where's Steph" tale and then I think I'll call it a night. If I'm lucky, I'll get a few precious moments with DW before we both fall into the arms of Morpheus.

a la prochaine...

Dirty Gypsy Speculation #1

Steph decided to follow her long-lost dream of fame & fortune in the music business. But being a shy, retiring type, she couldn't face the notoriety that came with pursuing her dream on home soil. So she packed her bags, grabbed her passport and she's now one of the final 16 contestants at the Grand Music Hall in Vilnius, home of Lithuanian Idol!

(Internet connections being what they are in the Baltics, she's having some trouble with her Idol blog. Stay tuned for updates...)

Dirty Gypsy speculations

Those of us who keep tabs on Larry's step-sib know that she's been AWOL for a while. Of course, there's probably a perfectly logical explanation for her absence, but I want to see what your nefariously creative and twisted minds can come up with.

(Having posted this, she'll probably re-surface this afternoon)

Is it, or isn't it?

Maybe its blog malaise or maybe I'm just really freakin' busy. Sadly, the energy to blog hasn't been there lately. I must apologize to the 3 or 4 of you who visit regularly.

Work has been chewing me up lately and in order to avoid getting dooced, I won't rant about it. DW and dtrini tend to bear the brunt of the rants when I have the time and energy to do even that. Tragic, really.

However, there is life beyond work and I have a few tidbits to share.

My hockey starts up again on Monday night (Ajax league). I'm going to be playing with 2 of the guys from my wednesday night summer team plus (I think) a guy I played with last winter. The familiar faced will help for sure. I was really happy to find myself a spot on a team in the Whitby league on Thursdays. Considering how I thought I might not even have a spot anywhere for the winter, this is a bonus to have 2 nights going. I'm a little anxious about the new Whitby team, but its in a lower division which should mean I'm a bit more competitive. (Until I can convince Larry to commute here for hockey, I'll have to play this all by ear.)

DW started her new job today so I'm quite excited to hera how it went. There's a certain creepy irony that she's doing a similar kind of job to one I used to do when I finished College. At least I might be able to offer some help when she has questions.

I tackled another stained glass project this week: a small dragon suncatcher. I'm not thrilled with how it turned out at all. I know I should just shut up and get over myself, but I reserve the right to be my harshest critic. Its not bad, if I sit back and look at it objectively, but I know there's room for improvement. Maybe on my next lamp. *g*

Finally, and this may be a re-run, I started some official hockey certifications with the Ontario Minor Hockey Association. I'm volunteering again this season for The Boy's team but I'm getting some of the paperwork to go along with it. I won't be a coach, but I'll get my trainer certification. If I knew TB was playing longer I'd consider the coaching cert, but I don't see that happening.

In unrelated happenings, I finally made my Blog Jesus debut.

That's the news that is the news, gang. Keep those comments coming!

Will I still be hungry in an hour?

I'm sure this isn't a unique thing, but whenever I go for Chinese food, I try to have a little fun with the fortune cookies.

I was introduced to this game when out for a big meet&greet buffet with other singles from this dating site I was on years ago. Once everyone got their fortune cookie, they were to read it aloud but add the words "in bed" afterwards. With a bunch of flirty and undersexed adults, this is an amusing experience.

DW and I took The Wondertwins out to the Buffet place for dinner last night. She and I usually do this game even if the kids are around, but we keep it to ourselves.

Sometimes, though, ya just get lucky. (Danikabur and Larry should get a chuckle out of this)

My fortune: "There is a prospect of a thrilling time ahead of you."

*grin*

How can we miss you when you won't go away?

Another example of athletic retirement stupidity.

If you're gonna retire at the top of your game, then stay away when you go away. He's been gone, what, like a month? Two? Now he's thinking "comeback"??

Someone please explain this to me...

Exodus

I am definitely taking an earlier train today. Much madness ensued at work over a potential deliverable oversight that was quickly resolved. However, that madness kept me away (yet again) from one of my big-ass deliverables (B.A.D.)

So I will (yet again) take my laptop home and do some work on this beast. Our in-house spin types approved my "brand" concept for the above B.A.D. but with a few caveats. I should be able to work around them, creative bastard that I am.

This weekend is football weekend. 8 of the 9 teams will be playing their Labour Day Classics (BC gets a bye week) and all 4 games look to be really good ones...as these rivalries usually are. DW and I will probably do something fun for the kiddies on that day since we can't get to the Toronto-Hamilton game.

I think I am slowly grasping the subtleties of SuDoku, at least, the beginner/easy ones. Its not a bad way to exercise my mind when I don't have anything to read on the daily commute.

Later, gang!

Truth in Advertising, New Orleans style

You gotta admit...when it comes to anti-looting, the guy has style

Good grief

Its September, already.

Wow....