..that for the past couple of days I haven't really had anything significant to say.
Yeah, stuff's been happening (cuz life does that, ya know) but I didn't know whether or not I should/could say anything about it.
However, would like to state for the record that my DW is awesome.
Just cuz.
For agreeing with the sentiment in this article?
All I need is for a seal hunt protester to be rescued from a swamped zodiac by a hunter and the cycle would be complete.
So, maybe its not really good-bye? You know...they say you can never go home again, but in this case I believe it's possible. I mean, we've been together for a while now. We've shared, seen, and experienced so much.
It was a tough decision.
But, maybe its time to try a different direction for a while. A little while. You know. A change is as good as a rest, isn't it. DW was happy with my decision. In fact she has been encouraging me for a while. After a lot of reflection, I looked at myself in the mirror and decided that maybe it was time to try moving on.
My decision made, there's always a sense of trepidation about the new...the unknown...and what things were like before, but I still think I've made the right call. I did this once before under different circumstances, and I eventually came back to where I knew I belonged. So, you see, it's not forever.
Those of you who knew me as I was might still recognize me in my new guise, and those who see me now might never know what was.
And so it goes.
(What? oh, for heaven's sake....NO I'm not quitting the blog, you dunderheads. I shaved off my goatee.)
*sheesh*
I managed to make it into work today.
No stupid, if you write it like that, it sounds like you're El Cid, propped up on your horse in the middle of your final battle...
I decided to go to work today.
No, stupid, then it sounds like you deigned to grace your employer with your presence...
*drums fingers on desk*
Well, however it happened, I'm at work. I'm feeling better than I was earlier in the week, but still not 100%. DW was apparently right about me having a stomach bug of some kind because my symptoms are looking that way. I decided to forego hockey last night because I simply didn't feel I'd be up to it (a rare admission for me where hockey is concerned.)
On the good news front, my admission package for Royal Roads is going in the mail in about half an hour. Then, as I mentioned to Kal in a recent exchange, "I get to spend the next 6 weeks tossing chickens into the volcano in an attempt to appease the gods." Needless to say, we're pulling for one another on the Grad School front.
Also in Good News is the fact that my brother-in-law and I will have the chance to replace the oil pan on the Mighty Intrepid on Sunday. I might even take pictures, just for laffs. The timing is really good because, well, I was due for an oil change anyway, and Penny and I have a trip to make Mon-Tues and I'll feel better about driving with the pan replaced. The Wondertwins are also off for a 3-day school trip on Monday....everything comes together at just the right time. *grin*
On the more distressing front is the fact that The Maple Loafs most likely played themselves out of the Playoffs last night with an ugly 5-1 loss to Montreal. The Habs were a critical rival in the race this year and the Buds had to win both parts of the 2-game series last night and Saturday to really make a run for it. Ah well, maybe next year.
Also sad is the current state of the CFL, in the guise of the Ottawa "Don't-Call-Them-Rough-Riders" Renegades. The League is scrambling to find new owners since the Glieberguys redux seems to have generated more of the same fan apathy that they had the last time they owned a sports franchise in Ottawa, to say nothing of their efforts in Shreveport. For the League's sake, I hope they sort this shit out in Ottawa soonest.
On that note, I trust all of you are having a good Friday.
let the comment flood begin!!
For the past two nights sleep has been somewhat elusive. Now, Monday night you'd think I was suitably tired from hockey and would therefore sleep soundly.
No dice.
Fine. I can deal with that. I'll just work from home on Tues and I should be nice and wiped and be ready to face the world on Wed.
Nope.
Once again I find myself watching re-runs of CSI at oh-dark-thirty, wondering why the sleep isn't coming. TV is usually the Rx for my sleepessness.
Not this time.
I finally drag my ass to bed at 3AM, and then Shadow the Howler starts up downstairs. I suspect it was 3:30 or later when I finally got unconscious. You can imagine how thrilled I was when the alarm went off this morning.
So, Penny convinced me to stay home because I'd basically be useless, so there was no point in going to work just for that when I can be useless at home, right?. (ed. note: that's my own spin on the logic, not her arguments in support of the suggestion.)
I did manage to get a little sleep and Penny called around 10:45 to make sure I didn't completely sleep the day away and mess myself up for tonight.
I've had some tea, I've had a bagel, I got dressed, I tidied a few things upstairs and I'm contemplating facing some of my now-encroaching deadlines.
But I still feel like shit...
We did our best but still came up a bit short. We lost the "A" final 2-1. Since I'm still "looking for the small victories" from that, I can say that a) it took us being down 2 guys late in the 3rd for them to score the winner, and b) it wasn't because of some spectacular goaltending collapse on my part.
The team that beat us finished in first place during the regular season and for us to finish 5th and still be in the "A" final is pretty good.
I'll definitely miss playing with this particular team. We had a really good draft of guys and the league as a whole was well-balanced. So I'm down to at least 2 more games before my seasonal hiatus. Looks like I'll only be playing once per week over the summer, but I might get the occasional pickup game in.
And so the day goes on...
Toronto, for all of its charms, has a really odd sense of self when it comes to history.
We're a city of some significant happenings over the years, yet we often seem to tear down these reminders under the poorly-labeled banner of "progress."
I would be the last guy to say that we should not move forward or modernize, but with other major cities in North America seemingly able to embrace and intergrate their pasts, why can't we?
I can hear you all now..."Okay, Mossy...why the rant?"
I got somewhat irked by this article from the Red Star of Toronto. Much of my impression of cities comes from the architecture. I absolutely love the architectural wonders in places like New York and San Francisco. Its impossible to ignore all the history in the French Quarter in New Orleans. Even Montreal and Quebec City haven't forgotten their own history when it comes to buildings and neighbourhoods.
Toronto?
Not so much.
You really have to look for some of these visual gems when moving through the downtown core and I'm saddened by the loss of yet another piece of our history, all for the sake of another waterfront condo abomination.
A gruesome loss last night for the Steve's Painting crew. Not quite what we wanted to achieve.
*ugh*
However, today is another day and I'm actually in a surprisingly good mood. It's a sunny day, albeit chilly. My usual morning routine took far less time than usual and all the green lights were with me as I was able to get out and get the earlier train. I managed to find a spot in the closer parking lot at the train station, saving me a somewhat lengthy walk.
Ah yes...today, life is good.
I now see some light at the end of the tunnel vis-a-vis my Personal Statement for my MA program application.
Penny put her considerable literary talents to work and we formed our usual "documentation team", me pacing and formulating, and Penny playing scribe and editor/filter, idea goddess.
We made some awesome progress, meaning I *might* just able to meet my target date of Friday for sending my Resume, Statement and References off to Victoria. Of course, I might just be able to find some documents/projects I've worked on to include in the package so that they may better assess the wonder that is me. Um, educationally speaking, that is.
She rocks...she rules. Accept no substitutes. And don't let anyone else tell ya different.
One stoopid misplaced keystroke and I totally lost a very laudatory blog entry...
Fucken blogger....
~fume~
Dude, if you can make this happen at my house you would be such a god.
I dunno...I would have kept my mouth shut for a while.
I hate this...
I'm trying to finish drafting my "Personal Statement" for my Royal Roads application and it's going absolutely, positively nowhere.
It's a deceptively simple task, they say.
Your personal statement should consist of a one or two page letter indicating your motivation for seeking entrance to the program. Your statement should comment upon your personal and career goals, the expectations you have for the program in relation to the achievement of your goals, and the strengths you feel you can bring to the program.
Simple? Bullshit.
For some reason I am having a lot of difficulty trying to articulate how this program works for me.
Apparently "cuz, I really, really want it" won't suffice as a response.
*sigh*
Penny is home with the Wondertwins today, because they apparently get a PA day to begin their March break.
Who knew?
I, on the other hand, elected to head to work to a very, very quiet office to make some feeble attempts to get some work done. I'm having yet another one of those "I've-got-stuff-to-do-but-dunno-where-to-start" days.
Hate that.
The hockey crew from 'Steve's Painting' did not exactly cover themselves in playoff glory last night. (This loss is balancing my hockey karma to ensure that my 4-0-0 streak on Mondays doesn't go to my head.) We lost 3-1 to fall to 0-1-1. I spent much of the post-game time looking for the moral victories. I know we played better against them than we did last time (as I recall, we got a real drubbing) and I felt I played pretty well. DW and The Boy actually came to watch, although I'm sure he's convinced that he's bad luck; every time he comes to see me play my team has lost or someone gets hurt, or some combination thereof.
The Mighty Intrepid has had its tie rod end replaced and all is well with the steering. I do need to tackle that oil pan at some point...sooner rather than later. Fortunately, I found a Mopar parts place close to our nearest Sam's Club and I might see what kind of price they want for an oil pan. Regretfully that will be a messy job, but I'd still rather tackle it myself than to cough up a fiscal kidney for a mechanic. However, I'll really need to get off my ass and check my spark plugs and my air filter. Gotta do something about my rapidly decreasing mileage performance.
*sigh* Still crummy looking weather out there. Its 10°C today and I'm hoping for the 12°C we've been promised for the weekend so I can get the kids' bikes down for them. They'll definitely need adjustments for height and all (to say nothing of air in the tires.)
Have I babbled enough? Have I? Huh? huh?
**SPOILER ALERT - This post contains some rather unfriendly things said abut Unions. If you don't share these particular opinions, consider yourself forewarned.**
My feelings on unions are a matter of blog record. I was a student the last time the faculty of the provincial Colleges went on strike and the experience was no joy at all.
The 9,100 strong academic brain trust is at it again, walking off the job and leaving 150,000 PAYING students in their wake.
"Oh, its not about money", the staff say.
Me: Bullshit. It's always about money.
Them: "Its about class sizes and workload."
Me: Rrriiiiiight. Don't make me go there.
Them: "We want the best for the students."
Me: Oh? Okay, then compensate them for the extra money that many of them may have to spend in food, accommodations and other expenses when you have to extend the school year. Cash or cheque, please.
Gov't of Ontario: "We regret to inform you that tuition will be increasing, following the lifting of a 2-year freeze."
Me: Oh nice. First, the unionista academics fuck the students out of the better part of 4 weeks of their education and THEN the government says they'll get to pay more for the privilege.
(As an aside, my College tuition in 1988-1990 was approx $770 per year. My University tuition was somewhere around $1600-$1800. College now costs about what my University did, and university is now pushing $5000 per year. Holy fuck!)
Since everyone keeps going on and on about how important higher education is, why can't we elect someone with the balls to declare education an essential service, barred by law from strike action??
k. Rant over. I feel better.
Wonder if I can talk Penny into this stone?
 Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com |
Technorati Tag: [tagname]
It's a word cloud.
Thanks to duff for the link. I was all excited to tell Penny about it and she was, as usual, way ahead of me.
All in all, I'm in a better mood today.
We managed a nice 4-0 win last night. My first-ever shutout in that league (although I know it was far more the team's shutout than mine, particularly over the first two periods) and I even managed to pick up an assist in the second period. Not a bad night, all things considered.
Unbelievably, we now have a 4-0-0 record in the playoffs and sole possession of first place overall. I have to say I'm surprised at our record and that the higher-finishing teams from the regular season aren't doing as well. I guess it's true about what they say, "anything can happen in the playoffs."
I have to say I'm enjoying my second season in this league and I'm going to miss this particular team when its all done. One of the downfalls of the pool/draft system they run, I suppose, but its balanced and its a lot of fun.
That's all for the moment. Have a happy!
Technorati Tag: Hockey
Will someone *please* tell me why I have snippets of my high school's fight song running through my head....over and over and over?? Complete with brass band accompaniment, no less...
(To the tune of "Hey, look me over")
Hey, look us over, we'll make it clear
We are the students in search of a career
We play the game that's part of our lives
*unintelligible mental lyrics*
We're the * * * Raiders in Scarlet and Gold, we know we'll do alright
We're the Raiders here we come!
(Shoot me....shoot me NOW)
I'm definitely in a mood today. Actually, I've been in one since Friday. Fortunately, I was smart enough to put it on ice for the bulk of the weekend. It's work-related and I'm not bringing that stuff here.
'nuff said.
Sleep was rather elusive last night. I blame that partly on the tea I had around 7:30 as well as the "ohmigodidontwanttogotoworkanddealwithallthatbullshit" chant running through my head. I cannot blame, however, the cat. I discovered that "Shadow" is apparently from the ancient Sanskrit appellation "she who turns humans into mattresses". Le Chat has been sleeping with Penny and I more and more often. Pretty interesting change for an animal I've had for almost 10yrs. She even followed me downstairs when I slipped out of bed to read. Very challenging to read a book when the 9lb fuzzy, purring lump has her head parked right in front of your chin.
(Side note: I picked up Rich Man, Poor Man and Beggar Man, Thief from the little book trading cart at Penny's parents condo. While sometimes a little dark and depressing, the first book is quite a good read. Very reminiscent of Jeffrey Archer, Pat Conroy and remarkably like Erich Segal.)
We didn't get to the Home Workshop show this weekend. Probably a good thing, in the long run.
We have both wrestled with the state of our front door and its mind-boggling weather-stripping problems. So far, clear duct tape is working nicely, but it makes actualy entry/exit somewhat problematic. The real solution to the whole warped door frame issue is simple: get a new door installed. If that didn't mean a huge outlay of cash, we'd be on it like....like....um...well...insert appropriate metaphor here.
I saw my brother-in-law this weekend for a little maintenance reality check on the Mighty Intrepid. The right front tie rod end definitely needs to be replaced. The good news is that a) the left one does not, and b) the part was cheap to purchase. Now all we need is a relatively mild day so I can get over to his place and get it done. My oil pan, however, definitely needs replacing so I'll have to bite that bullet sooner rather than later. My tires are not as bad as I thought which is a $500.00 load off my shoulders.
So far I think that's it.
Hockey tonight at 10 PM (ick) and we put our 3-0 record on the line.
Subject: Royal Roads - Online Application Confirmation
From: admissions@royalroads.ca
Date: Fri, March 3, 2006 11:22 am
To: Stone, Mossy
Priority: Normal
Mailer: Microsoft CDO for Windows 2000
Royal Roads - Online Application
Thank you Mossy Stone for your interest in Royal Roads University. Your application form has been submitted for processing.
Please keep this confirmation email for your records.
The Confirmation Number for Your Credit Card Payment is : ********
Use the following application reference number for correspondence with Admissions: *****
(I have applied for their Masters' program in Learning & Technology...wish me luck!!)
Sarah's funeral/Life Celebration was actually a beautiful thing. The church was filled to overflowing and her brother-in-law gave a glowing and honest tribute.
I've often said that these sorts of events for older relatives, et al, are often easier to cope with, but losing a peer and a colleague is harder.
There were a few of her former co-workers there, and many others who couldn't attend because word had only just started to get around and they couldn't get away. However, in what we feel is a fitting tribute, a number of us will be getting together in a few weeks' time at our favourite watering hole (and Sarah's, as well) to say our own good-byes.
There's nothing like the right time and the right place for a life celebration. We'll do it in style.
