10 Good Things That Can Come From a Miscarriage* By Penny

1. I can now drink my way through Christmas, New Year's and, most
likely, our vacation at the end of January.

2. My pants are fitting again.

3. Meat no longer seems like the only food group, and chocolate is
actually tasty again.

4. I am not consistently, horribly and ridiculously exhausted.

5. I was allowed to take large doses of codeine for about six days.
Groovy...

6. We get to "try again".

7. Two weeks off of work that don't count as my vacation.

8. I can take Advil when I have a headache.

9. Hot, hot, HOT baths are no longer verboten.

And finally....

10. My hormones are back in order, which means sex on a very regular
basis. Can I get a "Hell, yeah?"

*Because I have to find humour in it... that's just they way I am

And just like that...

Maybe I should re-visit that lesson about the counting of the chickens.

The ultrasound on Thursday revealed that the pregnancy didn't take the way
it was supposed to. There's lots of medical jargon involved and no blame
to be assigned to people or situations but it doesn't ease the pain by any
means.

My heart hurts...

Life is Good

Yes indeed, I am alive, so life is good.

Life is good for a few reasons. They are (not necessarily in any order of importance):

- Work is good. I have been transferred to the Human Resources department at work. One of my friends, Big Guy, said "well, that makes you one of the few people actually qualified to work in that department!" I'm not quite as sure of that as he is, but there is a new Veep in there and there's a definite new direction in the place. I have a major new project to follow on the much-delayed launch of the learning management system. So, that's good.

- Sports are (mostly) good. With the exception of the game I played on Thursday, hockey has been pretty good. The Leafs, bah, well, the less said about that the better. The Argonauts, on the other hand, just clinched first place in the East and they host the East final. Toronto also hosts the Grey Cup this year, so that's gonna be great, cuz Penny and I are going. Hopefully the Argos will be there too. (BTW, Jones...yon erstwhile Michael Bishop is 10-1 in his last 11 games as the starter. Passed for 328 yards today and really, really looked good. He's finally matured as a QB. Penny hasn't felt the need this season to do her "Bull Durham" call, screaming as he dances in the pocket, "Don't think, Meat! Just THROW!!!") So, that's good.

- School is good. I am sporting a 4.04 GPA and I'm on my second-last course of my MA. The last course finishes in Feb and I have only my major project to do, which is due in the middle of June. I can't believe the program is almost done, but I gotta say I'm looking forward to having it all finished and reclaiming some much-neglected parts of my life. So, that's good.

- Life elsewhere is good. I retained some of my Army-honed skills in time management and I have listened to my Darling Wife's reminders about remembering to take time for me in the midst of school deadlines and work madness. I would also say that my sense of timing is damn near impeccable.

Why, I hear Jones asking?

My MA project is due June 13.

Ten days after that, so is Penny.

Life, as they say, is good.

From Penny: This is not a hostile takeover...

I assure you that Mossy not only knows I'm in here, but has also given
me permission to be here...

(man, it's dusty... *koff, koff*)

Just though I'd drop in and let you know that we are both well and
things are fine.

I deleted the blog simply because I had nothing to say. I'd feel the
obligation to write, but my mind was a tabula rasa. I had bupkis.

Mossy has been very busy with school and, I'm proud to say, has been
kicking ass! He has, in draft, a post about a friend's 40th birthday
party which we attended, wherein ...well, I'll let him tell it when he
gets around to it.

We seem to both hang out on Facebook now more than anywhere else (well,
Toronto DOES have the world's largest Facebook community...we couldn't
NOT be part of it, huh?), so you can always try to find us there.

Hope all is well. Keep in touch!

Penny

PS Does *anyone* know where Kal is?

Things & Stuff

Just sitting here on a quiet and somewhat chilly Saturday. Penny's nephew, D, is getting married this afternoon, so she's out getting her hair done, and then she will come home to get The Girl's hair done. The Boy and I will go out to get the appropriate pre-wedding trim.

I'm back from a quick trip to Victoria where I was on a short e-learning course, and I got to see some of my school classmates, which was a nice treat.

Other than that, no major news on my end. Hope the remaining readers are well wherever they are....

May Day Musings

Hello, remaining readers and RSS feed junkies.

A whole month and no Mossy tidbits? Frankly, I dunno what came over me.

Actually, I do. A couple of things, really. First, I didn't really have much to say...so I decided not to say anything until I had something to say. Second, grad school really consumed a lot of my writing energies, and therefore, the blog got short shrift. Finally, I came down with a new internet addiction. I won't tell you specifically what it is, but it rhymes with "Ace Cook".

Anyway, there are a few updates from Mossy-land.

First, school continues to go well. I'm hoping for my latest marks soon from course 5 (of 10). I *might* just keep my "A" average if all goes well.

Second, the gym has been a real plus. Wesley Crusher has me just humming along. I notice a real difference in my chest and my arms now. (I'm not buff, but I'm getting there)

Third, I recently celebrated a birthday. My amazing wife, Penny, threw me a BBQ bash this weekend. I am another year older on the calendar, but I don't feel it and I'm pretty sure I don't look it. Penny says my grey hair makes me sexier.

I won't argue with that. :P

So, that's the news thus far. Hope all my linked friends are well...

Laid out, and not in the Good Way

Well, I think Wesley Crusher (pls see Penny's blog for details) finally managed to get me to my "enough" point. At least we know when this kind of thing happens, he doesn't mess around.

DW and I were at the gym yesterday working with Mr. Crusher and he moved us from the weights into the fitness studio to do some core work. We did some speed squats and some ab exercises, and then he got us into "Chops". What happens is this: you position yourself like you're chopping wood. Full range of motions, altering the direction of chop...left, right, left, right...down, then straight up....down the other side...straight up...down the other side. I got through one set no problem.

Second set....not so much. I felt something particularly nasty in my lower back on the left side. Not like my usual back discomfort (which I know so well) but something different.

Needless to say, my workout was over.

I spent the rest of the night laid out with what I figure is a pulled muscle. Thanks to a well-stocked medicine cabinet, I am suitably drugged with high doses of Naproxen and Tylenol 3. However, I am not exactly loving my invalid status. So I'm hoping I'll be mobile for work but at this point its not looking good. Penny, Biff love her, has been looking after me and worrying about me. She is, at this very moment, snoozing on the other side of the bed. She didn't get a lot of sleep lat night because I was stuck on my back (read: snoring away) and from spousal worry.

Yep...this is why I married her. She worries about me.

So, courtesy of the joys of wireless routers, I am here upstairs with my laptop and staying connected to the outside world.

That's not a Calf, that's a Cow!

As my remaining readers know, Penny and I have been active at the gym with our trainer, young Wesley Crusher. Because we had just finished another 12 sessions with him, it was measurement day yesterday.

Now, I had made a significant drop in my body fat percentage and achieved some "inches" loss last time, so I was interested to see where we were this time around. As Wes warned us, we might actually lose inches, but we'd appear to be bigger because of better muscle definition, etc. So I was okay with that. I have no interest in achieving a bodybuilder-type look, but some better overall tone is certainly what I'm hoping for.

While the upper body still needs some work (although my biceps, shoulders and lats are coming along nicely) my legs are no problem. They get lots of work in hockey and they developed nicely in the Army, and when I was lifting weights regularly years ago.

Wes did all the measurements and then go to the calf. When I got started with all this, my calf muscles were at 16¾". After dropping the fat, they went down to 16¼". This is good!. Yesterday? After 12 more sessions?

Seventeen. Freakin. Inches.

Holy crap! That's bigger than my neck!(16½")

It brought to mind an observation from an old Army buddy of mine. We were out for morning PT one day in the late spring. It was nice & warm and shorts were definitely the order of the day. Wally was running behind me on this trek and when we were abck at the Armoury doing stretches and ab work afterwards he remarked, "Geezus, [Stone], those aren't calves...those
are COWS...they're f**king huge!"

So, there I am. Walking around with heifers below my knees.

Do with that what you will.

Open Letter Day

(To the previous owner of my House)

Dear Dipshit:

I'm honestly not sure whether I should be filled with pity for you, or filled with a desire to see you tied to a stake and stoned for general nincompoopery...probably the most critical mental coin toss in human history. But late yesterday afternoon, I was definitely looking for a suitable post hole digger.

To wit: I was removing and replacing a couple of the dreadful light fixtures you yourself had replaced (leaving lovely paint gaps, too) and I saw where you had some trouble with one of the mounting screws. You know...the ones which screw upwards into the utility box to, you know, HOLD the light in place? Yeah. That one. Wanna know how I know you had trouble?

Picture it. There I was. No shit. Standing on my mini scaffold bench. All set to install the new hanging fixture my bride liked so much. Could I hang it correctly? Nope. No chance. Your trouble spot? Staring me in the eyes, laddy-buck. That screw hole? Stripped. Not a thread remaining. Imagine how I looked as I managed to effortlessly push that #10 machine screw through the hole with noooooooooo effort whatsoever.

Kinda defeats the whole purpose, don't it? I mean, I can't hang a light fixure with one screw, can I? (although, judging from the previous light, you managed to....how it stayed up is a puzzle for household physicists everywhere.)

Anyway, Mr. Braintrust, in whatever home you own now, if you fuck up and strip the screwhole in a junction box, suck it up and replace it! Don't leave the next poor bastard to figure out how to do so on his own. Although, in your defence, I'm not sure how we could have removed that puppy without removing six square feet of drywall. (I will forward you a copy of my letter to subdivision homebuilders; subject: Consideration of replacability of basic outlets and junction boxes as installed by fuckwitted builders to save the asses of competent DIY-ers who discover your fuckups. Like, seriously, dudes...why did you screw it in from the TOP as well as from the sides?)

I recognize that you're the same mental pigmy who couldn't install drywall if your very life depended on it, not that *that* little hurdle seemed to slow you down, if the basement is any indication.

Anyway dude, seriously, don't try any renovations in the new place, ok? You're more a danger to yourself than others.

Cheers,

Mossy.

----------------------

(To Hampton Bay lighting, the designers of my new kitchen hanging light fixture)

Dear Cocksuckers:

I recently had the indescribable pleasure of installing your Model ****** 5-light hanging fixture in my kitchen. After coming up with an innovative solution to a stripped screw fitting I struggled to hang your light properly. You see, you provided this wonderful diagram of the components of the fixture, but you were a little skosh on the best way to install that bad boy. I mean, it's all well and good to tell us how the componends go together, but if one follows the instructions to the letter, one winds up with a brutally twisted mass of cables as the fixture threads onto the centre screw. This little glitch triggered much consternation in my bride, and no short of questioning of your collective parentage and brain power on my part.

I was going to give you some detailed instructions on how to sort out your diagram, but I'm pretty sure you wouldn't understand them. After all, its MAKES SENSE to do it my way. Besides, I'm not sure I can adequately detail the physical contortions required, nor can I articulate the marital care and handling instructions needed, because this little gem can put marriages in jeopardy (not ours, of course....we're well-hardened to these little frustrations, havign survived the installation of new laminate flooring, tile flooring, bedroom painting, storm doors, drywall installation, and wallpaper borders...all with nary a bad word.)

Anyway, folks. Get some REAL DIY-ers in there to try installing it from scratch and see what you can do about those instructions, k? Otherwise, you're gonna have some real goat-fucked lamps out there with YOUR name on them.

Lotsa love,

Mossy

RIP Brad Delp

Wow. As much as some people were stunned by the death of Steve Irwin, I'm floored by this one.

Brad, for those of you who might not know, was the lead singer of Boston. He had a clear, resilient tenor voice and had a lasting effect on 70's and 80's music.

No real details yet, but he was apparently home alone at the time. He was only 55.

Now I'm sad...

I don't care about indecision
I don't care if I get behind
People living in competition
All I want is to have my peace of mind....

Incumbent Idiocy - a Language Rant

I freely admit that I'm not a master of the English language, but I do know errors when I see them. I got a big kick, for instance, from the book "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" which pointed out some egregious uses of language and punctuation, particularly by people who should really know better.

Penny and I have had all sorts of "WTF are they thinking?" exchanges when we see commas being used in the wrong places, and so on. Do NOT get me started on the shameful way in which the apostrophe is used as a mistaken pluralizer. However, there's one particular attempt at erudition which totally drives me bananas.

As some of you may know, I'm doing a relatively subtle job search at the moment. I'm not screamingly anxious to leave my current employer but I've got enough uncertainty about corporate direction that it seems prudent to hedge my bets. Needless to say I've been looking at a lot of job ads.

Now, let's have a nice big show of hands. How many of you have seen job ads where they say something like, "the incumbent will possess the following skills..."?

Let's see those hands?! Right? Most of you? Okay. That's what I thought.

One little problem with that little phrase:

It's WRONG.

Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong.

"You! Jones! You're the political whiz...so what does 'incumbent' mean? Stand up, boy!"

[Jones puts down his barely-disguised collection of nudie pics with Penny's face pasted over them, blushes, adjusts himself, and responds - squirming]

J: "Um, sir, I'd really rather not"

[nauseated] "Fine, Jones. I think it's probably better that you sit."

J: "Thank you, sir."

"Now, Jones. What does 'incumbent' mean?"

[Puppy-like excitement] "Oh, yes sir! Incumbent! Eye, Enn, See..."

"JONES!!!"

J: "Sir?"

"What does it mean?"

J: "Oh, yes sir. Sorry, sir. Incumbent. Yes. That's when someone is already in political office. For example, our incumbent governor of Massholeachussets is..."

"Yes, yes, yes, Jones. Enough with the showing off. You're correct. 'Incumbent', when referring to an individual, means the current holder of an office. Now go back to what you were doing and let me finish my story."

J: "Yes, Sir. Thank you, Mr. Stone, sir."

"Oh, and, Jones?"

J: "Sir?"

"Wash your hands before lunch"

J: [Blushing] "Yes, sir."

So, class, we know what incumbent is, but why, why, why, for the love of Biff, why do employers insist on using the word as a replacement for "the successful candidate" or "the incoming *position name*"? Do they not realize how stupid they look to someone who actually knows? Do they really, really, really think that we are so stupid that... [pause]

"Jones! Put your hand down. That was a rhetorical question!"

Anyway, I don't understand. I truly don't. I sometimes wonder why I would even bother applying to a place which uses such poor language, but you really wouldn't believe who uses it. Companies who whould know better, to be honest. Of course, I guess I can't really be picky, can I? My bigger dilemma is this: do I say anything to the companies? I mean, I don't want to get an immediate reputation as a smartass know-it-all in the interview phase. I'd prefer it to develop naturally after I'm hired!

Since it was really incumbent upon me (another acceptable use of the word, referring to a sense of duty) to point this misuse and abuse out to you, I urge you all to watch for such language crimes wherever you go.

"Jones!"

J: "Sir?!"

"You may come up and clean off the brushes while the rest of the class is at recess. You won't have to worry about being beaten up by the girls this time."

J: [relieved] "Thank you, sir!"

Persistence of Dubious Celebrity

I've never been someone enamoured by celebrity culture. Sure, every once
in a while its interesting to open an eyelid and see what folly takes
place, but its usually just a yawn at best.

Of course, there are a few little things that catch your eye...sorta like
a really ugly person wearing something far too revealing or a car crash.

I admire the Associated Press' decision to stop reporting anything about a
certain wayward hotel heiress. For once, I think the media clued in that
there was little value in following her every move and that the world did,
indeed continue without the endless check-in on her antics.

Then there's the circus around a certain late pneumatic blonde Bahama
Mama. In and of itself it was defintely an interesting study in humanity
and I'm sure there's years worth of fodder for the tabloids. Then there's
the madness surrounding the paternity of her toddler.

...which brings me to the latest outrageous media whoring comment from a
certain former football star and Bronco racer. He, too, waded into the
fray with a suggestion about his own likelihood for paternity of said
child...."if he did it", of course. Now, if anyone has seen pictures of
the mite, they know that the likelihood of this particular glove-wearing,
Cato-loving dingbat are exceedingly remote....right up there with the
chances of me being named Pope.

I wonder what an alien species would make of all this? Sometimes
journalism really aims for the lowest common denominator in smut and
attempts to titilate us with the latest escapades. With a few notable
exceptions, most of these so-called celebs have contributed sweet jack to
the betterment of society and have likely helped to contributre to the
wholesale raping of our better judgement in picking up some rag and
reading it. Fortunately, they are demonstrating some ecological
consideration by ensuring their antics get thrust at us via the Internet
which, of course, is made from 100% recycled post-consumer electrons.

However, my favourite celebrity will remain "Global Despot-in-training"
Kal Jones. Although, I think he's in grave danger of believing his own
propaganda. Don't believe me? Go check his latest campaign
bumpersticker.

[rant off...for now] ;-)

Book Meme

In the list of books below, bold the ones you’ve read, italicize the ones you want to read, cross out the ones you won’t touch with a ten-foot pole, put a cross (+) in front of the ones on your book shelf, and asterisk (*) the ones you’ve never heard of.

1. +The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee) Gr. 10 English. We read the book and watched the movie.
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L. M. Montgomery) It's been done to death up here.
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. *A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. +Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. +Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. +Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden) Saw the movie...close enough
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban(Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. +The Hobbit (Tolkien) More Gr. 10 English. And I've seen a stage play.
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J. D. Salinger) Gr. 13 English. A singularly depressing book.
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. *The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams) All 5 parts of the Trilogy, too.
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis) Read other parts of the series, but not this one.
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert) Too verbose for me. Neat movie, though.
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell) I read this in Gr. 11 in 1984!
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett) Loved this book. Absolutely loved it.
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. *The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. *The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. *The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. Bible - not ALL of it, but a lot of it (yeah, yeah, I know...but it's true).
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver) Got partway through it and gave up. I was hoping for more sex. ;-)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald) Gr. 13 English.
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence) - Grade 11 English. A singularly depressing book.
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough) I prefer her "Masters of Rome" series.
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. *The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview with the Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. +Fifth Business (Robertson Davis) Read it repeatedly but never bothered with the others in the "Deptford Trilogy"
66. *One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller) One serioulsy fucked up book
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery) - and I read it in french, even! Pure hell.
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. *Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. +Shogun (James Clavell) ...and Tai-Pan, and Gai-Jin, and Whirlwind...
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje) Too pretentious for me. I never even saw the movie.
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. *The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On the Voyage (Timothy Findley) I preferred "Famous Last Words"
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. +Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind) I've read most of this series (Sword of Truth) but it just became way too long and drawn out for me, so I gave up.
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down (Richard Adams)
87. +Brave New World (Aldous Huxley) - Right after reading 1984
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. *Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S. E. Hinton) - Grade 8 or 9 English...I think 8
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. +The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

This meme is free for anyone who wants it.

Shameless Academic Geekery

Greetings from the second floor of the Stone-Shagwell Manor, where I
currently sit, slaving away at the first assignment for my latest course.
(Okay, so if I'm blogging I'm not, like, totally slaving at it, but you
get the idea, right?)

Anyway, through the kind asupices of my favourite Trini, I am the
temporary keeper of a wireless router. The Manor House has been of the
wired variety of late simply because neither Her Ladyship nor myself
required the freedom of a wireless connection and I admitted to some grave
concerns about security, et al. Our existing router/firewall worked
nicely, so why change?

However, with school work on the go I want the freedom to be almost
anywhere in the house. Of course, I have that freedom with my laptop, but
if I'm sitting comfy somewhere with a paper in progress, I want to be able
to pull up a journal article and keep going. Under the old setup that
meant going to Penny's computer, digging up the article, transferring it
to my USB key and then taking it to wherever the laptop was. Not exactly
how I'd prefer to be spending my writing time.

However, the router is working quite nicely and I am sitting here on the
bed, away from most distractions and hacking away at this silly-ass paper.
Apparently I am not alone among my classmates in a lack of motivation or
interest in getting this one cranked out. Fortunately, its only 2000
words and requiring little research. Thank Biff for reflective
assignments.

I'm sure there's more I could babble about but I've been distracted enough
for the time being and this damn thing ain't gonna write itself. Enjoy
your day wherever you are and whatever/whomever you are doing.

BTW, has Larry fallen off the face of the planet? Did he meet a horrible
fate atthe hands of the Rocky Mountain Yeti while skiing??

Since everyone else is doing it...

A little Meme-ery for all of you who still read this blog.

Career Inventory Test Results Extroversion 56% Emotional Stability 60% Orderliness 53% Altruism 66% Inquisitiveness 56% You are a Persuader, possible professions include - entertainer, recruiter, artist, newscaster, writer/journalist, recreation director, librarian, facilitator, politician, psychologist, housing director, career counselor, sales trainer, travel agent, program designer, corporate/team trainer, child welfare worker, social worker (elderly services), interpreter/translator, occupational therapist, executive

Take Free Career Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

Kal? You? Clergy? *snicker, snort, skoff*

Z is for Zonked

I am definitely zonked. So is Penny, I suspect, but I know I am for sure.
Apparently the price we paid for winding up in 6th place on Mondays
nights is a schedule which both sucks and blows. Our game times are 9:00,
10:00 or 10:30. Of course, last night was 10:30. This means I don't get
back until well after midnight and I'm too wired to get to sleep right
away. Monday night, Morpheus was somewhat elusive and I wasn't asleep and
settled until well after 4.

Of course, that was when Penny had to get up. 4AM, you say? Yes indeed.
Oh Four Hundred. She was going in to work for 5, instead of 9:00. She
wrote about the whole fiasco on her blgo so I won't repeat myself.

And, of course, I had my own session booked with Wesley Crusher last
night, but I was sufficiently wiped that I left work early to try and get
at least a little sleep...because being punchy and unfocused is NOT a good
thing when working with free weights. The fatigue fallout spilled over to
this morning when I was at a complete loss as to the location of my keys.
Penny and I tried to get that sorted out while figuring out car logistics
for our back-to-back slots at the gym...and then I promptly left the house
without feeding or pilling the cat.

Its gonna be one of those weeks.

And there you have it. 26 spellbinding and gripping posts...all for your
reading and soporific pleasure!

(Psst...if you hate the whole thing, blame Steph...it was her idea.)

Y is for Yowza! (and some other stuff)

Y is for Yowza! I know you're probably sick to death of me babbling on about how amazing my DW is, but this time, She really is!

I was a bad husband and I cheerfully ignored her advice about not buying her anything for our anniversary, and I got her a lovely pendant of amber, all done in silver. So she threatened told me NOT to get her anything for Valentine's day but that she was going to get me something. (I believe her exact words were "when you see this, you're gonna shit!)

Fully prepared for a spontaneous bowel evacuation, I received her gleeful news that the gift had arrived on time in spite of the bad weather. So, after picking me up at the gym, she brought me home to show off the gift.

Here's what she got me. (Cricket, now I don't have to covet yours....)

This thing totally rocks! And, of course, I have the best wife ever. I can also say that this entire post was generated using the gizmo. (I am such a geek.)

(Not without some errors, of course. The last bit in parentheses translated as (Yamauchi a geek)

"Yowza" also describes the wholly undeserved 20/20 I received on the final assignment for my most recent course. Guess I'll have to deal with the A+

"Y" is also for "yuck", which describes my play tonight. *sigh*

"Y" is for "Y am I so hungry?" Oh yeah, I didn't eat dinner yet. Guess the dinner bell tolls for me.

X is for X-traordinary

Hello to my remaining readers. Yes I know I've been gone a little while, but I had assignments due for school and a lovely vacation with my wife of now just over two years. No, I can't promise to post more frequently, but I do promise to keep posting. (Yes, Kal, that does mean you'll just have to keep begging, whining, grovelling & pleading fighting for Penny's attentions.)

So we continue with the Alphabet Series.

X is for X-traordinary. (Hey, it works phonetically, so deal with it!)

X-traordinary Tidbit #1 - The Steph blogged! I must say, she doesn't post often anymore but she's always a good read. Especially when she tries a little BUI (Blogging Under the Influence.) She is the step-sib of our friend (and other hopeful Penny-suck-up-suitor) Larry. Penny told me that Steph finally did a 100 Things list. I can't wait to sit down and enjoy it. Bring a snack, folks, because you might be a while.

X-traordinary Tidbit #2 - (TMI Warning!) Nature's cycles being what they are, Penny and I nearly wound up being bereft of travel sex on two consecutive trips. We didn't really plan it that way, but fate's a cruel diva when she wants to be. We accept these little potholes on the road of life and deal with them. Fortunately, Penny does maintain an even keel about it but every once in a while, the mask slips and her frustrations show. At one point, we were in the kitchen, getting some things for an afternoon meal and I gave her a hug and a little nuzzle of the neck. She grabbed me and whispered harshly in my ear, "Damnit, don't DO that to me or Mother Nature be damned, I will throw you on the floor and take you.right.here." Yep, this is why I married her, folks. For those of you who aren't completely turned off and still wondering, the stars did align and we managed to 'reconnect' in time for Anniversary #2.)

X-traordinary Tidbit #3 - My Awesome Wife. 'nuff said.

X-traordinary Tidbit #4 - Penny and I have been working very hard of late to, as we say, "cast smaller shadows." This involves some radical changes to our diet and eating habits (such as they were) and making trips to the gym. We've actually done quite well, but vacations tend to be a little hard on us, especially when her mother's cooking/hospitality is involved. My MiL is a wonderful woman and always makes sure her guests want for nothing. In true East Coast fashion, that includes copious amounts of food. Amazingly enough, we stayed very true to our plans and intake and probably managed to lose a little while we were down there and even walked about 7km almost every day. So, yay, us!

X-traordinary Tidbit #5 - Pan's Labyrinth is a freakin weird movie. Visually impressive and an amazing tale, but weird. Experience it for yourself.

X-traordinary Tidbit #6 - I've missed regular blogging. I really have, honest. School has me writing a lot (assignments, notes and discussion forum contributions) so some of my writing energies are drained, but I miss the simple, life-based pleasures of the blog. Unbelievably, this particular blog has been running for two years and its been a great trip so far. Blogs as a whole are becoming pretty mainstream and I'm curious to see the evolution.

X-traordinary Tidbit #7 - That would be all of you who still read this stuff every so often. I'm glad you're all still around. You regulars and lurkers rock.

W is for...

Winter. It finally decided to arrive in our part of the world. A little late and with some mixed signals about its intentions, but its definitely here. Despite growing up in north-eastern Ontario I loathe winter. Especially in the city. All the prettiness of a northern winter with its snow-covered trees and unspoiled white vistas is pretty much shot to hell with the slushy, dirty mass that an urban winter becomes. Add bonehead drivers to the mix and the aesthetic appeal is rapidly lost. I'm one of these Canadian weirdos who actually likes playing hockey in the summertime. I like going to the rink in shorts & sandals.

W is also for WOW. There was a news article recently out of that little quagmire known as Afghanistan. In any conflict there are tales of bravery and heroism which stagger the imagination (e.g. Robert Lawrence MC, late of the Scots Guards and his actions at Tumbledown Mountain in the Falkland Islands in 1982). I'm not under any illusions about the brutality of warfare, but the stories that emerge are aften uplifting. I cannot do justice to this tale, suffice it to say my admiration for these 4 Royal Marines knows no bounds. Wow, indeed.

Finally, and most importantly,

W is for Wife. My amazing one, to be specific. (Yeah I know...I talk about her lots in this alphabet series, but she deserves it.) I love her to bits and I can't imagine life without her. 'juff said. We've known each other for almost 5 yrs now and been married for nearly 2. Most amazing time of my life. :)

V is for Various

Yes, this is a belated and somewhat eclectic post, but it will have to
suffice.

V is for Victory...something my hockey teams and the Maple Leafs have been
lacking of late. No, I still don't want to talk about Monday night's
game. ;-)

V is for Vengeance, referring to the recent execution of the favourite son
of Tikrit. Although...I have to say I'm a little surprised they didn't
keep him around for his subsequent trials. Yes, I know he was guilty as
all hell, but due process is due process.

V is for Voluntary...Penny and I have finally bitten the bullet and
decided to do the gym thing. Neither one of us can really say, "oh, its
just happy fat" anymore and with the big 4-oh looming for me in '08, I
know that hockey just won't do the trick for me. So we started a little
while ago with a realistic plan for increased activity and a little
culinary/dietary balance.

V is for Victim...a while back, Toronto Police took the unprecedented step
of publishing a highly sanitized photo of a child sex abuse victim in
order to identify the location and eventual identity of her abuser.
Amazingly enough, they accomplished both ends (with the cooperation of
thise FBI folks down south). The victim, now 14, has since willingly
abandoned her anonymity and has made victim impact statements available to
courts where the accused possess pictures or movies of her. While her
abuse took place in the US, this kind of sickness truly knows no
borders...and a former Air Canada flight attendant here in The Big Smoke
is at the end of her trial. Victim she may be, but she's one brave little
girl.

Finally, I know it has been a while. School and work have chewed up a lot
of my time, so my posting frequency is likely to be somewhat diminished.
Sadly it looks as though a number of my favourite reads are slowly falling
away.

So, for all of my delays....V is for apology. Did you know that?

Vi vapologise. ;-)