Mwah ha ha

This is my wallpaper on MySpace for Halloween at the moment... if it isn't Halloween, then it probably won't look exactly the same. It'll change from season to season... my Sherpa will have a little hat come Christmas time. I don't know... it's something a little different.

Well then... Happy Halloween all.

I think the culmination of all these foul moods I've been in have kept me from really embracing the playful spirit of the day. I don't really have anything planned for tonight... 'cept for maybe goin' out and watching the game at the pub. That's about all I've got... but even then... it doesn't really seem to me to be a good idea. It'll be packed, pretty much everywhere, and the game may not even be shown. Who knows?!? I don't really fancy staying around the house to hand out candy or anything... so... meh.

Last night was pretty dead around the house... I cleaned up my room and watched TV all night. That's it. So yeah... that's all I've got today.

Have a fun night, all!

More Snow

Greetings on this Monday morning...

Yeah, that's the shot from Saturday night's concert with the Hip. Man, what a show. Gord & Co. were on top of their game, giving their new album a great treatment and some of their old favourites some air to breathe. It was absolutely astounding how great they were... it was a shame that a lot of the kids there were only really there to smoke weed in public. I mean, it could have been so much louder and so much more exciting if the entire crowd was into it... y'know?

I achieved what I needed and wanted to over the weekend... watched the Canucks game at FATS in Kensington on Friday night. I think I'll go there more often... it is so close to home and they will show the games, if the Flames aren't playing. How sweet is that?!?

Made it to the concert on Saturday... not to mention doing some errands and shopping during the day. It was quite productive.

Sunday was a stay in kind of day... the sky dropped a few inches of snow overnight on Saturday night, so there really was no desire to go anywhere, especially if the roads were going to be shit. So Jen and I hung out for the most part on Sunday.

I did make a few stops over at the Yardhouse... and Ash was still flirting it up with me. Man, that girl just does my head in, y'know. It just continues. Is there no way that she can say that she'll just be friends without flirting?!? How fuckin' confusing. I was beating my head against an invisible wall all day yesterday.

Tomorrow is pay day... and really the start of all sorts of responsibility to be re-instated. I've really got to get this whole thing together so I'm not terribly worried about it anymore. It does drive me nuts... I think I'll try and budget again. Make up an Excel worksheet for all my expenses and such and see if I can start saving money... especially if I wanna go to England next summer.

Friday night, I'll be heading to Kamloops me thinks for Aunt Lynn's wedding. I really gotta start chatting with Tony and Nicole to see how they're doing. I wouldn't mind getting a heads up of what's goin' on down there. I'm not overly keen about a wedding to go to... but whatever. Weddings aren't necessarily my bag... but everyone on Mom's side of the family will be there, so that'll be good... and awkward in some places. It'll be odd to see Sue again... eek. Oh well... I should give Mom a call tonight... just to make sure everything is okay for it all.

All the work that was left over from Friday is pretty much done now. I'm just waiting for the okay on one filing and that's it. I haven't received anything new this morning... so it's been a good morning for updating the pool and now the Tales.

So yeah... that covers most of the things of late. I think I'll leave it at that.

Growing Weary

Man, have I been feeling crappy the last few days.  I'm still having troubles with posting, so I'm doing it now, while I have some free time at work.  Between all the confusion and some of my financial burdens that have arisen, I've really sort of wilted away a bit in my good spirits.  I could really do for a little bit of a pick-me-up.  I've got the Canucks and Capitals game tonight and the Tragically Hip concert tomorrow night... but that still doesn't enthus me enough to really put a smile on my perma-grin on my face.

There have been a couple things over the last couple days that have been alright... did me a little bit of good.  A good night in the pool on Wednesday was quite fulfilling... made for a good chatting point with Marcus here at work and Benny giving me shit on the phone as well.  That was quite good.  Also, I made this killer save on Dieter at floor hockey last night.  A pass across from the corner, Dieter was running in on me and got a shot away going far side... opposite of me coming across to meet him.  I managed to have caught the ball in the corner of my eye and take a stab at it with my glove.  It must have been sweet to see.

Nevertheless... it's still been a bit of a bummed out week.  I'm still confused to no end.  I'm finding that the only real way to beat it back down is to pull a fake smile in public, tell myself that I'm through with the whole idea of finding someone new for the time being and grow out this uber-itchy, patchy beard.  There have been a number of times, I've found myself reflecting to the point of beating my head against something hard... maybe that'll rock my world enough for something to change.  But I know that for as much as it's gonna hurt... it's probably not gonna be as productive as I would like it to be.

Nothing is going to change right away.  I'm still gonna be rather alone... clinging to the last fumes in the tank to keep me going.  My cynicism and pessimism is really starting to get to me these days. 

technorati tags:depression, cynicism, pessimism, alone

Trying It All Again...

You know what... I didn't sleep last night. I did for a bit... but it wasn't what I was hoping for. Kinda shitty. I still got up just fine... although, like most mornings, I would have like to stay in bed just a little bit longer.

Today, I sorted out my student loan situation again... same bank, same problem, different collection agency. Also... sorted out my car insurance for the next year. That'll be in monthly installments. I'm really getting the feeling that the sense of responsibility will have to return to form soon. That kinda sucks...

The day went by a little easier, since I left the office a little earlier than normal to do all that running around. I found I can start up my savings account for my hockey pool online... so I'll do that tomorrow.

Tonight, I just wanna sleep... I don't want to think about Barb or Ash tonight. Easier said than done. But with these quiet nights... it is getting a little bit easier. Easier to write in the evenings, so I think I might try the whole quiet life again. A few cheaper beers... a few less ducats out the door. That'll be a good plan.

The drawing board has well utilized... now it's just gotta be followed.

Quiet Night Thinking

I've had a little bit of a quiet night tonight... and that is always good for getting the hamster going. Especially when I'm goin' to bed... a fairly clear mind, the new Killers album on... I'm thinking a ton at the moment. It's no real surprise to be honest with you... and I'm sure that's the first thing you said when you saw this.

I have been doing pretty well in being a little bit stronger when I'm thinking about Ash and Barb. I've tried to really keep my mind off them and certainly the pool and stuff helps, but not when I'm going to bed... or when I have some time to my thoughts in general. I'm pretty sure that I can keep myself away from Barb... until she has time for me, of course. But when is that going to happen?!? And then there's Ash... I was okay with the little bit of honesty I finally dragged out of her and I was cool with all of that. But when we locked in to watch some movies... granted, she did have a couple drinks in her... and it really could have been the reaction to booze, but she was a harsh flirt. That didn't sit well with me... that's all I need is to be tricked into thinking things that probably aren't true. No one needs that.

So, I'm back to being a little bit more torn... just when the glue was starting to dry. I don't know, I don't feel overly compelled to do anything about anything. Maybe this is the wrong idea... maybe I should chase... but that just doesn't make any sense to me either. It's really that sort of beat your head against the wall kind of feelings... there isn't a simple solution. There's just moving on and waiting for someone else to come along and pay me some attention. I'm guilty of wanting a little attention... and wanting to be rather attentive.

Well, it's good to write this all out now... I know I would just stay up all night thinking how I would write it all out if I didn't turn my laptop on again.

Another Bending Weekend

You know, I'm finding it harder and harder to bring myself to the Tales nowadays. There isn't a great deal going on, per say... but I suppose there will always be stories. I just don't know how or when I'll be able to tell them all. I will try my best to get everything on here... but until that day... you're gonna have to bear with me a little bit.



The three amigos, if you will... this was Friday night. The three of us met up at the Garage in Eau Claire to watch the Canucks and Blues game on the satellite there. It turned out to be quite the night as you probably could tell. I think Gerald really jinxed it when he said he didn't really feel like getting too drunk that night. It's just another one of those sayings that never comes to fruition... kinda like, I'll just go for one. A few beers, a few shots and a few games of pool at the Garage cost us over $200 and then we took a cab over to the Yardhouse and besides the pictures and the stories that I heard, I don't remember a thing. It was just that good. I heard we were all singing at the top of our lungs to every song that came over the stereo and we drank like fishes. What more could you have asked for?!?

Saturday, I felt pretty good despite the night before. I don't think I got up until late, which wasn't too bad either. I'm trying to recall what I did during the day... but I can't quite remember. Ha ha. I know I had gotten up to do the updates and such... Dad had given me a call wondering what was going on with the updates. Just a tad impatient, really. I didn't really get up to too much really during the day. Mom and Dad came into town and I met up with them around 17th Ave SW for a late lunch. Oh yeah... now it's all coming back to me. I wanted to get some blank CDs and get a few pictures developed for Barb. I thought I would make some copies for her of the Immaculate Machine discs and get some copies of the pictures I took at the New Pornographers show. So I went for lunch with the folks, picked up those goodies and then went back home to make those copies. I didn't get a chance to deliver anything before getting together with Chris before heading up to the Gateway to watch the Stills and the Trews. Chris was looking pretty rough... he didn't take the day very well at all. He came up and met me upstairs while I watched Hockey Night In Canada.



The concert was pretty good. The Trews were fucking loud... I mean my ears are still ringing and it's Monday night. It was something. The Stills were pretty good... not a lot of pop from their show, but everyone really seemed to have a good time, so they were doing something right. The opening band for those two was a Vancouver band called Sweetheart. They were okay... the lead singer was trying a little too hard to get the new crowd to join in his energy, but the sound was pretty good. So yeah... it was a pretty good night.

Being as though it was a Molson Canadian Rocks tour event, all they had was Canadian and Canadian Cold Shots for beer... which kind of sucked. I was not really feeling it at all... so that was kind of weak. They did have the big black dude from all the Canadian commercials... I even helped him out win an argument he was having with a couple of girls. That was quite funny.

After the concert, with our ears sounding like a church in the morning, we headed down to the Yardhouse for a couple beers. Chris was exhausted and didn't really want to stay very long. I went in and had one before I got a text message from Gerald saying that he was over at Molly's and wanted me to go over there. So I left Chris, as he was going home anyways, and went over to meet up with them. I sat with Gerald, Krista and a few of their friends for quite a while. Actually we closed down the place that night. It was pretty good. I was again pretty good that night. I didn't spend too much again. Awesome.

Sunday was another late morning for getting up. I had the idea of moving all the empty bottles out, dropping off the stuff for Barb... and find something to eat. I packed up all my bottles in the back of the car and tried to get a hold of Barb. She was busy with her Dad and was going to work, so I decided to just drop it all off while I was out. She wasn't gonna start before I was going to head down there, so after the bottles, I dropped off her stuff and then went and bought a couple plastic containers for bottles.

The rest of the afternoon was hanging out, watching the scoreboard for the only game in the league, so I could have the pool updated. Once the game was done, I planned on taking Gerald's jacket back to him and going for a drink or two. It was pretty dead in the Yardhouse... it was only Jeremy, Ash and Gerald working in there last night. Only a few tables had people at them... so the three of them were always around for a chat. So much so... I stayed for a lot longer than I intended to. A lot longer. I had a bite to eat there as well... and when everyone was gone, I still stuck around. Then it was the four of us watching movies at the bar having a couple... we didn't leave until after 2am. My goodness.

This morning, I didn't get up on time. How shitty. I didn't wake up finally until 8:20am. Shit. It wasn't a big deal. It wasn't too busy... Ernest didn't even notice.

Some Were Grossly Misinformed

The New Pornographers played to a half-full MacEwan Hall last night... which was kind of subdued, but they played... and it was pretty good. It was kind of a shame that the place wasn't any busier, but what can ya do?? They got some of my favourites in... the Bleeding Heart Show was fourth in the list and was marred by some feedback from a microphone on the drum kit... but it was rectified for an excellent version of Bones of an Idol... which sounded great, despte the lack of Neko Case again. The encore, of four songs, were all from Mass Romantic... which are great tunes, including Execution Day and the Slow Decent Into Alcoholism... awesome. What a finish it was. I was really impressed.

There were two opening acts... the first Novillo, Barb and I skipped... choosing a couple drinks instead. I think I had seen them the first time they were around in February. They were alright... a little bit bland in their brand of pop was what I got from the beer garden inside Mac Hall. Fortunately, the other band in front of the headline, Immaculate Machine, was an impressive talent. Kathryn Calder, the female lead in the band, was a highlight for Barb... and then it was pleasant to see her play with the Pornographers in lieu of no Neko. The tunes were so impressive, I bought both of their discs... I'll be sure to get a copy to Barb, because she did enjoy them as well.

powered by frazy.com

I forgot to post this with the new Hip CD on it... so there's the new table with the 2006 purchased CDs. Unfortunately, Frazy does have the other Immaculate Machine CD, Transporter... just Ones and Zeros. I'm giving Transporter a listen right now... I'm really enjoying it.

The evening with Barb... I know you all want to know... that's why you're here right? Where is everyone? Ha ha. I know, this is just gonna be me coming back in due time when I'm reflecting... ha ha. Well, the evening was pretty cool and collected. Barb, the sleep-deprived girl that she is worked a shift during the day and then came and met me afterwards. It's always great to see her and it was good to catch up over a few drinks and such. Neither of us really extended ourselves out too far last night... rightly so, I'd imagine. We talked about everything under the sun again and she was letting me know what she's been up to and I, the same. It was re-assuring that I had already come to the conclusion that I couldn't really pursue her and even after the whole evening had ended I was still pretty sure of it. Even with a few drinks in me. I gotta say... I was pretty impressed with myself about that. I won't make a huge effort to keep in touch... I know I will get her a copy of the Immaculate Machine stuff, but otherwise... I'm not going to try and crack her schedule. Sure I'm interested... but my patience is not that good... we all know that.

It was good to be in around midnight... still the alarm clock woke me up way too early. Ha ha. I put off getting up for as long as possible. Everytime I was sort of ready, I heard Jen milling about and going into the bathroom, so I continued to put it off until I knew she wasn't in there, rather just leaving as it was.

I was out the door nice and early this morning... and thankfully I did. Coming across Deerfoot on Memorial, there was like a four car wreck... a good pile up with a Jeep crunched pretty badly from the rear. It was starting to bunch up the early commuters... when I was driving up Memorial, all the emergency vehicles were passing by. That's another thing... Calgary drivers are so disrespectful to the emergency vehicles. They're almost treated like other drivers... driving to work really quickly with flashing lights. It's not that they're going to rescue the hurt and helpless... rather just as another commuter. How sad.

The Do's and Don'ts for Today

It's Wednesday already?!? My goodness... that's what I get for not posting tomorrow. I really didn't have a lot to go on yesterday... I didn't really think so anyways. Maybe posting every once and a while makes for better posts. Maybe this blogging hobby of mine is taking a turn for the worst. It's really hard to say.

Nevertheless...

The evening hockey games were nail-biting goodness the last couple nights. The Canucks scraping the game at home on Monday, but falling to the Oilers in Edmonton last night. It was all good fun.

Chris and I made it to the Yardhouse for both games. Ash was about both nights... as a patron on Monday and working last night. Monday, I really didn't give her much notice... she came in for a drink with some of her and Sarah's friends, but I paid no notice until she tapped me on the shoulder to say hello. Even then, it was very minimal attention. So much so, Chris was actually pretty impressed. Last night, it was much of the same... even though she took our table away from Sabrina, who was serving us after we moved to a table with a bigger TV. As much as I don't care for Sabrina, I would have thought it would have been an easier night to deal with her and her Oiler ramblings than to try and ignore Ash. Anyways... the night wasn't too terrible. Chris and I weren't drinking too quickly... I still managed to have four, thanks mostly to Matt who was betting on career information about Trevor Linden. I mean, I'm sitting there wearing my Canucks white jersey with Linden on the back and Matt drummed up the idea of betting me that Linden had over 100 points one season. 'Do you wanna bet?' he asked me. I didn't even hesitate to say yes... ha ha... so we bet a beer and within 10 minutes, I had another one sitting in front of me. Silly Matt.

So really, by the end of it all... I did feel kind of bad for trying to ignore Ash. It's not that I didn't like her anymore, it was more of a fact that I had to hear the news from Gerald that she wasn't interested and she'd continue to lead me on, if I wasn't aware of this. So I actually felt determined to call her on it... I had to. I had to really work it out of my mind that I wasn't going to really stand for it. So, I wrote her a text message... as that would be the proper way of communication with her... saying pretty much what I've said in this paragraph already. She actually wrote back fairly quickly, as I would have thought she'd still been working... Chris and I pretty much left right after the game, so it was still pretty early. She apologized about the whole thing, citing her situation needs to be better and stuff... which I had promptly replied that we all have problems and such... but whatever. I wasn't going to make a big deal about it all... rather just profess some profound saying and let it go with that.

'Problems come and go,' I wrote, 'but good people are few and far between.' It was nice to see the reply 'U R good people.' So, that'll pretty much solve that I guess... I don't need to ignore anymore, but it would probably be in my best interest, as I'm likely to fall down the pit again and again.

Talking about falling in the pit again and again... tonight's festivities is the New Pornographers concert with Barb. Which reminds me, I should send her a text to see what the plan is today. Okay, done. Yeah, I'm just trying to get myself excited to see the band more than anything. I've got my t-shirt on today and I've been listening to a shuffled list of a three albums on the office computer. Camera battery is half-full... that should do quite nicely. Right... pit... yeah, I'm trying to concentrate on the music to escape the pit tonight.

'Try not to take too much stock on the evening,' I keep telling myself. 'Don't fall in... don't fall in... don't fall in... don't justify... don't look for it... just enjoy the evening... enjoy the music... get another t-shirt... don't fall in.'

That could be my own personal chant for the rest of the day. Make it so engrained in my mind that nothing else will break me. Argh... it's like trying to crack an addiction.

Ah well... I've got some more project work to do here at the office this morning. I didn't bring my lunch with me today, so I gotta get some of that at some point today. I'm not overly busy otherwise... it's pretty quiet around here. I should tackle more of the new US Dissemination Tracker... a helpful tool for the office. Right... off I go.

What Is This?!?

Well, on top of getting up late this morning, I looked out the window to find the white stuff has arrived... two weeks before Halloween no less. What gives, eh? I'm pretty sure that I'm not ready for this at all. It is Calgary, however, so this sort of thing could have happened weeks ago... let's remember, this isn't the first time I've seen snow this fall... this is just the first time it stuck.

As stated before, I got up a little late this morning. I was sure I turned my alarm on last night before passing out, but I must have switched it off instead of hitting the snooze button first thing this morning. I then awoke at 8am on the nose... just about the time I should be taking the call-forwarding off the phones at work. Uh-oh. I gave Ernest a call to let him know I was going to be a little late and took off for the office.

The drive wasn't too bad, despite the first real snowfall... but traffic at 8am is what I generally want to avoid in the mornings... hence the reason I get to the office as early as I do most mornings. The roads were wet and a tad slippery... but nothing terrible. It's gonna be soon for when I decided to change the tires on the car.

So yeah... that was pretty much my morning.

Saturday was a fairly productive day... got my new Canucks jacket, a laptop table (named Dave, in the IKEA catalog... seriously) and watched lots of hockey. I managed to coerse Chris in coming out with me for the afternoon down to Southcentre, where the jacket was ordered at. We grabbed a bite to eat and such... Chris was pretty miserable on Saturday as a cold had really hit him quite hard, but didn't really take a great deal for it. So it was Southcentre for lunch and the jacket... down to Deerfoot Meadows for a trip in IKEA... then it was back home. Benny and Jeff were supposed to come into town, but they didn't come in until late and they didn't come by to watch any of the hockey, so I didn't see them at all.

Chris was a bit of a wet blanket to hang out with whilst watching the hockey games in the early part of the evening. He was quietly suffering on the couch with his cold... but when Jen got home during the first period of the Avalanche/Oilers game, Chris bailed during the intermission and didn't come back up when he went for drugs. Fortunately, Gerald had given me a call saying that he'd be done work early and out for a drink, so I said I'd meet him regardless. So, I went after the second period and met up with him. Krista was out not long after the game had ended and we all proceeded to get nice & drunk.

The music in the Yardhouse was cranked up around 17 on the dial... way too loud to carry on any sort of conversation at the bar. Krista and Gerald suggested we all head over to Molly's for a drink and this time I followed them over. I wouldn't normally head over there, but this was a pretty good exception. There we had a couple and chatted a bit more about everything. A couple drinks at Mollys and we went back over to the Yard to clear up our tabs and have another drink.

It was quite interesting... Gerald was giving me a lot of good insight on Ash... which was, 'don't bother, she isn't really interested.' Of course, he said it in more of a delicate way, but you know, it didn't really faze me. It's all I really needed to hear, to be honest... glad someone did. It doesn't leave me guessing anymore, so all levels of concern are gone. Movin' on...

Sunday was a waste of a day... I got up at 8:30ish, thanks to Jen milling about. I was in rough shape... really rough. I sat down on the chair in the living room for a while before going back to bed. I felt like shit. I got up again around 12:30pm... feeling a bit better, but not much. For the day, I was on the net... watched football... a little baseball... I wasn't moving very far, very fast. I did, however, go out for a bit... went up to M&M Meat Shops for some quick groceries and Little Caesars for a Hot & Ready pizza... and that was it. Back to the couch for me. Really... that was it. Watched the Simpsons and Family Guy and was in bed for 11pm. Great, eh??

Tonight, I will be meeting up with Gerald for the Canucks/Oilers game... that should be a gooder. Tomorrow... the new Hip CD, World Container is out... will go get that... and then the evening will have the second of the home & home between the Canucks & Oilers... Wednesday, is the New Pornographers concert with Barb. That's about all I have for the week thus far, I think. That'll work out nicely.

I will probably fail in my attempts to be cool with Barb on Wednesday... hopefully I don't drink much at all... that'll keep me a little more sane, I figure. She doesn't seem to me to be a great option for taking up time in the thought process... but I know I won't be able to keep my mind down, I'm sure. It's like an automatic fail switch... isn't it neat that I can see it already??

Well... that's about all I got today. Should do this one last filing this afternoon and follow up with a couple others that are outstanding.

Other Blogs

This is another test blog post as publishing to the Scribblings seems to be more difficult than the Tales was.

I'm surfing on BlogMad again... first time in a couple weeks and I've come to realize that I haven't been really reading anything that I've come across on it.  I'm sure there are a lot of people who come across the Tales, both on BlogMad and BlogExplosion who don't give a rat's ass about it... so, you know I don't really feel too bad.  It's just a realization if anything.  It's kinda neat, really.

Blogs are actually kind of boring in the end.  The creative freedom in this form is breeding conformity.  There is this desire to be the news... hey, let's post things that CNN or CBC or TSN or ESPN post on a regular basis.  Besides personal opinion, what good are these???  Hey, I've been guilty from time to time of this malarkey, but this is all I'm seeing.

My intentional goal of the Tales was to keep my friends in the UK informed of what was going on about their Opiated Sherpa.  For most of the time, if they're reading, they're seeing what's going on... from the boring to the exciting.  It's all there.  That's what I wanna do.  Heck... if there is a request for something a bit more, then I'll be more than happy to fulfill it.  That's what I'll do for my friends

Well, this is way too much text for a test... so here we go...

Holy Crap...

It friggin' worked. 

I tried blogging before with this and it didn't work... but now, the whole new blogging feature really seemed to post.  Hallelujah.  I might have to use this again more than once... we'll have to see.

So yeah... I have the new laptop and man, is it ever sweet.  The widescreen is very nice... the processing speed is super wicked... and the Hockey Pool will work at an incredible pace, me thinks.

Went to the re-opened Yardhouse tonight... no, they didn't have the Canucks game or Sportsnet Pacific available, so I was kind of choked about that.  So, I didn't stay too long.  I did find out for them, that their lines on the other side (from normal) of the bar were crossed.  Instead of Keith's I was drinking Heinieken.  So when I pointed it out to them, it was free testing until my first full pint of Keith's.  But by then... I was really bored... it was really busy in there, so there was very little interaction with anyone and I decided to go.  Chris was still under the weather from the cold, so I was sitting there by myself, no Canucks game... can you blame me for leaving?

So yeah... that's my post.  I'm sure I will have a few more over the weekend.  This laptop is way too much fun to pass up.  Ha ha.

Yay!!!  It's here!!

technorati tags:new, laptop, blogging, fun, post, flock, blogger

New Laptop... New Blog...

As the title suggests, I have the new laptop... this is just a test post to see if the browser, Flock, will work accordingly with my Blogger account.  If so, then woo mama... I'm in for some seriously different blogging.

Fingers crossed.

Back At It

Floor hockey was pretty flippin' good last night. It was good gettin' the pads on again. It really seemed that I hadn't missed a beat last night, I even surprised myself. It was a good turn-out at the gym for the pick-up game... I think there was about 13 guys out and it was solid 4-on-4 action with a couple subs on either side or however many that works out to be. Heh heh. I think one tema only had a single sub... so that would work out. Man, did I ever get a work out in net too. It was super hot underneath all the pads and by the fourth game we played, I was dead tired. The first two games on the other hand... it was awesome. I was seeing the ball from ways out, keeping in real good position and making key stops to win the games for the team. It felt really good to be in there and getting it done.

It's also so nice to be able to walk to the gym from the house, instead of driving to Langdon after the game. I would hang around town until 8pm and then drive all the way out there. Now after work, I can go home... eat something, watch some TV, update the hockey pool and then go out. It's great. Then it's only a walk home. Last night, the walk was awfully long, since I was already exhausted. The goalie pads and stuff are in a big bag, which isn't the easiest to carry, in a general sense. But I made it... and then died at home. It didn't take me too long to fall asleep last night.

And now we're thankfully into Friday. Now with Floor Hockey back to being on Thursdays, I think it may be a while before Thursday is the new Friday again. That should keep me out of trouble a bit. Woo hoo!! I'm feeling pretty good this morning... even with playing floor hockey again, a few weeks after ball had ended. I'm not very sore in the slightest... so there's a huge plus. I had only had a couple beers before the games were even played, so I behaved there. So all around, it's making out to be a pretty healthy morning.

I've got a couple 40+ page filings to do this morning. I have to see off one that didn't make it out yesterday afternoon. I'm not really expecting anything big to come through the inbox now... I think I've seen most of it at the moment. I think I have to sort through the inbox a bit to see what the hell is going on with a couple of these filings.

The weekend plan?? I've got nothing. I might have to head to the Garage tonight to catch the Canucks home opener against the Sharks. That sounds like a pretty good plan. Jen was telling me last night that the Yardhouse got shut down because of health violations... ha ha ha. That doesn't necessarily mean I'll stop drinking there... it is rather funny though. Doesn't sound like I'll be making any trips there soon. I might have to be creative with my weekend then.

Well, Ernest is on his way to work now... I need to watch the releases until Marcus gets here. So that's what I'll do.

Scribes in the Mid-Afternoon

Afternoon, all... thanks for coming. The big news is... there isn't any big news. Well, that really isn't big news at all, is it? Well, I'm really struggling for new material... since I've been trying to behave myself a little more, it's been pretty quiet.

Last night's adventure was watching the Flyers/Canadiens game and then taking a couple more NyQuil and heading to bed. That was it. Jen was working at Starbucks... Chris came up for the third period... and that's about all I know.

I didn't have the same trippy results with the NyQuil as I did the night before, but I did sleep pretty well, even when Jen was up and about to leave early for the hospital. I can't really say I was dreaming to the same extent... so I'm thinking Beer & NyQuil doesn't have the same effect as Hooch & NyQuil.

It's been a little busier at work today... I haven't spent too much time in front of the laptop as the last few days. I've done my usual routine stuff on here, but haven't needed to kill much time with it... so I guess that's a plus as well. I've got a couple bigger filings for tomorrow morning... so that's something to look forward to. I'm still waiting to hear from a client in Vancouver in regards to one more annual filing for today... but otherwise, it's quiet again.

Tonight will mark a return to the floor hockey season... 8pm at the HSCA Rec Centre. I haven't taken my pads out of the car yet, since bringing them out from my parents place on the weekend. I'm looking forward to getting back in net, especially after the season of ball. It'll be different, but hopefully not too different.

I haven't heard anything from either Ash or Barb... it's really beginning to look like both will get the drop here quickly. I'm really not in the mood for chasing any more. Really, quite the contrary to be honest. I've tried to get either of them to go with me to the Christmas Party, but that just isn't gonna fly by the looks of things. Much like last year. Ash has seemingly pulled away her interest that she showed earlier and Barb has just disappeared again... I don't know how much I should be chasing if I should be. All I feel like doing is beating my head against the wall, as dealing with both of them is like yelling down a bottomless pit and not getting an echo back.

With work getting busier, the hockey pool keeping me busy... I'm beginning to think about all that stuff less and less now. The Christmas Party is rather daunting, but I'm not trying to worry about that too much. Even though I was the only one there by myself last year, I still had a pretty good time with the guys. So why not this year?

So... let's see what transpires then, shall we??

Mind-Altering Medicine

NyQuil Gel Caps are mind-bending... I had nothing but strange dreams last night, including one that made me shut off the power to my alarm clock at 1am this morning, because a Montreal Canadiens car was going to crash if I didn't. Even now, as I'm sitting here at work, I still feel pretty drowsy and some things like reflections and sounds are really trippin' me out.

I could really feel this small cold come on Monday afternoon and it was really starting to make me sneeze and sniffle when Chris and I were watching the Flames game at the Yardhouse on Monday night. Yesterday, I woke up really stuffed up and my sinuses were really throbbing... so, when Ernest finally got in yesterday, I went and stockpiled on cold medication and such... since then, I haven't felt too bad. Just a wee bit tripped out, mostly.

There really hasn't been too much going on otherwise. Sunday's dinner was quite good... very quiet... got lots of turkey to take home. Turkey sandwiches are the best sandwiches EVER. Bar none. EVER.

Work has still been fairly quiet... not much in this morning. Don't know what to expect really... since this NyQuil is doin' some weird shit, I would much rather nothing come in and I just fall asleep at my desk. That'd work quite nicely.

Well, until something major comes along... I'll catch ya later.

Giving Thanks For Columbus

Long weekends are great... aren't they? I seem to think so. It's the Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend, which corresponds with the American Columbus Day, so here I am on my day off giving out a post. There's nothing on TV at the moment, so it's off.

Already this morning, it's been continuing the constant "work-in-progress" that my hockey pool is. There's always some little tweak that needs to be looked at over the past couple days. There's something that I didn't think of logistically that I have yet to figure out, but it isn't a big deal. I've been patching everything up so it all works. Once I figure it out, I think it'll run much smoother for next season.

I should really get some laundry on the go this morning... my basket is quite high at the moment. I'll have to go out and do some shopping as well this morning. I need some buns for turkey sandwiches... oh yes!

Saturday was an okay day. I went out to Langdon and picked up the last few sheets and monies that I needed from the folk's place. I picked up Benny and we went into town to look around the malls. We didn't get anything, just had a look around. Went back to the house for the start of Hockey Night In Canada and Coach's Corner before Jeff came and met us and Chris came upstairs... then the four of us went over to the Yardhouse for the rest of the games. During the Flames and Oilers game, Benny got a phone call from Greg saying his dog was hit by a car... so Benny and Jeff left for the night. Chris and I only stuck around until the end of the hockey game and then came home... and that was pretty much the day in a nutshell. There really wasn't anything too great about the day... it was just that, really.

Yesterday, I stuck around the house for a while. I did up some more hockey pool stuff, watched some football and then when I was kind of bored of that I went and got myself ready to go out to Langdon again for Thankgiving dinner. I wanted to go over to the Yardhouse first to see if I could finally get Gerald's hockey pool sheet, so Jen followed me over there, as she was working at Starbucks in the afternoon/evening... low and behold, Ash was working another shift there. She went and had a look for me, but there was no sheet to be found. Jen noticed that Ash wasn't feeling too well, so she offered to get her a tea from Starbucks and that I would deliver it and such... so we did.

When I came back to the Yard, I chatted with Ash a bit more about hanging out and stuff. She said she was gonna do some moving today and tomorrow, I think, into an extra room that one of the bartender's there has. Although she gives me a very flirty look when I'm about, I'm thinking that this whole extra room thing could be a little sticky... depending on which bartender it is. If it's Cory, well... everyone knows that he fancies the pants off of Ash and *rolling my eyes* how can I compete with an extra room? I don't think I can. So it becomes an issue... and that's not what I need. Not when I've figured that Ash was the better one. Now I could be back to the drawing board before too long. That's all I've gathered really.

After the Yardhouse, I headed home, packed up the laptop and got in the car for Langdon. It was a pretty quiet afternoon/evening, watching the football games, the Canucks game and having a good turkey dinner. It was only the three of us, which was quiet and casual... just the way I like it. Afterwards, I packed up my floor hockey stuff and leftovers and headed back into town to come home and relax for the rest of the evening.

Sleep... hockey pool... and cups of coffee later... here I am finishing up the post of the day. I think I'll have a shower and then tackle my laundry. When the first load is in... a trip to Safeway is in the cards and I'll have somewhat of a productive day. Woo hoo!

Nice & Quiet Morning

Last night, I had this desire to make some Kung Pao Chicken... and so I did. It's actually quite easy. I went and grabbed all the ingredients from Safeway and Chris brought some beers and we ate and watched the Sabres play the Canadiens. Both Chris and I were pretty impressed with the results of dinner... although it could have been just a little bit more. But it was really good to get that first time out of my system. I will do that one again. I'll also be sure to clean up the stove before I take a glorious picture of dinner again. I haven't worked in the kitchens for a while... so my presentation isn't quite on top of it's game.

I was also supposed to meet up with Gerald again last night to finally get his hockey pool sheet. Chris decided he didn't want to go with me to meet him, which would have been a bit better, 'cuz being by myself wasn't exactly the best plan. Nevertheless, I got to see Ash and she was a little more friendly last night... heck, I'm always glad to see her, so her happy to see me is a bonus. Unfortunately, Gerald was taking just a little too long for me to hang out there, in a busy place, all night to wait. So after I checked to see if Ash could get the long weekend in November off, I pretty much just jetted.

Yes, yes... I asked Ash if she could get a bit of that weekend off in November. I would like to take her to the Christmas Party, it'd be a pretty good weekend. If she is to agree to something like that, then I would think that smaller evenings leading up to it would also be a good idea. Not a bad idea. I'm sort of taking a cue from what I was saying in a previous post. She's the better bet to spend some time with and I want to really take that into consideration. Sure, I'm gonna take Barb to see the New Pornographers, but it doesn't have to mean anything. She really likes 'em, I've got the tickets... that's all it has to be. Ash said she'd text me when she knows better.

Well, I've had a couple toaster-waffles and a couple cups of coffee this morning. Jen wasn't here all night and this morning... but thankfully she took Costas with her, so I didn't have to clean up or be responsible for the little shit demon's mess. She probably spent the evening at her Dad's or something last night. She may have got the impression that I was really angry at her for the money issue this past week... which I suppose I kinda was. I was more disappointed and not interested in her transparent attempts at making things better. I don't think she really knows how to deal with money and responsibility. She'd rather try and make things up than actually pay the money back. That $60 is a write-off in my opinion. Not once did she say, 'oh I'll pay you back at such and such a time.' She'd rather say that I didn't have to hang up the Christmas lights. Big whoop. You're not gonna make me do something, which I'll probably end up doing for her anyways.

She's a twisted individual, this one. No matter, I've had a wonderful evening and morning... so it can't be all bad.

Well, I should finish up this post, get in the shower and take off for Langdon. I'll try and give Randy a call as well. I should go see him this afternoon if I can. Also... Alan. Shit... I need to give him a call as well. I did give him a sheet, after all. See... I've got lots to do today. I should get on it... Hockey Night In Canada starts at 4:30pm... so off I go!

New Music Yesterday

I forgot to mention... I went and got the new CDs from the Killers and Jet yesterday. I just realized that when I was flipping through the past few posts and saw my CDs... and then I thought... wait a second! I can add to that. So I did.

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Lookin' good!

Both CDs will need some time to grow into... but for the most part, I think they're okay. Both aren't quite their predecessors, but they will merit their own characteristics within a few more listens, I'm sure.

That's all I really wanted to mention.