The hippy stick is starting to work! I smelled my pits this morning and they didn't stank (and I sweated a bit yesterday). Choy told me it takes a little while to get the aluminum out of the system from the years of regular aluminumized deodorant usage...he was right! Very cool.

Weekend was good. Watched my dad play some softball in a tourney that was being held down the road. Stopes were there as well and it was good to see them again. Saturday night Q & S hosted a BBQ (and sorta by default I hosted it too, but not really). I made up two bowls of salad and it was enjoyed by all (I must admit, I do make a good salad). My mom even came by for a while. I was a beautiful evening to hang out in the outdoors. After the eats and chatting we setup the ole poker table and had us an outside game of small stakes Texas Hold 'em. Man poker/Texas Hold 'em is popular these days...I've always enjoyed poker but never played regularly as it was tough to find people to play. Now that it's fadding, there's games all over and lots of people know how to play. I wonder how long it will last.

Sunday I got the Yeech to come over and we played some catch for maybe half an hour down at Saxe Point. Felt good to throw the ball around. Then it was improv night (most of the comics from Whose Line is it Anyway (US ver)) at the Royal and eight of us had tickets. Started out with dinner, but the place I chose (Floyds) was closed (what kinda restaurant closes at 5??) so we ended up at Moxies, which was decent. Two of the significant others didn't have tickets, so they split and the rest of us headed for the show. Upon arriving at the theatre and chatting on the corner outside the entrance, a couple guys came walking down the road yelling out that they had two free tickets. It didn't take us long to realize, "hey, those two that didn't have tickets could now come", and so we snatched the freebies and got onto the cell phone (I'm not going to go into detail on what I had to do to get the free tickets as the repercussions could possibly be detrimental...although I doubt it). Unfortunately, neither of the two answered their phone, and we were unable to give the tickets away (everyone in the area already had tickets). We left the tickets under some scaffolding with the hopes that someone would find them...no one did and we picked them up on the way out. Oh well. The show was 'bust a gut' good, although Gregg Proops' opening monologue was 90% the same as last year...a little disappointing. Sooke was mentioned many times.

Weather is back to normal...bearable temperatures. Much nicer. I ran this morning and will try to run a few more times this week. The Q-ball is a running maniac these days and I gotta keep up.

I dunno if this hippy rock of mine is working very well. I seem to smell some BO after about 8 hours. According to the packaging and the website, it should be good for 24 hours. I applied it more liberally today. Choy says it works for him and some others...so I'm hopeful. but so far the results aren't ideal. Maybe I need to go a day without it and see how much I stink, then go a day with it and compare?

Dang it's hot.

Not a very good turn out for soccer on tuesday...we had 6, so we played half court with the mini-nets (and when I say mini, I mean mini...these are like lacrosse nets I think). There was a lot of running to be done and I was bagged. My team did not win...we got our asses whooped.

I'm trying to familiarize myself with the real estate market these days. I don't think I'm going to be able to afford anything for a while (unless I get some serious help from the bank of mom and dad), but when I do decide to enter the market, I'd like to be in touch with it and know what's out there and what's worth what. It's so crazy right now. Where I'm at is good.

I haven't shaved in over a week. I look like a mountain man. It's great! That said, I can't grow facial hair very well...too sparse. Wish I'd come to that realization back in grade 12...for some stupid reason I decided to grow a mustache and I kept it for 3 years. I looked like quite the fool and it's no wonder I didn't get any action in the years of my prime. Ah well...ya live, ya learn as Alanis says, right?

Soccer tonight! WooHoo! Didn't happen last week cause of the stupid election. Should be back in full force this week. Hope so...it's like the highlight of my week.

Today's gonna be something of an exercise day...gonna go for a run this morning, then possibly bike to work (unless the Yeech wants me to drive to soccer), then play soccer. My gut will just disappear...

Speaking of running...it has been decided that Sara, Quentin, and I will do the Victoria Half Marathon in October. 13 miles / 21 kilometres...holy shit, what am I getting myself into? I gotta up my training if I'm gonna handle that one.

Big thumbs up to my mom who is taking part in Bike to Work Week! Granted she's driving a fair portion of the distance and finishing off with the bike, but it's a start and better than nothing. I started out similarly.

I now have my own hippy rock! Yay! It's a salt crystal that you use as deodorant. It leaves a layer on your skin that the stink causing bacteria can't penetrate...so no B.O.. Tried it for the first time today...we'll see how it goes. Same price as regular deodorant and lasts forever.

Choy and I were supposed to go on a bike trip out to Sandcut Beach yesterday, camp the night, then return today. I went out to Sooke with all my gear, but we didn't go cause the weather was on and off with the rain. We rode around Sooke a bit, played some crokinole, and hung out. He made me a wicked breakfast too...french toast with hashbrowns, strawberries and mangoes. I stayed over because the previous night I'd come out to play poker with the regular crew he plays with out there. It was the best game I'd ever partaken in (even though I didn't take home any money). We had a full table of 8, and everyone started with $20. Re-buys were allowed, so the pot crept up to $315! We played Texas Hold'em, but with some modified rules (the rules that these guys always play by). No burning cards, and if someone went all-in they took the whole pot (if they won)...no side pots. I don't care for the no side pot rule...kinda unfair (although it worked to my advantage once (and several others' advantage too). All chips were $0.50, no matter what colour...made it real simple to figure out what you had to put in (2 chips, 4 chips, 8 chips, etc). We started at 8PM and Choy and I left at 2...there were still 2 guys playing. It didn't go no limit until after 11, and the blinds were doubled at 9 and 10 (and then no more). I was up big time for a while, but then I lost it all on a couple of hands (I had friggin' pocket aces...I couldn't not bet on pocket aces!). It was fun times.

Whatever happened to "the wave"? I rarely see "the wave" anymore. My fellow asphalt companions seem to have become selfish bastards who just expect other traffic to give way. How hard is it to just lift thine hand and give a little wave of thanks to the person who slowed down to let you in? I don't care if it's a merge lane and that person was supposed to do it...it's still a nice gesture. Drive with respect and those around you will respect you too (unless you're driving a Ford...).

I despise emoticons.

A while ago, as a sign of customer appreciation, zip.ca gave all their members a coupon for a free box of Orville Redenbacher microwave popcorn. The coupon was accessible on a web page you had to use your member ID to log into, and then you could print it off. I accessed to coupon months ago and saved it, rather than printing it. Last night I printed it, cut it out and headed to the grocery store to redeem it. It all worked out fine, no hassles at all (except for the cashier being new and not knowing how to enter a coupon in properly)...which got me thinking...

The coupon had no officiality to it, except for the zip.ca logo and Orville Redenbacher logo. There was no way to identify that it was the coupon that had been issued to my membership account (it was a generic coupon everyone was able to use). It was printed on plain old white paper. What's to stop me from printing another and using it again? I might not want to use it at the same store, as it's possible they could get suspicious (although I doubt it). If I used it at another store in the area, it's possible they could narrow down the members using the coupons by area (I'm not sure how many zip.ca members are in this area...but I'm sure there must be a handful).

How about forgetting the popcorn coupon and making up a coupon for whatever the hell I want? If I worded it right, put some logos on it and made it somewhat official looking, the store probably wouldn't think twice about it (like they didn't last night). Just think of all the possibilities! It's like shoplifting, with the store's assistance.

Of course I won't do any of that cause I'm too honest. Damn values and ethics! Thanks Mom and Dad!

The popcorn was good...I went with the Buttery Light. It was very nice and fluffy...not too buttery or salty. Just the way I like it!

Good game of soccer the other night. Lots of people, lots of action. I sucked big time when I played goal, and I wasn't terribly great out in the field, but I managed to score at least one goal and setup a couple others. Ken was on fire in goal...luckily he was on my team. A fun time was had by all and I do look forward to next week (as always).

I had something I was going to write about yesterday...but I couldn't get into the system to write it and now I've lost it. Damn blogger...gonna have to write my own I guess.

I got an email from Tyree the other day...completely out of the blue. I haven't heard from her in years...at least 5 I'd say...probably more. She found the site, is probably reading this right now, and just dropped me a note. It was very nice to hear from her.

And that's all I got.

My social skills are severely lacking. It's a wonder I've made it this far and managed to maintain some friendships.

In group conversation situations, I'm rarely able to contribute...either because I don't know much about the topic, or I just can't think of a story to relay. Usually I'll think of something late, and by that time the conversation has shifted topics and if I brought up the old topic it would be dumb. Smiling and nodding comes in handy.

In one on one situations, I generally suck unless I'm around the person for a long period of time (like at work...I'm in a room with Matt for 8 hours...we do come up with stuff to talk about). I'm terrible at brief encounters, as I can rarely come up with something witty to say as I pass by someone. Only afterwards do I think of something I should have said to that person...but of course, by then, the opportunity has passed and it would be silly to track them down just to say a line.

I'm just slow, which is probably why, at 27, I've got about as much experience with women as any regular 15 year old.

First off, it's a day late (but I did see her yesterday), Happy Mother's Day!

Second off, I saw Sloan last night. Dad and Mike (from the Moon Dogs) were going and asked if I wanted to come along. I'm familiar with Sloan's music from the radio, but I don't own any of their albums, nor have I held a lot of interest in them (for no particular reason). I do like their slight hints of AC/DC ('Money City Maniacs' and 'If It Feels Good Do It' come to mind). The show was good, but loud. It was the kind of loud where all I was hearing at times was reverberations and distortion. I like volume, but I also like a clean sound...and I did not get that. I don't know why they have to crank it up so much that it gets like that...it's just not enjoyable. A couple songs I could barely discern the notes...it was just a jumble of noise making my ears bleed. I should have brought ear plugs...apparently Legends does supply them if you ask...but I didn't find that out until after. Regardless...I was impressed with Sloan and the way they carry themselves on stage (very real, easy going, fun). I think I will buy me some Sloan albums. I did not realize that 'The Other Man' was their song...for some reason I thought it was another band. I like that one...although I think I'd have to say 'If It Feels Good Do It' is my favourite. Tough to choose though...they've got a good repertoire.

Gave my new camcorder a workout on Saturday night...recorded all the rest of the family films into the computer. The camcorder was on for a good 3-4 hours and was gettin' pretty hot, but it held up. Took me a while to find the right settings to make the films look as good as possible with the gear I'm using.

I don't know who I'm gonna vote for.

No soccer last night...not enough people. Lame.

Hiked a section of the Juan de Fuca Trail this past weekend, about 16 or 17 Km from Botanical Beach to Sombrio Beach (same distance I did with the Vulgar Brothers back in September). Choy, Michelle, Tree, and I hit the trail just before 1 on Friday afternoon (it was supposed to be earlier, but the usual last minute slow downs occurred and we didn't get out of Sooke until after 11...no biggie though, as it would have just meant more sitting around the campsite).

We hiked about 9K that day, saw some Killer Whales (Orcas) heading up island, and ended up at Parkinson Creek, where the map we were using showed there to be camping. Well, no formal campsites are present at Parkinson Creek. It's an entrance to the trail, complete with parking lot and toilet. So we walked down the trail about 100m, just out of sight of the parking lot pretty much, and setup camp right on the side of the trail (about 10m from two fairly fresh piles of bear shit). Our campfire went right dead smack in the middle of the trail. It was a fine spot to camp...there was no one else around for miles (saying kilometres in this instance just doesn't have the same ring as saying miles).

Choy went to get water for cooking at one point, and discovered that the side trail we were camped next to (the one that leads to the Seal Grotto where I worked so long ago) had a sign posted stating that there was a problem bear in the area and to keep out. Well, that put me on edge slightly (and I believe everyone else as well), although we knew there had to be a bear close by because of the dung on the trail. We continued to camp without fault though...no bear showed up and even if it had, would anything have happened? Doubtful. There's bears all over the trail...that is their country. We're lucky to pass through without confrontation.

The fir got going well and we played some poker (Texas Hold 'em), with Choy taking all my rocks (luckily I could replenish quite easily) several times. I didn't play so smartly. When the rain started to spatter, we went for the tents and that was the evening. Tree and I played a few hands of shithead before calling it a night...although as usual when camping, I barely slept. It rained on and off through the night...not too much, but enough to cause a bit of leakage into the tent and dampen a few things. My tent is a bit short to stretch out in, so it wasn't the most comfortable night...ah well. Choy and Michelle claimed they were cold, but I was quite fine.

Morning came, we had breakfast (mine consisted of a cold can of Chili (by choice...I could have heated it up, but it's all cooked and ready to go in the can, so no need to heat it). We disregarded the problem bear sign and took a jaunt down to the Seal Grotto where there were no seals to be seen. Back on the main trail by probably 11, with 7K to go to Sombrio. As with the previous day, this day provided much mud...some deep, some not so deep. Most of our time was spent manouevering around the mud pits. It was a slow journey, but we managed without any issue. Saw some seals resting on the rocks near the blowhole, the girls scared them into the water.

The beach approach to Sombrio was much better this time around (last time the tide was in and we had to walk around a point in thigh high water, with waves splashing in...it wasn't super fun. We were to meet up with Melinda and Polly to camp another night (they were supposed to hike with us from Parkinson, but Melinda had to work and Polly was feeling lazy), but we had decided on the trail that we just wanted to head home instead of camping with our damp gear. So we saw them on the trail from the parking lot, exchanged pleasantries and headed up to Choy's car which we'd parked there on Friday (Melinda and Polly and their friend Janet continued on to the beach to camp for the night). Choy's car was intact, nothing gone, nothing damaged. There was a Conservation Officer in the lot and we talked to him for a bit...he told us that there was a 400lb bear hanging around Parkinson Creek, but he wasn't really a problem (the problem bear sign had been put up as a deterent to keep people from going to the Seal Grotto). He had actually seen the bear at Parkinson Creek that morning...the same morning we had been there. Whatever...we survived without hassle.

Choy drove us out to Port Renfrew to pick up Tree's Pathfinder, which we'd left in the parking lot of the Lighthouse Pub. The SUV was untouched as well, so al was good. We ate at the pub and then headed home. I stayed in Sooke for the night and we played some more poker (I lost $10), then I came home Sunday afternoon. All in all a good trip. I always pack to much food and will one day figure it all out to make my pack as light as necessary. I should get a new tent sometime...one that's longer and a little more water resistant.

That's all for now.