I am currently the proud owner of a kick-ass mullet! I don't think it will last long, but while I have it, I am enjoying it. My hair was longer than I realized, but now it is just long in the mane. It was a sad moment when I had those hairs that had been with me for the last 14 months cut off. Those hairs had seen a lot.

So why did I get the mullet? Well, it had been suggested that I cut the mullet for the staff Christmas party. But then I decided it would be better suited for Mira's birthday, which coincided nicely with Halloween. I went as a "Langford Man"...complete with a red/white 3/4 sleeve T-Shirt with a 70s Vette on the front, black jeans with a rip on the left knee, ragged sneakers, a short mustache, classic sunglasses (thanks to Choy and Triggy Wiggy!), and of course the mullet. People enjoyed the getup, and were even more impressed when they realized that I had actually cut my hair into the mullet (no wigs here).

The party was this past Saturday, and it was a gooder. It was held in the presidential suite at the Executive House Hotel...everyone in attendance had chipped in for the room, with leftovers going towards booze and food. Many people showed...some in costume, some not. The room was fairly impressive...awesome view, lots of space, nicely furnished. But there was some issue with the hotel and things didn't go as well as they could. I didn't think the party was that loud or rowdy, but the consierge had us kill the music at midnight. Also there was something said about an agreement that had been signed stating that everyone would leave by 11:30 or 12:30, otherwise the deposit would not be returned. I'm not sure what became of all that, but I do know that we were on the verge of getting kicked out...which seems like a bit of bullshit since a fair schwack of cash was paid for the room. You'd think it would be a bit more soundproof.

So after the issues started to arise, we shifted location to Steve and Ang's house, which was on the right side of the bridge for me anyways. The party continued and I got into the shots a bit. I tried Becky's chocolate cake shot...which was good...it did taste like chocolate cake somewhat. I also had a couple shots of Scotch with Steve, a shot of Vodka, and then some Frangelico I think. I also polished off my little bottle of Fireball, and of course I had a six pack of Lucky (part of the costume), which when I finished each can, I crushed them on my head (or at least tried to). Party people started dispersing around 4am (3am if you take the time change into account...which you should). I walked home...and I could not walk a straight line for the life of me. Amazingly I managed to change all my clocks when I got home, before going to bed.

Sunday I didn't feel too super when I got up, but after getting some grub and water into my system, I was fine and dandy. Didn't get up to much...Q drove me downtown to get my truck (Thanks Q!), then we used it to pick up his tablesaw from Home Depot. I put the party pics on the site, then we went and carved punkins at Rol & Katie's. I had a nice looking punkin, but I just bit it on the creativity and my jack-o-lantern was shite. Rol did a nice one of a whippet...very simple, but very good. Melinda did a pretty wicked owl...she took first prize (a DVD). Katie's cousin, Mary, and her boyfriend (I can't remember his name) also had nice carvings...a bat hanging from the ceiling, and a guy in jail, hanging from a wall on chains (it was done in 3D...one pumpkin inside another...very creative). Polly and Teddy did Bert and Ernie, Q did 2 punkins...one the Autobot symbol from the Tranformers, and one the Deceptecon symbol...they turned out nice. Sara had to leave early, but she did a nice flower one. Sarah sorta gave up on hers once she had the basic cuts done (Q cleaned it up for her before judging began)...it was kinda scary looking. You can have a look at them here.

And that wraps up another weekend. I must get back onto the rants and the heavy thinkin' and such...it's been much too long. I would like to go off on a good rant. Nothing's been super bugging me lately though...so kinda tough. I'll find something.

My apologies to my loyal readers...I just didn't feel like writing an update until now. Let's catch up:

Last Thursday I went skating with some folks from work at Oak Bay...they have late skating on Thursdays. It was fun...I practiced snowplow stopping (a prelude to the popular/cool side stop), turnarounds (going from forward skating to backward skating), and skating backwards (actually continuing to move once I have turned around). I still need a lot of practice.

Friday, nothing much happened. Choy and I moved Q's poker table over to his house for poker night on Saturday. Then I washed my car. Work kinda sucked.

Saturday was fairly busy. I got up at a decent hour as I had to finish cleaning up the car (vacuum, wipe down) as Polly was coming to take it for the weekend as a test drive. She showed up around 11 and I gave her the keys. She was planning to go around and test drive some other cars with her mom (her car got written off the previous week cause some lady (and I use the term loosely) cut a corner tight). She seemed very excited...having never driven a P5 before. I then went to watch rugby over in James Bay with Becky, Herch, and eventually, Yeech. It was the James bay teams playing the Oak Bay teams. The girls were up first...but they lost. Then the Div 1 teams played and it was quite a good game...we had a beer for the game. James Bay won. The Premier teams played last and we moved to the bleachers. More beer was gotten and the game was pretty good. I got a call early into the 2nd half...it was Polly. She wanted to buy my car! So I left the game early and went home to meet up with her and complete the transaction. I heard that James Bay ended up winning (they were down when I left).

The car thing was pretty straight forward. I had the transfer form partly filled out already. Polly completed her bit, and then she wrote me a cheque. Since it was too late for insurance or banking, we post dated things until Monday. It is now past Monday, and everything has worked out nicely. So ya...I don't own the P5 anymore. I'm a trucker again. It feels good to have lessened the debt load...and I like that the P5 hasn't moved that far away and I can still visit it.

Saturday night was poker night. Choy hosted, and I sorta organized, a 20 person game (ended up being 21 people) at his house. We had two tables setup...the plan was to merge them once they each worked down to five players. Problem was, one table whittled down to 5 players before the other table lost one. Oops! (I was one of the early ones out). There was some waiting around...then we decided to divide everyone up again randomly to get things moving. Sooke sucked it up, as Choy, Q, and I were all out well before the money kicked in. The other players were my co-workers from A-Channel, and Choy's classmates from law school. Some law school guy, Mike, ended up taking first, while Herch took 2nd and Jack (from A-Channel) took 3rd. 4th went to Jasmine...who was the girlfriend of one of the law school guys. It sucked being out early...but it was a good night nonetheless.

Sunday I went skating at Oak Bay with Rol and Herch (and a shitload of kids). It was ok, but so many people were on the ice, it wasn't very good for anything except skating in circles. I almost ran over several kids. Rol loaned me his hockey gear...in case I actually play some hockey this season. In the evening, Q and I picked up the poker table from Choy's place. Choy's roommate Krista answered the door...she's friggin' cute and nice. Later, I watched The Last Temptation of Christ...it was pretty good.

Monday was work...nothing much special. Tuesday I skated at Esquimalt with Sara and Herch...it was much better than Sunday. Lots of room, barely any people, cheaper, and they let you take a stick out on the ice! I'm getting better at the skating...but I've still got a long way to go. Then I met up with Polly and got my plates back from her and then went and cancelled my insurance. Woo Hoo!

That's about it...my life for the past few days. And that's all I'm writin' for now.

2 new pedals and an oiling of the chain...my commuter bike is like new again. Well...sorta. Still doesn't downshift properly. I have to wait until the selector decides it will allow me to downshift. It's a bit of a pain in the ass, cause it often won't allow me to shift when I'm approaching (or on) a hill). It just means that my legs get that much better of a workout. I did need to do that maintenance though...the old right side pedal was broken, and the chain hadn't been oiled at least since I acquired the bike back in June.

Sometimes I think I should just put the road tires back on my good bike and go back to riding it to work. But then changing the tires is a pain the butt...and I may go mountain biking again. One day. I haven't been in months...partly on account of my knee. My knee does seem pretty good now...no issues with it other than when it stays stationary for long periods of time. Fuck physio! I don't go to doctors and those types of professionals if I don't have to. I probably should go to the dentist though...it has been a while. I need to floss though. I'm terrible at remembering to floss. It's such an uncomfortable activity.

I am now the proud owner of a pair of CCM Custom Tacks ice skates. Picked 'em up today, they molded them to my feet using CCM's F-I-T system (they heat them up in an oven, then I wear them and the foam molds around my feet). Got 'em sharpened up and now I'm ready to go skatin'. I better get out enough this year...I think I will. Archie Browning Arena has plenty of skating times, as does Oak Bay. Becky and I went skating on Thursday morning (I just rented skates) and I did ok (didn't fall!). The knee doesn't seem to be a problem.

Had something of a busy weekend, which was nice. Friday I worked a day shift, so I was able to spend a friday night with the crew. Q&S hosted, and we played some $5 poker. In attendance were Rol, Jeff, Jason, Lianne, and her friend Pam. Sarah cleaned up at poker...although she got 3 lucky hands in a row which helped her big time (not that she didn't have mad poker skillz). I held my own, but got in too deep on a couple hands and couldn't recover. Following the money game, we just stayed around the table and played some "First Nations" poker. This is where you are dealt one card, and you hold it on your forehead for all to see (you don't see it). Your betting is based on the other cards you see, and how other people bet (because they see yours). It's actually pretty fun, although I don't think it works for big groups too terribly well. We were very serious, as there was no money involved. It was good fun though. A few card tricks were shown, and we played a few other games and made a mess of the table by the end of the night. Pam seemed pretty fun...I wouldn't mind seeing her again. She introduced us to the idea of a cuddle party...which sounded sorta cool. I could be into that.

Saturday, Becks called and invited me to watch rugby with her, Yeech, and Herch over by UVic (Velox). I hadn't really watched rugby since I was in NZ. It was pretty cool...James Bay (who we were cheering for) trounced Velox 35-3 (or something like that). It was a nice day...too hot at times, but good to be out in. There's still some parts of rugby I don't quite understand, but it's better to watch than football cause it moves a lot more. That evening we met up at the Shark Club to watch some hockey and have some dinner. The battle of Alberta was on, and we cheered for Calgary as that was Herch's team. Adam came out as well...another Calgary fan. I'm pretty indifferent on the Alberta teams...I can go either way. I do like Kiprusoff though...it is amazing to watch him goaltend. He was on fire Saturday night too...he shut out Edmonton and looked good doing it.

Through the game, the others lost their energy and party mood that they'd had earlier. We blamed the sun (and the 2 hours of squash that Yeech and Herch had played). Becky got a call from an Ottawa friend of hers, Chris, who had just moved to town, so we did end up meeting with him and his girlfriend, Mary-Anne, downtown and had a beer at Garrick's Head Pub. Mary-Anne didn't seem too thrilled about Victoria or BC...but I think she'll come around. We parted ways around midnight. It was a nice, relaxing evening out with friends and I was able to drive home and not have a hangover the next day! Just goes to prove that you don't have to drink your face off to have a good time.

Sunday I got my skates, then went for brunch with the family. Gord & Brandy had picked up their wedding photos, so we looked through those. Very nice! I was happy that my hair had stayed tamed for the day. Brunch was at Six Mile Pub...it was ok, but we got there late into it and some of the food was gettin a bit old. The spread changes from week to week, and I didn't care for as many of the dishes this week as I have in the past. The Eggs Benny had been cooked too long and the yolks were dry and flaky and yucky. Still pretty good though. Following brunch, Gord, Brandy, and I went shopping for their wedding present (I had decided what I wanted to get them (a bookcase), but wanted them to pick it out as they are the ones to use it. They ended up choosing one from Dodd's, which is the place I felt had the best stuff at the best price. Gord even managed to get the price down a bit as he had done some installations or maintenance on their heat pumps in the past and our salesman recognized him...plus we told him it was a wedding present. It's good to have contacts!

Sunday evening, Melinda came over as she had been in town on a date. We chatted, watched some TV, and reminisced. I ate meatloaf, she drank her cleanse juice as she is fasting.

I seem to be just describing my weekend activities lately...not much philosophising or thoughts or whatnot. It's just the way it goes. Sometimes this serves as a sounding board, other times it serves as a diary. There are no rules. Ha! I love it!

Colds suck...thankfully mine never became a full blown one. Sore throat and a runny nose, and now it seems to be on it's way out. Good riddance.

Q, Sara, and I ran the Royal Victoria Half Marathon yesterday morning (at 7 frickin' 30!...I was up at 5:15). I got off to a great start and felt good for the majority of the run. I was ahead of both Q, and Sara, although I started ahead of them, so not a big feat. 10K came and went like nothing. But around 16K I started to feel it. I grabbed a water at one of the aid stations and walked to drink it (earlier I'd tried drinking a Gatorade whilst running and it didn't work so well). The walking felt good and gave a good rest, but trying to get running again proved pretty hard...very heavy legs. I did get going, but wussed out again at the next kilometre marker and walked again. I did this for the last 4K...walked about 3-400 metres of each kilometre. I'd wasted my energy at the beginning of the run and I had nothing left to finish on. I shamed myself...I wanted to truly run the entire half marathon. It doesn't feel "true" having walked part of it. But you know what? Fuck it! I was somewhat sick, plus I'd missed out on two months of training time this summer due to my wrecked knee...so I think I did ok. I hadn't run 21K in my training...I'd only ever made it to about 16 or 17...which is where I made it yesterday morning before needing to walk. I'm sure if I'd really forced myself I could have run the whole thing...but I didn't want to deal with the reprecussions after...it wasn't worth it. Q caught up to me at the last K, and we crossed the finish line together...just over 2 hours.

Overall it was a great experience. I may eventually work up to a half marathon again...I don't think I'll ever do a full marathon. 10Ks are no problem. I will keep up my running...but I think I'm gonna take a couple weeks off. I need to get with the skating now...Becky said she go skating with me anytime, so that's cool. Rol said I could borrow his hockey gear, so that's cool too. I'll be shootin' puck in no time.

Went to Evolution on friday with Becky and Sean after work. Polly was there with some guy on a sort of date...but she did invite us out, so it wasn't like we were intruding. I hadn't been to Evo in at least six years...it was good. Better music than most other clubs...although it wasn't all great for dancing to. It's a modern rock club. No heavy drinkin...just a couple, then home.

Saturday, Rol invited Polly and I out for some sailing. Polly's car was still at Evolution, so I picked her up. On the way to get Rol, we saw a girl running to catch a bus, but she missed it...so I stopped, honked the horn, and told her to get in. She hopped in the back and we drove her up behind the bus and she got out when it made an official stop. There's my good deed for the day.

Sailing wasn't much in the way of sailing...there was pretty much no wind. The water was super calm. We floated for a couple hours, then motored back in. Grabbed a beer and some swanky appys at at swanky pub in Sidney before heading home. Not really my type of pub...too fancy, it wasn't comfortable cause you felt like you had to be on your best behaviour.

That evening I joined some people from work at the Shark Club to watch the Canucks game. It was Steve's birthday too...not that I really know him that well...but I'm always up to help someone celebrate. I'd never been into the Shark Club before...it was a good venue for watching a game (that's what it's setup for). I left after the game, as I had to rest up for the run the next day. Jack was leaving at the same time, so I gave him a ride home.

Thanksgiving dinner was Sunday evening out at mom and dad's. I drove Grandma out...Gord and Brandy didn't make it down as Gord wasn't feeling well. It was a good dinner...quite simple compared to previous years, but I like simple. I was pretty tired, so we didn't stay too late.

All in all, a good weekend, except for my sniffly nose. Back to work today...Monday Night Football beckons.

Gol dang I love driving my parent's Dodge Ram...I feel indestructible in it! So much torque, so much power, so high up.

Gord and Brandy got married yesterday, after eight years of togetherness. The wedding went very well and it seemed that a good time was had by all. I was a groomsman, as well as the MC for the reception. The months of planning all came together for a beautiful evening. I'll attempt a recap from my perspective:

Friday afternoon I headed up to Mill Bay around the same time as mom and dad. We settled into the Shawnigan Lake house mom and dad had rented for the weekend as our base. Soon after we journeyed to Arbutus Ridge...the venue for both the ceremony and reception. Band equipment, presentation equipment, and decorations were all setup and a short rehearsal was done. The weather looked promising. That night, dinner was hosted by mom and dad at the house (lasagna). Gord and Brandy presented us groomsmen and bridesmaids with gifts...I received a quality poker set, something I had been wanted to get for myself at some time. After the guests left, poker was played by us house stayers...just for fun. Gord took the pot at 1am when we wrapped up...a good sign that things were going his way. Bed (although I wasn't anywhere near tired, so I watched "Waiting for Guffman" on my laptop).

Saturday was fairly lax in the morning. Ceremony wasn't until 3pm. Hung around the house for a bit, then went into Duncan with Gord and Frank (the best man) for some last minute items. Then we stopped in at the venue and made sure everything was in order. The weather was iffy...it was raining on and off with big clouds passing overhead. Decorations were set, music was ready to go, all we needed was Gord's tie, which he'd forgotten at his house (where Brandy was getting ready). Steve, who delivered the flowers to the girls, picked up the tie and was to bring it to Gord at Arbutus Ridge before we left to go to the house to get dressed (I hadn't showered yet, so I had that extra step...plus shaving). Steve got lost between Gord's house and the venue, so we waited longer than ideal for him to arrive. Once he did, we were outta there. Hit the house, I hit the bathroom...shave, shower, dressed, hair, done...well, almost. I had to get Frank to tie my tie (as did Gord and Jon). I rarely wear a tie...why do I need to know how to tie it? Thankfully Frank was in the know and he did a nice job (he also ironed all our shirts earlier...what a guy). All suited up, we headed back to the venue and were right on schedule arriving at 2:30.

Guests were arriving, greetings were made, emotions were out. The weather was still on and off with the rain. Close to go time, I escorted Jay, Mother of the Bride, down to her seat (which was wet because of the weather). Soon after, the wedding procession began...in the rain. Many guests had run to get their umbrellas at the last minute, a few got caught up in the middle of the procession (which was a lengthy walk down a brickwork pathway complete with bridge). Brandy appeared with her Dad and she looked lovely in her dress. She was crying...I'm sure they were tears of joy, but I had wondered at one point if she was upset that it was raining. Regardless, she stayed composed and she and Gord got hitched. I was little unimpressed with the JP...she mispronouced both last names during the ceremony, plus she fumbled her words a few times. During the signing of the registry, Papa Planman and family friend, Linda, sang/performed a lovely duet, "On Your Wedding Day". The rain did let up near the end. Once they were announced as husband and wife, they lead and the rest of us wedding party people followed. At the top of the hill, we held off on pictures for a bit because family and friends came up and the whole meet and greet and congrats thing went on...despite the fact that the couple had not planned on having a receiving line. I held the train on Brandy's dress up off the ground as it was wet (Gord started out doing it, but he needed both hands for all the hugs and handshakes going on). We did pictures down where the ceremony had taken place...family ones first, wedding party ones second, then bride and groom only at the end. They took off around the golf course for a while, and the rest of us mingled (and I checked that things were ready to go and setup for my video presentation).

Right on time, the couple returned from pictures and the reception entrance was made (thanks to Rol for making the introductions, as I, the MC, was also in the wedding party). No sooner had Gord and Brandy made it to the head table, then the glasses started "tinking". They kissed. I got up and became the MC, set the record straight on the kissing situation (it was kiss for kiss...you show them how you want them to kiss, and they'll do it), and said dinner would be in a bit. When dinner was ready, I got the head table and the two immediate family tables up first...then drew random numbers for the remaining eight. I've come to the conclusion that no matter how fair you try to make table selection...people still get annoyed with you and your choices (when they're last). Oh well...they got to eat and they really didn't have to wait THAT long. I waited until the end, even though I was seated at the head table...it seemed only right what with me being the MC. Dinner was awesome...great salads, good veggies, and sweet meat! I went back for seconds, as did many others. Following dinner was the cake cutting, which went well...and little Isabella (Frank & Veronica's daughter) was very cute looking over the edge of the table at the cake. Speeches followed, and that was Brandy's grandmother, Lois, with a wonderful toast to the bride, followed by Frank and Desirea (the best man, and maid of honour) with a heartfelt toast to the groom. Open mic brought about a few stories of the couple, and in that time I setup the projector for my video presentation. When it seemed that no one else was going to talk, I introduced and ran my video...it went slick. I had had it sitting in pause on the first frame which was black, and all I had to do was click the mouse anywhere on the screen to get it started. I had Rol hit the lights, and all I needed to do was adjust the volume on the audio. The video played without flaw and I'd set it up so that when it finished, it was cut to a photo of the couple that I'd taken earlier when we were doing pictures (it was one of them kissing). It was the slickest and smoothest playing of a video via an lcd projector that I'd ever seen...not to toot my own horn or anything (I'm not referring to the content of the video...although I did receive many compliments on it...I'm referring to the fact that there was no fumbling with inputs or trying to get the video to play...no time was wasted, and the computer desktop never made an appearance). There were a few more comers up for open mic, then mingling. Dancing got underway just before 9.

The first dance was "This Year's Love" by David Grey...a song I wasn't much familiar with, but it was very nice and appropriate. "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong was song #2 for Gord & Mom, and Brandy with her Dad. Song #3 was "Wonderful Tonight" by Eric Clapton for the Bridal Party, family, and halfway through, everyone. I danced with my new sister in-law, Desirea. The Moon Dogs (mom and dad's band) got ready to go after that, and they rocked things up pretty good. I decided to not act like my usual self and do some dancin'. The dance floor stayed empty for the first couple minutes of the Moon Dogs first song, so I encouraged Uncle Don and Auntie Bernice and cousin Jaimie to come up with me to the floor. Uncle Len and Auntie Dianne were on their way up too...and some others came out. Before we knew it the floor was full and everyone was having a good time and enjoying the good tunes. Whenever the floor died down a bit, Desirea and I took it upon ourselves to drag some people up...she was having fun (as was I). At one point, Desirea's boyfriend, Greg, asked me to dance...I'm not sure if he was bored, or drunk, or just adventurous, but whatever. I refused at first, but then he said, "oh c'mon", I said what the hey. We only lasted a minute or so, then switched to some girls. The Dogs played for about an hour before I stopped them so we could do the bouquet and garter toss. That went good...Gord managed to get the garter off with his teeth (although she pulled the dress up so he didn't have to hunt for it). The Dogs played for another half hour or so and then Rol took over for the rest of the evening. A lot of people left after the band finished, but enough stayed on until about 1 and fun was continued to be had on the dance floor. I was out there a lot...groovin' and head bangin' and goofin' off. This other guy, Jeffrey, was a crowd pleaser and knew what he was doing out there. The bar closed down around 1 and that's when things wrapped up. We packed up the band gear and decorations and the night was over. It was great fun. Gord and Brandy were very happy from what I could see.

Sunday was the gift opening at the house on Shawnigan. The whole family was over, plus some others. Breakfast was served and the wrapping paper came off. They got a good haul. Once everyone was gone we packed and cleaned up the house and were outta there. I stopped off at Gord & Brandy's to pick up the rental suits to take back to Victoria. They offered me some cake from the centre tier of their cake...chocolate cheesecake. Gord cut me a big piece...it was yum (and rich). Then, to take home, Brandy cut me a huge chunk...good for 4 or 5 slices. I was on my way home.

So...it was a good weekend. Overall, the wedding went well. There were little hiccups, but I think the couple was very pleased, as were the majority of the guests. So congratulations to Gord & Brandy! Thanks for planning yourselves a great wedding.