How's those sausages Charlie?

Friday started camping trip number 2 of the summer of '06 (3rd camping trip this year, although the first was technically in the spring). After work, I picked up Jackson and we headed north to Cowichan where Becks and Steve and selected some lovely campsites at Skutz Falls earlier in the day during the recon mission. Got our shit setup, Ang and her crew arrived. Sites were a bit limited in that you had to setup your tent on the designated pad...so they snagged a buncha sites just across the driveway from us. There was a bit of confusion and frustration, but it all got sorted out. Yeech arrived as we returned from getting groceries. He setup on a site as Jackson and I rocked out the double burgs. Campfires were goin, we played some shithead, hung out with the others for a bit, but ultimately ended up at our site maintaining our fire and shitheading it up some more. The late crew arrived before 1am and were able to drive right in as the gate was not shut. Frenchie arrived first on his own, followed not far behind by Becks with her Kiwi friends (Travis and Andy) and Steve on his own in the AXterra. Beers were drank, socializing was done, and the light was observed in the sky. Jackson, Frenchie and I were the hardcores for the evening, turning in at 4:30am.

After a stellar 2, maybe 3 hours of sleep, I was up. I don't sleep much camping, and it doesn't seem to phase me. Very strange. Actually, not that strange. Saturday morning was spent waiting for others to wake up, and whilst that was on, we blew up our floatie thingies (as they are so called by the Beckstress) and managed to fit the majority of them into my Sonoma. I love owning a truck. Oh, did I mentioned we'd be floating down the Cowichan River today? 10am was wakeup calls for everyone and we were outta the site by 11 heading for Lake Cowichan. The usual breakfast place was closed (as in 'shut down and for sale' closed). Jackson and I settled for Subway and remained close to the truck and the floatie thingies. The others opted to walk to a restaurant a ways away. Apparently it was worth it. Daytrippers started to arrive and soon the parking lot at the info centre in Lake Cowichan was filling up. Q&S were there, as was P&W and M&E. Blainey was en route and had called to confirm. After a bit of confusion about the whereabouts of the end of the ride, Yeech's car was parked at Little Beach, where we would disembark (I played shuttle and ferried Yeech and the Kiwis back to the start in the back of the truck). Someone else was parked there, but I wasn't involved in that one, so I gots nothin' to say about it.

We hit the water around 1pm. It was quite the site. Our group was very large and it was a just a mass entrance into the river. A variety of floatie thingies were used, from ski tubes to regular truck inner tubes to air mattresses and even a rubber ducky tube (a bit small). But the rockinest floatie thingy is the Club 100, of which there were 3 card carrying members in our group. Yeech (still owes me $10 for his), Frenchie, and moi were all in the low riding, highly manoueverable, just plain fuckin' kick ass floaters around! I had 3 beers, a gatorade, sunscreen, and my digital camera with me (in a ziplock bag courtesy of Becks (I bought Ziplock bags but failed to read the box in full and discovered I had purchased the type with freshness vents (ie little holes)...not good for waterproofing a camera)). Jackson did have a pretty kick ass floating cooler which I must give him credit for. As we floated, we mingled amongst ourselves. I shared my time between the various groups and spent some time just out in semi-open space on my own. I recorded video for the entire final leg of the journey...2000 seconds worth (a little over half an hour)!. It's POV for me, looking out of the stern of the Club 100 with my feet at the bottom of the frame the entire time. I have yet to watch back through it all, but I think it's going to be great fun. We defloated at Little Beach and deflated our floatie thingies. It was 4pm...3 hours of floating (and 50 SPF did well for it...not a burn on me!). I caught a ride back to the parking lot with Yeech, who then figured he didn't need to return as there were enough rides for everyone left. It turned out there wasn't...although I do own a truck. Frenchie up front, Jackson, Becks, and the Kiwis in the back with the mass of floatie thingies, and we were on our way back to town for more supplies. Did I mention I love owning a truck?

Back in town, the daytrippers bid us farewell and we went shopping. Dinner was to be spectacular (with Jackson as head chef, it had to be!). Steaks (from New Zealand no less), potatoes, corn on the cob, garlic mushrooms (not for me, but others love it), plus chips and dip and s'mores ingredients...that's what we bought. Then we tried to find firewood. The Payless station had one bundle left. The Esso had none. The Laundromat had none. We headed back to Skutz...the Kiwis enjoying their Canadian 'back of the truck' experience.

As dinner was begun, Q&S stopped by to say hi and check out the site before heading home. Frenchie went off with some friend to see her new condo. Andy and I went off in search of more firewood and ended up with a decent truckload. We started off with sticks from the bushes down the road, but then found a decommissioned logging road a pile of wood scraps that someone had dumped there. Jackpot! Dinner was nearing completion when we arrived back. I tried to help where I could, but Jackson had it pretty much under control. The steaks were as big as the plates...only Travis and I were able to finish ours (I believe...that may not be entirely true). The rest of the food was awesome as well and we were all stuffed.

After dinner, ladderball was played. My reigning title from the Canada Day trip was quickly stripped from me by Andy, and later Becks kicked my ass just to make sure it stayed that way. She reigned for a while, but in the end Travis won a game and claimed victory. Jackson and I threw the aerobie around for a bit, and a rugby ball was present too. As dusk fell, Baci was played. It got so that we were playing in complete dark and it was awesome! Lanterns and flashlights were used sparingly and only when necessary. We played to 5 and I came close with 4...but Travis (again) took the win. We retired from the games back to the campfire and got into the shithead again. It was great fun with the Kiwis learning the game (and doing fucking well), Frenchie never quite grasping the rules and often not realizing it was his turn, and Steve rumbling the entire picnic table with his farts. Did I mention that a fair number of beers had been and were still being consumed? We broke for a while, I rocked the Jiffy Pop, we also had s'mores at some point in the evening. Eventually we migrated back to the picnic table for more shithead action. Travis was killing us all, and Steve was hilarious with his table talk code in an effort to take Travis out ("So I was at this CLUB last week with these TWO chicks...they were TENS..."). Frenchie was itchin' for some food again and the blueberrys were found...soon to be known as bluebs thanks to Frenchie. And just for the record...Becks may have grabbed some small bluebs from the container...but when asked to confirm that she indeed had small bluebs, she said "no". Shithead eventually came to an end, but we continued talking and laughing around the campfire well into the daylight. 6am rolled around and we decided it would probably be a good idea to get a few moments of sleep...especially those of use who were Blue Rodeo bound (Jackson had gone to bed around 3 or 3:30).

I got 3 hours of sleep and was a bit groggy at 9am, but not too bad. Jackson was up and we started to clean up and organize the site. After some shithead of course. 10:30 I gave wakeup calls to the Becks and French tents. Didn't get too much response. Jackson started breakfast, using my Toolbox Grill for the first time! People arose as breakfast became ready...sausages, leftover potatoes, scrambled eggs, english muffins, jalepeno jack cheese...it was the freakin' bomb! (as the kids say...or said. I never said that)

We got packed up by like 1pm and parked out on the road and went for a swim and a hangout by the river. That was refreshing. Approaching 3pm, we left to begin heading for Nanaimo, but intending to stop somewhere along the way to snooze and relax. I chose Fuller Lake (despite the fecal coliform contamination from 3 years ago...which was now all cleared up and the lake was open for business) and it worked out nicely. Big grassy slope, in the shade...bit of sun. I had my wicked picnic blanket and sprawled out. Becks and Travis and Jack all did pretty much the same. We left there around 5pm and carried on up to Nanaimo, dropping Travis off at the Duke Point Ferry (where he had to wait for an hour and a half for the next boat). We ate in downtown Nantown at the Modern Cafe. Nachos and fish and chips...pretty good. Service a little lame, but apparently someone hadn't shown up. I navigated the Nan with surprising ease and never got lost or off course (although I did make Becks run a red light when I ran a yellow not thinking that she was following...oops). We hit Beban park around 8, just in time for David Gogo. Played a round of Baci...Becks and I vs Jackson and Thompsies son...although Jackson soon opted for football and Miza took over. Becks and I rocked the Baci and won 10-4 in like 8 rounds. Go team! Sat down for the end of Gogo and moved over to the side for Powder Blues (who didn't play Doin' it Right for some unknown reason). I had a rootbeer and Thompsie bought me an ice cream...what a nice guy! Blue Rodeo hit the stage closer to 10pm than 9 and were fuckin' awesome! I recognized probably 50-60% of the songs, but danced and sang along to all that I could. We moved up and had a pretty awesome spot. They perform very well and I am so glad I saw them (I have seen them before...briefly...at SarsStock...they got to play 4 songs). Good idea Becks!

Drove home in decent time...in bed by 1:30. Very comfortable. Did not want to get up at 6:45, but did. Awesome weekend.

My Koolatron cooler is pretty cool.

I was going to finish off the details of the Canada Day camping trip, but you know what? Fuck it! Sunday was checking out Elk Falls, more McIvor Lake, and nursing hangovers. The evening was pretty uneventful.

Why do I say Fuck It!? Cause I just can't be bothered to write about that now while my head is filled with...I dunno. My gut feels low and I'm very somber right now. Several of my co-workers...some I considered friends...were layed off today. Many more cutbacks happened at CHUM stations across the country. It came as a total surprise to me, and many others. A total surprise that it happened today...yes (although I knew it couldn't go on the way it had been going on in every department without some cuts). A total surprise of who got cut...very yes. Good people that were dedicated to their jobs were let go. Some incompetence still remains. It's shocking, but it's business.

I don't know how to react to this. I've been with the station for almost three years and have seen two other rounds of layoffs. The first time, I was new, I was amazed I stayed, and I barely knew any of the people who lost their jobs. The second time, I knew more, but still didn't know a whole lot of the people who lost their jobs on any sort of personal level. This time, some people that I know and hang out with outside of work lost their jobs. I don't know what to say to these people. I don't know how to react.

Then there's the restructuring...the remaining people have been moved around into positions that they may do well, but are not necessarily their strong suit or their preference. They've still got jobs and for that I (and they) are thankful, but it kinda sucks (especially since they are now doing the jobs their former co-workers and friends held). My department was not affected, except for one indirect hit that isn't entirely clear at this time.

Who knows what will happen in the next few months though...BGM has bought us out. Are more cuts or relocations coming? My gut isn't it's usual self. I bet I shit blood tomorrow.

All this has really got me thinking...What do I do? I need a plan. I've been thinking about this for a while actually. I'm pretty much just spinning my wheels right now. By the time I hit 30, I better have a better career path idea for myself. Do I try and stick it out where I am? or do I take matters into my own hands and take control of my career? Running my own business...while a scary thought, is not out of the question. I'd really like to come up with a solid internet based business idea, but I just don't seem to be creative enough to think outside the box. Argh!

I'm happy to still have a job, but I'm disappointed that some other good people lost theirs. At least they are good workers and should be very employable. If I can help them in any way, I will.

There's a reason I am known as Planman.

Last weekend was the big Canada Day camping weekend. Frenchie and I had originally planned a trip to my family's cabin in the East Kootenay's with friends from our ACP class and a few others. We nixed those plans at the end of May though, after the Sasquatch trip and just realizing that it was going to be a lot of driving and a lot of cost (ferry and gas) for a very short time at the cabin. So, we instead planned a camping trip on the island. We made one member of our ACP class angry with us...but alas, we cannot please everyone.

The new plans never developed a whole lot...basically we decided on a couple of spots, didn't make reservations, and hoped to get in. I sent out emails and sort of became the organizer. The ACP class wasn't very responsive, and in the end, none of them came. It ended up being an A-Channel/my friends/my family trip, with S&R, P&W, and G&B joining much of the regular A-Channel crew for a debaucherous camping weekend.

So Friday I had off, as did G&B. After a quick stop in at work to take care of a few morning things, I headed up to their place where I loaded my stuff into their camper and we headed out in the new GMC. Dasha and I occupied the back, with Bailey sitting in the middle up front. The doggies were well behaved and the trip was comfortable in the full size truck. The roads weren't busy and we made good time. First campsite attempt was Sproat Lake in the Alberni Valley. We knew it was unlikely, and it certainly was. Both the lower and upper provincial campsites were full at 12:30. Ah nuts! On to option #2...backtrack to the main highway and head north for Buttle Lake in Strathcona Park. We bought all our booze and last minute food items in Port Alberni, and then began the backtrack.

I can't remember the last time I was north of Nanaimo, and I had not been on phase two of the Inland Island Highway at all. It's great...straight and fast! It took us no time to get to Campbell River...well almost no time (we had to stop in Courtenay for a bathroom break). We went right through CR and decided to stop in at Elk Falls, just outside of town. It was a nice campground, but lacked a lake, which I knew everyone (17 people expected) was wanting to lounge around at during the days. We just wanted to see how full they were getting, and to ask if they knew how full Buttle Lake was getting. They didn't know about Buttle, but rather than drive the additional 46Km for a crapshoot at 4 campsites closeby, we opted to take the doublesite and 2 nearby sites that we found available at Elk Falls. The Park Facilitator told us about a nearby lake about 5 km away that was great for swimming...we checked it out and it looked awesome! So we hurried back to the campground and snagged all the sites, settling ourselves into the doublesite. It was about 5pm by now. I notified everyone of our whereabouts...some were coming up that night, some the next day.

We setup camp, had some dinner (I had personal chefs the whole weekend, as G&B had offered to handle all the food and they did a wonderful job of that) - ribs, potato salad and green salad...very yum. I had brought up the tents of the late news crew who were planning to travel up in the wee hours of the morning...we wouldn't expect them until after 3am. So I set their tents up for them on the 2nd campsite. Blainey and Johnny Mac arrived and setup on the 3rd campsite. Herch and Yeech arrived at dusk and setup at our doublesite...I had it all worked out. Perm and his friend, Becka, arrived after the gate had been closed at 11pm, but the night facilitator happened to be around at the time they arrived, and Gord managed to convince him to open the gate and let them drive in...so that worked out well. Did I mention that the Park Facilitators were excellent to us? We were only charged the basic camping fee for each site we used...no additional charges for extra vehicles or tents...of which we had many. Yay to the parks people!

While and once everyone was setup, some shithead was played, and a bit of drinking went on. We got a campfire going and were hanging out. The crew at campsite 3 stayed down there most of the time. Yeech, Herch, and I were the only ones left after about 1:30, just yakkin' and hangin' around the fire. At 2:40 I got a text message from Becks that read, "We r in campbell river." I was amazed...they'd driven up in 2 hours and 40 minutes! Campbell River used to be like a 5 hour trip. Night time and the Inland Island Highway have made a mockery of that! Nice work to the Frenchie for drivin' like a madman! No chance of getting the gate opened at that hour, but we met them there and helped them carry their stuff in and showed them to their campsite. They were very appreciative to have their tents already setup, but it was nowhere near bedtime. Beers were brought out and we headed back to our site where the fire was still burning. We stayed up until the sky started getting light, just shootin' the shit. At 4:30 it became bedtime. Herch and I pissed out the fire, despite Yeech's unlove for urine smoke. I wasn't even tired, despite having been up since 6am.

I didn't sleep great...I was up at 6am to go to the bathroom (a bonus for our sites...being close to the sani-dump meant we had easy access to the only flush toilets in the campground...and what good flushers they were!), then I only slept and bit and got up for good at 8:30. Yeech was already up. We played some cards, then went wandering (no one else was up). We ended up walking along the river and all the way up to the dam, crossing the river, then back down the other side and crossing again just past the campground. It was a nice roundtrip. Walking back to the camp along the highway, we spotted a driveway with a large pile of firewood. With no one in site, we each grabbed a couple pieces of wood...no one would miss them and we were pretty sure we could use 'em. The peops were up when we got back, and my breakfast of sausage & egg english muffin sandwiches was underway. Again, very yum. Johnston had arrived and was setting himself up at camp 2 where I had intended for him to go. Only 2 groups were missing...S&R and P&W. I was waiting for them to show, regardless of what the others did. Some headed off to the lake (McIvor Lake) and I gave them directions. Johnston brought ladderball, so we set that up and played a few games...all of which I won! S&R arrived a little after noon and got themselves setup with us in the double site. G&B were also waiting around with me (all others had gone to the lake), but went into town for a few things. While they were gone, P&W showed up. So now we were waiting on G&B to get back so we could all go to the lake...no biggie. People ate cause it was that time. When we were finally all reunited, we headed for McIvor and what an awesome lake it turned out to be! Beaches everywhere, comfortable, clean water, an island, and not super busy!

We located the A-Channelers who had setup on the "main" beach. G&B opted for a more secluded beach where the dogs wouldn't bother anyone else. As I walked up, Becks (in a bikini...humina humina humina) handed me a drink (well a taste of her drink...which was both refreshing and tasty) and welcomed me to our beach party. Frenchie gave me a beer and I used his footpump to get my Club 100 rubber dingy blowed up and ready to float. Actually, I think I just walked into the water first and cooled down...then I blew up the Club 100. Some of the others were floating, some were swimming, some were tanning. The day was gorgeous (as was the whole weekend...couldn't have been better camping weather). I got Blainey and Herch to float in convoy with me over to the island to check it out. Herch on his Homer Tube and Blainey on the other Club 100. We made it to the island and discovered that it was just full of trees and bushes. Boring. We returned to the boats to find Polly, who had swam over (and planned to steal our boats!). We thwarted that plan, but floated back alongside her as she swam. Upon returning, Gord was signalling to me that they were leaving and I motioned back that it was cool, I'd find a ride with someone. We hung out for a bit longer...a bit of sunning and a bit more watertime, then headed back to camp. I caught a ride with Johnny Mac, throwing the Club 100s into Wilbur's Hertz truck and keeping them inflated for more floating action the next day!

Back at camp, dinner was underway for me and the others went off to make theirs. We had wicked thick steaks with baked potatoes and more salad. Yet again, very yum. Sure beat the hell outta hot dogs! More drinking began, more ladderball was played, and I remained the champ! Shithead was played at camp 2 and quite a few people were partaking...it was a double deck game. Slowly everyone migrated to camp 2 for the evening and the drinking continued. I was onto caesars now. The details of the night are somewhat fuzzy, but basically many pictures were taken, many drinks were had, there were chicken wings courtesy G&B, there was the singing of O'Canada at least twice, a couple of run-ins with the overnight park warden, some good conversations were had, and the campsire got stoked quite big at camp 3 by Johnny Mac as he looked for his lost keys. Blainey got woked up and poked his head out the tent, saying to Jackson, "Hey, I gotta question for you...why don't you fuck off?" Despite that, we ended the night at camp 3, Frenchie and I taking the glory for hardcores of the night (even though Jackson earlier placing a prizeless bet and shaking hands that he would outlast us both). I pissed out the fire and headed back to my tent.

I'm stoppin' there for now...Sunday/Monday and the rest of the week will follow soon! It's like a cliffhanger, but not really.

I'm on my third pair of New Balance shoes and I'm lovin' 'em! I'd never even heard of them before 2002...then I bought some while in New Zealand. I came back home and realized there's a whole store called "New Balance Victoria"...and I did know that before, but I just never realized they were big name shoes. Anyways, I bought a pair of dedicated running shoes on sale yesterday. I tried them out tonight and I'm happy with them. Lots of the spring and cushion in them. Comfy. Good fit. My first set is gettin' pretty ratty...big hole in the front, but I keep 'em around for grubbies. My second set is still in decent shape, but I realized today how compressed the sole has become. Fine for a daily wearer (which I do), but not great for running.

I did 10K tonight, no troubles. There's times when I'm running when my brain just keeps saying it's ok to stop and walk for a bit...but there's another part of my brain that overpowers and says "no fuckin' way dude!" and I power on through. I actually got something of an energy boost in the last 500m...a bit strange, but I'll take it!

Ran with the digital audio player to keep me company. Had a decent mix going on...some Audioslave, Mobile, The Who, Doobie Brothers, Moby, Holly McNarland, and 311. Classic Rock is great! I love all the rock, and even the techno and some other shit, but I'm really diggin' the classic stuff right now. Modern rock has it's place, and I do enjoy a lot of it...but ya just can't give up on the classics.

The Who...I recently got into them more than just Baba O'Riley...I love 'em! I was familiar with their stuff, but never listened to it much. Great riffs, great drums, all around good stuff!

The Doobie Brothers...I never really knew what songs they were responsible for (although I'd heard them) until I was watching a show at work one day and it came up in the closed captiong "China Grove by The Doobie Brothers" as the song played in the show. I immediately hooked myself up with some Doobie Bros and have been enjoying it since. China Grove played during my run tonight and I loved it. The use of stereo effecting is very welcome.

AC/DC...everyone who knows me knows where I stand on AC/DC.

Also went to the beach today...burnt my back. Nice goin' Planny!

Never trust the money with the drummer.

It's a Saturday night, I'm in Victoria, and I'm just chillin' at home. It happens...

Today was pretty cool...I seemed to be very popular. I didn't sleep terribly well and was in between bed and bathroom a lot. Not sick, just bowel issues. Piper came down to visit a few times, and ended up passing out on my futon as I dozed in my bed. Q wasn't sure where he'd ended up, but all was good. I arose for good around 11:30. I had received an email about a sale at New Balance...and I was in need of new running shoes, so I decided to head downtown and check out the deals, plus pickup my prize that I won at Mark's Work Wearhouse from the draw I'd entered last week. Rolmo called to see if I wanted to go wakeboarding...I was in for that (but would have to leave early cause I promised to help Battle move). When I got to New Balance, I got to checking out some shoes, then Gord called cause he was in town and wanted to show off his new truck to me. Yeech also called while I was at the store...he wanted to go Go-Carting. I declined on that...reluctantly. I bought some shoes...on sale. Met Gord and had a ride and a drive in the new truck...pretty frickin' cool! Picked up my prize from Mark's (it was a drill), and headed home to grab my swim shorts and a towel. Picked up Rol and headed for the Elk. Had a wakeboard...I got up no problem (although it took me forever to get into the boots...the usual), but my legs got sore fast and I let go once just for some relief. Bailed once and I decided my legs had had enough, so got back in the boat. Got dropped off at the dock so I could go help Battle, which turned out to be a joke. I didn't realize he had four guys helping, and what was in the truck was not hard to move. All boxes, with one light loveseat and a futon. I so could have stayed at the lake...and Battle knew I was there. He did call (and I missed it) AFTER I'd left the lake to say that I probably wasn't needed. I'm pretty sure he knew earlier than that that he wouldn't have as much stuff as he thought he was gonna have and couldn't told me to not bother coming out. But oh well...

I decided to visit the parents since I was already halfway to their house. I needed to steal some camping gear for next weekend anyways. Visited and had dinner with them, then came home and watched a movie.

So that was my Saturday...it was pretty cool...except for the whole Battle thing. At least he provided beer and his Granny brought sandwiches.

This past week wasn't bad. I worked the dayshift until Wednesday, then Battle had a couple days off, so I had to cover for him on primetime. That was ok, I guess.

Monday, I watched game 7 with Herch and eventually Yeech and Buzzbomb at the Stinky Winky. We had a fair number of pitchers. Yeech, Herch, and I went to Johnny Zee's afterward and played some games for a bit. Drunk video games...good, fun times! I hung out with the newsies at the station for a bit before riding home.

Tuesday I played tennis with Becks. She won the first set 6-1, but then her parents (who were in town for the week) came by to watch and her game went a little bit shit. I won the second set...and it wasn't that I got any better. Parental pressure...it sucks. I felt a little bad for her...but I'll still take the wins (while I can)! I sorta met her parents...waved at them when they arrived, and said goodbye from afar when they left. They seem nice enough. That evening I went to see Cars with Q&S. We ate Naanwiches and they were pretty yum. The movie was great, except boo-urns for the Rascal Flatts version of "Life is a Highway".

Wednesday, work was pretty standard. Went for lunch with Sara and Herch...we tried the Persian restaurant that I've walked past a few times and keep meaning to try. It was pretty good...and decent portions. In the evening I went for a run (just a 5K), then Tim-man called me to see if I wanted to go to Nacho Libre. I went...it wasn't that good. A few laughs, but nothing really great about it.

Thursday I took a drive out to Sidney to pick up a globe for the Coleman Lantern (I broke the original). Then I worked.

Friday I had lunch with Dad down in the inner harbour. Then I worked. After work I attempted to be a guitar hero on Jackson's Playstation 2. I was not a hero. Could be a fun game though...

So that was it. I wasn't going to recap it all, but I did. Maybe I'll have a good rant soon. I haven't ranted in a little while. I haven't had much to rant about though. Life is good. I got no complaints. Well, I probably do...but not in the forefront right now.

My cat's breath smells like cat food.

Yes yes yes, it's been entirely too long since I last posted. No excuses, I've been busy, and when not busy, I haven't felt like posting. My last post was about Sasquatch, so here's brief catchup to current status...not even anytime for observations or commentary or opinions.

The week after Sasquatch I started in my new role as acting Broadcast Operations Supervisor...with the real BOS taking the summer off. It went fine...more administrative work and the point person for Master Control.

The following weekend I was in Tacoma to shoot some more Cobras. I took the Clipper down (first time in the 20 years they've been operating) and got a ride to Tacoma from an aquaintance of Earl's. Earl and his dad were there...drove in the Cobra through wet weather. The location was beautiful, and I got another great set of photos thanks to the weather holding out, Herch for loaning me his camera again, and to whoever it was who designed that 427 Cobra body. I spent the majority of the Sunday in Seattle, waiting for the Clipper. I walked around Pike Place market, then by the Space Needle and wandered through the Science Fiction museum.

I was back on my regular shift for the next week, cause Battle had a week off.

The weekend after that I was in Chetwynd to help MetalMike re-install the switcher and move it and some other equipment to a different location. They flew me up and got me a rental car...it was a quick trip, but good to get back there and see the changes and the friends. Chetwynd is doing well, as is the station. Quality product they are putting out. I flew back on Sunday night and had lined up ahead of time to get Becks to pick me up from the airport at midnight, but she forgot her car was in the shop, so I ended up getting Herch to pick me up...what a good guy!

That next week was my first full week of day shifts as T-BOS. It went well...I handled the situations that were thrown my way with relative ease. Tim-man was (and still is) in town for work, so I saw him quite a bit...a big group gathering on tuesday, a run on Dallas road on Wednesday, hangin' with Choy and LEJ on Friday. Tuesday I played tennis with Becks...she kicked my ass of course, but I won a few games. Friday I went in early and took my inline skates. ACM was on location at SOFMA and I was going to be background action, skating around as they promoted the father's day inline skating. I received a phone call from my Grandma at 7:15 as I was starting to skate...she told me my Grandpa had had a heart attack the night before, but that he seemed to be ok and stable now. I was phased a bit, but I knew my Grandpa was strong and that all would be fine. I passed on the info to the rest of the family later in the morning.

And getting around to wrapping things up, Saturday I was up early and Gord and I swapped out the old crappy tranny in my truck, for the older but better tranny I got in that parts truck. I lost my speedometer and odometer, but who the fuck needs that? That evening Q&S hosted a Summer Solstice Party and we had a BBQ and potluck, complete with pinata where Q almost lost his head to a wild swing by the Herchman!

Sunday I spent out in East Sooke with Pop Planiden, Gord, and Brandy (and the dogs)...mom was in Burnaby with G&G. It was good, and I made some kick ass burgs!

That gets up close to the present...so I'll update the rest in a more timely matter.

Goin' to see Cars now!

Adventure abound! Let's finish off Sasquatch...

It rained all through Friday night and into Saturday morning. I was pretty comfy in the back of the truck, although there were a couple of minor leaks. I had to get up to pee at one point, which was a nuisance. I think I got up around 9 and was followed soon by Perm. We didn't feel too motivated to make breakfast or do anything. It was still raining and we were just standing in it (it wasn't heavy rain). Finally we decided to fire up the barbecue and make some bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches. Jackson arose soon after and breakfast was on! Around 11am, the second half of our crew arrived (Yeech, Becks, and AdLee). They found us without too much difficulty and setup their shit next to ours. Jackson convinced this guy, Neal, who was camping alone beside us, to move his wicked cool canopy over to our area and hang out and eat with us (we made him some food too...cause he didn't seem to have brought much with him). Did I mention the sun was out by this point? Well, it was.

We headed to the amphitheatre around 1-1:30, just in time for Gomez to hit the mainstage. They were pretty good. The Gorge is beautiful! Big grassy hill, terraced grassy ledges, and concrete pad up front by the stage, not to mention the gorgeous Columbia River valley backdrop! The grounds are very well kept and it's organized quite well. Food and merchandise in a few spots and many Honey Buckets (portable bathrooms). We found ourselves a spot on the grassy hill and made homebase. Perm and I went down to the front for Sufjan Stevens, who was actually quite entertaining. Even more entertaining was this guy in front of us, with pantyhose or long johns on his head, jumping around and dancing like no one was watching (but everyone was). He was trippin' on something...ecstasy maybe? At one point, some girls were standing behind him, mimicking his every move...it was quite funny! Mags was supposed to be there, and I kept an eye out for her much of the time, but never did I see her and her crew.

The sun was out for the first while in the afternoon, but we watched the clouds move overhead and could see rain coming our way. Around 4:30, while Neko Case was bustin' out on the main stage, the rain started to drop from the northeast. Not a huge deal...we were prepared for rain. Some of us had ponchos, there was a tarp, and Jackson had his mexican blanket. But as we sat and endured the big ole fat raindrops, I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around. Jackson was holding a small chunk of ice and said, "this just hit me". I replied, "Fuck off!". He said, "No". Moments later the hail truly started...and it wasn't small hail either. It started out about the size of a pea, and ended up about the size of a pistachio nut (ya, I've got a buncha pistachio nuts on the table beside me here...). We got pelted with this hail for what seemed like half an hour, but was probably about 10 minutes. Again, we were out in the open on the grassy hill. My poncho was no level of protection, although I guess I didn't get as wet as I could have. I am glad I was wearing a hat. Jackson's blanket and AdLee's tarp were our best lines of defence, although the tarp was used mostly for attempting to keep our bags dry. The stage got shut down after a few minutes of the hail and the hill was scattered with people trying to cover and people who just didn't care and were running about. When it finally stopped, there was a good covering of ice on the ground...maybe 1-2 inches thick in places. It was a freak patch of weather that no one had exepected.

Wet and some of us cold, we changed into what dry clothes we had and made our way down to the front area...back from the stage maybe 30 metres. The Tragically Hip were due up next and this was one of the main acts many of us had come to see. I'd never seen them live, and was looking forward to it. It took them a while to get the stage up and running, but the Hip finally did show and played the most rockinest set of the day! I loved it. Gord was one fire with his antics and his rants and such. The band pounded out the songs...some new, some classic...and it was a beautiful thing to have endured a hail storm for. They dedicated the set to Neko Case, who hadn't gotten to finish hers.

After the Hip, Perm and Jackson took off back to the campsite. The rest of us wandered around a bit and ended up in a lounge area where the Edmonton game was on. We caught the last 13 minutes of the 3rd period and cheered as Edmonton took out the Ducks and entered the Stanley Cup Finals! What a playoff run so far! Last team to sneak in in the Western Conference, and they took it all the way to the final round! It was nice to be in the lounge, out of the wet, cold grounds. The Wookie Stage was never brought back to life on Saturday...Sam Roberts got cancelled, which sucks, but happens. I've seen him before, and I'm sure I'll see him again. After the game, we wandered back to the main stage and caught the end of the Shins set. They were good, but not really my style. Becks, Hoar, and AdLee were lookin' pretty chilly and damp, so they headed back to the campsite. Yeech and I hung on to see the Flaming Lips...they always put on the good show. We waited while they setup the stage and it wasn't until the stage was pretty much ready to go that someone came out to announce that because of the weather and them being off on time, Ben Harper was going to perform first, the the Lips. Well, I'm not into Ben Harper, nor is Yeech, and we weren't going to wait through his set to see the Lips...it was just too damp and cold out to bother. I was dry except for my feet...and wet socks and shoes are just not enjoyable. We headed out.

On the way back we discovered that they were allowing re-entry...something that was posted as not being allowed (they lightened up after the weather situation). Had I known this earlier (maybe if they'd made an announcement??) I would have gone back to the campsite after the Hip, dried off, and headed back for the Lips. I still could have done that during the Harper show, but decided to not. Wish I had the energy to though, as I heard the Lips played a great show. Oh well...I've seen them before.

The campsite was pretty quiet. Jackson had some burgers cooked up, so had a couple of those and we played a bit of cards...everyone was in bed by midnight.

Sunday the sun was shining brightly with barely a cloud in the sky! I got up once I realized this and started to lay my wet shoes and socks out to dry on the tailgate. The others slowly stirred and did the same. We had plenty of time before we wanted to hit the show...we ate and played cards and played ladder ball (which AdLee had borrowed from SJ). Eating, at least at breakfast, was all about one upmanship. Perm, on the Saturday, had made a grilled cheese sangwich and soaked up some of the bacon grease in the break to make it extra tasty. I one upped him by doing the same, but putting some bbq sauce inside before sealing it up! On Sunday, after another bacon, egg, and cheese sangwich, I decided to try something we'd talked about the day prior...a grilled cheese and beef jerky sangwich. I grilled the jerky for a bit as I toasted the bread, then built the sangwich and enjoyed it slowly for the next 15 minutes. It was good, although not something I'd make on a regular basis. I kicked ass at both shithead and ladder ball!

We headed to the amphitheatre around 1pm, heading to see Nada Surf on the main stage. Becks and I enjoyed a caesar as we walked, and we snuck in some vodka in a water bottle, plus some cans of sprite type beverage and some sliced limes. Got in just in time for Nada Surf to play their first chord...they started with Popular, which is almost the only song I (and most people) know by them. They were decent. We, again, setup homebase on the grassy hill. Becks, Hoar, and I, went down to the front for The Arctic Monkeys and did some dancin'. There was a couple of brief rain showers, but nothing major. The sun shone for the majority. The Decemberists were great, and I also checked out We Are Scientists on the Wookie Stage. Came back to homebase in time for the end of Matisyahu, who was actually better than I expected. A rainbow even appeared for part of his performance. Queens of the Stone Age pounded out their tunes. Some of us headed over to the Wookie for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! and they were pretty fun. Back to homebase as they setup for Death Cab for Cutie. I had a headache brewing, I think from the Blue Raspberry slushy drink I had (and got spiked with Vodka). I took a couple Motrin, which I had been given in my registration pack from the TC10K. Eventually the headache cleared. Death Cab was pretty good...more rockin' than I expected. The guys voice doesn't really lend itself to a rockin' band, but they were rockin' out with screeching guitars and bangin' drums and such. We headed down to the front area near the end of their set, then waited for Beck.

Beck hit the stage around 10:30 and put on an awesome show! The best part? Puppets. Yes, puppets. There was a puppet Beck, a puppet drummer, a puppet dancin' guy, even a puppet camera guy! They mimicked everything the bad was doing, all on their own little stage with camera's covering their every move for the big screen. The music was awesome and the show was top notch. At one point, Beck was doing something of a solo bit, so the band not being needed, walked off and then showed up a little while later seated around a table, eating dinner. Eventually they worked themselves back into the show...starting with a wonderful percussion session using the glasses and any other items and utensils on the table. Beck has a broad range of musical talent, as do the people in his band, and he covers many genres. I thoroughly enjoyed that show and wish it had gone on longer!

We herded with the masses getting out of the place and walking back to the campsite. Cooked up some more burgs and played some more cards. We had like one drink, then we realized it was about 2:30am and we wanted to get away at a decent time the next morning...so it was bedtime.

The weather was decent on Monday morning and I woke up to Jackson starting to disassemble camp. We skipped breakfast and just packed things up. We were out of there by 8:30. The roads were awesome and we hit the border just after noon. Dropped Perm off in Richmond and were on the 2pm ferry.

A rockin' good trip that we plan to make an annual thing, despite the hail storm (which really just makes for a good story in the whole scheme of things). Good times...

I have been out of town at least once per month for the last 4 months...it's a big travel year!

May's outing was to The Gorge, near George, in Washington State. Why? Well, the annual Sasquatch Festival was happening, and we just had to be there! I will attempt to recap the weekend (Memorial Day Long Weekend in the US):

Friday started early, although earlier for Jackson who I picked up after working the morning show. We hit the 11am ferry and picked up Perm in White Rock. A hop through the border (after waiting for the motorcycle in front of us to stop being dumbasses and stop chatting with the customs officer) and we was on the I5! I had borrowed the parents 3/4 ton Dodge Ram and it was loaded up with barbecue, chairs, coolers, camping equipment and such. I love that truck! Turbo Diesel, it is a pleasure to drive and such a beast! I5 was good until Seattle, then it slowed down to less than a crawl and we were stuck in Friday before Memorial Day Weekend at 3:30 traffic. It took us a good hour to clear through the greater Seattle area, then I90 was hit and miss...sometimes traffic was going along at a good clip, right around the speed limit...other times it slowed down to 40 mph for some unclear reason. We caught patches of rain and patches of sun...the heaviest rain being just outside Seattle as we started out on I90. Once over the mountains and into the interior, the sky was quite clear and things were looking good! Groceries were purchased in Cle Elum at the Safeway. After selecting a box of frozen hamburger patties, a woman from the meat department chased us down the aisle and tipped us off to the fact that those patties would cook up very small and taste like cardboard. I questioned as to why they were then selling them...but it was not up to her. She recommended some better burgers...only $2 more and we got 10 extra patties! We were fully loaded on burgs. Learned later in the trip, each of us made a judgement error at Safeway...Jackson's was the "Tab energy" drink, Perm's was cans of beer (vs bottles), and mine was only getting one pack of bacon instead of 2. Not a big deal though...we actually seemed to have just the right amount of food in the end. We carried on to Ellensburg where we stopped for hard liquor (if they sell beer and wine in the grocery stores, why not the hard stuff? is it really THAT different?). Couldn't find a liqour store, asked the pharmacist at a Rite-Aid who told me it would already be closed (7pm on a friday). I asked where it was anyways and after getting the directions we found it and it was indeed open (until 8pm) and Jackson ran in, grabbing a 1.75L bottle of Captain Morgan Spiced ($35), and some Vodka ($18). Back on I90 and we hit the Gorge with about 45 minutes of daylight remaining. Camp was setup and dinner was made (beef and veggies on skewers, barbecued slowly with barbecue sauce...mmmmmmmm!). I introduced the guys to shithead and we played a few games as dinner cooked. They seemed to enjoy it (although Perm ended up as shithead almost exclusively). A hint of rain fell, so we setup tarps, which ended up being a good call. We helped our neighbours set theirs up too...some cuties, but also guys around. Not sure what the situation was. They were from Vancouver though...so cool. Socializing began and many a drunken soul wandered through our campsite as it was just a free for all kind of setup. Met a lot of people and ended up staying up and drinkin' till around 3:30 (Jackson became Jack Bauer as he basically pulled a 24 hour day). Rain began around 1:30 and we spent the last couple hours of the night sitting under the canopy that was brought by Neal, a guy from Portland who we befriended. Perm and I did have a walk around to try and find the Hoar, who we knew would have arrived...but alas, it was too dark and he was not to be seen.

to be continued...

I was going to update earlier, but our internet connection is being a bitch lately and I haven't been able to get online at times when I'd like to.

So there was a long weekend, but I worked the monday (so I could take friday off instead). Saturday I helped Battle move some patio furniture and flower pots and shit over to his grandparents place...an interim holding spot while he moves out of his current home and waits for his new place to become complete. He fed me well and then his grandma fed us again! We also had root beer frosters cause they rock! In the evening I went out for some Pho with Herch, then over to his friends house for some drinks and video games. We hit Hugo's and met up with Frenchie, Jackson, and Frenchie's friend in from Van. The DJ, while better than the guy the previous week, was not spinning the greatest of tunes and I stayed away from the dance floor, although I grooved a bit a few times, wherever I happened to be. There was some drama and scariness at the end of the evening, which I won't get into (everything worked out ok), but I will relay another story that happened not so long after. As I walked home, I headed for the station to take a leak. Walking up Johnson St I passed by a drunk guy staggering down the sidewalk...I didn't take much notice, as the streets are littered with drunken people at this time every Saturday. When I got up to the corner though, I heard a crashing sound and turned around to see this guy pull himself out from a window cove of one of the businesses on the street, followed by a bunch of broken glass crashing onto the sidewalk. He continued on his way...I assume he fell into the glass and broke it not on purpose. I figured I should probably do something about this and continued toward the station to call the cops. Didn't have to though, as a cop turned onto Broad St as I walked along. I flagged him down and told him about the guy and gave my rough description of what I remembered. Done.

Sunday I got up at a decent time to go for brunch with Court and Chris who were visiting (and staying upstairs with Q&S). We headed for Langford and ended up at White Spot. C&C headed for the ferry after we ate, Q&S&I did a bit of shopping then back home. I rode into town to pick up my truck and then carried on to pick up Vicki's son, Shay. She had wanted a break from him for a few hours to get her house cleaned and I had agreed to take him for the afternoon. It wasn't a moment of weakness, I just thought I'd be nice, plus I should spend time around kids once in a while. We went to the Scottish Highland Games in Bullen Park. We missed the kaber toss, but caught some of the dancing and the marching bands...pretty impressive. Shay got scared when he was about to go into the dragon tunnel...this inflatable structure they'd brought in for the kids. He's only 3...maybe a tad young for it. He had an ice cream instead. We also spent some time at a playground, then it rained so we headed for shelter. In my place, I quickly realized that I have no toys and spent a good portion of my time making sure Shay didn't play with my scale model cars, which look like toys, but are not. I found solace in the silly putty that I received in my stocking at Christmas...bouncing a putty ball against thr kitchen door and floor proved to be fun enough. Sunday evening was dinner with Q&S and their friends over from Van...Alicia and Jen. I provided ice cream cake for dessert. We also went to the Sticky for a drink.

Monday was supposed to be a bike ride with P&W&R, but it was icky out, so we played wussy and bailed. I didn't do much, then work.

Tuesday I went in earlier than usual...training with BOS because I'm going to be temp BOS for the summer while he is on leave (baby on the way). On my ride in, some woman yelled at me because I hadn't stopped going through a 4 way stop. She said she's seen me do it before too (although I wonder if it was me...lots of people ride in yellow jackets and I don't usually ride at this time. And most people I see ride, ride right through the 4 way stops). I turned around and told her I was in control...I looked both ways and the only reason I did it was because I didn't want to lose my momentum. She kept going on about the rules of the road, blah blah. You know what? FUCK the rules of the road. I KNOW the rules of the road and I'm only bending them. If there is traffic at a 4 way stop and it's not going to be my turn by the time I hit the stop line, I will stop. But if there's no traffic or it's going to work out that I'll be stopping only to start right up again because it's my turn, then I'm not going to fucking stop. If I'm driving, I'll stop (or...well, slow down a lot and almost stop)...because what's it to me to use the brakes and then hit the gas? But on a bike...I hate to build up momentum and then lose it for no reason. So fuck that chick! She's a prime candidate for my Real Rules of the Road course! She had an accent too...fuckin' foreigner, coming over here and thinkin' she can tell me how to ride my bike! I never interferred with the Kiwis and how they rode or drove...

Samsquamsch this weekend! Woo freakin' Hoo! Road trip! Camping! Good times!

I don't understand the obsession with toasting. Subway introduced toasted subs a few months ago (to compete with Quizno's who have been toasting from the start), and people like my dad have always been gung-ho on toasting hamburger and hot dog buns before meating them up. I just don't enjoy a toasted bun as much as a nice soft fresh one. Toasted buns get all dry and crumbly, whereas a nice soft fresh bun is moist and a little chewy and way less messy. I just made myself a couple of burgers and used awesome cheese kaisers from Country Grocer...they made great buns. Maybe it's the way a bun is toasted. I don't mind a light toasting, where the inner surface gets a bit crispy, but the outside is still soft. It's when it stays on the grill for too long and get crispy all over that I don't enjoy it as much. Maybe I'm alone in my plight against toasted...maybe not?

Played some tennis with Becks this morning. Beautiful day, perfect to be outside. I did alright...she whooped me 6-2, but at least I got on the board. I hadn't played in quite a while...probably since I was in NZ. It came back pretty quick (squash probably helped). I had some good returns and managed to serve more in than out. Hopefully we can make tennis tuesdays a regular thing.

I'm gonna go take apart my tranny now...wish me luck!

Good times, good times, good times.

Friday, I partook in the FireFit Corporate Challenge as I explained before...except it wasn't quite as I explained. Originally it was going to be only two of us running a relay course that is designed for five. We got a third team member...so in addition to myself and JN, ET was there and took on the forcible entry task (alongside his MCing duties). I didn't really know how the event was going to be structured...I thought we'd maybe run the course once or twice and get a best time and that would be that. We actually competed against the other corporate teams in a whittle down system until one team was crowned victorious. The A-Team fared well. In round one we faced off against Coast Capital Savings Team #1. We lost to them, but one loss wasn't enough to boot ya out. Round two we ran against the team from Rogers and royally kicked they asses pushing us through the round 3, where we met the team from Harbour Towers. This was by far our best race...I got us off to a bit of a slow start on the stair climb, but JN evened it up by the end of the hose hoist and ET rocketed us ahead on the forcible entry. JN breezed through the hose haul/target shoot, and I finished it off, well ahead of the competition, with the dummy drag. Our best time (1:53) and a comeback from behind...felt good! We didn't have much rest time before our fourth race, versus Sidney Thrifty's. We did not do well. I was slow going up the stairs and that just put us completely behind. We were all feeling the exhaustion. When the relay came back to me for the dummy drag, we were well behind and while I knew I couldn't catch them, I could at least try to make the time respectable...so I pushed it faster and ended up tripping over myself and falling with the dummy. I got up and finished things off...we ended up with 2:05 which wasn't bad. We placed third out of eleven teams...and I was happy with that (I didn't want to run the course again anyways). We got a cute, little trophy, and a one month membership to a gym as a prize. It was a fun event...I would definitely do it again! Maybe next time we'll have five team members! We did have a good cheering squad...several friends and colleagues from the station, as well as Dad, came down to support us, which was really cool.

Saturday was BBQ at S&A's...the highlight of which was ladderball. Picture two golf balls on either end of a rope (a little over a foot long). Then you fling this at a three rung ladder made of PVC Pipe. Top rung is worth three points, middle worth two, bottom worth one. Each player has three throws per round. First person to 21 wins. I won some, I lost some, but it was way fun! There was also much drinking, good music, and good goofin' off goin' on. We hit up Hugo's afterwards and I actually had a good time! The "DJ" sucked balls (although he did cover by saying he wasn't the regular guy..I don't even think he was a DJ at all, I think he was a last minute fill in), but I danced anyways. 2 Live Crew - Fuck Martinez was probably the highlight song of the night (except for the "DJ" throwing in all these weird pauses and scratches and shit). Pizza at Pacific Rim and then I walked home.

Sunday, Mother's Day, I picked up Grandma and headed to mom's house. Dad and I cooked up some burgers and made a salad. Gord couldn't make it cause he was sick. It was a good relaxing day spent with the family.

Gord sold the engine from my parts truck...that's friggin' awesome! It recoups much of the costs in buying and transporting the truck...and I still got a tranny (that I still have to figure out how to make work in my truck) and tires and other parts out of it. My brother is the shit!

Again...or maybe I should say still, I hate being a human.

Conservation officers were called into East Sooke to other day to hunt down a cougar who had killed some farm animals and pets. East Sooke is the wilderness! You wanna fucking live there, you live amongst the wild animals! I grew up there, and while I never saw a cougar, I knew they were there, and I respected them. If you don't want to lose your animals to a cougar, keep 'em locked up better. If you fear for your family's safety...don't fucking live in East Sooke! Don't kill the cougar! It's a wild animal...you've encroached on it's territory...what do you expect it to do? Ricky and Julian and Bubbles didn't kill Steve French when he encroached on their pot field...learn a lesson from the trailer park boys for fuck's sake!

Argh...people piss me off! There's a lot of stupid ones out there...and even the so-called smart ones aren't always that smart.

My fish tank is still empty...one day...soon...maybe?

I bought Mobile's debut album, Tomorrow Starts Today, a couple weeks ago. I'm diggin' it!

I saw a Black Cobra driving up Johnson Street last night. I didn't get a very good look...it was half a block away and I was walking. It was loud. It was probably a replica, but would be nice to find out for sure. From what Earl tells me, there weren't many cars from the factory that were painted black...so it's quite unlikely that one of them is in Victoria (I don't even know if there's a true cobra on the island).

I got drunk on Saturday...it was fun times. Did some dancin', did some eatin', downed a lot of beer. Crashed at Frenchies. 'Twas AdLee's birthday...happy 25th to him!

I'm in the FireFit corporate competition tomorrow. Dressed in turnout gear and carrying a SCBA unit, I will run up four flights of stairs with a 42lb roll of hose, then back down while my relay partner hauls up a roll of hose via a rope. At the bottom we will tag off again and I will hammer a 165lb block five feet, then tag off to him who will run around some obstacles and then haul a charged hose 75 feet and spray down a target. He will tag off to me and I will then haul a 175lb rescue dummy 100ft to the finish line. I haven't really trained...but I'm pretty sure we'll kick ass. Last night I filled a garbage can up with some old phone books until I figured it weighed around 42lbs...then ran it up the back stairs at work. I was huffin' and puffin', and that was without wearing gear or an SCBA...I'll manage though. I can pull energy outta my ass when I need to (except in Fiji).

Gotsta go to work.

Here's an idea for a business: Real World Driving School.

Young Drivers, Cops, City and Highways departments would probably have problems with it, but here's how it would work. Teach people how to actually drive in the real world. Lots of people learn the rules of the road and how to work the car (although some are just barely squeaking by)...but this school would teach how to bend the rules and what to do in real world situations.

For example: You want to turn left onto Dinky Doo Street, but there is a no left turn 7am to 6pm sign hanging over the intersection. The reason the sign is there is because the city has found that this intersection is quite busy during those hours and they don't want someone tying it up by trying to make a left turn. Obviously the left turn is possible (it's not a one way street, etc) because you can do the turn outside of those hours. But, if you happen upon the intersection within those hours and want to turn left, and there happens to be a break in the oncoming traffic...no harm is done in making the left turn. That's a bend of the rules...thinking outside the box, still keeping things safe but realistic is what the Real World Driving School would teach. Similarly, some people don't realize or respect those signs and the reason they are there. I saw two cars trying to make a left turn onto Dinky Doo Street yesterday, when traffic was busy (and yes, there was a no left turn sign that was valid at the time this was happening). Those people are set in their ways and know they need to make that left turn. Those people are fucking idiots and are contributing to the traffic mess. Instead, they could travel further to the next intersection where it's less congested and allowed to make a left turn, then back track to get where they want. Go a bit out of your way to not fuck a buncha other people over.

That's just one example of a situation the Real World Driving School would address.

I was in this bathroom fixtures store the other day, having a look around for Earl, as he is looking for some cool taps and faucets and shit. A couple things sorta caught my eye...nothing much. I'm wearing my AC/DC Back in Black shirt and one of the sales guys comes over and says, "You know the original singer was better". Now, I'm a pretty big AC/DC fan and I love the works of both Bon Scott and Brian Johnson. Something about the way this guy was so cocky about saying, "The original singer was better", just irked me though. Do I care what you think? If you think Bon was better why don't you actually say his name...not just "original singer"? If you really knew what you were talking about, you'd know Bon wasn't the original singer, it was Dave Evans (I'm quite sure he was insinuating that Bon was the original singer though, as most people don't know about Dave). And even if Bon was better, so the fuck what!? It's not like the band ousted him and picked up Brian...Bon died and they decided to carry on! Good for them I say. Brian is respectful of Bon's legacy and they still rock and Brian even does some of Bon's songs better than Bon did them (in my opinion). Bon Scott rocked, Brian Johnson rocks, AC/DC kicks ass...that's all there is. Fuckin' guy... (he is entitled to his opinion, as I am mine...but just don't be cocky about it and pretend to know it all)

I've got an empty fish tank sittin' here...need to get me some fish.

I'm starting to catch shit for not posting in a couple weeks...so here we go!

Without getting into too much detail, here's what's been goin' on:

I travelled to North Carolina with Earl a week and a half ago. Our mission was to take pictures of three 427 Shelby Cobras, which we did. I bussed it to Vancouver, flew to Trail, met Earl, drove to Spokane, slept, flew to Chicago, then through to Raleigh North Carolina, then drove west as far as Statesville. We got all the pictures (300+) in two days and it was an enjoyable and educational trip. NC is a nice state...very lush vegetation and decent infrastructure. The people we met were very nice. The pictures we took will accompany an article about the cars that Earl will be writing and submitting to major magazines in the near future. The return trip was just as long, but it was all good.

Got back to town and got organized and settled again. Saturday I went up to Gord's and we stripped off the rest of the useable stuff from my parts truck, then wheeled it across the road to the wreckers. Choy met up with us and we started to work on my truck, prepping the transmission for replacement with the one from the '89. We discovered a problem though...the tranny in the '93 uses an electronic speed sensor, whereas the one from the '89 uses a mechanical sensor...the speedometers in the trucks looked the same, but worked different. Research was going to need to be done. I left the truck there, borrowed their van and went back in to town. Met up with Bex and Dan at her place...watched some of the Ottawa game then picked up Frenchie and Jackson and hit the Monkey Tree for Music Bingo. P&W joined us, and Q&S showed up later. We played some good games, although Frenchie was the only one at the table to win anything (and when he won, Q ran the card up for him only to get beat out by someone else for third, meaning Frenchie got himself a sexy Saanich Firemen's calendar!). We played all four games, and even received a shout out from the woman running the show (she played "Thank God I'm a Country Boy for us"), then headed out. I was going to join them at the Gorge Pointe Pub for Yeech's dragon boating party, but I decided to give my ticket to Jackson and head home...having to run the 10K the next day (I don't think I missed much at the party).

Sunday I did indeed get up and run the TC10K. It felt pretty good, and I ended up beating my last year's time by almost five minutes! My time was 52:27 and I'm happy with that. I sprinted the last hundred metres...a similar sprint to my Fremont Street run when I reunited with the boys in Vegas. Q & Rol came down to take some pictures and hang out afterwards. P&W also ran and managed some personal best times too! We went to Moxie's for brunch afterwards. Choy and LEJ met us there and LEJ gave me a flower! They didn't stay to eat though. The waitresses at Moxie's were incredibly hot...and I think ours was the most attractive. I went up to Gord's in the afternoon again and we just ended up replacing the tranny fluid and changing the oil. No transmission replacement yet...not sure if the one from the '89 will work. There was a lot of metal grit in the tranny fluid that we drained out...that tranny is dying a slow death. I drove the truck home and it works fine like it did before...so at least nothing got fucked up.

That pretty much catches things up.

I need a hobby, I need a passion, I need something to focus on. I feel like a lost soul with no purpose or direction.

I spend and spend and spend...but I'm spending somewhat wisely...I hope.

Last Thursday was a bit of a shitty night at work, although it all worked out fine and Citytv Winnipeg ended up saving our asses (without knowing it). We barely had a Tonight Show to air, but then we found the Winnipeg feed on ExpressVU and were saved. A few other things happened and it just felt like a pisser of a night. But we stayed on the air and no one at home woulda known anything was wrong. That's what we do.

Friday I delivered Choy's arcade and video game emulator computer to him and set it up. I had not been able to test the TV out capability of the video card I'd put into it, as I don't have a TV. Getting that to work turned into 3 hours of frustration, many reboots, and an unhappy ending. I gave up for the day, leaving him with the system hooked up to his computer monitor. Piss me off! In the evening, Herch came over and he, Q, and I went over plans and ideas for our flugtag application. We expanded on the idea we'd settled on the week before, and came up with a workable plan. The model I had worked on during the week helped with seeing how a few things would work. This is gonna be cool! I met up with The Yeech and Amanda and some other folks later that night at Irish. Bex and Hoar showed up after the news. We had a beer, caught up, some of them went out dancin', I came home.

Saturday I did a 10K run, DQ'd it for lunch (well, technically breakfast, but it was 1:30pm) and had a banana cream dream pie Blizzard...mmmmmm! Headed to Choy's to attempt to make the TV out work...I had mediocre success. I also checked out a truck for potential parts. It was advertised on Craigslist for $100, saying it had been in a front end collision. It's an '89 S10 and has the same engine and tranny as mine (plus a CD player, 5 decent tires, and other spare parts that could be useful). The damage was all in the front and wasn't all that bad...the majority of the truck was still intact and salvagable. For $100 this was a deal if I'd ever seen one! (wreckers want about $500 for just a tranny that I wouldn't know what condition it was in) Did I mention this truck only has 114,00 Km on it?! I bought it and got it towed up to Gord's place (towing cost more than the truck, but still cheaper than buying a tranny on it's own). Gord and I went to work on it right away, cutting away the damaged front end and preparing to remove the engine and tranny. It's fun doing work on a vehicle where it doesn't matter if you wreck stuff (except the stuff you need off of it). That night I met up with The Yeech and Amanda again, for Yeech's birthday outing. I got total rock star parking outside Darcy's, which was wicked. I stood in line to get into Darcy's for half an hour (was behind one of Yeech's friends I didn't really know), and when I'd gotten in and paid my cover, Yeech and Amanda were leaving (to go meet with his other friends who'd bailed on the line-up and gone to Hugo's). The bouncer wouldn't give me my cover back...oh well. Herch met up with us as Hugo's...it was a tame evening, mostly just sittin' around talkin'. Hugo's wasn't too busy...which was nice as it was manoueverable. I didn't drink much and drove home...around 1:30.

Sunday I drove out to East Sooke to pick up Dad's engine hoist, then up to Gord's place to work on the truck. He'd already been working on it a bit before I got there. We disconnected everything attaching the engine and tranny to the rest of the truck and managed to get the whole assembly out without too much difficulty. Not much I can tell by looking at the tranny, but it appears to be in good condition. We left things as is...still some things to salvage from the truck, and of course the tranny to install into mine. Once I'm done stripping the S10, we'll roll it over to the wreckers (across the street), take the tires, and leave it to be crushed. Simple as! I got home as Q&S were hosting Easter Dinner with some family members. They invited me up, so I joined them and had ham, scalloped potatoes, salad, and wine, plus two desserts and Kinder eggs! It was very nice of them to have me up.

Monday I picked up Grandma and was out to East Sooke again. Mom's cousin, Andrew, along with his wife Rose and their 5 month old, Mary, were visiting from Toronto, so they were out to the house for lunch and we joined. It was good to see them and lunch was good. As I'm not a government worker, I had work that evening, but it was pretty uneventful and unbusy. Nice and relaxing.

That about catches things up. I was stoked about finding that truck! I also bought a fish tank with all the accessories last week, through craigslist. I will get some fish soon. The TV thing on Choy's arcade computer is pissing me off and I hope I can figure it out soon. He got me a case of Lucky as a thank you. It was an interesting project...really not that hard (except to make it work on the TV).

I really need to work on my cribbage board...I have a rough layout made up, but it's not complete. The chunk of poplar I bought for it is just sitting patiently, waiting to be cut and drilled.

My brother makes the best smoked salmon. Period.

Saturday was Sara and Ross' joint birthday party at their place. It was good. I brought ice cream cake and introduced people to the chocolate cake shooter. I hung out by the food table a lot...there was some good eatin' to be had! I started to walk home at the end, but got as far as the station and decided to call a cab. I didn't have to wait too long. At the intersection of Pandora and Government, some chick totally ran a red light just as we were about the enter the intersection. He chased her down and gave her a look at the next light (which she did stop for)...just to make sure she knew what she'd done. He reset my meter...I wasn't paying for him to chase her down. The ride home was fine...I wasn't even drunk, but I didn't have a vehicle with me.

Sunday I went for breakfast with the birthday crew (mostly just Sara's family) at Brannigans...it was good. Then I picked up Grandma and we headed to East Sooke to celebrate Mom and Dad's 30th anniversary. Gord, Brandy, and I made dinner...it was plentiful and delicious. I made one of my fancy salads, roasted veggies with fresh rosemary (from Q&S' herb garden),and asparagus. G&B made some breaded snapper, ham wrapped prawns, and cheesecake for dessert. It was all very yum.

Monday I went for a run. When I passed through the base, there was a military cop at the top of the hill with a radar gun. There wasn't much traffic, so as I passed by, I asked him how fast I was running. He shot me and said I was going nine (km/h I assume). That about fits.

I should really wash my dishes...but I'm not motivated enough.

I'm spending way too much money lately...but I'm not broke so it's not really a problem.

Breakfast at Floyd's today with Q&S, Yeech, and Herch. We discussed flugtag and have come up with an idea. I'm pretty excited about it...I have not seen it done in other videos of flugtag I have seen (although I haven't seen anywhere near all the entries all over the world). Q is gonna sketch it up, and I'm still trying to get some info from the coordinators in Vancouver...they haven't responded to my emails in quite a few days now and it's annoying (although I'm sure it's just cause they're swamped). I cannot divulge any info about it, cause it's top secret. Hopefully it gets approved!

I, of course, had myself a breakfast Mahoney (had to lie that I had tomato and mushroom allergies...their policy has changed I guess and they don't allow specifications on Mahoneys). I received an eggs benedict concoction with panfries that was very yum. Chicken and chipotle were involved I do believe. I avoided having ketchup with my panfries cause I didn't want the waitress to question my "tomato allergy"...there was plenty of hollandaise to dip the potatoes in anyways. Flip time came and the waitress actually brought out one of the other servers who was apparently better at the flip than she...but I still beat him! Good old tails! I've lost count on how many Mahoney's I've won versus how many I've lost.

Happy Birthday to Q, and Happy Birthday to Sara!

I've been sleeping in a lot lately. Course I've been staying up later than usual.

Yesterday I experienced an epiphany...I am asexual. Realizing this has made me happy. Aspects of my life now make sense and I'm no longer wondering what's wrong with me.

What made me come to this realization? I was watching Godiva's, this CHUM produced show that we air on Citytv (it's pretty good), at work and one of the characters is asexual. Before yesterday, I was familiar with the word "asexual" and knew slightly what it meant, but I decided to look it up after seeing what this character was all about. I found this website:

www.asexuality.org/home/ and in particular, the "About Asexuality" page.

The description on that page fits me better than any excuse or reason I've come up with in the past. It explains why I'm not into one night stands or why I've never hooked up after a night at the bar, it explains why the majority of my relationships with women are platonic, it explains why I don't get all bent out of shape when a hot chick starts undressing on TV (I enjoy it, but I don't go nuts like some other guys seem to do).

Never before have I experienced an epiphany such as this...I have a clearer idea of who I am, and I am not a freak. Up until now I was under the impression that heterosexual men were supposed to act a certain way (more or less) and that I didn't fit into that way very well. I thought something was wrong with me, and while I had come to terms with that somewhat, there was no explanation. Now I know why...and I know I'm not alone! There's nothing wrong with being asexual.

I'm so happy! TV and the Internets rock!

In other news, my cold is pretty much gone, I will get back to running tomorrow or friday.