More pics of dog aka I have no life.

Oh. mommy's soft expensive blanket is so soft....and chewy.

Wha? Is it time to get up now? I was already up at 4am to pee!

Sigh. I have no one to play ball with.

I come from a planet called Vulcan. I command you to give me milkbone.


Someone got a little cold during our 'cook-up' in Baytona during Christmas. I had to wash my jacket. And my wife said short haired dogs don't shed!

Milo. Casey. Casey. Milo. Please get along at your 'grandparents.'

Old Lady Drivers and Rush Hour Traffic

I stayed a little longer in school today, deciding to work there instead of bringing it home.

So I got caught in end-of-the-day traffic.

*&@%@

The outer ring road is OK on the best of days. Today was nuts. On the inside lane a plow was clearing the shoulder of the road. That was ok, although I wondered why the road crew decided to do this now...!

Then there was the old lady in the SUV. She was doing 60. In the frigging PASSING lane. As cars were speeding pass her in the SLOW lane, horns were "punched" and she didn't change a frigging thing.

Because of her, two accidents almost occured as people were trying to pass her. Would she have been charged? Hell, no. I just wish a cop would have seen the danger this lady was causing.

Tomorrow I think I will take my school work home with me and beat the traffic.

Dominion Rant

I buy my grub at the local Dominion. It is second nature to go there now. I had no problems, until yesterday evening.

Pulled into the parking lot and thought, "mmmm. Quite a few cars here."

I went on, did my usual routine and got the food on my list (always have a list!). Couldn't get eggs though, 'cause there were NONE in the store!

Then I saw it - the "traffic" jam at the checkout. There were only THREE aisles open, including the express lane.

I was in the line-up LONGER than what it took me to push the cart around and get all that I needed! Crazy! All the customers had a look of disbelief on their faces as no new aisles opened up.

A case of not enough workers or poor management? Maybe the workers got sucked up by Wallymart's nightshift!

Walmart 24/7

"Really, is there any need?"

That was my initial response to the news that the THREE local Walmarts were going to be open for 24 hours.

C'mon. Are the oil dollars trickling down the all us minions that fast, to the point we need to go to Wallyland at 3am to buy a pair of socks and some water for $8.57?

No.

To puzzle me even more, the news stated that this was going to happen to 25 stores across the COUNTRY. And yet all THREE on this side of the overpass will be open? Has Danny wielded (H)is influence on this mighty American company? ha

Or is it a combination of corporate greed over consumer demand? I pitied the workers at Walmart before, due to a lack of a union. Now I pity them even more, with the situation of having to work nights...........or else.

And then there is the effect this will have on other local companies. Oh my. Maybe we should go back to the days when stores closed at 8pm and nothing was open on Sunday. Except church. ;)

Stuff

Rambling and Rumbling

My holidays are fast coming to an end. I'll be seeing the kids on Monday mo(u)rning, and I'm sure they would rather be in bed or playing in a snow bank. Me too.

After making excuses for 6 months, I finally went to the gym yesterday. This morning my arms feel like they are going to fall off and my legs are rubber. Perfect for ball & ice hockey that starts up next week. Another batch of middle-aged men trying to maintain 'da dream' and fighting off the spare tire.

While watching her CSI/Without a Trace/Cold Case/yada yada yada shows last night, my wife got frustrated with all the news interruptions about the voting in the states. Then I tried to explain to her the system of delegates. Thank god I had the Globe and Mail with a diagram to explain the crazy system in the states and past stats on primarys.

After explaining how Iowa is important because it is the first, not the biggest primary, and it is more about media predictions and $$, she simply and sufficiently declared, "Then this voting in Iowa means nothing."

True. But not true. Even as Canadians, it will be an interesting year, with people choosing to either vote for Oprah's man, Bill's other half, Mr. 9/11, and all the other pretenders.

With the writers' strike, it won't be so bad that political news interrupts all those CSI/doctor/lawyer/cop shows. Except Lost. At least that is going to be new!

10 Years Later

10 years ago I woke up in Harlow, England. I went there to complete my teaching internship.

Wow. It is hard to believe when I think of my experiences of beating the streets on Saturdays in London, visiting ancient churches and cities such as Bath, Bristol, Cardiff, Paris, and Amsterdam, all this time has passed.

I'll never forget the weekend Mike, Jamie and I rented a car and ended West, seeing Stonehenge, the Tor, Cardiff castle, and other sights.




Walking throughout London and across London Bridge at 3am while waiting for our ride to Amsterdam was freaky - in a city of 8 million people the city was silent and we only saw a handful of people.

Amsterdam was great as well, visiting the house where Anne Frank hid (very small), seeing the countless museums, and walking throughout the red light district. As for the attempted mugging, with the knife only inches away from my gut as I called out to Jamie and Mike, well, that wasn't so great. I kept my innards and wallet in tact, and the beer I had immediately afterwards tasted SO good.

Taking in the surrounding cultures, especially in the pubs across the street every evening was great.


As for the teaching, well, it was challenging. I am just happy Newfoundland doesn't have the same British education system.

To all the friends and acquaintances I made, I hope you are all doing well. I think I will go look at some pics and reflect!

Christmas. New Year. Ugh.

Time out around the bay was well spent, although getting rain on the night of the 24th put a bit of a damper on the seasonal feeling.

Gifts given and received went well. Wife surprised me with all her presents while she knew most of the ones I had for her. But she didn't have a clue about the emergency car kit! Who says romance is dead! haha

Hanging out with my folks was nice. I have not seen them since August and I won't see them again till next summer. That is the life of many Newfoundlanders as they work out of the province. This time, my father swears it is his last year teaching.

My mom's reply? "I've heard that one before."

Now it is the new year. My resolutions? Same as always:
- go to the gym, since I DO have a membership!
- drink less coffee. But compared to what I see consumed at work, I am already doing ok!
- use time more wisely for Masters (last semester!), work, wife, dog, and myself. Not necessarily in that order.
- read and write for pleasure (maybe this will be the year...!)
- try not to ignore my wife on Friday and Saturday when I have The Independent, Globe and Mail, and The Telegram in front of me. (Sorry honey, don't hold your breath!)

I know my failure rate for resolutions is holding at 99%. Maybe in the year that I turn 35 (wow) I will find the time to grow up a little more.

Last resolution? - try to make my wife smile. Think I'll bring her coffee in bed!