What a day!

Sometimes things just feel right in my world. The weather is beautiful, I'm well rested after a two-nap Friday afternoon. And things couldn't be much better.
I dropped Devo at work this morning, took a right out of the parking lot. I found myself face-to-face with a Saturday morning Canadian ritual. Tim Horton's. Trouble was I hadn't had a coffee this morning. So I went in and found out it was Roll-Up-the-Rim time again. Double trouble. I waited in line anyway, only about 5 or ten minutes at the most. Got a coffee and hit the road back toward my place. I remembered my cousin giving me a Rim-Roller last time the contest was on. It's a wonderful little device they made to cut the coffee cup and "roll the rim" to see if you've won. An amazing little tool. Really. It's impressive. But I hadn't used it since the last Roll-Up-the-Rim. Where in the hell would I find it? It's got to be in the car somewhere. Where else do I ever take a Timmies coffee? After a few minutes, because there aren't many places to look in my little Ford, I found it. Second place I looked, in the ash-tray. YES!!!! I was elated, even though my cup said please play again. I will, I promise. I will.

Spring Break?

Last time I was compelled to write on here was because of the weather. Well, today felt like it was spring. It smelled so wonderful outside, and I even saw a fly. I have no idea how that can possibly be, but I saw it alright. Next there will be mosquitos in February. Oh joy!
Today was a brilliant 10 degrees above zero and one hell of a nice day to be a postman. But it's Friday and I don't work for two days, so enough "shop" talk.

There was a moment earlier this week on the way out to help mom and dad move furniture where I NEEDED my camera with me. We were moving new furniture into the other room now that the pool room is definiately NO MORE. It's gorgeous in the front room. (I guess we have to call it that now.) Or living room, but we kind of already have one of those.... I think I'll continue to call it the pool room - it was just that for a long time. Yeah, yeah, yeah, back to the original thought Tom.....
I was driving down the trail to help my folks and I saw some guys hanging a new billboard on the side of the road. I huge one. And they were still there kind of peering over the top of the thing smoothing out the sheet ......... and the sign was upside down!!! I think that is what a blog is ultimately for - capturing something at the right time and putting up there immediately. It was hilarious.
Well, now the fun has worn off because it's still upside down. A radio station trying to generate some conversation. I am no longer being a sucker for the marketing. Enough said. But I plan on taking a picture anyway so you can imagine why I was laughing.
Another moment where I wished I had my camera was when me and Dev went to the casino for some (harmless) fun and I put $5 in the loonie slot machine and spun it about three times before hitting three lovely 7's. Paid me a $100. Thanks for the free bottle of Pilsner and unlimited sports select losses for at least a month! Woo hoo!

It's SOOOO COLD!!!!

Welcome Winter!!!! What a blast of cold we are in the midst of right now..... Dad says his truck read 31 below zero and the radio tells us the wind made it feel like minus 46. All over the west is getting pounded too. We were hardest hit by the wind I'd say. Work was a wee bit harder than usual.
I wanted my camera to take a picture of myself. Toque and my Ed Hervey mask, scarf, all caked in frost. A parka, several layers underneath, pants, thermals, two pair socks, and my pants tight around the ankle to keep out the snow. I was trudging through snow drifts that were easily up to my knees. It was strangely exhilarating.
I had a route where I spent half of the day driving to businesses and the afternoon portion delivering to houses. I guess I was walking for almost two hours in the afternoon. On a normal day I am out walking for roughly4 hours so perhaps I got off light.
The beauty is that they told me I'll be on it for two whole days..... very rare for me. That means I'll be off in plenty of time to join dad at the Oiler game tomorrow. So mom decides to stay home because it's too cold. Hmmm, maybe the cold isn't so bad after all.

Happy New Year!!!

Ok ok, I must make this a more common occurrence this year. It seems that I have so much on the go,and nobody ever hears from me. I am having a blast I can tell you that. This post is simply to update some of you on my place. I still call it my new place but I guess I have been here for 2 months already.

Kind of like Stephen Harper still calling his government the "New Conservative Government". It's almost as bad as listening to an interview with a hockey player.

This is "Betty" in all her holiday glory.

And there has been some baking going on at my place. That's Dev and her friend Kristen. They had a few holiday coctails, or by the time I got home from work they were called fauktails. Festive cocktails I think.

Then there was Christmas. I have a few new additions to my kitchen. Look at my square plates. And look at the leftover ribs. Thanks mom. They were yummy the second time, and the third. They are on the left side. World famous I'd say.

And then there is MY first Christmas tree Sush. This one belongs to Devyn, and her mom won't let her set it up at their place because the decorations are too tacky. And there is a few of the ones my mom bought for me over the years.

Of course I can't igure out how to rotate it, and the picture is out of focus, but my patience is running thin. I am beginning to think I should upgrade from my "Lite Speed" internet. The stupid thing is so terribly slow. But this is better than nothing.

I have a million other things to say, but they seem to escpape me right now. As a result I will have to go take a shower and get on with cleaning or something. Maybe a nap......

Nice

Check this out...... Merry Christmas Tom!

We (me and Dev) decided the little tv was simply not going to do in the new place. It's a 32" Sharp Aquos.......ohh la la.

One of our friends helped us out by using his Best Buy employee discount. Thanks!

And you'll notice the Rider's are hoisting the chalice in the shot....... Yay!

The New Pad

Here are a few shots of my new place and what seems to go on in this new place. Huge pantry to the right of the fridge.

Kevin has the swiffer out cleaning the floors. It really didn't need it yet.

I'm going to buy a TV "this" big.

As you can see, that tv I have up there looks a little bit silly.

I can't seem to arrange the pics in the manner that I would like to, but you get the point. And anyone who is reading this also knows what a pig this site can be for posting pics.

Nice location right downtown where I have always thought I would like to live.

It is also nice to see Kev more often. Later that same evening he ended up climbing into the fridge.... because he could.

I had to go out and get tenants insurance. She asked if I had 20, 30, 40 thousand dollars worth of stuff. As you can see, I told her $20K. And that's being generous.

The job is going very well. I am somewhat surprised that I love it so much, but the weather is still incredible. Last week I went out in short sleeves one day. More from me later.

One October Post

Well, this was a dismal month for blogging, but I have been busy. Not that busy that I can't even go on the computer, but I am finally working full time hours. I got a letter in the mail saying I was given an automatic appointment to Full Time letter carrier. So I have two weeks under my belt as the freindly neighbourhood mailman.
It takes me a while to sort the mail, but the walk is fabulous. I plug in my mp3 player and go for a 3.5 to 4 hour walk every day. Now I know I have been lucky with the weather and I know it's almost November, but I think it is going to be awesome.
I am also just on my way out the door to pick up my car which is now sporting some brand new tires. I think the timing was right, and if the car will last another 100,000 KMS I will be laughing.
Thirdly, I will be moving into my new apartment next weekend so no more pile of stuff in my moms computer room, and her basement, and her two spare bedrooms. Everyone will be very much relieved that it is all finally falling into place. Things just happened to take about 3 months longer than I thought they would.

Street vendors

Now I just finished a book Sarah gave me by some dude from Calgary, Alberta (Marcello Di Cinto) called Harmattan. It's a guy who went a volunteered in Ghana I think and he travelled West Africa for ten or eleven months. It was interesting, but a little bit too much for me. I think it was a little bit pompous. I am not sure why, he is a fascinating writer who had some amazing experiences.
It got me thinking about things you can buy for a quick snack in any given place. I think it is different in every different city you go to, and certainly there are national links.
In the book, the guy said everywhere you turned you could buy oranges. They were green, and the vendor would grate the peel off, and you were to bite off the top, and suck the seeds and juice out of the orange. Squeezing it, and spitting out the seeds afterward. He said the ground was littered with the corpses of oranges. It made me laugh.
In Toronto normally people bought hot dogs from carts along the road. In Moonbeam, ON I got poutine. In Kenora, ON it was the chip truck for french fries soaked in vinegar. In Paris it was pain au chocolat (croissant with chocolate), and in London sausage rolls. Ottawa you think of beaver tails. In Prague I had some kind of pig-in-a-blanket thing and cheap thin crust pizzas. There was a sausage wrapped in some pastry type thing, but not like London's. I guess the fish and chip places in England were more common than the sausage rolls. I was just broke so I had to go for the cheapest thing.
In Germany I was getting kebabs, or Turkish type donairs. What do you get in Edmonton? Fat Frank's? I guess so, or late night pizza. Saskatoon was an ice cream town for me I would say. In Roma it was some pizza and Tetra-packs of wine. I wonder if anyone has anything else.....?
Totally random, but something I was pondering for a couple of days. I guess that's half the reason people travel.

Random goings on...

First off I'd like to proclaim that I have been a Rider's fan since before '89. Whenever I was old enough to be influenced by my parents and realize I had a small interest in football. So I am not sure when that was, but it's been a long time. Being a Rider fan in Edmonton is pretty cool though. Although the Riders can never escape with a win in Edmonton. They say the last time was 1999 or something silly. I can say I went to the game in July when my Uncle Emil was in town and the Rider's were up 20-1 at half and lost 21-20. Fitting, really. And to make matter worse (better) is they have gone on to win 5 straight. They haven't lost a game since they blew that one here.
Otherwise, I am back to work this evening after my first long weekend as an employee at Canada Post. I imagine it will be busy tonight, but I just hope things go smoothly. I had an earlier post about my first little "incident" on the first day, but a girl who started with me got into a real accident on Friday. I hope everything is okay with her, I feel sorry for her, and the fact that everyone will be talking. It's going to be hard for her to show up this evening.
And finally yesterday I was able to get out to the lake with my pops to do some fishing. I proudly proclaim that I caught three to my dad's one. So we will leave it to you to imagine that mine were also wayyyyy bigger. It was just brilliant to be out there though, and get a line in the water for the first time in at least a month. Here's hoping we have some nice days yet this fall so we can go molest some more walleye's.
For now though, time to go stand around and earn some money.

What a first shift!

Well, I finally had my first shift at the Post Office and it was quite a time. I walked in an saw a familiar face right off the bat. That was nice, and then some of the guys I trained with were also starting that same time. There were four of us in all. The bosses were great, told us where we needed to go, what we needed to do and showed us the routine we will follow every evening.
I get out to my truck and do the pre-trip inspection. Going through the thing from top to bottom. But we have to sign our names to it, so I might as well do it right? There is apparently 28 minutes written into our agreement for that inspection alone.
So I wait around for about 1.5 hours before my turn to load up. I show grace and elegance as I back into dock #2 and jump out of my truck and into the warehouse. A lady drives 5 cages onto my truck and off I go to St. Albert.
I had no trouble getting there, and only a little bit of trouble backing it into a tight dock there. I will say at least it was NOT graceful and elegant.
I made it though, and turned around and went back to the plant. Things are quite busy there at about 11:15 in the evening. So there's some more waiting.
When it my turn to back in there is a big semi truck with a 53' trailer in Dock #2. So I attempt to squeeze in to dock #1. Well, you can now imagine where this story is going....
I nudged his mirror. Honestly, it was nothing more than a nudge, but we have to fill an incident report. The new guy crashes his truck on the first day. This is just great.
Anyway, the familiar face a recognize at the start of my shift is the guy who comes to deal with this, and he makes me feel fine. Tells me safety is first, and no matter how much is going on around me, if I am unsure to just stop and look. Be sure.
I know I will get used to the big truck, but I thought this was a funny little story after the first day.
So I finished that, loaded two more cages and hit the road to finish my job. An uneventful trip anyway.
I will only point out there was a crazy full moon as we walked out to our trucks for the first time. And I noticed a dead crow on the side the grass where I parked my car. Omens, perhaps.
We'll see how tonight goes.

Sarah's Gone

Well, that was officially the quickest three weeks of my life. But what an amazing visit. I think we did pretty well to fit as much as we did into the visit. Sarah's beau is wonderful, we got to see all of Sarah's friends, and had a trip to the mountains. We had four days at Folk Fest and even got a day in at the lake.

The worst thing about it was they had to leave.

There's Alvin as we arrive in Jasper. It was Carly's birthday, and Marty was off that week so we got to bring them along with us.

And we got in a couple of scenic little walks in to pass the time before we were on the road back to Edmonton. Maligne Canyon and Mount Edith Cavel.

There are no pics of the folk festival because I wasn't going to bother lugging my camera around. I will have to get those on the other computer. But as always it was a wonderful visit with a bunch of people I don't get to see very often. Uncle Wally and Hal were there again tempting me to take a trip to Seattle. Maybe this year it will actually happen.

Sarah and Alvin were here for his first visit in Canada and then there are friends from Vancouver, and all over who come to enjoy some cold beer and good music.

Otherwise, I will have one more week off work before they finally cut me loose on Monday Aug 27th. What a stretch of idleness.... but things are going to change pretty soon. I think I will take off to Saskatoon tomorrow for a round of golf with my cousin. Grandma says she'll pay for gas. For now though, I must have something else to do.

Sarah's Home!!!

Sarah and Alvin arrived in Canada a week ago today. I have had no time at all it seems to make any posts.
Summer is flying by, and I have been taking lots of pictures to put up here. The thing is, I don't have my camera with me at the moment. Thus. I find two minutes to post, and I don't have all the tools to do what I want to do.
This weekend we went to Jasper and showed Alvin the mountains. We seem to have been ripped off in the wild life department. Only one group of mountain goats, a few squirrels, and a deer on the outskirts of Edmonton. But there was lots of beer, lots of food, and lots of great company.
Otherwise, I have finished my air brakes training and I am off for the driving test tomorrow. Soon I will be working...... 9 full days of training under my belt and a few more to go.
On the apartment front, I am going to look at two places tomorrow and likely will be able to come up with a decision.
Folk festival tomorrow and things will be just as crazy for a few more days.

More to come

I have been getting some grief from a few of my loyal fans for a lack of ANYTHING on here. So I am going to post a quick one, and try to get back on later with some of my pics. On Tuesday I took my driving test for my new job as a letter carrier at Canada Post. Yay!!!! Finally after a long long long haul, I am almost there. On Monday I start getting paid!!! I am not sure why the driving test, but I got a pass rather than a fail although my reversing could certainly use some work.
Tomorrow morning back there for some other certification, and I am starting the paid training on Monday.
So a long stretch of 5 months to the day, I will be back on some one's payroll. I tell you, it can't come soon enough.
I took this ten-foot-tall truck out to make a couple of fake deliveries and rolled through the downtown in the truck and had a pretty good visit with the guy. I don't envy his job, but he was totally relaxed.
I will tell you all later how the return to the work world is treating me, but right now my laundry is finished.
I will try to go through the pictures of my recent trip to the Pembina Folk Music Festival where my friend Jeff Stuart played a stellar set for a bunch of his friends, and Fred Eaglesmith did next-to-nothing to woo his fans over. I enjoyed it thouroughly and especially dipping in the river as the temps soared to the mid-30's. That's hot for us here in Canada.

1408

Last night I went to see 1408, the movie based on a Stephen King book if my info is correct. It was great. One of those thriller movies I guess. I wouldn't call it a horror flick, mainly because it wasn't gruesome at all. Just full of tricks to make you trip yourself out.
The music would get really loud, and you would get tense and expect something to jump out and scare the hell out of you, but instead nothing happens. Or music will start playing with a sweet lady's voice singing something like, "It's only just the beginning".
I hope you know what I mean.
I think the most annoying part was the way it was filmed. The camera seemed to be spinning around, taking some shots from above, and some of the views were upside-down. Made you kind of dizzy at time.
But the movie had the digital clock coming on while unplugged, or the numbers changing on their own.... all the really frightening stuff from things I would watch as a kid.
I will always think of the Unsolved Mysteries I watched as a kid where the aliens were changing the kids bedside alarm clock/radio. It had to be the same model I happened to have, and always frightened me.
Cool movie though, next will Live Free or Die hard. I wonder if people in New Hampshire like that movie more than anyone else? The motto on their licence plate says "Live Free or Die" - typically American if you ask me.

Almost a month

Damn, it's been almost one month since my last post, but I am glad to see Sarah's is about that long too. The time is just getting away from me. I have no idea where the month of June went.
The job front is moving along nicely. I don't know why things are so slow, but I was told to go down to Canada Post on Monday morning two weeks ago. Then on Thursday I was called to come in and do a General Abilities Test the following Monday. Good start. I think I am generally able.
Then the Tuesday I was invited for an interview, and on Wednesday they called my references. If my security check would hurry up and go through, I think I should be getting a call.
What a difference this would make, and I hope I don't jinx it or anything by updating before I actually get the call I am waiting for.
I am using this as some weird kind of superstition or something to try and will them to call me back tomorrow.
I can't imagine what I will feel like if this weight is lifted off my shoulders. One thing, I can tell you 4 months of being out of work isn't as much fun as one might think.
I'll post again as soon as I know more.

Folk Festival

Man, my wonderful mom went to pick up folk fest tickets for another year, and although the line-up is the same old shit, it's going to be great. Nothing really compares to Folk Fest weekend. All the friends we see only at this time of year. It's my 12th year running I think, and over those years there are lots of us who travel into Edmonton for the music and the beer. This year I won't be travelling in which is good, and we are already talking about taking a fishing trip around that time too.
The best news of the whole lot is that my sister and her boy toy will be in town from Zambia. I wonder if Alvin will be glad to hear "The African Guitar Summit" who are playing this year.
In addition, Blue Rodeo will be back again, Harry Manx will be back again, Eric Bibb will be back again.
Just thinking it might be time for Terry Wickham to start bringing in acts that might appeal to someone other than the 60 year-olds who have been coming every year since the festival started. Mom, you aren't 60 yet!
Thinking back to last year, like him or not, Hawksley Workman was there all weekend and his sessions were packed. The younger kids have to have someone to go see right?
I hope the organizers figure it out in the next couple years. I would die of shock of the long-rumoured Elvis Costello, Neil Young, or Van Morrisson gigs ever came to the EFMF. We can always dream, but Buffy St. Marie winding up the whole festival??? Seriously.

Nothing new!

There's a way to get people to read what I am going to write...... nothing new. My grandma had her surgery yesterday to have her reversal done for something that she had done several months earlier. Not that anyone reading this would really be too excited to hear the details. It's gross stuff that my mom is much better at dealing with and explaining than I am.
I am now home three months, and I am still biding my time and waiting for that right job to come along. This is where everyone interjects and gives their suggestions. Don't worry, I am not waiting around for something to come to me. I have always been the luckiest guy in town, and I even told the dealer at the casino that once. But I know for this to fall into place is going to take more diligence and hard work from me. I have been at it all along.
The thing I am trying to get at is, that my folks have been behind me the entire time, and they haven't pushed at all. They somehow strike a perfect balance between encouraging and reminding. It's the people who don't really know what's going on that piss me off although they're just trying to help.
If I don't know you, and I don't talk to you about it, then leave me alone. Otherwise, there are friends who are looking for job postings, and keeping their eyes peeled. That's the support I need and look forward to getting from those around me. Otherwise, I am having a blast, and I am going to have good news any day now. I can feel it. Let's hope so anyway, the cupboards are getting a little bare.

Hockey Pools

Fascinating.... I am three points out now that Teemu Selanne finally shook out of his rut. The best part about the Oilers not being in the playoffs this year is that I was able to use my brain rather than my heart when picking my fantasy hockey team.
And I am starting to see some movement now that some of my players started to finally score. I am the reigning two-time champion of our regular season pool on sportsnet.ca, but I haven't been able to crack it in the playoffs.
Who would've thought I would be cheering for the Detroit Red Wings? Easy, seeing as I picked Datsyuk, Lidstrom, and Zetterberg. Shouldn't be a surprise though seeing as I hate Chris Pronger and wish he would've been suspended for 8 years.
I am keeping faithful to Canada on the Eastern front. I like the Sabres, enjoyed watching them all year, but I just like the way Ottawa has been playing.
So I am three points back, and there's lots of time to come back.

How much can things change in ten days?

The facebook phenomenon is dead I think. In my world anyway. I thought it was so handy, but I will stick to the old yahoo email address and blogging.
I just can't bear to rekindle relationships that took place 10 years ago, and I am not really a big fan of small talk anyway.
I am not trying to poo poo everything here, as I think there are advantages, and I admit I am a curious person, but with me there are things that are only cool for a short time and then I lose interest.
Kind of like the movie Bone Collector with Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. Is she not the world's shittiest actor? I honestly couldn't bear the hokey lines, and the scenes where Denzel is conducting the police investigation from his hospital bed. It was RIDICULOUS! And perhaps the biggest waste of time yet.
I kept thinking of the dude on CSI who always has the cheesy lines and he's forever lifting his sunglasses up and down on his head.
And to think there are people who really like this BS. Oh well, I'd rather be outside myself.

I did see A History of Violence, which was pretty entertaining. And 16 Blocks with Mos Def and Bruce Willis I think. That was pretty good. Just a decent way to pass a couple of hours really. The new Bond was worth my time. Except for the scene at the end where the building is collapsing in Venice and no one really seems to be in any hurry to get out. The force of gravity must be weaker in Venice than it is in the rest of the world because it took an awfully long time for that building to fall.

I am interested in movies, and like to watch them, but I think I am one of those picky viewers who just doesn't like to watch something that is too silly. Like the movie with Tom Cruise - I think War of the Worlds when the son returns at the very end of the movie and answers the door. Are we really supposed to believe he survives that war scene? Absolute crap!
Next time I will think of something more interesting to talk about.

Ahhh what to say?!!!

I was playing around on the computer for about half an hour now, and I have come across several interesting things. My uncle's blog is great, I've linked to it on the side, so go check it out. Sounds like things are a little sketchy in New Orleans still.
I read an article by a Canadian guy in Maclean's one time just after Katrina and I don't think I will ever forget the pictures he had, and the stories he told. Trouble is I forgot his name. He was a professor at a university down there if I recall correctly. Anyway, it was fascinating, and it looks like there is lots to see and do there.

I am also going to admit to spending a little too much time on Facebook. I sit down and check it like my email, but I try to get off there asap - so nobody can cyber-snoop and check out what I'm doing. How could Tom be on the internet on Friday night? Or whatever. But this site is incredible. I've written about it before, but one buddy has pics of him flying a plane - I had forgotten he is a pilot - another has a little baby. Shit, that's the girl I dated in high school. I asked her not to hold my hand down the halls because all the teachers would ask seeing as my dad was the principal....... Years later I found out she was a sunshine girl, and now I see she's into hunting and having babies.

How do you reject someone on there? Will they find out if I click reject? I have 10 pending friend requests now, and I don't want to offend someone I haven't seen in ten years???? What's the deal with that? I think it's all getting out of hand. I am going to take my camera out and take some pictures. They make for better blogging.

Facebook rules, New Orleans does too. Maybe I'll go one day.