Unlike last year when we spent Christmas on the west coast, this year we're staying home and everyone is coming to our house to celebrate. While I'm excited that everyone is going to be here, I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss the tranquility and beauty of our surroundings last Christmas. I don't know why, but I absolutely love being in Vancouver and on the coast at this time of year.

In preparations for the festive holiday a bunch of the girls came over for a marathon baking session yesterday. Lots of delicacies were prepared, and lucky me, I got to sample them all. I like when Chris organizes these kind of things as she's so much in her element.

Work-wise things are entering their year-end state of frenzied activity. I'll be in Regina for a week starting next weekend and will be busy upgrading their email environment and installing new servers. So feel free to give Chris a shout and maybe drop by while I'm gone - I know she's going to hate my being away.

I went to book the car in for an oil change and to fix a few niggling things that have been bugging me. Imagine my annoyance when the lady on the phone told me my basic warranty had just expired. Maybe that's why GM is losing so much money. You'd have to think that at a classier dealership (say Acura) that they might actually call their clients to give them a friendly reminder that their warranty is about to expire. But I could be wrong, maybe they're all cheap bastards. In any event I got everything done, only to find out two days later that one of my headlights is out. Maybe I'm being paranoid, but it seems like the automotive maintenance nightmare has begun...

So apparently the opposition finally pulled the trigger and defeated those Liberal bastards. I'll have a write-up on the election posted soon, but in the meantime I came across an interesting website. It basically puts forward a number of positions on different issues and you vote for which ones you agree with. At the end it tells you which party is most in line with your views. You can check it out here.

What to say about Vegas?

We definitely had a blast and it was very cool that all our friends (Chuck, Tracy, Alpha, Nancy, Kim, Dennis, and Fran) were there with us. Some of the ‘wow’ factor from our first visit was definitely gone however. The hotel we stayed at (Imperial Palace) ended up being very cool – especially for the money. Chris & I shared a penthouse suite with Alpha & Nancy that had it’s own bar, two bedrooms and two bathrooms, with a Jacuzzi in the larger bathroom. The best thing was probably the balcony as you could hang outside and look at the great view. Chuck, Tracy, and Kim had regular rooms while Dennis & Fran stayed at the Frontier. It’s a shame that they’ll likely implode the Imperial soon to make way for some huge, pricey, monstrosity. Oh well, such is progress I guess.

The plane ride was hugely better than when we first went to Vegas. Not only because we flew WestJet, but also because all the seats had TV’s in them. The almost four hours seemed to fly (ha pun) by. Alpha was all freaked out about turbulence (because that’s what he does) but overall it was a fairly smooth flight.

Weather-wise things were also better than last time. Everyday was really nice as it was usually somewhere between 20 and 25 degrees. Even in the wee hours of the morning you never really needed a jacket.

As for the ‘what happens in Vegas’ tagline, nothing overly decadent happened outside of the usual boozing it up. We never even saw a titty show while we were there. While we gathered a new collection of um, cards there weren’t as many ‘flickers’ on the streets this time round. You almost got the feeling that once again Vegas is trying to clean up its image. Which I think is a joke – people don’t want to go there because it’s a ‘nice’ place to visit.

My two favourite places in Vegas are now firmly established. One is an Irish pub on the street in front of New York, New York. Chris and I went there on our first trip where we had a great time drinking Guinness and hanging out on the 2^nd floor balcony overlooking the strip. This time the balcony was closed and we were on the main level but had great fun getting a buzz going and listening to the live music. There we discovered a little taste of heaven in the form of a martini called a Michael Collins.

The second place is an outdoor bar in front of Harrah’s called Carnival Court. Every night we would hear really cool music pounding from somewhere below until 3am – and wonder where it was coming from. On the Saturday afternoon the girls found the place and decided to have a few drinks. Chuck, Alpha & I joined them soon afterwards and Dennis & Fran stopped by for a couple drinks later in the evening. I think we all had privately decided that because it was our last night there that we would tie one on – and did we ever as we ended up staggering back to our hotel almost 12 hours later. Kim however was still wanting to party and we basically had to drag her away from the place.

We were drinking squishy drinks in the really big glasses that were $17 each. They also served beer in metal bottles, which was really neat. But the big sell was the waiters as they would regularly do tricks such as lighting the bottles on fire and spinning them in the air, balancing trays of glasses on their heads, and giving everyone free shots. When we got there a pretty decent band was playing and they were replaced later on by an even better band called ‘Reflex’ – an 80’s cover band who were just awesome! Later on they started playing more modern songs and the place really started jumping. Unfortunately when we left I missed out on seeing the hottie go-go girls who would get up and dance on all the tables.

Back at the hotel we had a few more drinks and ordered a drunks’ buffet from room service. By that point Tracy was conscious again (oh did I forget to mention she went back to the room and passed out around 7pm) and somewhat functioning. Not long after Nancy had that ‘look’ and literally ran to the bathroom and yakked. While Kim didn’t get sick she felt like ever-loving-crap all of the next day. So the next time you see Kim ask her if she wants some Tequila. As for me, amazingly I felt not that bad the next day. Definitely the most fun Chris & I had since we partied it up in Cozumel!

Besides the boozing, all of us went and saw different Cirque Du Soleil shows. Chris & I saw Mystere, Chuck, Tracy & Kim saw Zumanity, and Alpha & Nancy saw the new show Ka. We all agreed that the shows were awesome, although based on our conversations afterwards I think the first Cirque show you see is likely to be your favourite.

Chuck & I also geeked out by going to the Star Trek Experience at the Hilton. Basically it consists of Quark’s bar downstairs where you can have a few drinks and buy items at various gift shops, the museum on the main floor where they have all the history of the films and TV shows along with various authentic props, and finally on the top floor are two different ‘rides’. The rides consist of an immersive experience as you become part of the action as well as being in motion simulator or 3-D simulator. As an example, on one of the rides you’re talking to one of the actors when suddenly everything goes to red alert and the whole room shakes as you’re under attack. You go out into one of the corridors and there’s sparks and smoke as one of the exits has collapsed. Then around another corner an authentic Borg comes at you with the laser light and everything. The Borg fights with the crew before you end up in the shuttle (simulator ride).

We definitely had shit-eating grins on more than one occasion. It’s one of those things where part of you is thinking ‘Hey this is awesome!’ and the other part is thinking ‘My God, what a bunch of losers!’. In the end, I think the geek side won out.

Gambling wise things were ok. I played Blackjack at least once everyday. The first couple days I probably blew through a couple hundred, but I had a pretty good run on Saturday where at one point I was up over $200. I ended up walking away still up $50. Alpha entered into a Poker tournament with a thousand dollar buy-in. A bunch of us ponied up a hundred bucks each with the promise of 10% of the winnings if he managed to win anything. Needless to say he (and we) lost, but considering Alpha recently won 10-grand we were definitely thinking……..what if? One thing I noticed was that no matter what casino we were in it was almost impossible to find a $5 table. Even $10 tables were hard to come by. I realize everything is relative and you have the potential for making much more at the higher tables, but it’s also much easier (and quicker) to be out a hundred dollars if you lose your first few hands.

We spent our last day going to the wax museum and taking a bunch of photos, doing some more gambling, and headed to the airport early in order to try and pick our seats – and just like on the way down we were first in line (technically Alpha was first coming down and we were first going back - although he still somehow managed to butt in front). We finally got home and went to bed around 3am.

And so ended our Vegas trip. I think Chris & I are done with Vegas for a couple years and I know it’ll probably be quite awhile for Chuck & Tracy – them having gone numerous times previously. Here's the pictures of the craziness.

We’re open to suggestions for our next vacation destination…

We were supposed to go over to Tracy & Chuck's and walk around with Ethan as he trick & treated, but Chris was feeling ill so we just stayed at home with the lights off pretending to be away. Are we lame or what?

For us adults, our big party was at Leanne & Brent's on Saturday. In addition to being a Halloween party, it was also a surprise birthday bash for Brent. The theme was supposed to be based on the movie Phantom of the Paradise, a cheesy early 70's movie which for some bizarre reason happens to be his favourite film. As an out for those guests not as familiar with it you could also go with a more generic 70's theme. I went as John Belushi from Animal House (Toga! Toga! Toga!) and Chris wore her classic flower costume (there were flowers in the 70's). I'm pretty sure everyone had a blast. At some point in the early morning I decided that the middle of our floor would make a lovely place to sleep. While I felt kinda crappy when I woke up it was nothing like how I felt last year. I guess that's progress :) Pictures of the fun can be found here.

It turns out my jaw issue was my tooth after all and I ended up being the lucky recipient of a root canal! Well technically I've only finished the first of three appointments. For those not familiar with this intricate form of torture, they cut off the top of the tooth, tear out the nerves below, then stick long pointy metal things inside to scrape and widen the places where the nerves were, then fill everything with some kind of medicine and finally put a temporary filling on top. But wait! there's more. I then have to go back for them to take off the filling, suck out the medicine, put some other kind of liquid in, and then put on a slightly more permanent filling. And last but certainly not least, I have to go back a third time for them to chip away at what's left of my tooth before gluing a 'crown' permanently in place - which my insurance will only cover half of the cost. My second appointment is a couple days before we go to Vegas and I'll get the crown done probably later in November.

Speaking of out Vegas trip, it's next week! We're all very excited. This will probably be my last news post until after we get back. As was the case last time we went, I'll be sure to take lots of pictures of the frivolity and post them on here.

Alpha came over yesterday and we spent about 7 hours playing blackjack and honing our skills. In the end I was up quite a bit, Chris was up a little, and Alpha...........well let's just say it was good we weren't playing with real money. Last time we gambled in Vegas I just kinda went with the flow. This time while I'm not going to go hardcore memorizing all the different strategies, I'm still going to pay more attention and follow a few rules (always split 8's). While we don't expect to come back with loads of money, as in last time, if we can make enough to pay for dinner that day we'll be happy.

Just when I was starting to be in a good zone health-wise..............wham! I end up in excruciating pain. Friday night I was eating some cashews and I bit down and it was like my jaw had popped out. The side of my cheek under ear was all painful and things just didn't feel right. But being a man I went to bed hoping things would be back to normal the next day. Well they weren't. In fact anytime I tried to eat anything or even drink anything on that side sharp, stabbing pains would go all the way down my neck. Then I started thinking maybe I had a tooth issue and my jaw had become infected. So Chris convinced me to call my dentist and he called in a prescription for some antibiotics for me to take.

So basically I don't know what the hell is wrong with me. My teeth feel fine unless I'm chewing - I can tap on them and everything with no pain. I'm not sore unless I'm eating. I still think it's a jaw or gland type issue. Maybe lymphoma? I'll go to the dentist as soon as I can and rule out my teeth. If they're fine then I guess I'll wade into our excellent health care system and see what those geniuses come up with. Either way I need this fixed before we go to Vegas.

When the hell is the time change? All this darkness is really getting to me. I guess this happens to me every year - I end up getting depressed by the lack of sunlight. We keep talking about maybe buying one of those light lamps, but they're a lot of money. Oh well, it'll be summer soon right?

Chris recently hosted a crafting party and I was surrounded by a bunch of craft-crazy women. I generally tried to not draw attention to myself, only coming out occasionally to sample the snack tray. Next up for the gals is a baking day. Again I'll try and make myself scarce, although it will be hard not to hover around the stove as all the delectable goodies are cooked up. You know it's not fair. I think I should start having dude events at our house. Have a bunch of guys come over and we can drink beer and learn how to increase our engine horsepower, or color calibrate our televisions. Oh wait, I guess I would need friends for that (well more than two anyway)...

Let's see, what's new. Not a heck of a lot actually. Been kinda quiet, kinda slow. Which is just fine with me. I've been a bit gloomy the past few days because of the weather. I really hate getting up in the morning while it's still dark out. I believe I'm starting to go into hibernation mode. I think that should be a rule actually, you don't have to get up to go to work until it's light outside. Who wants to start a petition?

Speaking of work, my manager has been gone on vacation the past few weeks. Well someone in our department thought it'd be fun to take advantage of his absence and cover his entire office in tinfoil. I'm a bit disappointed that I didn't think of it first, but then again I like having a job. Tuesday morning should be classic. Here's a picture of the frivolity:

House wise not much is happening. We're both in a 'save for Vegas' mode right now. Still, there's a few things we'd like to get done before the end of the year. We'd really like to get a new humidifier (the one that came with the house when we bought it didn't work), put wood blinds in the kitchen, and put recessed lights in the main hallways.

They've finally created my TV! Details of which can be found here. What's so great about it? Well besides the fact that its a Sony, it uses the latest technology - SXRD - which is miles ahead of anything Samsung, Panasonic etc. have. And it's about $10,000 cheaper than the 70" version. A couple things stand in the way of me getting it though. One is we really should have the basement finished before buying it and realistically that's probably a couple years away. The other is a little matter of Chris having a ring on her finger first.

Oh, back to work stuff! Most of you probably know by now, but the past couple weeks were very hectic. I was up in Fort McMurray for a few days as our office up there was moving to a new building. That was ok as I got to see Lindsay even if it was only for a little bit. I was going to go with her and her mother to get her eyebrow pierced but we found out the piercing guy wasn't working that day. Oh well. Maybe next time I'm up there we can both get pierced - make mine a nipple ring!

So then I touch down in Calgary after working 24 hours in two days in Fort Mac, and I find out our branch office in Edmonton had been broken into the night before. So I then had to rent a car and drive up to Edmonton where I spent another 36 hours installing new servers and recovering data. I then did a stupid thing and drove back home at like 3 in the morning while I was dead tired, slept for a few hours and then went to my course that I had scheduled that day.

So to those friends of mine who can't believe how much time I have off - try working 60 hours in 4 days!

Peace out...

But I guess no news is good news as nothing overly huge or traumatic has happened lately. I'm just coming off of two weeks vacation. While I didn't go anywhere exotic (or even leave the province) it was a well needed rest. I think if I had gone much longer without a break I would have gone off the deep end at work. I spent most of my time doing housework and just relaxing. We bought a bunch of pictures and mirrors from various stores which I spent time arranging and hanging and laser leveling. It's sad that we've lived here for so long and are just now getting around to decorating in earnest.

Speaking of home improvement, next week will be quite disruptive as we have a painter coming in to paint our house. He'll be doing the main floor plus the upstairs hallway. Chris' mom and designer extraordinaire helped us pick the colours and while we all agreed on what was going up my fear is that we'll come home after it's all finished and go 'yeeesh!' what were we thinking? The disruptive part of things is that we have to move all our furniture into the middle of the rooms plus the fact that it will take about a week before it's all done. Our cats are going to hate us as well - they'll be living downstairs during the day while all the painting is occurring.

And still on the home theme, Chuck & Tracy & Ethan moved into their new place a few weeks ago. The one feature that they have which excites Hailey to no end is the hot tub in the backyard. And truth be told, we've tried it out a couple times now and really like it's warm, watery embrace. The rest of their house is equally great and both Chris & I are so happy that they're finally close by.

Deb and her fiancé Chris moved into their new place last week and had us over to check it out. It's a great starter home and is also in our neck of the woods. They both are doing really well. One of the things that struck me while we were talking and something I commented on was just how much our lives have changed and improved since we all lived together in Marda Loop.

Previous to that a bunch of us went up to Edmonton to see the labour day rematch between the Esks and the Stamps. Unfortunately my dad had to work and couldn't go to the game but my mom was still able to go. Other than being winded by having to walk up all the stairs (we were way in hell at the top of the stands) she had a great time. She also scolded me at one point for swearing to much - even at 34 I'm still getting in trouble with her :)

It was also Chris' mom's birthday and she was overjoyed that all her family was there to celebrate with her. Carlie made everyone breakfast before we left to come home and even though it was free range this and organic that it was quite tasty. All in all it was a great trip up north.

That's it for now, but I promise my next update won't be so long in coming.

"CALGARY -- Police have made the largest ecstasy bust in Alberta history at a Calgary home, seizing $4.2 million worth of street drugs laced with highly addictive methamphetamine.

That would be my neighbor who was arrested.

The funny thing is that literally only days before I was telling Chris that something funny was going on at that house and that they were probably growing or selling drugs. How did I know? Lets see, window coverings always drawn, never saw them outside, some young punk driving a Mercedes...

I must have slept through the whole takedown though. Later in the day I saw the Global News van, reporter and camera guy talking to the homeowner next door and filming the drug house. So I put two and two together and sure enough it was on the news later that night.

The fact that a neighbor was selling drugs isn't disturbing - I mean on average I'm sure we have an abusive husband, alcoholic mother, phone sex operator, and budding pyromaniac living somewhere on our street - what bothers me is that they also seized the pre-requisite loaded automatic rifle. The last thing we need in a family community is a shootout happening, or like what happened with Heather having some junkie trying to break in because he has the wrong house.

So I hope they put the fucker away for a long time, seize his assets, sell his house and precious Mercedes for dirt cheap at an auction, and someone who doesn't own an assault rifle moves in. But with our justice system I wouldn't count on it. They'll probably give him a year of community service and a stern talking to.

Other than this latest drama not much is new. I'm currently on a week of self imposed stress leave. Unfortunately, instead of relaxing like I should be doing I've been playing my stupid game (see Tech Corner) and getting pissed off over it.

Jamie & Kim are moving this weekend and I'll likely be helping them and then the following weekend Chuck & Tracy are moving. Soon we'll all be one happy family living a stones throw from one another. Oh, and I expect there to be some wild and crazy shit happening at the house warming parties!

I was supposed to go up to Fort McMurray next weekend as our office up there is moving. But now it looks like that isn't going to happen thanks to the stupid Telus strike. Apparently all their engineers are busy manning the complaint lines and they don't have anyone available to install fibre to the new building.

But on the plus side Chris and her family will get to spend some quality time with me - aren't they lucky?

That's it for now. I'm off to fortify our house and buy an AK-47, anti-personnel mines, and some grenades for personal protection.

After going about 35 hours without sleep and thanks to the efforts of several people the systems were running again. All that is left is the fallout which will not be pretty. Truthfully I didn't expect to make it through the week without being fired. Going into this week I'm still unsure of my status. But what's done is done, all I can do is learn from it and redouble my efforts to prevent it from happening again.

As a result of this event I was forced to cancel my holidays this month. It meant having to tell my daughter she wouldn't be coming down to see me and finding out later that she cried for an hour thinking I had blown her off. Add to that the lack of sleep and extreme stress and physically I've felt like absolute shit the past week.

Chris has been amazingly supportive and helpful during all of this. I'm so lucky I have her.

We got our car back and it looks none the worse for wear. Chris' mom did her voodoo, new age thing, and removed the bad mojo from the car. If we go a year without it getting smashed into we'll know that it worked.

Stampede is at an end and we didn't do anything this year. I took a look at who was playing at the Coke stage and wasn't impressed with any of the acts. That and living so far away from the grounds made us pass on going. However we did hang out on Stephen Ave on Friday drinking Bellini's and people watching. I guess that was the extent of our Stampede fun.

I hope everyone had a good long weekend. Canada Day was fairly laid back for us although I do recall our place crawling with kids. Chuck, Tracy, Ethan, Leanne, and her kids came over for a BBQ. Us adults hung out on the deck while the children ran around keeping busy. We sparked up the firepit in a somewhat successful effort in keeping the mosquitoes away. Poor Nicholas had been badly bitten around his eyes the day before and being allergic to them, they had swelled up almost to the point of completely closing. He looked like he had gone 10 rounds in the ring. To his credit he never complained about it. I would have been a nightmare to take care of had I been in his position.

The weekend before that we ran up to Edmonton. It was Chuck and Tracy's anniversary and they wanted to go to West Edmonton Mall. So Chris, Kim, Hailey and I tagged along to help them celebrate. We stayed at the hotel and spent our days shopping, eating, drinking, and being merry. It was a fun trip. I think we should all make it a yearly event. Here's some pictures:

A number of things that have been frustrating me greatly are finally getting resolved. A month after our accident we got the go ahead to get our car fixed and we took it in today to the autobody shop. They gave us a Grand Am to drive in the interim and while it's not as nice as ours it's much better than the compact pieces of crap we got to drive the last two times our car was being repaired - the first one Chris lovingly used to refer to as 'the tomato' and the second one which you couldn't get into gear whenever it rained.

I also got my gym set delivered and set up. When I first bought the thing, the guy at Fitness Depot told me it'd probably take a week to be delivered as it had to come in from Toronto. A week turned into 35 days... But the fun wasn't over as it took them another four days to assemble it (they forgot some of the parts). And in the end they still put on one of the pieces backwards. Bunch of morons!

Chris also got her craft room painted (Michael's old room). With much assistance from Kim, Tracy, and Leanne it is now a blinding shade of Orange. When she told me what colour she wanted, I think I died a little death inside. But now that it's all done I have to admit I kinda like it.

I'm sure there's all kinds of stuff I forgot to mention, but right now I can't think of anything else.

But it was worth it as they're such good friends and assuming that they'll be moving somewhere in the North (no pressure) they finally won't be so friggin far away :)

On Saturday, George and Lori dropped by for a visit which was awesome. The last time we were together was at Christmas. Michael was also here and Nancy and Jayne dropped by as did Leanne and Brent. The girls kept busy socializing and talking about crafty things such as 'stamping'. What's stamping you ask? Apparently it's all the rage in the craft world. Basically you use stamps of various shapes and designs to create patterns on paper that you then turn into cards. They're much nicer than the crap you get in stores considering the time and effort involved. Some of them looked simply amazing.

While they were doing that us guys were doing manly things like watching football. Ah yes, the CFL season has begun once again! Even though it wasn't the Esks playing it was still football - on TV - in my living room.  Speaking of which, we got tickets for basically the entire family to go up to the Labour Day rematch in Edmonton in September. There's also a chance that we may go to the Grey Cup in Vancouver....Go Esks Go!

So where were you during the Flood of '05? Although not quite the disaster that the news media tried to portray it as, it was still an interesting time. We looked out our backyard one day and were shocked to discover that we were suddenly living next to a lake. There was also so much water running down the street that Hailey thought it'd be fun to go for a dip.

All of this is actually my fault. There's a pond near the Country Hills overpass onto Deerfoot that the ducks like hanging out in. It was with growing alarm that I watched it shrink in size throughout the month of May. I prayed that it would rain so that they would continue to have a place to frolic and live out their ducky lives.

Well apparently the Gods heard me and the downpour soon began. Now they are swimming in a veritable ocean. So although it kinda sucks for all the flooded home owners at least the ducks are happy again. God bless little guys!

This morning I was driving downtown taking Chris to work when out of nowhere some asshole sideswipes me. The City of Calgary decided that morning rush-hour would be a great time to park one of their trucks on the narrow streets of 3rd ST SE so they could do some shrub maintenance. Then the mental midget stuck behind said truck didn't bother to shoulder check when he pulled out to go around it.

So now we have this car that we spent $35,000 on and in the approximate 3 years that we've had it, it's been smashed into 3 times - none of which were my fault. It's almost to the point where I just want to plow into some helpless sap just to see what it feels like to be on the other side of things.

Now I'm waiting to see if I have to pay my deductible or not and arranging to get it fixed. And of course to add to my misery my neck is sore as hell. Here's some pictures for your viewing pleasure...

Two weekends ago we had a bunch of people over for a BBQ and a belated birthday party for me. We got to try out our new patio furniture and spark up our outdoor firepit. It was a fun night and thanks to everyone who came out.

Last weekend Chris and I headed up to Edmonton. In addition to my doing some work related stuff, we also got to see Jim & Karen's new pad. It's quite nice with a great location next to the river and walking distance to downtown. We also took my parents out for dinner and I gorged myself on lobster, shrimp, and scallops. Bet you can't guess what restaurant we were at....on Saturday night Chris and I stayed up late into the night, having a few drinks and talking about all kinds of things. It was very cool, something we haven't done in a long time.

Finally it looks like we started a trend when we moved to Coventry Hills. Now Leanne & Brent, Jamie & Kim, Deb, and hopefully Chuck & Tracy have either already moved or are in the process of moving to our neck of the woods. Thankfully most are within staggering distance from home.

I guess the 'big news' is that Ethan, aka Chuck & Tracy's son, aka Little Dude, has diabetes. We were all really upset when we found out, but after the shock wore off and we learned more about the disease we realized that it wasn't the end of the world. While I was angry that from pretty much day one he's having to deal with this, Chris had a good viewpoint that by it happening now he'll grow up not knowing any different - for him it'll just be routine.

As always, Chuck & Tracy know that we'll be there for them while they adjust to this new reality.

Michael has moved out into his own place :) His staying with us was only supposed to be for a couple months and somehow turned into 2 years. While it was a bit weird the first couple nights not having him here both Chris & I are glad to have our space back again. Looking back, other than having to occasionally nag him to help out cleaning up the house he was pretty much a model roommate. We've dropped by his place a couple times now and you just know it's going to be party central.

My video game finally arrived and I couldn't be happier. Alpha & Brent came over to help me get the beast downstairs and apart from a gaping hole in the drywall we got it down without incident (although it was pretty dicey). Brent has also become my Galaga nemesis as he routinely beats my high score.

Finally, we got our cruise documents on Friday. The flight down there is going to be hell as we'll be basically traveling for over 12 hours. What are we supposed to do at the Montreal airport for 3 hours while we wait for our connecting flight? Maybe I can brush up on my Francais with the locals.

Au Revoir!

Well it's my last day of relaxation before I go back to the grind. I've had the past two weeks off and have spent them doing, well not a hell of a lot. And that was just what I needed.

After all the time I put in at work upgrading the company to Exchange 2003 I was pretty burnt out. So it was good to have some down time. Of course now that I'm going back the weather is supposed to get nice again - typical.

I also got my share dividends recently and well, let's just say I was most pleased. As usual I agonized about what to do with the money. In the end, in addition to being responsible by paying off bills, putting into RRSP's etc. I decided to treat myself. The one thing I've always wanted was my own authentic arcade game. And the two games I remember playing the most growing up were Ms. Pac-Man and Galaga.

So I am now the proud owner of a brand new "Class of '81" game. It's Ms. Pac-Man and Galaga all in one. There's also a secret code that will let you play the original Pac-Man as well. Plus you have the option of playing in fast mode or the original speeds.

I don't yet have it as it's stuck in Toronto waiting to clear customs, but I hope to have it by next weekend. If anyone is interested in getting their own game I'd be more than happy to share my experiences with them. A word of warning though - between the exchange rate, shipping charges, customs fees, and taxes you're looking at about $5000.

In addition to spending money, we've also been spending quality time with our close circle of friends. Last night Alpha & Nancy came over and we figured out what excursions we want to go on during our cruise. Before that we got to babysit Ethan, Chuck & Tracy's little boy who's also known as 'little dude'. He's quite the handful but we just love spending time with him. Finally the week before Leanne came over for a few drinks and we hung out until early in the morning.

All in all the past few weeks have been terrific.

Monday night Chris, Chuck, Tracy and moi went and saw Duran Duran at the Saddledome. While I'm a big fan of 80's music I never really got into them - I'd watch their videos but I didn't have any of their albums. The real reason I went was that I was morbidly curious to see what a super group 20 years past their prime would be like.

And I have to admit that they were awesome. In fact having listened to their new album I can also say that they sounded even better live. The highlight for me was actually the opening act - I Am Robot. You always hear about mishaps happening during performances and I got to see one as it happened. During one of the songs the lead singer fell off the stage. At first I couldn't quite believe what I saw, but yes, he did a face plant right onto the ground. To his credit (obviously hurt) he managed to get back up and finish the set. Afterwards we all went to the Vicious Circle for some martinis - it's amazing how good they can make straight alcohol taste. All in all it was a very fun night.

Chris and I went and sent in our passport applications today. Despite the horror stories we heard it actually didn't take us that long. According to the lovely clerk who assisted us we should have them by the end of the month. Oh and a word of advice for those who will be renewing or getting new passports - get your pictures in black and white. Good God, it's almost as if they go out of their way to make you look bad.

All week long they've been advertising 'watch the OC and see the new Star Wars trailer!'. As nothing was on TV I thought why not? So I watch an hour of this craptastic prime time soap opera until the credits role and then the screen flashes and I get to see the last 3 seconds of the trailer. Thank you CRTC for your stupid insistence that Canadian channels hijack American advertisements when they are showing the same show on a local channel. Did you ever stop to think that maybe I want to find out what's happening at the Couer D Alene casino or hear about the latest drive-by shooting in Detroit? For what it's worth the 3 seconds that I did see looked killer...

I got my company share dividends a few days ago and I'm almost embarrassed at how much I got. Things are going well for me now. I'm making good coin, I'm with the love of my life, I have an awesome house, I have the best parents in the world, despite being estranged from her mom I have a daughter who still calls me dad and wants me to be a part of her life, and aside from the need to get in better shape I'm in good health. So why do I have that nagging feeling that it's about to come crashing down all around me? Maybe it's my past tendencies to royally screw things up. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. All I know is that I'm going to enjoy it while I can.

Thinks at work are still stressful. Our Calgary and Edmonton sites are now running Exchange 2003, but it was hell getting them to that point. I was up in Edmonton last week putting in 20hr days to get the job done. While I was up there Chris was in Vancouver doing some work stuff, but she also got to sneak in some time with her family.

Later today I'm heading back to Edmonton again. I'll be up there all week on a training course. Sigh, no rest for the wicked. I really need a vacation. Perhaps a career change is in order. Maybe I'll take up farming? Have a farm full of cows. I'd run around them all day screaming 'Moo! Moo!'. Ya, I could totally picture that.

While I'm thankful for getting the chance to be with such a magnificent animal I'm also saddened by the knowledge that they'll be extinct in the wild in less than 15 years - mostly due to demand for their use in Chinese 'traditional' medicines. It infuriates me that this is happening all because of one culture's stupidity. More information about efforts to save the Tiger can be found here.

Saturday was Ethan's first birthday. Chris brought yummy stew and a cake that the little dude got to tear into. After all the kiddlings had left us adults partied hard (ok maybe it was just me). Very interesting conversations and some heated discussions went well into the night.

Work-wise things are kinda hellish right now. We hired a company to come in and assist us in our email migration to Exchange 2003. A stupid amount of money has been spent to date and we have yet to upgrade a single mailbox as we've run into problem after problem. If anyone has any upgrading experience I'm all ears...

Chris and I went to the Tsunami relief concert last night with Chuck and Tracy. It was very, very cool. Attendance was pegged at only 13,000 though. It's quite sad (and perhaps telling of Calgarians?) that more tickets were sold for Motley Crue than for this worthy and star studded event.

Opening up was Delerium who had a progressive/trance sound to them that I rather liked. Sarah McLachlan joined them to perform 'Silence' which is a wicked song. After that Bruce Cockburn came out and played solo, just him and his guitar. I thought it was amazing that he could sound so good and hold the audience by himself - no 8 member backup band or anything. I'm very glad I got to see him perform.

Chantal Kreviazuk was next and played with her husband from Our Lady Peace. Her first song was awesome but then she started doing medley's with her hubby which I thought was lame, plus she didn't play 'Dear Life' which is my favourite.

Then came Barenaked Ladies and they pretty much stole the show. They brought a lot of much needed energy and fun to the evening. Definitely the crowd favourites. Following them was Sarah and although I understand why she was the headliner (she pretty much organized the show and she's easily the best female vocalist out there), having her rather somber and moody music come after the excitement of BNL was kinda a letdown. Plus by that time everyone had been sitting in those crappy Saddledome seats for close to 4 hours. Still her set was flawless.

Rick Mercer and Brent Butt (Corner Gas) were the hosts of the event and were quite entertaining, especially Butt. All in all it was an excellent evening and I was so glad we went. The concerts in Vancouver and here in Calgary managed to raise over 3 million dollars for the relief effort.

It's official! The new season of Family Guy will start May 1st. Yes, the only show to have been cancelled twice is back. 13 new episodes have already been 'filmed':

North by North Quahog Fast Times at Buddy Cianci High Don't Make Me Over Blind Ambition Stewie B. Goode (Part I) Bango Was His Name Oh (Part II) Stu & Stewies Excellent Adventure (Part III) The Cleveland-Loretta Quagmire Petarded Brian the Bachelor 8 Simple Rules for Buying My Teenage Daughter Breaking Out Is Hard to Do Model Misbehavior

Although with news that a re-run showing (Stewie's?) ass was censored due to the post-Janet Jackson hysteria you have to wonder how much they'll be able to continue to push the boundaries of good taste...

The big news with us is that Chris' mom and hubby are moving to Edmontonville. Personally I'm jealous as I'd move back there in a second if I could. No, it's not a knock against Calgary. All the things being equal Calgary is the better city. But Calgary has just gotten to big (to many damn Easterners living here - Kim & Jamie excepted). It's only a matter of time until I snap ala Falling Down.

I wonder how long before Jim & Karen start cheering for the Oilers?

Happy New Year!

Looking back on 2004 I'd have to say that it was a very good year. Many achievements and goals were made. Chris and I celebrated 5 years of being together, we bought our first home together, and I achieved a personal goal of earning six figures. Health wise I finally could give a name to my 'condition' and was reassured to find out that I have excellent cholesterol. Chris started on her MS medication and despite some initial concerns she seems to be adjusting to it much better. Here's hoping that 2005 is an even better year for us, our friends, and families.

We spent Christmas on the west coast in a cabin near the town of Powell River. All I can say is both Chris and I had a terrific time. The scenery was gorgeous and the company was even better. Chris' dad, George, finally tied the knot with his wife Lori and all the kids got to be present for the ceremony. I want to thank them for having us out there and for giving us a vacation to remember. Other than the final day where we missed a ferry and almost missed our flight back it was a perfect trip. Be sure to check out the pictures. Oh, and if you want to know what the deal is with the Ninja Turtle.........well ask!

New Years eve was rather subdued which was kinda nice for a change. Kim, Hailey, Chuck, and Tracy came over and we had a Fondue feast, drank a few drinkie poos, watched retro dance party on TV, and did the traditional countdown. Thanks to everyone who came out. And would you believe I didn't have a hangover the next day...