Last Monday, Blair came over for a bit and we had the priviledge of watching the Habs kick Boston's ass right out of the playoffs! Take that, you bastards! I got to watch RAW for the first time in a very, very long time and I had a lot of fun doing so. I can't believe they gave Benoit two titles! Wow! Congrats also goes out to Blair for whooping 302's ass.
Tuesday night I went to Joan Rink's to fix up her computer and then I spent an hour at a union meeting. Wednesday was a little more exciting because I went to the Easy Alibi on Scarth Street to meet up with the French conversation group. It was a good time but pretty embarassing - I really need to practice because my French blows, kinda like the whole of the French people. Thursday evening I amused myself by returning my broken popcorn maker for a refund and picking up some booze for weekend fun. I spent the whole night tidying up board paperwork. It's not fun work but it feels good to cross another item off the annual "to-do" list.
Friday was a good day - I went out with Dale and the URSU exec for lunch to Henderson's, and then I left work super early, like around 4pm, and we went to the Owl for some post-workweek beers. Afterward, I went home to pick up my booze and my steaks that had been thawing out and went to Brad's for some BBQ fun. There were lots of people there and it was good times. I had had a long day of fun, though, so I decided to cut out a bit earlier than usual.
Saturday I was hurting, but functional after about Noon. I spent the afternoon relaxing and enjoying some movies, namely Men in Black 2 and Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star. I thought both were okay, and the latter even surprised me with how likeable it was. I really enjoyed all the references to former child stars, especially the medley at the end! After movie time was over, I hopped in the car and went to get a haircut - I decided my hair experiment is over for the time being, maybe I will try it again sometime. After I lost my five pounds of hair, I went to my parents' place to BBQ and hang out. It was good food on their brand-new barbeque (to replace the old rusted-out one from 1985) and we even had chocolate cake afterwards. I left around 10pm to head home to pack.
Yes, pack. Around the middle of last week, I learned that IBM US wanted me to return to Philadelphia to work on another project at the same company I was working at before. Since there isn't a lot of definite things going on at work right now, I jumped at the chance. I finished packing Saturday night and then woke up at 4:30am to head to the airport to catch my 6am flight out here. The flight was great because I got upgraded to First-class (again!) and I basically slept the whole way there, which was good. I am staying at the same hotel that I stayed in before, except this time my huge suite has a Jacuzzi, too! I am going to be here for two weeks for sure, and possibly longer depending on what the client wants. I will keep you all posted! I also have to mention that I am super impressed with Pennslyvania - last time I was here it was in the dead of winter and everything was dead and gray. This time, it's the complete opposite - every single plant here is as green as you've ever seen, the whole place is gorgeous. I got quite a view of everything from the plane as we landed and I gotta tell you, I think I'm starting to understand why so many people live out this way!
Work today was pretty good. We had some preliminary meetings about the project and then after work we went for drinks and snacks to Kildare's, which was a neat place. It's even better on the company's tab ;)
There is talk about going to NYC this weekend but no details just yet. I have to go at least once this time!
I just can't stop putting images up on this site - here's another one:
Monday night was a great night on the town - me, Mike, Jeff, Jenn, Joachim, and Nick went to Bonzzini's for beers and it was good times even though the place was dead. At the end of the night, Nick even picked up the tab, which was super generous and not at all necessary! Props to you, Nick!
Tuesday night I went over to my mom's to pick up a satellite receiver she bought for me for $25 (super cheap, these things go for like $100 to $150 on eBay) from a guy at her work. On the way back I stopped at Janson's to pick up my new Lung Capacity t-shirt. It was awesome because I got to visit with Janson and Aidan plus they fed me some excellent bison sausage, so I didn't even have to make supper - props to you guys!
On Wednesday, I came home from work around noon to let the guys into the building to install my satellite dish! It took a few hours but in the end I have both my cable modem and my satellite dish going into my place on the same line, which is awesome, because re-wiring would be an absolute bitch - thank God for diplexers! Props to my mom because she hooked me up with the receiver too so I'm all set! I just can't express how happy I am to have real television again - and anyone who has been around me the last week knows because that's all I can talk about! As Marco said, "you can see the puck!" No more farmer-vision for me!
Wednesday night me and my Dad went to the Centre of the Arts to check out Bob Newhart's show, and it was a blast. I took my dad there for a super-early Father's Day present and we had a great time. At 75, he can still make 'em laugh!
Thursday night I watched the series finale of The Apprentice, which was cool. I hadn't really watched the show the whole way through but I loved the concept and love Donald Trump, so it's very entertaining for me. Otherwise, Thursday was pretty quiet.
On Friday, I left work a bit early and went over to Brad's to BBQ. Blair joined us later and it was a good time even though it was a bit chilly. Afterwards we all went to the Owl. It was pretty empty at the start but it filled up by the end of the night. I don't remember too much of what went on but I'm pretty sure it was a good time! It was pretty lame that lots of people decided to retire home early, but what can you do?
On Saturday I slept in super late, which was fine by me. I spent most of the rest of the day watching television, which was a waste of time but since I've lived so long without it I deserved it, God damn it! Speaking of TV, the hockey playoffs has turned into a nightly tradition here at the Million Dollar Hotel, and I'm so very, very glad that the Habs are still in it! I'm crossing my fingers! They have not been outplayed in this series, so they deserve to win!
Today I went grocery shopping and over to Joan Rink's house to hook up her DVD and computer, and then came home to do some laundry. Brad came over tonight and we watched Backlash, which was a great show. There were more than a few very memorable moments and the hometown boy Benoit retained the championship so all is well with the world.
Not too many plans for this week. Tuesday night I have a union meeting and maybe on Wednesday I'll have that French conversation group. I really need to finish up my board paperwork too. Other than that, I've got no plans, other than, of course, watching my satellite television! :)
Life is starting to get back to "normal" - whatever that is! It's been a long week and a half but I'm back in town and slowly getting back up to full speed.
Last weekend was a pretty tame one. On Friday night we had a board social at Greko's, which was good food and good times. Armed with more than a few drink tickets, we made our way to the Owl, which was a blast. In case you haven't heard, the Owl is back and in a big way! Spring is here and everybody was dressed to kill and it was great. The place was packed, the tunes were great, there was a huge line - in short, the Owl is the place to be again on Fridays! I called it a night early, though, and made it home before 1am. I hope to be back in the near future!
On the Saturday my dad came over and helped me put up the remaining shelves I had to put up in the laundry room. It was a bitch because on the one wall of my place we had to drill through cement but we got it going. It was the first project me and my dad did that a) turned out right and b) didn't involve cursing! I worked during the rest of the day in anticipation of heading for drinks with Mike at the Freehouse, but he was sick and I didn't find out until late so I didn't end up going out. I was nearly out the door to Brad's to play poker but I decided to just stay home and watch SNL instead, which was somewhat entertaining. Sunday was a productive day, I cleaned the house and washed my car and then got a ton of work done that night.
The rest of the week was mostly about work as well, with a few other activities in between. On Tuesday I went to the dentist, and everything checked out, except I have to get my fillings replaced and get a wisdom tooth taken out in the near future. Wednesday was a crazy day. I had a meeting downtown at lunch and then a board meeting at 6pm, and afterwards I rushed downtown for our condo association AGM. It was a super long meeting, but in the end I emerged as the Vice-President of the association *and* with permission to put up my satellite dish! You heard it hear first - my months-long ordeal to bring a satellite dish to the condo has paid off! If anybody has a Bell ExpressVu receiver that they are looking to get rid of for a good price, please let me know. I couldn't be more excited to get rid of my farmer-vision! I celebrated by watching Robocop, a favourite from when I was a kid that I still enjoy today.
On Thursday I feverishly worked all day to finish my work, but in the end just said "fuck it" and hit the road. My mom picked me and Marco up and we headed west. We dropped off Marco at his parents' house in Swift Current and continued on to the cabin. On Friday I slept in (yay!) and then helped Dad put up a bit more of the ceiling in the basement.
That night it was movie night, as I watched a couple flicks. The first one was Punch-drunk Love, which was a pretty weird flick and, honestly, not one that I would recommend, although it is nice to watch Adam Sandler in a serious-type role. The second flick was The Italian Job, which I thought was a fun movie with lots of cool cars and toys and explosions to watch.
On Saturday we all got up super early and went to my uncle's garage to make deer sausage. It was a gorgeous day and we managed to mix and package over 400 pounds of sausage in a little under eight hours. This time me and Dad got to mix it so it tastes super good, let me tell you. If anybody is interested in trying some, let me know, because there is lots to go around!
Today we got up and went to Grandma and Grandpa's for an Easter lunch, then me and Brandon hopped in the car and headed home, as we both have to work tomorrow. We picked up Marco on the way, and it was a great drive. After I got home, I finished up the very last piece I ever have to work on my Vancouver project, so I'm very hopeful that I will have a lot more spare time than I have had recently. Speaking of work, there is a chance that I will be off to the USA again for six to eight weeks, but nothing for sure just yet. I will keep you all posted!
No big plans for this week other than a little housekeeping in the paperwork department. I am taking my dad to see Bob Newhart at the Centre of the Arts on Wednesday night as an early Father's Day present (don't worry, folks, it's not until June!), which promises to be a blast, because he's a funny, funny man!
In keeping with my image theme, here's a photo I made of myself on the South Park website to entertain you:
GO HABS!
It's been a crazy, crazy week so I haven't had much time to post. I'll get you all updated soon, but for right now I'm on my way to the cabin for the weekend to relax and make deer sausage. I'm planning on being back in town on Sunday evening sometime. In the meantime, I've left the image below to entertain you - it's a scan of the last grocery list at the Million Dollar Hotel, I hope you enjoy it! ;)
The weekend is here and I couldn't be more happy, because this week sure has had it's ups and downs!
On Monday night I finished watching The Rundown, which I had started briefly late Saturday night. I thought it was a pretty neat movie, with a few funny parts but otherwise nothing too special about it, although the fight scenes were some of the coolest I've seen this side of The Transporter. Arnold's cameo neatly sums it up - the torch has been passed to The Rock!
The CIPS seminar on home automation was great. The food wasn't good but the subject material was definitely interesting. This dude has his entire house completely wired for all sorts of things. You can even check out a live demo for yourself! Wow!
Wednesday was not a good day. I spent the bulk of my time during the day chairing the Carillon AGM and it was a gong show. There was a hundred people crammed into the Carillon offices which made it unbearably hot and the lack of space meant that I had to conduct the entire meeting standing on a couch. On top of that, because they failed to file the right paperwork a few years ago, the whole process turned into more of a glorified staff meeting than an AGM, much to the disappointment of the tons of people who came there to vote and couldn't. The good news is that it's going to be a small effort to get their house in order for the future, and I'm sure hoping they get on that right away. There has been and there is going to be a lot of flack over this, but I hope the message gets out that it can be fixed and life can move on. It did scare me how some people can have literally invested nothing into something and expect the world from it, and I meet too many people who mistake "good intentions" for "good actions", let me tell you! What I find amusing is the people who the most upset about what has been "happening" at the Carillon are the people that will either do the least about it or have the least amount of knowledge on how to fix the situation. The elections afterwards went pretty smoothly, and it looks like they've got a good crew coming in for the upcoming year, so we'll see how it goes.
The terrible week continued as I have spent pretty much all of my waking hours working and it's been a frustrating experience. I didn't get to go to the French group on Wednesday thanks to that. I am probably going to work a ton this weekend, too. The good news is that the current workload is (hopefully) going to drop as the project I am working on now is set to be finished next Thursday. That very night I'm headed to the cabin to relax!