It's been four days since the deadly earthquake/tsunami disaster in Southeast Asia, and the death toll is now well over 100,000 and rising by the day. Millions of dollars are being pledged, and man and machine alike are being engaged to help folks caught in the midst of one of the worst disasters in world history.

What they won't be reporting on is that the same number of people died in Africa during the same time period - most of preventable diseases. Tens of thousands of people die each and every day in Africa and elsewhere because they don't have enough food to eat or can't afford the medicine they need, all things that the rest of the world could easily provide if this problem was treated like the absolute emergency that it is.

I'm now really starting to believe Bono's theory that Africa's situation is entirely based on racism, because if there were thousands of white people vacationing in Africa and they all suddenly got AIDS or had some other calamity you can bet that the needed money would be sent and spent like yesterday.

The last week or so has absolutely flown by, which is exactly what you want before you start a long vacation!

Last week I put in ten-hour days at work so I could take Friday off to fly back to Regina for our office Christmas party. It was at the Hotel Sask. so it was pretty swanky (hey, if it's good enough for Her Majesty, it's more than good enough for me). I didn't stay late, however, and left shortly after 9pm. Tyler, Janson, and Kenny picked me up and we went to the new club in town, 20-44. I could not get over how it's in the old Fanny's Fabrics place! Anyways, Janson was supposed to know a guy who knows a guy (since he was meeting a bunch of buddies from work there) to get us in without cover, but it didn't work out that way and we had to pay the full charge ($5!). Once inside, I found that I really liked the place. It's sparse and modern, and very much reminded me of a nightclub back in Mexico in Guzman. I won't recount Janson's drunken antics here (Merry Christmas, buddy!), but we didn't stay that long and decided to hop across the street to McNally's instead. There was a band playing so we had to shell out yet another $5 to get in! Tyler and I lost track of Janson and his crew, but we managed to drink Guinness all night and close down the place. I also got to see Stacey and apologize for being drunk there last week - looks like I'll have to do it again the next time I see her! Good times!

On Saturday I mostly hung out around the house watching movies. I watched Elf, which can only be described as hilarious and heart-warming and will surely turn into a holiday classic. The role suited Will Ferrell perfectly - laugh after laugh. I also watched Super Size Me, which was pretty interesting, although there was certainly no Earth-shattering information in it. I found myself not able to get behind the guy simply because I am a big believer in the fact that you can judge a person by their friends, and this guy's girlfriend was a bona fide vegan hippie idiot (hey, I said I would drop the labels and the name-calling, but she warrants it, believe me - she's also pretty damned brutal looking). I am also pretty sure that most of what he did was completely staged, because there's no way anybody would be such a pussy about having to eat at McDonald's for a month. Lots of people are telling me that I should make the sequel to that movie, because for the last eight months or so I've eaten at McDonald's pretty much every single day and I've lost twenty pounds. Stick that in your mouth and suck it, Morgan Spurlock! Actually, he's the one who'll have the last laugh - his movie cost almost nothing to make and it's grossed millions. Bastard.

Saturday night I went to Earl's, where I had a fabulous supper (pasta!) with Natasha Bood, censored by author, and their friend Lisa. It was a celebrity-filled evening as we saw Lindsay Lohan, the wrestler from Amazing Race, Christina Aguilera, and half the Roughrider football team, among others! After supper the girls went to 20-44 and I went to Brad's to visit for a bit while they had a mini-gathering for Tracey (since she's moving to Calgary in a few weeks). I didn't stay long as I had to be on a plane back to Chicago early Sunday morning, but a definite highlight was the scrapbook that Steff made for Tracey and the couple WWE books that Steff picked up for me at the bookstore - thanks again, Steff! Yet another reason of why I like her more than Brad ...

My flight to Chicago was brutal, because I spent nearly the entire day in Winnipeg, as my flight into Chicago was delayed over three hours (after a two-hour layover!). The week went by super-fast though, because I put in a ton of hours (I was in the office past midnight yesterday) so I could fly back this afternoon. It was actually pretty satisfying as well since I got a lot of work done before the holidays. When the plane touched the ground in Regina tonight, I couldn't have been happier! It feels great to be home!

Tonight I'm up late doing laundry and wrapping presents and getting all that kind of stuff out of the way. I'm going out for lunch with Dale tomorrow so I am looking forward to that. I'm even more looking forward to after lunch - when I hit the road to Assiniboia! I am super excited - I haven't been home for Christmas for two years and this is the last year before I embark on my new journey as a husband, so it feels like the closing chapter and the beginning of a new one. From all accounts there will be a lot of people back home for the holidays, so I can't wait!

On Christmas Eve (after I sober up), I'm going to be hitting the highway again in the direction of Cypress Hills to spend Christmas at the cabin. I am soooo looking forward to some rest! I'm also excited about presents because I think I got some pretty kick-ass presents this year for my family. I'm going to be heading back to Regina on the 28th in time for Bernie's annual bowling party (!!!) and for New Year's Eve. Plans are not definite yet, but I've heard rumours of yuk-a-flux? Sounds like the best year of my life is going to go out with a bang!

Speaking of the past year, as usual I present the text of my annual Christmas card, which I actually got mailed out early (i.e. *before* Christmas) this year:

CONGRATULATIONS!! YOU ARE THE PROUD RECIPIENT OF
DEREK BURT'S 8th ANNUAL GENERIC CHRISTMAS CARD!

Dear Friend(s),

2004 is coming to a close and the year has proven to be one of the most interesting yet. I have spent the year doing the most travelling I have ever done in my short life. While that meant I got to see some great sights and taste some great food, it also meant a hell of a lot of work!

Not a week into the New Year, the project I was working on in Vancouver was cancelled, so I struck up a conversation with a former colleague who was working in Philadelphia at the time and he asked if I would be interested in heading down there. I jumped at the chance and hopped on the next plane there to begin work for one of the largest television networks in the world, QVC. You might recognize the name since they were featured in an episode of “The Apprentice” this year, with the contestants having to sell something over the air (it is a shopping channel, after all - and yes, I did get to see everybody in person except for The Donald!).

After my stint in Philly, the Vancouver project I was working on started up again so I went out there to work off and on for a couple of months before they again put it on hiatus. There was still more work to do back at QVC in Philadelphia so I went back out there until the end of September. While the six-odd months I spent in the great state of Pennsylvania were certainly challenging, it was definitely a positive experience since I learned so much and made some life-long friends!

For the past three months I’ve been working in Chicago for the largest publicly-held insurance company in the United States, Allstate Insurance. While initially the hours were brutal, it’s loosened up a bit and I have actually had some time to tour around the city, so lately it’s been very pleasant.

Of course, this year hasn’t been all about work. Since I was out on the East Coast I got to do lots of sightseeing. I made several trips to downtown Philadelphia checking out the sites, like the Liberty Bell and the home of the original Philly Cheesesteak, Pat’s Steaks. I also got many chances to pay a visit to my buddy Nick, who has been working in Washington, D.C., and can now say I’ve been to pretty much every single famous landmark Capital City has to offer (and believe me, there are many!). I managed to attend a number of wrestling events, including the WWE’s annual pay-per-view, the Royal Rumble, live and in person! We also made a weekend trip up to New York City, where we took in as much of Manhattan as you can in a single day, including seeing the Statue of Liberty, the WTC site, NBC Studios (where I met Darryl Hammond!!!), and Times Square, just to name a few. To cap it all off we finished the day with great seats at a Broadway play featuring Alec Baldwin and Anne Heche!

The best part of this whole year has been the fact that since I’ve been working in the USA, it’s been cheaper for the company to fly me to Mexico instead of back to Regina, so I’ve been able to go to Mexico close to a dozen times this year to visit Sofía. Not only is she the love of my life, but as of August 8th, when I proposed and she accepted, she is also my fiancée! We are getting married on April 2, 2005, and I for one can’t wait!

I haven’t spent the entire year away from Regina, although sometimes it feels like it. I was home for a couple weeks in August to go to a friend’s wedding and for my annual Great Canadian Cabin Party, which was, as usual, a blast. I was also back in Saskatchewan off and on towards the end of the year for hunting season, which, while it wasn’t as productive as last year, was still a great time, especially having my buddy Nick (a.k.a. Tackleberry) along for the ride this year. I am still hoping to get some hunting in around Christmas time, but time will tell.

The next year has all the ingredients to be better than this year, because not only am I getting married, but U2 has a new album out and they will soon be on tour! I’m not sure which one I’m more excited about … just kidding! I am going to be working in Chicago until the end of March next year, (just before I take a month off for the wedding), so if you are in the area feel free to give me a call!

May the holidays bring you joy, happiness, money, fame, power, or whatever else your heart desires. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!

Yours,

Derek

Merry Christmas!

The holiday season is upon us once again. I'm actually more than half-done my Christmas shopping this year, which for me, who usually shops on December 24th, is pretty much a miracle. This miracle has a name - eBay. Thanks to eBay I've got super great presents this year that I bought for good prices and so far I haven't had to visit a single store!

I've spent the last couple weeks at work in Chicago, which is going pretty well. We reached a deal with the local Hilton so now I am finally staying at a decent hotel, which has improved my work life by at least 50%. Everybody is starting to drop off as vacation season has already begun, which should hopefully make me more productive at work, because I've got a lot of stuff to do between now and when I go on vacation. The hours at work are much more manageable now, and I even got to go out sightseeing last weekend. I took the subway into downtown and walked around to the see the sights:

We had our team Christmas party last Wednesday at the Sheridan Shore Yacht Club, and it was a blast. It was a really classy place and we had a bus shuttle us to and from the hotel, a perfect combination for a good time. On Friday morning I flew back into town for another team Christmas party, this time with my Regina team. Before the festivities I went into work for my annual review and scored the highest you can possibly get, so it was obviously a good year. We went to the Crooked Cue for drinks and food and pool, before eventually making our way downstairs to McNally's to cap off the night. I had a great time. I drank too much and made a fool out of myself, my modus operandi, but I walked home so nobody died as a result of my shenanigans :)

I actually made it home pretty early on Friday, which made the next morning more pleasant than it otherwise could be. I got lots of stuff done around the house (mostly X-mas related) and even got to watch a movie, Walking Tall. It was a good flick because I enjoy both The Rock and Neal McDonough, but the movie was in need of a serious script doctor to make it longer when it needed to be and tighten plot holes up. It could have been more than average with just a little more work in the script department!

I flew back out to Chicago at noon today, and I'm going to be here until I fly back to Regina on Friday morning. I've got another work Christmas party on Friday night and then on Saturday night I'm going out for supper with Natasha Bood, who is gonna be in Regina for a couple days. She invited a ton of people out so I'd like to do the same - who's up for supper at Earl's on Saturday night?

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(via Boing Boing)

While PDF documents sure are handy, after you click on a link to one you must wait a year and a day for them to load, which sucks ass. Want a way to fix that? Click here!

(via Steve Muench via java.blogs)