Merry Christmas

I love Christmas. I love seeing everyone mostly. It’s an excuse to just pop in and see someone or a plan is in place to make sure you see the one’s who are most important in your life. It starts Christmas Eve for me and usually goes right until New Years Eve when Dick Clark’s balls drop. Or now more appropriately Ryan Seacrest’s balls descend.

Most of you won’t receive a card from us this year and I will tell you that it’s one part procrastination, one part flu, and one part because Shoppers Drugmart sucks ass. Let me explain…

You see I captured this really great picture of Lexi putting on her Santa hat and thought it would be perfect to stuff into envelopes and send to all of our friends. Ever since that one year Ratte gave me shit for sending out a card with just Vegas on it I make sure now that at least one of us are on it too. Anyway I do some editing at home and then bring this picture to Shoppers to make a card, just like I do every year. Thing I didn’t know about this year was that they changed their machines this year. Instead of having like 30 different Christmas card options there is 6, and they all suck pretty bad. In reality there were only 3 options that would work with the image I wanted to use anyway so I was limited once again. BRUUUUUUUUUTAL. I finally settle on the least crappy template and spend the next 20 mins trying to type out my name and phone number. Stupid thing won’t except “Peever” as a first name, arg, I start again.

The lady tells me that it will be about 20 mins so I hang out in the store and wait. I almost bought some pens for school, good thing I didn’t. After about 10 mins she finds me in the store and shows me 1 of my 40 prints. It’s a great picture of Lexi with a big heading that reads “Merry Christmas – YOUR TEXT HERE”. I forgot to customize my message. Luckily they caught it in time and it was just a matter of going back in and re-doing it. I get back to the terminal, pick the least crappy template and when I go to enter my message it won’t let me. I politely call the lady over and she tries a couple of times and she can’t edit it either. We even go through the tedious process on another couple machines and it doesn’t work on them either. BLAST.

“It must just be that template…” she says. “This one’s nice…”

By this time I am completely livid and out of options. In one last ditch effort to lash out I do the unthinkable and pull out my flash drive with authority before the machine tells me it’s safe to do so. What a complete waste of time that was and it’s too bad too because the old system they had there was stellar. I could go in Christmas Eve and still pound those suckers out to everyone.

As a result I didn’t do cards this year. We didn’t do cards I should say. Next year everyone will be getting a Christmas card with this years picture of Lexi in a Santa hat. Something you are all looking forward to I am sure. If you sent us a card this year we do appreciate the sentiment and we love you and your attention to these matters. Instead of reciprocating card for card I hope to shake your hand or hug your wife somewhere over the next couple of days.

Merry Christmas Everyone (screw you Shoppers Drug Mart).

Pan-Am Pool Sux

It’s been a rough week around here. We went for our annual Christmas dinner on Monday with the buds and at least one person from every table was feeling a little under the weather. This flu that is going around is nasty. I don’t know how bad it has to get before someone attaches some letters and numbers to it (H2N2) and people start lining up outside of malls to get their shots.

Tuesday night I went out with Bosak to the Moose Game and then for wings at Pony Pier 7. Had I known how sick Shan was I never would have went. She was up all night spewing and well into the morning. I thought it would be a good idea to get Lexi out of the house in the morning so we packed up her swim clothes and went to Pan Am Pool.

We got there at about 10pm and the lady at the front desk informed us that the pool was at capacity and that people were already waiting. There were about 3 people ahead of us so I put my name on the list and waited with the others. Lexi was so patient. We read a book, had a snack, and made friends with some of the other kids waiting. Eventually people were let in and after about an hour we were next. It was then one of the people who worked there made an announcement that they were opening the shallow pool and would be letting us all in. That means that everyone who is there for the kiddie pool would basically have to hang out in the shallow pool and hope to get into the kiddie pool when people leave.

We got our suits on and proceeded to the kiddie pool to find that there was only one other person in there. WTF? Lexi and I got in and started to swim a little when the life guard on duty announces that they are closing the kiddie pool for maintenance. We weren’t even there for 5 mins. Man was I pissed. They told us we could go to the shallow pool and swim. After telling the guy how impressed I was with this I noticed that all the people from the kiddie pool were now standing around the shallow pool because there was a water polo team practicing. I just walked passed everyone with Lexi and got right in the pool. I was just hoping someone would say something to me. Eventually the polo team moved over and the others all came into the pool as well. It was all very short lived because the shallow pool was 3 times colder than the kiddie pool and the kiddies weren’t too happy about it. Lexi wanted nothing to do with the shallow pool so we got dried off and left. Lexi was really good about it and was singing “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” in the change room so I know she wasn’t too upset. We ended up getting a free pass to come again.

Yippee.

RRC Kibosh, WTF

I have been home with a sick little girl for the last couple of days. It might be that 24 flu that everyone is talking about except it’s lasting more like 36. I have no idea how one little 25lb baby can produce so much liquid yuck, in so many different colors. It’s made it’s way to me and attacked whatever that is in my bowel that turns liquids to solids. To say the least it’s been a rough week.

To make matters worse I get a call on Wednesday from the RRC to let me know the course I am supposed to start in 2 weeks has been canceled. I am still in shock really. With the funding in place I was also looking forward to an income again next month. November, December were a struggle but there was light at the end of the tunnel in January. What now?

The next course date starts up in August so I need to find some work. I don’t really need the course to EA in the schools but I will need a criminal record check. Once that comes in I can get on the sub list and see how it goes.

Linus Omark

 
Linus Omark was called up from the Oilers AHL affiliate in Oklahoma City along with O’Marra to take the place of injured forwards Ales Hemsky and Shawn Horcoff. The Swedish rookie scored a highlight-reel goal in the shootout Friday as the Oilers won for the fifth time in their last six games, defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3. Not bad for his first NHL appearance.

My Favorite Shootout Goal

GSP Crushes Kos

Big thanks to Joel last night for having us all over for the fights and in style I might add with the addition of the new couch in the living room. A fine choice if I do say so myself. In my post fight interview I would also like to thank Santa Ana Bistro for the great pre-fight meal. Man that Caesar salad is to die for. Thanks Amanda and Shan for the dips, Nolan’s for the cookies and cream cheese rolls.

Some comments on the fights:

• Love Joe Rogan but did anyone get the number of that truck that ran over his shirt?
• I was a little bitter there were no prelims on Spike. WTF Dana?
• Most entertaining fight of the night was Pierson VS Riddle. I have never seen a guy take so many punches and smile through it than that kid Riddle. He lost that first round bad but was a warrior in the next 2 throwing and going right to the bell. Looking forward to his next fight.
• Alves (Pitbull) fought a great fight and finally redeemed himself in the UFC in my opinion.
• Not sure how you do it but Joe “Goodnight Daddy” Stevenson needs to work on that chin because it didn’t look like Danzig even hit him with anything there. Lights out Daddy.
• Something tells me there will a lot of pantie bleaching going on today the way the girls were drooling over GSP. It was like they have never seen a man in his pajamas before. Oh and girls…that’s a big jock underneath those tight pants of his. I honestly don’t even think it should be legal to wear a jock that size in MMA. Imagine GSP gets you in a rear naked choke and what hurts more when he gets the hooks in is that big oversized jock digging into your back. Edge GSP on that one. When you go buy a jock the sizes now are small, med, large, x-large, and GSP.
• I like that my wife also enjoys watching GSP fight. It’s nice to see her so turned on by a man.

My Facebook Status when I got home:

Glad to see GSP punish Kos for 5 rounds but the Champ needs to start finishing some fights. Too many guys wearing t-shirts that read “I survived five rounds with GSP”

GSP 2011 Calendar

Is it too late to get one of these for Christmas?

I am sure they are going fast.

Movember

Movember (the month formerly known as November) is an annual moustache growing charity event held every November which raises funds and awareness for cancers that affect men.

At the start of Movember guys register with a clean shaven face. The Movember participants, known as Mo Bros, have the remainder of the month to grow and groom their Mo, raising money along the way to benefit men’s health.

This is a good cause but if it’s not Movember avoid the following:

Sweet!