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Author - peever

Flux Capacitor

Last night Shan called me at work to let me know that the air conditioner wasn’t working. First question I asked was “what is the temperature in the house?”

“28” she said.

I called Nolan because he always has a guy. I thought maybe one of our hockey guys might be in the business.

By the time I got home, it was 30. Seemed warmer than outside actually. I checked the breaker, the thermostat, and then I had to call someone. I called Glenn Luff from East St. Paul Mechanical. I met him when my furnace died a couple of winters ago. He came highly recommended by Scott Sullivan and did a great job sorting us out. He went as far as to show me some common things that I could do the next time my furnace was acting up. Awesome guy.

Anyway Glen ran me through a few things to see what was going on over the phone. By this time it was Friday at almost 8pm. Nothing open and nothing going to be open until Monday unless you want to pay for an emergency call. He talked me through how to test the thermostat and make sure it wasn’t that. Then he showed me how to take the thermostat off and give it a little jump start using a wire or paperclip. Still nothing. At the end of the call he said to remove the disconnect so there was no power going to the unit and check the capacitor. If it looks like a can drink in the freezer (top rounding out) then it’s blown.

He was a huge help. When I got off the phone I looked “aircon capacitor” and came across one of the best how-to video’s I ever saw. I actually had to stop what I was doing and go show Shan this video:

Opening my air conditioner I could see the capacitor was blown right away and took it out. It was already 8:35PM and by the time I hit Canadian Tire and Home Depot I was almost out of options.

In my car I Googled “Capacitor Winnipeg” and a list came up and most had a big red “Closed” by the link. Apex Heating & Air Conditioning on Berrydale came up and since it was nice and close I thought I would at least call and leave a message. Someone actually answered but was already at the lake for the weekend. He asked me to send him a picture of my capacitor and said he would get back to me. On my way home he called and said he had found one in Windsor Park that I could buy. I basically went to a guy’s house and he went out to his truck and gave me the part and even showed me how to test it.

I was really impressed at how much these companies were willing to help me fix this. None of them gained from it. I even checked if what I paid for the capacitor was what they actually cost and it was less than the ones I pulled up. It made me want to do a shout out to these guys in the game.

If you need help with your air-conditioner let me know maybe I can help. If not I can put you in touch with one of these awesome companies.

Fathers Day 2020

My parents came over and I got to see my dad without a mask on for the first time in about 3 months. Of course, we have been keeping our distance in the wake of Covid-19. My parents aren’t as young as they used to be and I don’t have to go too far to feel what it’s like to be missing a parent.

My dad and I sat down and looked at some old photos I have on my computer. It was great to see him get excited about some of the family shots I have from back when he was young. There were a few of my Auntie Nancy and we talked about how much we miss her. She was a wild spirit, the second youngest of his siblings, and we all had a special connection with her.

This is my favorite. Apparently this is a Peever family vacation and it just so happens my Grandpa Vic used to travel with boxing gloves in his car (go figure). I imagine Nance was always eager to get the gloves on for a little mid-morning tilt!

Things I love about this photo:

  • My Grandpa’s shoes, damn those are sweet kicks.
  • The fact that he carries boxing gloves in his car.
  • I love how he is right into this action like he’s scoring Tyson VS Holyfield.
  • My dad in the background watching like it’s just another day at the Peever house.
  • The smile on Nancy’s face throwing that hard left.
  • My dad said she mopped the floor with this kid.

Happy Father’s day to all the great parent’s out there.

Let’s Get Physical

When I was 10 years old I received a very inappropriate text from Olivia Newton-John. I loved her in Grease (the movie) and she was my very first crush. She sent a picture of herself in some extremely tight and suggestive workout gear. She was a little bit sweaty and possibly aroused. She was almost 30 years my senior and I will never forget what she wrote:

Tom, let’s get physical!

Love, Olivia Newton-John

This photo hung on my ceiling until I was almost 15 years old and dating my first “real” girlfriend. At the time I thought of it as a harmless exchange but today, in this time of recreational outrage, I hope she never works again.


Am I a victim? I guess it’s all about perceptions. At the time I was just really excited that I got a response. I don’t remember telling her how old I was but I don’t think it mattered to her. I did write to her first, does that change your mind? Did I ask for it? I assume there are others out there like me but none have spoken up. If they did would that change your mind? Would that make her worse? Nobody was really advocating for young men back then and we didn’t have the internet to help us rise up.

This morning an article surfaced on my FB feed from a friend who posted this:

Normally I would not get into this kind of thing with a friend on FB but the mention of “cancel culture” made me wonder what D’Elia had done to motivate someone to have such an emotional response. So much that they would go against their beliefs and actually give power to cancel culture by letting people know they will no longer support D’Elia on any platform.

Well I read the article and I really didn’t see anything predatory. It looks like when CD was 30, a fan (@girlpowertbh) reached out to him on Twitter and he had a flirty conversation with her before asking her age. She claims that she was being “Groomed” by D’ Elia. When asked in another article why speak out now…

It took me a long time to realize what happened to me wasn’t just a funny joke to tell at parties. I was being preyed on, and when you’re that young, and especially when you’re talking to someone so famous, you think it’s cool and exciting. It took years until it finally clicked and I realized ‘that seemed off.

@girlpowertbh

That’s a lot like me and Olivia Newton-John but pre-internet.

I can appreciate that it took six years to make this realization. I am sure it has taken D’ Elia at least that long to navigate his rise to fame over the last 6 years in this Social Media storm. I am sure he too has grown and matured and would be very hesitant to engage with anyone of any age via text or email for this very reason. His apology states just that:

That being said, I really am truly sorry. I was a dumb guy who ABSOLUTELY let myself get caught up in my lifestyle. That’s MY fault. I own it. I’ve been reflecting on this for some time now and I promise I will continue to do better.

Chris D’Elia

I am sure CD is no saint. But when you consider the number of women this guy needs to filter on any given day I haven’t read anything that makes me consider canceling my Netflix subscription. The flirting that he did was aggressive but he did ask “can we make out?” which I thought was a grasp at consent. Also, when he asked for a photo (no mention of nudes) he was still trying to figure out how old she was and it was shortly after she refused that he stopped all contact. Some might think it was because she would not send nudes, I would argue that confirmed his suspicion that she was underage and ghosted.

I don’t really know D’ Elia so I can’t defend him, I can just voice my opinion about the facts that have been presented. I feel bad that he has just recently had a baby and one day his son will read the headlines and have to decide for himself who the victims are. I guess as a result he is a victim too.

It’s not about if I believe what @girlpowertbh is saying, it’s if I believe she is a victim. Interpretation is a dangerous thing. It’s hard to look at something without bias especially if you have been a victim yourself. I would be lying if I said the twitter handle @girlpowertbh didn’t make me roll my eyes.

They will say that I am a part of the problem because I am discounting the victims. If anything I am discounting myself because I don’t have all the facts. Chances are, neither do you.

What started this whole thing was a friend of mine announcing to FB world that they don’t believe in “cancel culture” and following up with Chris D’Elia “is disgusting and I will not support him through Netflix, youtube…”. To that I say be careful. It’s a slippery slope. Better not be listening to Drake, sucking on pudding pops, or singing “Great Balls Of Fire”. Hope you don’t wear Nike, Adidas, or have a Nintendo in your house.

Hard to go bad on Kobe after what happened to him but despite the rape charges, Kobe is still idolized in Los Angeles and around the country. His jersey was the fifth best-selling NBA jersey last year. Bryant’s deals with McDonald’s and Ferrero’s Nutella brand expired in 2003 and were not renewed. Even without those contracts, though, Bryant is still the NBA’s second-highest-paid endorser. Cancel culture is people choosing not to support what is convenient for them. The same brands that dropped Kobe when the accusations came out were climbing over each other to get him back.

NIKE was one of the few companies to stick with the athlete after he was accused of rape. 

In 1993, Michael Jackson was accused of child sexual abuse by a 13-year-old boy, Jordan Chandler. The abuse allegedly took place at Jackson’s Neverland Ranch home in Santa Barbara, California. In January 1994, Jackson settled the lawsuit made against him for $23 million, with $5 million going to the family’s lawyers.

If Michael Jackson lived on my street I probably wouldn’t let my kids walk by the Ranch but I would still have Thriller going full blast on Halloween! I don’t have all the facts but I know that man put out a couple of hits.

If Harvey Weinstein spent the last 4 months perfecting a vaccine for Covid-19 all the haters would be lining up for a day pass. The list goes on…

I believe the victims. I don’t believe in cancel culture.

Olivia Newton-John, I forgive you.

Three Pistols

I am terrible with dates but somewhere in the early 90’s Ratte and I scooped up our first pair of rollerblades. Mine had the removable chassis and weighed about 70lbs. The first summer we had them we burnt through a set of wheels cruising the streets and playing 1V1 in the picnic shelter at St.Vital Park. The water fountain was our goal.

We got word that a roller hockey league was starting up at Grant Park arena so we put our names in to see if there was a team looking for players. We ended on a team called “The Leftovers” that was made up of guys like us who wanted to play but didn’t have a team. It was there we met the kid versions of JP and Timmy G.

Back then we played with a ball, and that was just fine for Ratte and me who grew up playing street hockey in old St. Vital. We ended up winning the season that year with a bunch of guys who barely knew each other and were just thrown together by the league. We knew at that time we had to get the guys together a make our own team. What we didn’t know is that most of us would play together for the next 20 years!

We grew up together playing roller hockey (Three Pistols), eating wings at Manhattans, and drinking to the Tragically Hip. When we weren’t playing league we were skating at “Saints” or “Wheelies” after hours. The friendships will last a lifetime.

One of my most memorable games was against the Wildcats. We had a bitter rivalry with this team and I remember it was a big game going in. It was back in the day and JD was our coach. I remember my dad was also at this game with Trish and he didn’t come many so I came to play. I had an end to end goal early that started behind our net but for every goal we scored the Wildcats fired right back. It was a rough game and they had this one guy who was a cheap shot artist that was always taking liberties with our guys. We had a scoring chance in front of their net that turned into a pile of guys and I got cross-checked down from behind. On the ground I saw it was this same guy so I gave him a chop to the skates. I was in a compromising position with this guy about to come down on my when Ratte swoops in with a high cross-check to stand this guy up. It was an awesome moment for me because Ratte liked a clean game and took pride in not getting involved in those kind of shenanigans. To see him step up for me really meant something at that moment.

With about 5 mins left in the game Wildcats are up by a goal and as I am watching my pass I get run by their monster enforcer. This kid was twice my size at the time and he drove me into the floor hard enough that if it weren’t for my helmet I might not be here today. All I heard was the gasp of the crowd and the first thing I thought of was that my dad was in the building so I got up right away. I had the wind knocked out of me as I skated back to the bench where JD gave me a pat on the back. They were sorting out the penalties and I think Ponch went after the guy so we got 2 and I think they got 4 which was more time than was left in the game. We were going on the powerplay down by a goal and JD looks at the bench to see who is ready to get out there. I motion that I am good to go and he gets me out there for one last shift. We win the face-off and move it around a bit in their end. The puck comes back to me at the point and I fire off a high wrist shot into the crowd in front that finds it’s way off of someone or something and into the net and the game ends in a tie. There was no overtime or anything back then so it ended in a tie but it sure felt like a win to me.

Three Pistols

I have so many great moments playing the game but that one stands out the most. Maybe because I can still picture JD standing on the bench. Maybe it’s because Trish told me after that my dad had a big smile on his face when I scored that goal at the end of the game.

I think that last season was the final chapter for the Three Pistols as far as roller hockey goes. I was out a couple of years ago but that team, that group of guys, will always feel like mine.

I think this was 2010.

Pinawa, damn!

I have been looking through my photos so that I could post some memories here and came across this beauty. It was taken by a digital camera with a timer because I am sure I wouldn’t set my phone on those rocks.

In this picture I was just 3 days into my marriage and coming down from one of the most incredible nights of my life. Shan and I booked a cabin at Otter Falls for a couple of days, the poor man’s honeymoon in my eyes. I still feel kind of bad for her in that regard. We had a great time, and it was exactly what we needed, but she would have loved to be on a beach somewhere tropical. A trip you could tell your girlfriends about when they get all drunky and ask “So…where did you go on your honeymoon?”.

Girls be like, Pinawa…damn!

It was a shitty little cabin, with a shitty little hot tub in it that I think pumped in water from the lake. We drank, we laughed, and we slept. Most of all we just loved hanging out together and that is a memory I want to keep around. We still love to hang out together but it’s not the same. Those were just simpler times and they are memories that I cherish. One day I will take Shan somewhere nice and even though she is paying for it I will declare it our second honeymoon! The way things are going I would settle for a little Blue Lake this summer. Fingers crossed.

PS: I still wear those dumb Elvis glasses 14 years later but my oldest just rolls her eyes at me when I do.

My 40th

This picture was taken on my 40th birthday.

I should really remember more about this night because it wasn’t that long ago…was it? I know that Shan went hard to the paint planning this celebration. It was themed to be all of my favourite things and people all wrapped into one amazing night. Shan made cookies, there was a nacho bar, and everyone who showed up brought Jager or a gift card for Five Guys! It was heaven.

I remember at one point Gould and Shan did some kind of 80’s themed karaoke. I will have to search for that photo of them all dressed up and delivering the Bon Jovi! Joel and I did Humpty Dance on camera too and I remember talking to Evelina about it the next week at work! She was telling me how much she loved my friends.

Ratte came in for it and him, Al, and I went out looking for “snaps”. The day of any big night it wasn’t uncommon for us to go to Value Village and scour the racks for snaps (shirts with snap buttons). Drinking shirts basically. As you can tell by the photo on this particular day we were hugely successful. Ratte also spent like $80 on groceries to build Caesars that night. I remember they had veggies and wings hanging off them!

At the end of the night, close to when this picture was taken there was just a few of us left. Shan had taken the kids to her mom’s so it was just me and few guys. I remember she had made this Batman themed birthday cake that we devoured at 2am with our bare hands like animals.

Ah, to be 40 again.

Brahma Beer

I have gone through some photo albums in isolation and have decided that I am going to post some memories here.

I found this beauty from Ponch’s stag. I can’t even tell you the year but I do remember starting this night with BBQ, beers, and poker with friends. The rest is a little blurry.

From what I recall Drew chartered a bus (driven by his aunt) that picked us up at Ponch’s house. She took us on a bar tour and we able to drink on the bus and it was a gong show. I mean music, and guys dancing and yelling. Ponch was wearing some rubber breasts on top of his shirt. That kind of night.

This picture was taken at a bar downtown somewhere. I don’t know which one but at the time there was a salsa bar on the second floor. I know this because Tyler and I went up there and I remember dancing with a group of people up there and getting unnaturally sweaty.

I love this picture because:

  • Porter looks like Steve Fewster was there.
  • My “I love Humpday” shirt still fit.
  • I had a Brahama in my hand.
  • Timmy G, Gilles, Ponch, Tyler, Porter look as drunk as I do.
  • Tyler made it to this particular stop.

The last stop of the night was Teasers and I don’t remember much other than returning to the bus at closing time and realizing Tyler never even got off the bus. There he was sleeping in the idiot seat. A term I would soon come to learn as a bus driver.

What a great night.

The Pause

It’s April something 2020. Everyone I know is working from home. School is canceled and all non-essential services have been shut down. Parents are home-schooling and parks that we spent the last 10 years fundraising for are closed to the public. The MLCC doors remain open and busses full of people are still running. Not even white privilege will get you Lysol wipes and Giant assholes are hoarding all toilet paper! Hockey season is cut short and nothing makes sense in the world. We are all told to “stay home” and help flatten the curve as COVID-19 spreads like hives on a ginger.

But don’t worry, one of the cool things about humans is that we are made to adapt. The symbolic line in sand has been drawn except it’s tape on the supermarket floor. We make masks out of our socks so that we can we can go to the store for milk and Doritos (just the essentials). We talk to strangers through plastic windows and encourage our children to connect with their friends on devices with little plastic windows of their own. Forget everything you know about social graces.

Business has adapted as well. Restaurants converting their focus to ordering online and takeout only. Large companies operating from home thanks to VOIP systems, virtual servers, and virtual meetings.

Thank god for the internet.

Thank god for the internet? Think about the irony behind that statement. After 1 week in isolation combined with homeschooling Mother Mary herself would trade in her bible for a tablet of some kind. She’d be texting the Wise Men asking for crafty links on how to make a simple banana bread or how to turn water into wine.

At home we are adapting as well. Amidst all the chaos right now we are trying to stay focused on the positive and adapt. There is a new appreciation for teachers in the world and I hope it stays that way. Shan is still expected to work from home while homeschooling our own super-learners. I may be going mad but it seems to me like our kids are starting to get along better than ever before. They seem to be talking and playing more as they are starting to realize they have each other to depend on through all of this. Don’t get me wrong, they still fight over who gets to sit in the good movie spot but overall it’s been an improvement.

Thankfully With regrets I am still going into the office daily. It’s just Gary and I there on any given day and we are very separated so the risk is very minimal. Very thankful to still be employed as I know many people have been hit by the closures.

I am connecting with friends a couple times a week through poker online. Toph invited me to his game and I loved it so much I started a weekly one of my own. You can read about that on SpiteClub.org

More positives…

  • 7-11 is essential
  • Gas is cheap
  • We have cable for the first time in 10 years
  • Movies going right to streaming
  • Our favourite artists putting on live performances
  • We have dogs, get a dog
  • It’s getting nice outside

I have also been enjoying “Some Good News” with John Krasinski. If these don’t give you the feels I don’t know what can.

People are doing some good in the world right now thanks to “The Pause”. The world will never be the same but we will be OK…I think.

Still Alive?

That’s what my Mom says when I call her…”Oh you’re still alive…”! Looking back at the last time I updated this website and you might wonder. It made me think that I need to give my login credentials to Nolan so that if something ever did happen to me he could add some content for me even when I am gone. That would freak some people out but at the same time I could see him getting a kick out of that.

Ever since the leaves fell off the trees and the girls went back to school we have been officially in “Winter Mode”. We seem to just put our heads down and plug away at work, school, kids activities, eat, sleep, and repeat.

Joon

Lexi is still going hard at gymnastics and has recently started indoor soccer. She works hard and you can see her improve each time she goes out. Ashlyn is now taking skating lessons at Southdale in a program that is run by our old neighbour from Stranmillis. I love it because she is learning to skate and at the lessons she listens to the instructor and tries new things that she will never try with me during a public skate.

Ashlyn & Riel Skating Lessons

Over the summer I accepted a new job with GB Agencies Ltd. I have been doing some website work with them over the years and an opportunity arose to join their team on a full time basis. It’s a great opportunity for us as a family and I love the job and the people I work with.

The kids don’t love the idea of not having me around in the summer but I think we can make it work. Strange to think that the girls are now 11 and 8 and have never been without both parents during those summer months. We have always been able to pack up and go on camping adventures on a whim, even in the middle of the week!

In the meantime Shan and I stay busy on the weekends with our own sports. Shan is still playing soccer and I am at Nolan’s hockey on Sundays. In between we hang with the kids, walk the dogs on the river, and find excuses to go for a Slurpee.

Somewhere in there I am hoping to find some time to write again so that a year doesn’t slip away between posts!