Depaxus is Droning

Couldn't help myself

2006-06-22T19:01:00.000-07:00

I know I wasn’t going to post anymore blogs but I just had too… People on the bus are just so damned annoying! For instance who in their right mind would bring a aircraft carrier of a stroller onto the LRT in the middle of rush hour? Women – Fat ones I tell You!!! Like their own bulk doesn’t take up enough room!

Speaking of women of girth – not that I’m picking on them but I don’t seem to see many large men on the train. But twice now I’ve had them sit with me… Once the lady and I use the term lady loosely sat across from me. No problem there. It was when she worked her feet between mine that I became concern ed… The second one landed next to me, and there was no budging her. No matter how cramped I was mashed against the wall.

I do get a kick out of the weirdo’s talking on their phones that still believe they need to shout into their phone to be heard. Usually it’s a black person talking to their “Brother” or “Sister”.

Oh and to my friend in security – I did see a gentleman in a bright yellow Paladin jacket ambling down the ramp… You’d fit right in here if you ever left your comfort zone. Hell you could probably get a transfer.

Just a bit more…

New Job!!! Working for the government. You know Head Office is out east when you have to use a French Keyboard so the techies at Head Office don’t get confused when they use your machine… Did I mention my desk is next to the IT department? Yeah doesn’t make any sense to me either. It was funny though – even in the meeting today the manager was having difficulties using his laptop cause it also has a French keyboard… Don’t think it makes a difference? Try finding the / or the ? or even the @. They either don’t exist or they’re in some totally obscure location.

Other then the goofy keyboards, work is good – so I’m out of here on a positive note! Don’t expect another Blog though.

Little Irish luck would have helped on an Irish weekend.

2006-03-21T11:22:00.000-08:00

I thought I better bore you with my weekend escapades.

Friday starts the trouble... I'm on my way home from work. Eager to put as much distance between me and the office as quickly as possible, when just as I'm exiting from Deerfoot my radio quits - odd. Couple lights later the car starts running ruff... I instantly look for an escape strategy to get my car off the road. No sooner do I pull into a parking lot my car quits - I hate coasting when there's no power steering. Pretty much maneuvers like a rock at that point. Battery's DEAD! Dead DEAD! Thankfully I'm only about 10 blocks from home. So off I go on my forced march. I swear it wasn't snowing before I started walking - but it sure was when I was walking. I guess God couldn't rain on my parade so he snowed it in.

By the time I got home, and relayed my story to my Uncle he was ready to get my battery to see if we could charge it. So an hour later I'm in my car and just trying the ignition to see if it will start. EURIKA! Look out everyone I'm heading for home and you better not get in my way. But I didn't make it! Waiting for these damned long lights the radio cuts out and the car dies. ACK - I dont' want to push. Get the car to the side of the road when my Uncle finally ketches up in his car. So we use his car to push mine into the LRT parking lot. "Let's come back in an hour and drive it the last 4 blocks we decide"

So we come back in 2 hrs just to be safe... 2 Blocks later and I can no longer see my dash lights - radio's stopped and my lights no longer show up in the bumper of the truck in front of me! One block to go and I'm coasting again. Well at least my Uncles behind me and pushes me the rest of the way home.

Saturday Morning it's off to the Autowreckers with Alternator in hand. Wouldn't you know it, it's not a normal Chev alternator. It's only used the one year. Thankfully they had one, but I had to pry it out of the cavalier it was still in. No problem - take it home install it. It seems to work fine! Yay! Time to party!

Drinks at James Joyce, Extra in a Big Rock Brewery commercial & more beer, and Dinner back at James Joyce's. No you won't likely see me in the commercial - from where I was positioned I couldnt' see the camera so I don't imagine it could see me. Although my Arm holding a Beer might be visible.

Finally I'm on my way home - Did I mention I'd replaced my alternator? Good cause I no sooner got across the river out of downtown. When my car Died! Boost the battery drive a little ways, boost the battery, drive a little ways, boost the battery, drive a little ways etc. all the way home. I think it's time for a new car!

Well my second "new" alternator is now in the car - wish me luck I hope this one works!

I hate it when their right!

2006-03-06T11:17:00.000-08:00

So Squirrel informed me that my blog was out of date! How right she was. I knew it had been a little while since I'd blogge, but I didn't realize it was 2 Months ago!

Something horrific happened to me on the weekend. And I don't mean horrific like a car accident. I mean super horrific, retna burning, soul searing, life scarring, shake the foundation of your being horrific. And all because I was being a nice guy! And people wonder why I can be such a BASTARD. So I give a friend a ride back to his house where I helped him take his suitcase and cot (that I was lending him till his bed arrives) down to his appartment. We opened the door and were greeted by the shock of my life. Getting struck by lightning couldn't be this shocking! But there was his roomate - sitting at his computer in nothing but his underwear. Good GOD it's a common AREA! It took every scrap of willpower, not to run screaming from the house. As it was I gasped out "I'll meet you at the car" and stumbled half blind back to my car. Even with the sub zero temperatures I was bathed in a cold sweat by the time I reached the relative safety of my car.

Whatever happened to common decency?

Ont he lighter side! Looks like my job will be completed by the end of this month! Hot Dog that will definately motivate me to find something a little better. Not that I mind this job, it's definately mindless and comfortable. But there's no room for advancement - or really any knind of movement.

Hopefully I'll find a job that will keep me on full time, then I can start to look for a permanent residence. Not that I mind camping out in my Aunt's basement. But it would be nice to have all of my own stuff available to me, not just piled in the garage.

Gotta run - Lunch hour is half over and I still haven't eaten.

Cheers

For the Record

2005-12-29T23:01:00.000-08:00

Lord have mercy on the fools I passed. There was no doddling on the way to Calgary this time. Even through the National Park we didn't drop our speed below 100km unless grid locked, which doesn't happen for long when your crowding someone's bumper at that speed. Boy the rain held off just long enough to not bother me, and I found a group of crazy Albertan's in a hurry to get home. Yee Haa! 6 and 1/2 hours, with a break for washroom & dinner (take out) in Golden. That's movin.

Anyways I'm in Calgary now for a job interview. And I went! within 24 hours of being in the city I was on City Transit. Yes you people who know me and how much I love my car know how that was like parting with an arm or leg. Nice trip on the LRT as well. It dawned on me as well that it's called the LRT which makes much more sense then calling a subteranean (I know the spellings wrong but I didn't pre-write it in Word for spell check.) subway the "Sky Train". Anyways it was nice, quiet and quick and the only drawback was how far away I had to park in order to get on it. Nearly needed to take a bus from my car to the terminal. Good thing I'm still young and healthy.

Back to the interview! The building had a revolving glass door! I loved it. Woulda played in it if I wasn't in a suit and trying to be impressive. Next step was the office. Big Office! Lots of windows! Way up in the air! I'll bet I was higher then Dilworth Mountain. That's embarrasing for Dilworth.

Anyways the trip there and the door were the most interesting things about the interview. They made me take some tests. They were impressed with my Exel Apptitude test and were really impressed with my typing. 66 words per minute with 100% accuracy. I guess chatting on the computer really is good for something. Anyways the interview was fun so lets hope it becomes a job.

On the way back to my aunts I dropped into Sunridge Mall. Got a key cut for myself for my Aunts house. Gawked at the teens strutting around in their new clothes, and berrated myself for being a dirty old man.

For the record - It aint that WARM here, no matter what the crazy Calgarian's say.

I thought Santa was comming to town!

2005-12-02T15:39:00.000-08:00

Christmas is approaching, and here I thought that meant Santa was comming. Hark now hear me, it isn't so!

I decided after I finished wrapping my presents and decorating my house today that I should probably get some groceries.

In the TV show Drew Carey there's a character named Mimi. She's an incredibly outlandish woman who's got enough makeup on to make a circus performer envious, and her clothing is just as stylish. Who knew! I seen her in the parking lot at the grocery store. The similarities were so canny that I did the big double take and stare. That is until I realized I was staring and attempted to hide my rudeness with all haste. However, it goes without saying Mimi was there in all her finery. Although the clothing was a little more sedate - only a brown fur coat.

Now I don't mind fur coats, in fact I quite like the feel of them. Much like the softness of a real fur teddy bear. I'd have one if I could find one. However there is a time and place for fur. and 3:00 friday afternoon at the mall is not the place. And no there is no place for her to buy a fur or have anything to do with the fur in this mall.

Alas my adventure was not to finish here. As I'm standing in line with my minimalist looking pile of groceries on the belt. Starring at the magazines learning that Angelina was stealing another of Jen's boyfriends when the next person in lines started putting there stuff on the belt. Normally this wouldn't bother me, and I wouldn't pay any attention. But apparently she felt that she needed more room and instead of waiting for it to automatically move the groceries forward as the cashier took them off the other end, this lady stars pushing. She's got a BIG bag of Sugar or Flour or something and she's shoving it to make room. While I didn't buy a lot of food I was suddenly very protective as I watched it's area on the belt decrease - something akin to the trash compactor scene in Star Wars.

Generally speaking I don't deal with the public if I don't have to. Other then a polite greeting, or thank you if they hold the door for me. *Note* you better thank me if I'm holding the door for you, as I can get snarky and sarcastic fast. But I'm sure you knew that. Anyways the look of distaste I threw at the lady clearly didn't hit her hard enough to make an impact. So I placed a hand on her flour/sugar to 'suggest' she stop.

She glared at me and said "Excuse me!" in an insolent tone, like I was doing something wrong.

Oh I feel the sarcasm building. I replied, "Correct! excuse you."

She glared, I glared.

She relinquished... Good thing too - cause I still hadn't decided what to say.

Finally the black belt started moving again and she had room to put her flour/sugar on the conveyor belt without shoving.

Of course my Debt card didn't work, but that was just par for the course. It never works here.

Finally it was time to escape the nuthouse. But not without some lady taking one last run at me with her buggy. Thankfully I had all my grocery bags in one hand so I could run a blocking move and hold her buggy at bay long enough for me to get out of it's way. To people not look? And if it was a mistake - why not apologize. A simple sorry wether you meant it or not it only polite. Grrrr....

Oddly the drive home was quick and easy! what a surprise.

Trippin to Calgary

2005-11-12T18:33:00.000-08:00

So it was a trip to Calgary last week. 7 hours of driving is always fun. What do you know it actually was. Let me lay it out for you!

We’re cruising down the highway and by cruising I mean like a cruise missile. Grandma’s wasting no time! Yes I said Grandma! She was on her way to Calgary to fly to Denver to meet her boyfriend. Anyways I’m in the back seat of the car, pleased to be as far as possible from the impact zone, and my mom was in the passenger seat.

After a particularly swift corner, my mother pipes up “You know if you get a speeding ticket we don’t share the cost”

Grandma Says, “I wasn’t speeding”

Mom and I in chorus, “You were doing 90 in a 70” not that my eyes were glued to the speedometer or anything.

Grandma Says, “I don’t have time to look at the speed, I’m to busy driving.”

Well there you have it. Thankfully Revelstoke arrived swiftly and we were able to shift off drivers. Obviously I survived to write this blog.

Another funny incident happened while I was in Calgary. This one has to do with my Uncle. I ended up getting back to their house early one evening, and he was watching TV. So I sat down to watch an episode of CSI Miami, followed by Dead Like Me. I do enjoy the show Dead Like Me. Anyways the show starts with a caveat saying there is strong language, violence etc., etc. Well within the first 5 minutes the ‘F’ word is used. I know what a shock! Well my uncle starts muttering and huffing like Mother Superior. I kid you not. But if that wasn’t bad enough he’s even louder when within 5 more minutes it’s followed up by another ‘F’ word. This time I chuckled and he glared at me, which didn’t stop the chuckling. 10 minutes later time 3 for the ‘F’ word. Well he started huffing and puffing like the Big Bad Wolf and changed the channel.

I raised an eyebrow at him and commented, “You’ve heard the same word now 3 times, surely you’ve gotten used to it by now.”

He looked at me and said “I don’t appreciate the language.”

Guess I was feeling feisty because I replied “You got two daughters 23 and 25, surely you’ve heard the words before.”

While he did turn the channel back to Dead Like Me, he didn’t speak to me again the rest of the evening unless I directed a comment directly at him. I’d also like to point out that I never asked to watch Dead Like Me, nor did I ask him to turn it back.

Ah, gotta love family! Cause you can’t choose them.

Anyways that’s all for now. And if you’re in Denver lookout for my Grandma she’s probably piloting that speeding 5th wheel headed for Phoenix Arizona.

Nearly a month already

2005-10-29T14:50:00.000-07:00

I don’t know where my time goes. When I was going to University it seemed I had more time in my day, even though I complained then of having no time. Now I have plenty of free time and I still have no time to Blog. Maybe it’s that I have so much free time I have nothing interesting to Blog about.

For the last three months I have been working for a fabulous company, unfortunately I only have a temporary contract with them. End of November my contract ends. I am NOT looking forward to that. The company is an Employment firm and I must say I have gotten a real inside look at what jobs are available here in the Okanagan. And it’s a dismal prospect. The chances of me getting paid anywhere near what I am now is SLIM at best.

So this Friday I’m meeting with a headhunter in Calgary. It should make for an interesting meeting. At least I hope it’s interesting. I have no idea how much headhunters cost, which makes me happy that the headhunter is a good friend of my best friend in Calgary. Hopefully I will get a deal. I’ll let you know how it goes. Maybe.

On the plus side I’ll be able to visit with new and old friends in Calgary. It should make for an enjoyable trip. Although nothing is planned as I’m “supposed” to be looking for a job.

Course that brings me to the question of – Do I really want to move to Calgary? On the plus side I don’t mind Calgary and I have lots of family there. But it’s not the Okanagan. There’s nothing like being surrounded by two lakes to make for lots of Bikini babe scenery. And I do prefer living in the smaller town. Everything I need or want is within 5 minutes. Course there may be only one store that sells it. Only competition around here is between wineries.

All in all though I do think I would rather be in Calgary. And I’m beginning to look forward to moving there. So cross your fingers for me, it would sure be a load off my mind if I were to get a job next weekend.

Cheers for another month… Maybe sooner, you never know.

How time Flies!

2005-10-02T18:53:00.000-07:00

Well I missed a post last month... Good thing I got two in the month before.

"The voices told me to stay home from work today... And clean the guns!"

What a week

2005-08-21T20:21:00.000-07:00

Monday!

Driving to work in my typical fashion (half a mind on where I’m picking up coffee). When suddenly my car backfires and all the engine lights come on as it rapidly comes to a stop. Thankfully on the side of the road. Course that probably has more to do with my excellent comprehension of driving mechanics. Now what’s wrong with this piece of shit?

Doesn’t start! Or should I stay won’t restart. Well put on the four way’s and head back the way I came without my car. Call work, Call dad, find my way to work…

Monday afternoon – Car still won’t start and finds a rest at the mechanics. What’s the prognosis? Well it’s not a fuel pump – shit! It’s not electric – Shit (this is getting worse). It’s the timing chain. What’s worse is when your timing chain goes it can take a lot of engine with it. Oh well, best case what’s the financial damage? $800 minimum if it’s just the timing chain. DAD HELP! And wouldn’t you know it. He did! He showed up with a truck and trailer and hauled it home Tuesday night.

Fast Forward – Friday Evening after work.

Dad and I tear into this engine like a couple of vultures, the sooner we get it stripped down the sooner we can rebuild it and enjoy our weekend. 10:30 and the engine’s in pieces and it’s not looking good. We bent some valves when the timing chain went. Guess it could have been worse. So first thing Saturday it’s off to Pick a Part to find us a new Head. Two hours later mission accomplished we’re dragging a new head out of the yard (well nearly new). Now pick up another $200 in gaskets and accessories for the engine and its back to the wreck in the garage.

Saturday night 8:30 last bolt is put on the engine. Hop in and turn the key. It doesn’t start! Did I mention that it really was the timing chain. As evidence it was a pile of chain sitting in the bottom of the chain cover. OK… What’s wrong now? Timing? Back come off the cover, and we readjust the timing. Try it – Nope that’s not it. I go Hmmmm… Dad goes Grrrrr…. Time for a movie. Thank god for Hitch!

Sunday Morning. Timing is readjusted again to the correct position (it’s not hard to line up two arrows). What do you know we have life. If you can call it that. The gas is floored and the engine is barely keeping itself running. Gasp Gasp Chug Chug, is not what I’m used to hearing. Check for spark! Shit! Two pistons aren’t firing. Ok the electric’s are firing. But nothing’s coming from the piston. Are the pistons getting Gas? Yup compression is good enough to blow the gas out of the piston onto the roof. Hmmm its 4:30 and this thing is still running like an antique tractor. Piss on it!

I’m driving Dad’s BMW Z3, and boy is it a delight to drive. Athough, I think my ears were wind burned!

Anyways I’m heading downtown to see if this cars sexy looks wear off on me.

Schools out forever!

2005-08-09T07:02:00.000-07:00

I’m done school, finished my last class for my degree yesterday. What a relief it is to be done with that nonsense. Now it’s time for summer. First order of business – find my desk. I think it’s buried under that mountain of paper and crap. Just for the record I hate Anthropology. Thought I would take the course just for interest. What a croc! I have a lot more respect for anyone who can get through that goofyness.

For those of you that didn’t know, Kris and Chryssi got married last week. I hear it was a beautiful wedding. Sorry I missed it but it was in the middle of the week. They are supposedly in the Okanagan right now, so I’ll have to try and see them before they leave.

It’s funny around town here you can always tell who the French are. That sounds terrible but it’s true. They stick out like a sore thumb. Its 35 degrees and above and these guys are walking around in long sleeve shirts and felt hats… And they look like they haven’t showered in over a week. Week is probably being nice. God forbid your walking on the same sidewalk as them, they aren’t gonna move their posse off to one side. You’re going to have to walk on the road to pass these people. They have a definite air or arrogance to them. Course I walk through the middle of them whether they move or not. Guess I’m the arrogant one. Bah!

Got out for my first day on the boat last weekend. Oh boy it’s been a while. My arms feel like they’ve been pulled out of my shoulders. When you don’t do it in a year you forget how much pressure is on your arms when your water skiing. Time to get back to working out. I guess I have no more excuses. Damn I hate being finished school.

Paintball is in full swing. Although I don’t think it’s the time to be running around the bush anymore. It’s bloody hot out. Oh well I guess it keeps me out of the gym if I’m sweating five pounds off every week. Course I haven’t managed to loose that much yet. It’s getting to be no fun at the field anymore. When we walk on, no one wants to play with us as we have our own guns. Then they want to split us up to try and even the teams. If only they new I’m a sheep in wolves clothing. No Hannibal is the one to worry about. I play like the A-Team, I throw out lots and lots of paint but don’t seem to kill that many. Hannibal on the other hand is deadly accurate with his gun. Then there’s Big B. You’ve never heard someone whine so much in your life. I can’t believe we invite him to play. If I take a day off, he whines. If we don’t play a weekend, he whines. If we play on a Saturday instead of a Sunday, he whines. If we play old school instead of semi’s, yup he whines. One of these days we’re gonna quit inviting him. Course he’s a lot of fun to shoot!

Well I sure seem to be ranting a lot, so I think I’ll finish it here for now. I’ll try to think of something a little more positive to write about when I’m battling Kelowna bridge traffic this morning.

Food for thought

2005-06-29T14:35:00.000-07:00

I've been looking for a job the last little while, and the following email I received rings all too true.

CANADIAN IMMIGRATION

A Pakistani arrives in Toronto. All excited, he stops
the first person he meets. "Good day, Mr. Canadian,
thank you for accepting me into your nice country."
This person interrupts, "I'm not Canadian..I'm Mexican."
The Pakistani continues down the street and meets
another passer-by, thank you Mr. Canadian for letting
me and my family live here."
Again he was interrupted, "I no be Canadian... I be Turk."
The Pakistani meets another passer-by, "Mr. Canadian,
thank you for the hospitality.."
The passer-by said, "Can't you see that I'm black? I'm
African, not Canadian." Puzzled, the Pakistani asked,
"Then.where are the Canadians?"
The African looks at his watch, " Oh, they don't get
off work 'til five o'clock.

There you have it. Some days if feels as though that's the truth. And I would like to also make a note after having worked with some East Indian's. They Do NOT work that hard. They may put in long hours, but you have never seen such a boat load of lazy workers. I seen my second example of it today. I went out with the winemaker to check on a crew that were tucking in the vines. No not for bed. They tuck the vines into the trellis system. It had taken 8 of them all day to do two acres. I could have done it by my self in less time.

The first time was last summer when an East Indian gentleman showed up at the winery and told me I had to lift a 10 pound bag of cement into the back of his truck. No big deal. It wasn't like it was particularly heavy. But I was in my good wineshop clothes. Like I wanted to pick up a dusty bag of cement. But I did, cause he didn't want to. I wonder who he got to unload it? Hell it's probably still sitting in the back of the truck.

Out of Touch

2005-06-25T23:11:00.000-07:00

Been a little out of touch lately. Really don’t have a good excuse for it. But I do have a poor one. I’ve been LAZY! So instead of writing many long winded stories about my latest adventures I have decided you will get to suffer through some mini vignettes.

Next question is where to start?

How about my first softball game of the year? And of course it was a tournament. You know me, I don’t do anything half way.

At least the tournament went well. What am I saying? We lost!

The only saving grace I had was that on the final game when we were slaughtered I scored one of only two of our runs. 24 to 2 is a slaughter as far as I’m concerned.

Other then that game the team covered itself in glory and I was happy to bask in it with them. After all we’re supposed to be a team.

It was a lot of fun, and for a change my muscles weren’t totally devastated the next day. I could walk somewhat normally and even use my throwing arm. Yay!

.o0O(----------------------------------------------------------------)O0o.

As most of you may know, I’ve been looking for a job. No, a real job! Now that I’m nearly finished my degree I’m ready to embark on a career.

Who am I kidding?

Get this, I was offered a job working as an accounting tech for an accounting firm. Guess what the offered wage is? Nope you were way to high. The answer is $11.

Now guess what I was offered to Manage Scandia in Kelowna? Nope your too Low, $13 bucks, and they informed me I was over qualified. Now tell me how that’s right?

Oh did I mention the average bookkeeping job in Penticton now is starting at $12 an hour. You’d think at the exorbitant prices the firms charge; they’d pay their employees better.

Anyways I have another job in the works that offers $15 an hour and is only 35 hours a week. But the fun thing is, its simple data entry mixed with a little computer troubleshooting. Why they think I can troubleshoot a computer I’ll never know. But I plan on making sure I can get a hold of Rimmy during the day! Anyways the job is only till November which is good, because I have another possible job.

This is the job I’m most excited about. It looks as though I could be going to the Philippines. Yeah I know it sounds weird that the Ski Instructor would want to go to the Philippines but it’s true. A friend of mine has been offered a job to get a restaurant back on its feet. And she wants me to help her. Sounds like a lot of fun to me, and it may lead to other opportunities in Costa Rica. I can hardly wait to learn more and I’ll keep you posted. Maybe.

.o0O(----------------------------------------------------------------)O0o.

Work at the winery has been odd lately. Not that you can really call what I usually do there work.

Other then a couple days of bottling, I actually trained one of their new staff on Wednesday. Not only was this funny as they have never trained anyone before. But this girl knows more about wine then they do. It was great. We mostly just chatted about wine, and the job.

Speaking of their wine incompetence this just takes the cake. I got a phone call on the weekend from the winemaker asking me for my help. He was concerned because Andy Perdue a fairly affluent wine critic was going to be in town, and Craig Sr. (the winemaker) wasn’t going to be around to host a tasting.

Why on earth would he ask me? I just work there part time to help them out once in a while. Well the answer is simple.

The assistant winemaker is an alcoholic and completely untrustworthy.

So next up the chain would be the Winery Manager (that’s her self proclaimed title), but nope she’s allergic to alcohol so she really has no idea what the wines are like (this is the person that actually runs the tasting rooms for the owners 3 wineries).

Finally what about the owners themselves? Well the wife doesn’t even like wine (also works in the wine shop) and the husband has NO idea what is involved with wine. He’s just an orchardist.

Clearly the winemakers options were less then stellar. So they called me in to save the day. Again. Do I sound Bitter? It’s unintentional if I do…. Sike!

.o0O(----------------------------------------------------------------)O0o.

Well I’m going to wrap it up for now. Tomorrow is a paintball game so I should have new fodder to write about then.

Race Day!

2005-05-30T21:40:00.000-07:00

This is going to sound sappy but it’s true. For fathers day I took my Dad to the Drag Races in Ashcroft about three hours away. I know Fathers day isn’t for another couple of weeks, Deal with it! Anyways we get there just on time and sit down to watch when the first Super Pro car fires up its engine! It brought a tear to my eye. You may think I’m joking but it’s not a word of a lie. That engine roared to life, you feel the concussion beating off your chest as it revs up, the smell of super gas in the air. Oh man I LOVED IT! So what if the tear was more likely caused from burnt rubber and super gas fumes burning my eyes. It was a joy to be there. And Bloody HOT! Thirty four degrees and not a stitch of shade around. Nothing like sitting on a bleacher starring at steaming asphalt.

Anyways, I have pictures and I’ll be sure to post them just as soon as I get them from Mom & Dad’s digital camera. There’s been a little trouble in sending the pictures as for some reason when I was taking pictures, I was actually taking video. Don’t know how? I’ve never used the camera before and all I did was take the picture. Anyways it’s enough to make you sea sick as I swing the camera around oblivious to the fact that I’m filming. Look out Quentin you may have competition!

A meal without wine is like a day without sunshine.

2005-05-04T15:48:00.000-07:00

- Anthelme Brillat Savarin

Good thing I have lots of wine, cause there sure hasn’t been much sunshine around here lately. So I went to work yesterday and did a full day in the wine cellar. A full day of doing one thing, pulling corks out of bottles of Riesling.

You may be wondering why on earth you’d want to pull the corks on 2,100 bottles of wine. And the answer is simple enough. After bottling the wine developed calcium sediment. Yes we knew about the possibility before we bottled. But the volume of calcium was borderline as to whether it would solidify into visible sediment. It’s a situation that may never happen in a winemaker’s career. A real roll of the dice, and we lost. Anyways we wanted to refilter the wine to extract the sediment.

Where does this calcium come from?

It’s an electrically charged form of mineral, that usually occurs in solution in the soil moisture and available for takeup by the roots. Unfortunately for us we are bordered on two sides by Orchards that use a lot of Lime on the trees. Any over spread or seeping of the moisture allows for lime to enter our soil.

Is the calcium bad for humans?

No worse for you then a glass of milk.

Is the calcium bad for the wine?

Nope, it’s a natural element in all wines to some degree

Then why refilter the wine?

It’s all about the looks. North Americans in particular don’t like seeing sediment in their wines. So in order to sell the wine we’re going to refilter. If the wine was a red wine we wouldn’t likely go to all the trouble, as the red color of the wine would hide the sediment.

Drink no longer water but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities.
- St. Paul, 1 Timothy 5:23

Cowards never retreat. They Route!

2005-04-30T20:09:00.000-07:00

There are two kinds of people that play paintball. There are those who don’t mind taking a hit for the team and those who run! The more I play, the more the first group irritates me. And I’m not a really competitive person. Don’t get me wrong, I play to WIN! But it is just a game. However, there are those people who run out of paint, or C02 and instead of just falling back to someone who has extra they give up.

Damn dude, the other team doesn’t know you’re out of paint. Hold the Line! Your one more target for them after all, and maybe we’ll get them all before your in a sticky situation.

God forbid there might be two guys bearing down on them… It’s fine to fall back as far as I’m concerned, but when you run away till you’re out of breath, Damn. That’s just not cool; especially if I’m the one covering you. Don’t make me retreat a million miles to ketch up to you. I hate running when it’s important! This is NOT Important!

The best thing you can do is fall back to a team mate. There’s Safety in Numbers. Usually! I’m reminded of a time when Hannibal and I were going to try to flank our opponents. “Don’t Worry” he says, “If they have someone back, they won’t be able to shoot both of us,” Well that was the last time I did that. The guy they had sitting back got to kills in two shots.

If you got shot in the back, then you’re a coward. Yes I said it. There are exceptions, like when you’re surrounded. It’s hard to cover every direction at once, especially when all you can see is your partners back, as they run for the hills. However it’s amazing the number of kills you can get in that situation. Bit like Whack a Mole really. When one goes down the others pop up to try to get the kill, adjust aim, Fire! I got three guys that way today before the fourth one was nailed by Hannibal! All Hail Hannibal! Meanwhile the guy I was out with, was no where to be seen. Bastard!

Things you should know if your going to play Bushball against Depaxus:
1. If he appears to be out of C02, likely he’s bluffing to see who’s stupid enough to charge. He can bluff by turning the C02 off on his tank, to make it seem like he’s out of air.
2. If he seems to be out of Paint, he’s likely reloaded before you get up the courage to charge, or more likely he was just cleaning his barrel out, he’s still got a full hopper.
3. Don’t forget, even if he is out of paint or C02, he still has that side arm he can open up on you with.
4. If you were just mercied by Depaxus, then he really was out of paint or C02.
5. Watch your sides, Depaxus loves to work his way stealthily up the side of the field. Always looking for the angle, or the unaware.
6. No he’s not going to retreat. He’ll hold the line to the bloody end, and take as many with him as possible.
7. Yup, he’s feeling pressured, that gun’s on Full Auto!
8. No his throat isn’t sore, he’s talking to someone else on the radio. Your about to be flanked.
9. If he’s standing in the open, it’s because he’s directing the rest of the team on the radio. He’s the least of your worries
10. If you’re running away he’s liable to shoot you for desertion.

Damn, after reading that list it’s a good thing there is no etiquette in battle.

In other news

I managed to get my course that I was waitlisted on. Yes the correspondence course. It still baffles me how you can have a waitlist for a course like that.

What? Did your photocopier stop working?

Ah well I got the course and that’s all that matters. With any luck at all, I will have my degree by the end of summer. Yay!

I also managed to get a temporary job as well; they’ll let me work at the winery in the field, until I find something more to my liking. Damn you know they’re hurting for experienced help!

I Pay Too much Tuition!

2005-04-26T23:11:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven’t been all that punctual with my blogs of late. Damned life was getting in the way. Did I say Life? I meant school. But hell ya! Finals are over! Now onto the next adventure. Anyone got a job for me?

You know I think the schools must have too much money. I applied for a Grant for summer school classes. After talking to the lady in administration for a bit, I learned that anyone who applied got the grant. Wouldn’t you know it. They “Gave” me $1,200. Yee Ha! Course it means I’m going back to school over the summer. But at least it’s only two classes by correspondence and when I’m done, I’ll have my Degree. Now that’s a scary thought. Scary for me! Should be Terrifying to Joe Q Public.

So I went and seen Sin City this evening. I was a little disappointed, actually I was quite disappointed. I guess I was expecting a whole lot more from the movie. And I wasn’t expecting much, being that I’m not a real Terrantino fan. You could sure tell which scenes he directed. They were the ones with the swords and flying body parts! Did I mention the Fountains of Blood! Totally unrealistic! Not that I went for realism, or even believability. Good thing too.

Over the last couple of days I’ve managed to do some cleaning around the house, not to say I keep a dirty house, but I mean all that nitty gritty stuff you hate, like scrubbing the bathtub and the bottom of the oven… Odd that both sets of grunge have that industrial strength adhesion to the bottom of the tub/oven. One other thing I have noticed is that when you go to Wal-Mart in the middle of the day, all you see are turquoise license plates. Yes you know the ones I mean… VETERANS! Nothing says problem vehicle like a Veterans plate. Then throw a bunch of them in a mix at the mall where they have to park, and look behind them and it’s all BAD! I always wanted to make a card to stick on the windshields of certain cars. You know the ones that cant park their cars between the yellow lines. I want the card to say, “I hope you F**K better then you park, or you’d never get it in!” Ok that’s bad, but hey so is their parking.

Well this Saturday is Paintball weekend! Yay! I’ve been waiting for this for a while now. I guess I should get out the old equipment and make sure it still all works. After all I wasn’t the last one to use it. But I’m sure my brother took good care of it.

Well time to tune back into the scanner, see what’s interesting! And no not the scanner that copies pictures! That would just be awkward.

It's Chocolate Time

2005-03-28T08:06:00.000-08:00

I mean it's Easter time.

Everyone still have a great Easter? Stuff yourself with Turkey?

I think my Mom still thinks I'm 6 sometimes. Got to go to the Old Folks Home for Easter dinner, and it was fabulous. There was Turkey, Ham, Mashed Potatoes, Vegetables, dessert, etc. etc. etc. But the fun part came after dinner. We got to go for an easter egg hunt. Yay! I made a terrific haul. Course I should probably give it away as I sure don't need all that chocolate.

Anyways here's some fun and interesting trivia about Easter for you:

1) How do they determine what weekend Easter falls on?

Easter falls on the first weekend after the first full moon after the first day of spring. Sounds kinda Paganish doesn't it?

2) Why does the Easter Bunny hide the eggs?

Very simply you'd hide the eggs to if you were F**Kin chickens.

Well that's about all the Easter trivia I know without getting really childish.

Anyways yesterday was a great reprive from schoolwork, unfortunately it's time to get back to it. I would like to be able to accuse the professors by saying they just like to pile extra homework on over the holidays. Unfortunately I can't even do that. In this case it's my own procrastination. D'oh!

Talk to you all later, I'm gonna check out the care package!

Groups make the Job Easier!

2005-03-25T17:45:00.000-08:00

What the heck were they thinking when they said that?

Working in a Group is like Babysitting Cats. What shocks me is they think they are all so good. Especially the ones that are most clueless. Is that a criteria, you have to think you’re the best in the group in order to be the worst?

Okay let me tell you about this group. There are five of us and we’re all involved in a third year University course. You’d think by now everyone would have done enough reports to know how they should be prepared. The dumbcof in question actually thought it would be fine to submit the project with all the information in bullet points. Damn!

Anyways one other group member and I decided this wasn’t an appropriate way to submit a report. So we got together to rewrite the bullets into paragraphs. No big deal. As a courtesy to the group we posted each section as we completed it. Wouldn’t you know it the first reply is from the weak link. She’s upset because she doesn’t feel the project is up to the standards of the teacher. Damn Girl! Anyways my curt reply was “At this point (being the day before it’s due) help would be better then criticism.” Wouldn’t you know it, she actually helped. She started delegating stuff to the rest of the group members. It became more then obvious that she didn’t know what’s going on. As she was delegating jobs that were already done, or being done by others. Nothing like trying to get out of doing anything.

Anyways we finished off the report without much more trouble. Course wouldn’t you know it. She tried to claim the leadership role. Oddly the group ignored her.

Anyways it drives me nuts. And there are other examples this was just the latest one…

Yet you compare this group to some of the guys I paintball with and it’s a totally different story. For example I rarely see these guys and don’t always get teamed up with the same group. Yet when we’re playing we all know what needs to be done, and we do it. No one has to be told. Now this is how all groups should work.

I hate Groups!

A Modern Abbott and Costello

2005-02-27T14:23:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven't blogged earlier I've been to busy paintballin. Now that's its finally warmer I'm spending a fortune on paint.

I should probably be doing homework, but why do that when you can paintball.

Anyways I got this email and well you computer geeks may just like this. More likely you've already seen it in which case this is redundant. But I'm posting it anyways.

COSTELLO CALLS TO BUY A COMPUTER FROM ABBOTT . . . .
ABBOTT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?
COSTELLO: Thanks. I'm setting up an office in my den and I'm thinking about buying a computer.
ABBOTT: Mac?
COSTELLO: No, the name's Lou.
ABBOTT: Your computer?
COSTELLO: I don't own a computer. I want to buy one
ABBOTT: Mac?
COSTELLO: I told you, my name's Lou.
ABBOTT: What about Windows?
COSTELLO: Why? Will it get stuffy in here?
ABBOTT: Do you want a computer with Windows?
COSTELLO: I don't know. What will I see when I look in the windows?
ABBOTT: Wallpaper.
COSTELLO: Never mind the windows. I need a computer and software.
ABBOTT: Software for Windows?
COSTELLO: No. On the computer! I need something I can use to write proposals, track expenses and run my business. What have you got?
ABBOTT: Office.
COSTELLO: Yeah, for my office. Can you recommend anything?
ABBOTT: I just did.
COSTELLO: You just did what?
ABBOTT: Recommend something.
COSTELLO: You recommended something?
ABBOTT: Yes.
COSTELLO: For my office?
ABBOTT: Yes..
COSTELLO: OK, what did you recommend for my office?
ABBOTT: Office.
COSTELLO: Yes, for my office!
ABBOTT: I recommend Office with Windows.
COSTELLO: I already have an office with windows! OK, lets just say I'm sitting at my computer and I want to type a proposal. What do I need?
ABBOTT: Word.
COSTELLO: What word?
ABBOTT: Word in Office.
COSTELLO: The only word in office is office.
ABBOTT: The Word in Office for Windows.
COSTELLO: Which word in office for windows?
ABBOTT: The Word you get when you click the blue "W".
COSTELLO: I'm going to click your blue "w" if you don't start with some straight answers. OK, forget that. Can I watch movies on the Internet?
ABBOTT: Yes, you want Real One.
COSTELLO: Maybe a real one, maybe a cartoon. What I watch is none of your business. Just tell me what I need!
ABBOTT: Real One.
COSTELLO: If it's a long movie I also want to see reel 2, 3 & 4. Can I watch them?
ABBOTT: Of course.
COSTELLO: Great! With what?
ABBOTT: Real One.
COSTELLO: OK, I'm at my computer and I want to watch a movie. What do I do?
ABBOTT: You click the blue "1".
COSTELLO: I click the blue one what?
ABBOTT: The blue "1".
COSTELLO: Is that different from the blue w?
ABBOTT: The blue "1" is Real One and the blue "W" is Word.
COSTELLO: What word?
ABBOTT: The Word in Office for Windows.
COSTELLO: But there's three words in "office for windows"!
ABBOTT: No, just one. But it's the most popular Word in the world.
COSTELLO: It is?
ABBOTT: Yes, but to be fair, there aren't many other Words left. It pretty much wiped out all the other Words out there.
COSTELLO: And that word is real one?
ABBOTT: Real One has nothing to do with Word. Real One isn't even part of Office.
COSTELLO: STOP! Don't start that again. What about financial bookkeeping? You have anything I can track my money with?
ABBOTT: Money.
COSTELLO: That's right. What do you have?
ABBOTT: Money.
COSTELLO: I need money to track my money?
ABBOTT: It comes bundled with your computer.
COSTELLO: What's bundled with my computer?
ABBOTT: Money.
COSTELLO: Money comes with my computer?
ABBOTT: Yes. No extra charge.
COSTELLO: I get a bundle of money with my computer? How much?
ABBOTT: One copy.
COSTELLO: Isn't it illegal to copy money?
ABBOTT: Microsoft gave us a license to copy money.
COSTELLO: They can give you a license to copy money?
ABBOTT: Why not? THEY OWN IT!
A FEW DAYS LATER . .
ABBOTT: Hello, Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?
COSTELLO: How do I turn my computer off?
ABBOTT: Click on "START".......

Ah the smell of Paintballs in the morning.

2005-02-08T21:54:00.000-08:00

There’s nothing like the awful stinky oily rank aroma of ripping into a new bag of paintballs. I don’t know why they have to smell so bad. On the plus side if you let the bag breathe a bit the smell either becomes tolerable or disappears altogether.

Going to my younger brothers house this last weekend was like Christmas all over again. He tricked me out with a bunch of Pods, and paint, and even a remote and pack for my extra paint gun. Not that I got to use any of these toys while playing at the field, as there is a 200 shot limit (one hopper) on the field and you have to use their paint. It’s how they make their money. But still it just makes the game that much more fun when you’re excited about it.

I promised to tell you about it so…

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,
a tale of a fateful game.
That started from this tiny town,
and in the pouring rain.
The mate was a mighty fightin’ man,
his teammate brave and sure.
Five players started play that day,
for a seven-minute game, a seven-minute game………
The weather started getting rough,
the tiny group was frozen.
If not for the courage of the fearless team,
all hope would be lost; the game would be lost.
The first to go on this fateful game wasn’t to be the last,
With Hannibal, and Depaxus too,
the Newbie, and his Son,
Next was Sid, the Kid and finally Dan,
here on the Paintball Field.

Ok Ok… That was bad.

About as bad as the weather first thing in the morning. It was raining and windy, but thankfully it cleared up just in time for us to start playing. Which in the case of Hannibal and I was nice to see. You don’t really want to take an electronic paintgun out in the rain. Even if it does only have a 9V battery for power. You still don’t want the electronics getting wet.

The first match of the day started as well as the weather. I took one right in the mask. Unfortunately it wasn’t in the goggles it was the face protector. If numb lips isn’t enough I managed to ingest a fair amount of paint. I was spitting yellow for ages. Just the thought brings back the taste. Yuck! Of course you avid paintballers know that wasn’t the end of it. There is of course the cleanup! It’s amazing how the paint seems to seep into places of the mask it should never get too.

The day did not progress much better for me. In the second game I got hit right on the finger tips. Right were all those nerves are centered. Thank God it was my left hand and not my trigger hand. Cause DAMN that’s numbing!

I managed to get it together after that though. Almost a ‘Hell hath no fury’ kinda get it together. In the Illustrious words of BA Baracus “I pitty the Fool!” I was out for blood and there was no stopping! I guess according to Robert Nozick’s Anarchy, State, and Utopia I would make a Great Libertarian, as “Retribution is perfectly Logical and Ethical.” And I was getting all the retribution I could get out of a 0.68 cal paintball.

Sidebar: Speaking of Ethics, did you hear that Nortel’s new Ethics officer gets a bonus that is dependant on the productivity of the company? Maybe it’s just me but I don’t think that will make them more ethical! But I digress... Back to Paintball!

Not much more to say, we played into the evening. The field is lit for night play, although not well lit. And when you combine that with the heavy shadows, and the slight film of paint residue still smeared across my goggles you start to jump at the smallest shadows. Thank God for the Three Shot Burst Mode! Cause hopefully if nothing else they’ll duck as fast as you do. No matter how far off target your shots are. Not that my shots aren’t on target all the time.

Superbowl?

2005-02-07T20:16:00.000-08:00

What was so super about that superbowl?

Apparently choosing the team by the color of their uniforms isn't enough to win the bet. Before I got to the game I didn't even know who was playing. And Dammit the Green Machine didn't come through for me.

The american commercials weren't bad, for as long as we got to watch them. We lost the american feed at half-time and were stuck watching the Global feed till the fourth quarter. Woopee! Gotta love that Canadian Television. They wonder why I'm against the CRTC? And of course the BEST commercials are during half time! It's a Conspiracy I say!

On the plus side, the bar I was watching the game at had the Vancouver Bud Girls serving the beer. Yee Haa! There's nothing like getting layed by the Bud Girls. Ok Ok I had to settle for a Lay of 50/50 tickets. And No I wasn't lucky enough to win that either.

All in all it wasn't a bad game, just no winning for me this year.

Just like the Eagles I'll have to hope for better luck next year.

Livin in a Small Town that thinks it's a City!

2005-02-04T18:50:00.000-08:00

Or is it Living in a Small City that thinks it's a Town? I'm not sure.

I knew the town I lived in was backwards but this is getting a little ridiculous.

What ever could I be talking about you ask.

Those of you who know where I live probably aren’t surprised. Those of you who don’t would probably be shocked. I live in the thriving Okanagan metropolis of Penticton (population 41,500). OK it’s not thriving now it’s in hibernation. But it will be thriving in the summer (est. 1,000,000 tourists per year). Wineries, orchards and beaches surround us and there are several fabulous ski hills in the area. It’s a little Canadian Oasis.

Did I mention that the majority of the population is retired? You can’t drive down the street without being driven off the road by some little old blue haired person.

Maybe the Globe and Mail has this right as they put the article in their entertainment section. I know I sure found it funny. But most people in this town are unbelievably serious on this topic. I guess it’s time to tell you what happened. Last year the city commissioned four pieces of art to be made for a roundabout that they put in last summer. Just before Christmas the first sculpture was installed. “The Naked Baggage Handler” Yup you heard it. The guys naked and he’s surrounded by suitcases.

Did I mention the older people in town have uniformly despised this roundabout? They seem to be mortified about driving in a circle. Which also makes me wonder how any of them even knew the statue existed. After all they all go a different way to town now.

So as if this naked statue didn’t stir up enough trouble, now someone has vandalized it. Good grief! Why go to the trouble?

This pathetic excuse for a roundabout is right on the route to the wineries. Now there are some pretty substantial trucks that travel this road to get fruit and take supplies to the wineries. If you could see this roundabout you would know what I’m about to say. It’s too small for a semi truck to go around that. And your right it is to small. So it’s actually been designed so that the trucks can drive over the curb in the center (Yup basically drive straight threw). Wineries are just entering their bottling season so the big loads of bottles and glass will be making their ways to the wineries. You seeing the situation I’m eluding too? Personally I would have just waited for one of the trucks to knock off the Baggage Man. But that’s just me.

Just to give you a taste of my fellow Pentictons here’s a quote that was in the newspaper regarding this escapade.
"Someone said to me, `Well, what did you expect, putting a nude statue up in Penticton?' That's like saying to a woman who's been raped, `what did you expect wearing a skirt that goes above your knees.' Disgusting," he said.
Does this not seem just a little disturbing? I know it sure shocked me! Even if I do agree. I'm not sure that's quite how I would have said it in public. I’ve only lived here for two years but I know that a display of public nudity is going to create some issues.

It gets better though. Guess what the city council said.
Council members said they were unaware of the nudity last year when they approved the statue as one of four temporary art works for the roundabout in 2005-06
Now maybe it’s just cause I’m in Business school. If I was shelling out the money for the statue. I would make damned sure I knew what I was buying. This doesn’t mean I wouldn’t commission a nude statue. I just would have known what I was getting into before hand. As a side note if it was up to me it probably wouldn’t have been male, but that’s just me. Check this out for the entire article.

But now there is a new development in this whole fiasco! Apparently the slightly more liberal town of Kamloops is trying to purchase the statue. As far as I’m concerned let them buy it. They can pick it up in September when we were apparently planning on removing it to make room for a different sculpture.

Well I think I’ve ranted enough. I just couldn’t help but complain about my fabulously intelligent city.

And people wonder why I like First player shooter games and Paintball. Speaking of which Tuesday on Discovery Channel they will be showing us how Paintballs are made on “How it’s Made”. You know just in case you want to know.

I gotta have some wine! Blog you later.

Havin a Ball

2005-02-01T15:36:00.000-08:00

Paintball that is!

Yee Haa! It’s paintball season again. Yes I’m excited. There’s nothing like the pleasant feel of a pistol grip in your hand and a target in your sites. It’s even better when it’s followed by the Oh so satisfying thwap of direct hit on your target. The only thing better is the cry of surprise.

Now I’m not a violent person by nature. But there’s no denying on the paintball field I have a bit of a mean streak.

It started as a great day! Hannibal and Sid were there. Unfortunately there were no other really experienced players. So we traded in our semi-autos for our side arms. Hannibal and I both used P68’s while I use a PGP for backup (which I’m oh so glad I had.). And Sid also made his mark with a PGP2. Check them out here.

It’s in uneven games like this that you realize it isn’t the gun that makes you good. Not to toot my own horn but when the three of us with the pumps took on the guys with the semis we still won. Now if paintball is new to you that may not seem so bad. But let me tell you. The semis have a constant supply of C02 and a hopper holding 200 rounds. On the other hand, we were equipped with guns that the C02 had to be replaced every 25 – 30 shots, and we only held 10 shot in the gun at any one time. Needless to say we were severely outgunned.

I can honestly say the worst part of the entire day was the next morning when my muscles refused to participate. You forget how much running is involved in using the smaller guns. You actually have to move to get the better shot. And you have to get a whole lot closer cause your range is drastically shorter.

Oh yeah the cleanup is no fun either. I couldn't beleive where I had managed to get the sand from the field. I guess when you spend more time crawling around it's bound to happen.

Anyways I’m soooo looking forward to the next game. It’s not going to be this weekend cause it’s SuperBowl weekend and well I have other obligations. But the following weekend we’re having a bush-ball game. Love the big Bush-ball games!

Anyways I’ll let you know how it goes!

Getting Back to It

2005-01-20T16:25:00.000-08:00

It's that time again. The start of a new semester. It's been three weeks now and I'm starting to get things settled in. I've now been in class just long enough to know what classes are going to be easier then others. Thanks AMAR no matter what you say Wealth Management and Estate Planning is NOT FUN! or EASY!

I managed to get a schedule that has me going to school basically only 2 days a week. With the idea in mind that I would have time to have a life. And that I would try to have a life. Well I managed to get a life, it's unfortunate I have to much homework to make use of it. I don't care what anyone says but when you have group work it takes a lot more time then doing it individually. Cause by the time I've explained to you how it really is, I could have written it myself. And the last thing I have time to do is proof your section for your grammar. Especially when word was nice enough to underline it in green. Hello! maybe you should look into that before you send it to me.

I had the pleasure of enjoying a fabulous red wine last night. And it was a Merlot! I know that's a little out of character for me. Those of you that know me, know that I like the Merlot's about as much as I like the over Americanized Chardonnay. This isn't to say they aren't good wines. I just hate to drink a wine that everyone thinks must be good just because of it's name. Therefore, you will find very few Merlots or Chardonnay's in my cellar that I actually purchased. Usually they are gifts from well meaning friends.

I was hoping to be able to see the movie Electra just cause I love that style of movie. But I got distracted by my very own Electra. OK she may not be a martial artists but damn she's hot! Maybe I'll be able to kill two birds with one stone and take one to see the other.

The Grande Finale

2004-12-01T22:10:00.000-08:00

It’s finally here. The last of our Blog’s for PCOM class. When we first started writing our Blog’s I thought this day would never come.

But is this really the end of Blogging? I suppose for many of you it may be. I for one believe I will continue to Blog. Course I probably won’t follow the same format as the ones we have done for PCOM. I have several friends that do Blog’s. It was a bit strange the way I found out about theirs. I was actually reading the Blog of a friend of mine who is currently traveling through Europe. I posted a comment on his Blog and wouldn’t you know it. My friends who have their own Blogs seen my comment and recognized the name. Next thing I knew I was getting emails about my Blog. Firstly they couldn’t believe I would have one. And secondly they were wondering what the heck I was writing about. Who’d ever heard of a “PCOM”. They couldn’t believe I would write one, as I usually don’t go around telling Joe Public about myself. Friends are one thing.

My friends also threatened to write comments on my Blog. But they obviously didn’t have the guts cause I never got a comment from them. Course after saying this I’m sure they’ll comment for sure.

Course now the real skill will come in finding something exciting enough to write about. After all the life a full time student taking 6 courses a semester is so exciting. I got a feeling for the first little while I’ll be talking about what I do on weekends, either drinking wines or playing paintball. Well that should cover the first two weeks.

This isn’t only the end of our Blog’s this is the end of one more semester. I honestly can’t say I’m sorry to see it go. At this point I’ve gotten a bit of tunnel vision. The end is so near I can almost reach it. Just one last semester then I get a useless piece of paper that will hopefully let me land a reasonable job. Does that mean all these classes are useless. Unfortunately only a small few have been anymore use to me then getting my degree. Oddly enough I think PCOM was one of the more useful courses I have taken.

I guess being the last Blog for this course it should probably end on a positive note. So I’d just like to say Good Luck to everyone.

Word Count: 418

Networking with Wine

2004-11-24T22:20:00.000-08:00

Here I thought I was going to get my chance to Network. I was invited to a wine masters dinner this evening. And it was my hope to make possible contacts for future employment opportunities.

The meal was fabulous. It was a typical 4 course wine masters dinner (soup, salad, main course, and dessert). And at least two wines were picked to go with each course, and no they were not all BC wines. Thank goodness my mother taught me what fork to use with what course. This after all was not the crowd to look like a buffoon.

Prior to the meal and afterwards there was lots of time to mingle with the various winemakers and owners. I’m always a little self conscious about rubbing elbows with these people as I know they know more then I do. But what really shocked me was that the new winemaker also named Craig from Benchlands Estate winery approached me. Apparently he’d heard that I’d written a book on drinking wine back when I was working for St. Hubertus. He couldn’t remember whom he’d heard it from but he had always remembered hearing about it. Long story short he wants a copy. Now, the book I’d written was written for my mothers wine club. To me it’s very ruff and really more of a wine drinking for dummies book. Not to mention the fact that I’d written it prior to any real schooling in writing.

So the question I’m currently fighting with is if I should try to rewrite it, cleaning up the errors I know it has in it. Or if I should just give him one of the bound copies I have left, and just inform him of the origin of the book. After all I really don’t feel there’s anything in it that he doesn’t already know.

On the plus side I’ve made an impression on Craig and with any luck I was able to make a good impression with at least a couple of the owners as well. After all come summer time when I’m out of school with my degree they’ll be busy and looking for people to hire.

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Stressed or Distressed?

2004-11-03T22:10:00.000-08:00

Wow! How about that midterm! I’m not saying it was particularly hard, but I was sure glad to have the extra hour to work on it. If you regularly read my blog you probably know that I’m not the best writer around. So the thought of having to write a paper that copy’s the Genre of another author was a bit daunting. I guess my mark will show how good I did, but I honestly think it was one of my better pieces of work. If not the best I’ve done. Which creates a little stress in itself. If I don’t get a descent mark then I better stay away from writing I think.

Now as if the midterm wasn’t enough stress from this class in one week, I also had my interview today. Job interviews are less awkward! Maybe it was because I was interviewing somebody I look up to. In case you’re wondering I did my Interview with Cherie Mirko. She’s a winemaker that I have followed for almost the whole ten years that she’s been in Canada making wine. Yes I’m a wine groupie. I have a couple winemakers that I like. And I buy they’re wines, no matter what winery they are working for. That doesn’t mean I don’t have wineries that I like as well. I still get out at least once a year to spend entirely too much money on my wine cellar. Unfortunately it’s been getting harder to find Cherie’s wines since she became a mother. If your interested in Wine I would highly suggest checking out some of the wines she’s produced. Her own winery is Calliope Handcrafted Wines. Also watch for her to make an appearance at a new winery in Cawston called Orofina. Unfortunately she’s starting a new venture that will limit the amount of wine she’ll be making in the future.

A few of my other favorite wineries are:
St. Hubertus Estate Winery
Lake Breeze Vineyards
Black Hills Estate Winery – They have my favorite Red
Blasted Church
Wild Goose Vineyards
Stag’s Hollow Winery and Vineyard

I could go on longer but I imagine you get the idea. These are the ones that I keep a close eye on anyways.

I think it’s worth noting a new style of wine that has also appeared recently. They are the Fruit Wines. I love my red wines there’s no doubting that. But this summer I discovered some really nice fruit wines. Personally I wouldn’t have them with a meal, but I would certainly drink them as a sipping wine. They are generally light and really easy to drink, and a little bit sweeter then grape wines. Which in case your wondering is because the Acids in Fruit wines are different from the Acids in Grape Wines and in order to contradict the extra acid they leave more sugar in the wine. They could reduce the Acids in other ways but it’s more expensive and a lot more time consuming. There is also the chance you’ll loose flavour. Needless to say for most winemakers it’s not worth the risk. Unless of course your Eric Von Krosigk who claims he can fix anything. Anyways I’ve only had the opportunity to try two different fruit wineries and they are both worth noting. Spiller Estates and Elephant Island.

Cheers!

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