How Did I Get Here?

Update

2007-05-05T13:20:00.000-07:00

So I've made some decisions in the past few weeks and I've had some tough calls to make even in the last few days.

First of all....I'm not going overseas. I'm not ready yet and I don't have my affairs in order so it's not going to happen. This means I'll be staying in the burn for some time and subbing most likely. But I'm cool with that so it's no big deal.

I thought I was going to be buying a new vehicle right quick but I've decided not to. The payments I could probably make, but the support costs (plates, and gas per month) are almost as much as the payments themselves so I will be holding onto my Black Beauty for another year most likely while I pay down some loans. I'm a bit disappointed because I really would like something new but oh well I still have like 4 years to take advantage of my grad bonus.

I've been subbing an awful lot lately. There is a demand for subs, especially in the rural areas, which will probably be my bread and butter next year.

That's all for now
Demoncrush

What the @#$% is wrong with the nursing profession?

2007-04-24T07:27:00.000-07:00

Ok so curiousity got the best of me and after 2 months, I decided to read up on my Ex's blog. After reading some of her March posts I was a bit pissed off that such a "caring" profession doesn't care about their own. I mean Jeebus lives are on the line and so many of them have their heads sooooo far up their asses they are basically giving themselves a scalp enema and shitting all over what the profession stands for. Yeah my ex has her faults but seriously as a nurse fairly new to a ward she should have the support of her co-workers and superiors. I know she had issues out at her previous job but this is riddiculous because as I said....LIVES ARE ON THE LINE.

In my profession the new learn from the experienced. New teachers bring fresh ideas from the university while veterans bring the experince and Wisdom. Sure not everyone gets along but we all have the same common goal and finding the easiest/best way to accomplish it what we strive for. Now I'm not trying to talk up my profession but it certainly has a more colegial atmosphere than what nursing seems to have.

Reflection on life and death

2007-04-08T23:10:00.000-07:00

OK so on Friday I found out that a friend of mine was killed in a horrible car accident. It didn't dawn on me just who she was until today though...when the whole story started to add up. Blue Mustang...worked at a daycare, hasn't seen her parents in a few months...wait a minute I know this girl...fairly well. Though I'm not exactly sad or crying about it ( I didn't know her that well), I can't help but think about all the memories it digs up. The last conversation I had with her was on MSN about why she shouldn't take her car to a certain garage for fear of her being ripped off. I just feel a bit weird erasing her name and number from my phone. I was thinking about deleting her name from MSN messenger but I might hold onto it maybe...I don't know why exactly. Maybe because it shows how she left her mark on the world, and she won't be forgotten...for a while. I think I'm going to put all my passwords in a safe place where people will find it in the event of my passing. I think I would like whoever handles my affairs to at least send a mass e-mail to all the people to let them know. Maybe that's a bit morbid...but I haven't had a name to erase off my MSN list due to death. I suppose it would have happened eventually (lets be honest) but I just wasn't sure when.

Both her and her car both gone in an instant...which makes me appreciate all the things I do in life and why I need to do more, and be with the people that I like the most more often. I need to go on the canoe trip this summer, I need to do some serious traveling in my life. Who knows maybe those things will be my death...but if so then what kind of life would I have in the alternative? Sitting around in a basement...you call that living? At least I'm in a profession that nurtures life.

peace,
DemonCrush

How often do you just go out on a limb?

2007-04-06T01:23:00.000-07:00

That is the question I pose of my gentle readers. Tonight I was bored, been in all week and I just want to go to the bar and have some drinks. However, my regular drinking team which involves a pair of truckers has to work in the morning. So I gave a chance and I ended up going for a beer with Kristy G. at the KG. Her and her friends...while somewhat attractive...could not keep my attention. The KG wasn't keeping their attention so they dragged me to the Royal. Of course one must remember a flock of girls can't ever go to the bathroom alone. I ended up being ditched several times by them for this on-going migration and I got bored and wandered off. I ended up running into people who I more or less knew of...but beyond names and the occasional meeting don't know from a hole in the ground. However 2 of them are people who picked up me and Jeremy way back in the fall (I believe I may have blogged about it a few months back).

Anyways, the little group of us gathered in the only room you can have a conversation without screaming at the person next to you. There I ran into L. Cole and a pile of other people I knew but didn't and Laila's friends were there too. It was certainly odd but it was fine I didn't mind the company because they weren't boring. We had an ice fight, that was on-going and well it was just plain fun. Left a hell of a mess but meh. I decided I had to stay sober for this trip.

"No, booze would be a bad thing tonight", my mind was telling me.

I did head outside after the ice fight for a small 420 session. While outside this really, drunk guy (who was passing out in the bar earlier...it was hilarious...people taking pictures and shit with him...). He had a bit of a slurish accent and he could barely stand or talk for that matter. He just leaned on a truck staring at the ground and a little trail of puke that rolled under someone's Chevy. Myself and another guy tried to get some information out of him but to little avail. He was some kind of screwed up, but when asked what drugs he was on he kept saying they weren't his thing. Surely an out-of towner. He wore a wool cap with ear flaps and buttons all over it and Kaki's that a few splatters on them (maybe something he stepped in HAHA).

After the cigs were all out and our poor attempt at interrogation (next time I'm the bad cop) we went back into the frenzy. The bar was packed before, but now it was Paaaaaaaaacked! Literally sliding room only. I was trying to get by some people and I ended up half falling and then flopping into an empty and sitting across from me when I looked up is my brother with a dumbfounded face.

"what are you doing here?" he asked.

"I....really don't know...." I honestly couldn't think of a good reason to be there.
We chatted a bit, he tried to sick a cougar on me but I already know just to play dead and they leave you alone. It was at that point I just knew I needed to get out of there it was too much. Too many people for me if was after all Thursday night and the next day is good Friday.

I ran into the 2 gals that had picked me and Jeremy up earlier in the year. They wanted to go to a party and invited me along and I decided it couldn't be any worse than this. I was pleasantly surprised it was! The 'party' was at Touque's who I know from just living in Weyburn all my life but again I have never been formally introduced. It was a good meeting I like the guy. He showed me lots of fishing trip pictures from up north, which reminded me that the canoe trip is coming up (woo-hoo). We were there for a while, and this nice blond girl was obviously taking a shine to me and she suggested we all go for a drink. By the time we drop her friend and her guy off at their place, last call has already been given. So she turns around and heads back to her car. Leaving me and Toque staring at each other...knowing that the other is thinking of pursuing the girl. I wanted to go...he even offered her to me. I don't know why I turned her down, I was sober, that might have made a difference. Something inside of me said I could do better. That might make me arrogant but meh. Not only that but I also felt like sleeping alone.

So I walked to my car right outside the KG and went home. Then I decided to blog about it. Sorry if it's been a long boring post but inspiration strikes when we least expect it. It certainly will be memorable.

Demon.

Monthly update

2007-03-25T15:38:00.000-07:00

Sorry all, I just don't get to this as often as I would like to.

Here's the scoop:

1. I'm not sure I"ll have a teaching job come fall
2. I do like teaching though
3. Cabin party a no-go this summer....It's my call I've made it...not going to happen sorry small gatherings of a few people yes. But I'm not having more than 6 people out at a time sorry.
4. Weighing out my job options maybe I can find a non-teaching job to use my degree with.
Maybe I'll head overseas once I get my passport together and go teach ESL. I'm thining of joining the RCMP maybe but it wouldn't be right away maybe a year from now after some physical and discipline training. I don't know such is the stress of living life in a constant state of flux. Some days I think it would be nice to own my own home and have the stability of a steady permanent job. Oh well, c'est le vie.

Another lovely day in Regina

2007-02-21T17:35:00.000-08:00

Hey all, what a treat you get 2 blogs in one week!

So let's see what did I do today. I got up, had breakfast with L, and B. I met with a friend Kar and we sat around BSing and watched some survivorman and Mantracker (both excellent shows).

I also managed to land a date for the evening with a fine young lady. That's probably all I'm going to mention about that because I'm going to mention less about the ol' personal life from now on.

Today during breakfast I was having a conversation with Ryan about: Should people who want to have children have to write an exam and be a registered parent in order to raise their children? I think so!

Some people will argue: What about human rights...how are you going to legislate this...Where does religion fall into this...

Well first of all. I've worked in enough messed up homes to know right now that there should be some sort of mental/emotional prerequisit to being a parent other than just putting a penis into a vagina.

As for the charlie church...there is no abortion to discuss...the parent will just have the child taken at the hospital or clinic or whenever it is discovered that the child shouldn't be there. Of course a provision would be in place to give the parent a few months to study and get their license.

I dont' have time to go into all the facets like what about if the wife has her license but not the husband. Or what about immigrants, homosexual couples, First Nations etc... I dont' know I'm openning up a dialogue to those interested in discussing it.

Back to the blog

2007-02-20T15:11:00.000-08:00

Here I am everyone I decided to pick the blog back up after a long absence. I have some things to talk about. I'm a bit jaded over my job but I'm enjoying it not too badly. I'm single and enjoying that too but I am certainly looking. I deleted a few posts because some crazy person left some shitty comments on them and I started moderating my comments so not just anyone can leave one....at least not as annonymous. I just spent $700 on my car brakes and cooling system...it sucks but it still beats buying something new. I went to a teachers convention and that was ok not too shabby learned alot about financial planning for my future. Get rid of all debts first before I start to save for my future not a bad plan I'm down with that. I don't have much else to say other then I'll be in Regina for a few days hopefully hanging out with people I don't get to see very often. yeah sorry boring update but it's better than nothing...oh well I guess I have a story to tell...

I may have wasted one of those wishes that you might have in your lifetime on icecream. I was at the grocery store....sent to pickup some Vanilla, and I was looking in one cooler and I saw some orange sherbet and I thought MMMMM.....I would love to get some of that...but I was sent to get Vanilla and I don't have money for both...I wish that they made a vanilla and sherbet combo....and low and behold in the next cooler there it was Orange Sherbet and Vanilla Ice cream....TOGETHER! I should have wished for a million dollars...oh well I'm still happy with my Ice cream.

1st day of school

2007-01-08T17:50:00.000-08:00

Well, it would have been nice to have gotten paid for it, but no such luck.
I spent my first day getting re-aquainted with the staff, and some students, but spend most of my most of my morning setting up my 'office' or work space. Trying to find a decent computer that will do what I need it to do, then finding a network card from another computer and installing it, moving boxes bere, there, everywhere. Once I was finally settled in I tried my best to get down to work but I was beat and I had a pile of teachers to talk to. But there are several positive notes. I won't have to make a year plan for 2 of the 4 classes I'll be teaching YAY!!! andI have a semi-private bathroom right behind my desk.

If things work out for me I think this will be a fantastic job.

In other news, I REALLY really miss Kristie and have since she left I can't wit to see her again!

peace
demon

Limbo

2007-01-03T13:55:00.000-08:00

Well I finally can relate to something that Rhonda dealt with about this time last year. That limbo between work and university life. I can remember how stressed out she was and well I"m bloody well there myself. All this waiting around knowing full well that I'm going to have a real job and a decent paycheque to myself soon is sweet! I honestly cannot wait for that, as the bills are seriously piling up. It's going to be a fun game of catch up for awhile.

Some people have informed me that I need to start planning a stag for one of my best friend's wedding. The idea of Vegas for a weekend has been rolled around and well I think that would be sweet! But still I'm not 100% sure I would want to do that, though I will potentially have the money by then. Oh well we'll see I guess.

I drained and am in the process of filling my hot tub today. I figured I would take advantage of the warm weather and do it today then not have to worry about it till end of March/start of April some where in there.

Anyways I will end this post here.
LAter
Demon

Merry Decemberween to one and all!

2006-12-27T15:29:00.000-08:00

Well it's been awhile since I have posted and I will say that I was treated fairly good by Santa this year, no complaints in that department. We had to have xmas on the 26th due to my mom's job but it really wasn't a big deal to me. We didn't get together with extended family as much this year. It was kinda nice to have no place to be on xmas day, or Boxing day.

Anywasys, I've been spending my time clearing the basement of shit so I can actually live there. My brother is being a prick and won't let me move in with him, so I have no choice but to dig out my basement and find an area to live/work/hangout in. Not an easy task but I'm up for the challange.

But yeah other then that, I havn't been up to too much
Later
Demon

Apples and Oranges

2006-12-19T12:36:00.000-08:00

That's been my day today comparing schools that I've been in. Manor School gets an A+ in my books Stoughton well it needs improvement. But anyways....

I was drinking with the staff sargent for the RCMP detachement, when she told me that I should look into becoming a member. I said you're crazy, I'm the wrong sex and wrong color. She said I would be in like sin because they are doing a HUGE recruitment drive and I already have a degree. It would mean 6 months in the depot (basic training essentially) then that's it I would be off. After 5 years of being a Constable I guess you would be looking at $70,000 a year. Well I would need almost 2 degrees and 10 years of service to get that as a teacher. So I'll be honest when I say I'm actually considering it.

Demon

5 to go! AND group gathering!

2006-12-17T18:03:00.000-08:00

Ok so I haven't blogged all week but there's some news. I've been offerred the job in Stoughton, and I think I'm going to take it. I've spent some time out there and well it's a different world from where I come from all those hormones flying around in full force. (my area would be grades 5-8).

So yeah I just spent my week in Stoughton and the Carlyle high school and boy do I ever miss my kids from grade 4. They miss me too I went back for a lunch and any of them who saw me ran up and hugged me. It was kinda neat.

Anyways There will be a group gethering on Dec 23rd at the INN @ 7:30 Be there or be square.
This is in cancellation of Pilot's party. A bar is more neutral ground. It's informal and we'll probably be there for a few hours.

Sad but hilarious

2006-12-07T19:31:00.000-08:00

Ok, so as you all know I live in the stix, rural Sask, small town Saskatchewan. I have beared witness to one of the saddest events that can occur in a child's life, but I've never laughed so hard when I heard it. One of my students came to me today and said that her and her parents were out looking for their dogs that ran away....4 days ago. They were last seen the previous day out at Cannington, which means that their dogs ran away...and it took 3 days! LOL wow, needless to say she laughed but she didn't think it was as funny as I thought it was. So there you have it cliche small town living. Heh heh gotta love the prairies.

peace
Demon

The results are in!

2006-12-05T10:39:00.000-08:00

Well my final evaluation went in today and on a scale of 0-5, 5 being outstanding, I got a 4 overall which is a VG or Very Good. Needless to say, I'm absolutely thrilled and every ounce of my being is jumping for joy. It's pretty hard to contain. So I'll give a quick WOOOOOOOOOOO-Fricken-HOOOOOOOOOOOO!

As the saying goes: "give credit where credit is due", Here's my thank-you to all the people who've helped me get through this chapter in my life.

Mom and Dad: Thanks for being my moral, and financial support, and always being there to celebrate my victories and help me through any loses.

Rob and Krisite: Thanks for taking me in during my last semester of classes. It was a blast and will be very memorable experience for me.

Rob and Kat: For telling me that when you have children you'll seek me out so I can teach them. It meant alot.

Kara and Tabi: For being my insanity and for getting me through most of my education classes and projects (not that I remember any of them LOL!)

Laila Paul: For being a great roomate and sister I never had.

Kim and Steve: for making my summers between semesters much more interesting.

Jason Holland: for being one of the only other guys in my section who was always willing to chat, party, and also for being the first person to even talk to me on day one.

Melanie V.: For helping me with projects, resource gathering, and stress relief.

Jeremy: For always being a critical eye and offering an alternate perspective on things.

Jessica Lapoint: For banding together with me and our rag-tag band of would-be teachers to conqueor EPSY, as well as, being an idea factory, and my sympathetic ear during the last 4 months.

Dr. Stephen Bend: for always finding time to lend me your rocks.

Nicole Steele: For always being patient and being an awesome EPS partner

Mandy Chytyk: For being one of the coolest people in I met during my time in education. We've had some excellent debates!

Cannington Manor: for being the best job I've EVER had

Colleen: For being the best Co-op teacher I could have hoped for

Carlyle School: For being a warm, friendly, inviting, and welcoming place I hope I can return someday.

I might have missed some people because it's late, so if I did, feel free to bring it to my attention. You have my thanks...

And now on the flip side of thanks I can finally say SCREW YOU to all the people that didn't think I could do it: (I understand it's a little immature but damn it, I think I've earned the right!)

SCREW YOU: Former faculty advisor who wouldn't support me.
SCREW YOU: Former Co-op teacher who rolled over for her.
SCREW YOU: Mrs. Z my grade 4 teacher who said I wouldn't amount to anything.
SCREW YOU: Rhonda for undermining my confidence all summer.
SCREW YOU: Select bunch of former classmates who thought I would be the one to fail.
SCREW YOU: Mrs. J who always made me feel like less of a person from grade 8 on.
SCREW YOU: Faculty of Social Work for not accepting me to your program in Regina or Saskatoon (your loss!)
SCREW YOU: Canadian Tire Guy who always made me feel inferior for not having the newest tools.

If there's anyone I missed who should have made this list please let me know so I can find a picture of them and throw darts at it.

Ok sorry for the long and sappy post but I thought all these people deserved some recognition.
peace
Demon

I love Bacon!!!

2006-12-04T16:02:00.000-08:00

Oh bacon how do I love thee let me count the ways....
Yeah I decided I would celebrate my love affair with Bacon on my blog. Vegan's and Veggies might not approve but meh you're truely missing out.

18 days left folks...

My weekend

2006-12-03T12:52:00.000-08:00

After feeling like crap all week I decided to get the hell out of this place and head for home to Weyburn. Where I went for coffee with Ryan, and cleaned part of my basement, as well as, got the xmas tree up, lit and decorated. I also watched Logan's Run a fantastic Sci-Fi movie from '76. The special effects were definately dated, but the premise of the movie is excellent, and interesting. I definately suggest renting it (or buing it from the bargain bin). I had planned on watching it with Ryan last night but for the first time ever my car wouldn't start...it had me worried so I assumed the worst and began looking at new cars. NEW CARS ARE TOO EXPENSIVE! Especially the foreign ones. For a Toyota Yaris with A/C and a decent warranty I would pay close to $430/month
for a VW diesel with A/C and base warranty it's close to $450/month. Ford has a pretty good deal on the new Focus with A/C and heated seats for $260/month. Shit as much as I hate the idea, I might go American when I go to buy new. I think I might look for a new car in Jan 2008. I'm pretty sure I can just make some simple repairs to my Swift and it'll last a few more years.

After Weyburn I drove to Manor in shitty blizzard, lots of cars in the ditch around Arcola, as well as, a few accidents. couldn't drive faster than 60KPH. Fun Fun Fun...I love winter (sarcasm).

Demon

23 days and counting

2006-11-29T18:07:00.000-08:00

Ok so today was my first day back at school since I have been sick, but I only managed half the day (the morning in particular) before my voice started to give out. So I took the afternoon off, and I might have to the same tomorrow, but at least I'm back. I'm hoping by friday that I will be able to go a full day.

So I am counting down the days till I'm done, and it includes weekends so really I only have 17 school days left before I'm done, and I'll be spending at least 10 of those days in other schools or classrooms, which brings me to some good news...............

Stoughton school might be hiring me to work in a grade 7-8 class. It would be a half-time position with lots of subbing on the side to keep me busy and rolling in some dough. There's also the possibility of a full time position in the fall perhaps. So that's the latest on that front.

I don't know I have nothing to complain about today really so I'm going to leave it at that
peace
demon

Why I always assume the worst

2006-11-27T16:21:00.000-08:00

It's easy, if I assume the worst then I don't have to be surprized if it is the worst, and if it's not so bad then that makes it all the better.

My Health especially has been a concern of mine in the last 4 months a few things have concerned me and I of course ASSUMED the WORST...but I have found it's not as bad (after visiting the doc each time).

Take my recent trip to the doc. I have a sore throat and can barely speak, so I thought oh Jeebus laryngitis, but I was also caughin a bit of blood every now and then as well, after doing some internet searching I thought it might even be throat cancer. Of course after visiting the doc it wasn't nearly as bad as I had once thought. Anywhoo long story short, I have tonsilitis which sucks ass still, but hey it beats throat cancer right?

so a few days off, and then back to the disease factory
peace and health
demon

Photocontest

2006-11-21T18:11:00.000-08:00

Finally got around to this enjoy.

Pilot's Meme

2006-11-20T18:03:00.000-08:00

Ok so I can't find my firewire to participate in Rob's photocontest at the moment. So I guess I'll thorw down my celebrity F@#%! list. Yeah a fair amount of them are from the Wheadonverse but meh that's what I like.

1. Lucy Liu
2. Angie Everheart
3. Uma Thurman
4. Holly Marie Combs (chick from charmed)
5. Alison Hannigan
6. Sarah Michelle Gellar
7. Charisma Carpenter
8. Morena Baccarin
9. Amy Acker
10. Jewel Saite

33 Days

2006-11-19T18:54:00.000-08:00

Hey all, not much to report really. had to get some papers signed in Regina so I headed up there Friday and hung out with Kara for a bit, then Laila and Bader. On Saturday I caught up with Mel at Tot's cafe. It's a place you can go to keep your kids busy while you have coffee. It was good not alot of screaming and we got out before a b-day party showed up and took over. It was nice to see her again even though it was brief. It was a terrible debate I had going afterwards I wanted to stay in Regina but I made some loose plans to hang out with people in Weyburn. My car decided for me. I guess I have a leaky Rad and I needed to get back to Weyburn so I could get it fixed. SO off I went. Then I hung out with Ryan, Steph, Terra, and Shawna for the most part. We started at Main Track...they don't give free refills on pop even if your the DD so needless to say we won't be going there again. We ended up at the Royal and one of my old stalkers was there and was doing a fine job of creeping me out...I convinced terra we should leave and we did just that leaving poor ryan behind. SO I went back to Terras and we ate pizza and passed out. Not an exciting weekend but it was ok it was missing something though I can't quite put my finger on it yet though. Not enough Mel perhaps?

Happy Belated Birthday Jeff's Blog

2006-11-14T18:02:00.000-08:00

Yeah wow, it's been 2 years as of Nov. 8th that I started this blog. Then for a long time nothing happened until Pilot told me to pick it back up...and I've been blogging ever since. I guess people read it from time to time which is cool in my books it's never been host to any cool contests, just usually a personal newspaper, maybe a technology feature, and or a rant about the state of the world.

Thanks for reading!

Demon

39 Days left

2006-11-13T20:18:00.000-08:00

So my advisor came out today and I was actually looking forward to it. When he showed up I welcomed him to the class, and he hung out for awhile and watched me teach math and literature circles. Then we had a chata bout how the lesson went for about 45 minutes. It was pretty interesting he was pretty blown away by the experience. He said I was certainly ahead of where the average intern is in their 3rd week of the teaching block...then imagine the look on his face when I said it was only my 2nd week! Yeah needless to say he was pretty impressed with my methods and how things are going for me. It was really nice after all the BS I was forced to put up with last year. But I guess, if I had gotten through last year then I wouldn't have been able to have this awesome experience with this staff and school. Maybe things happen for a reason I'm not sure.
In other news I'm starting to think I probably could have lived at my cabin. In fact starting to wish I had. There's nothing wrong with where I am really, but it would have been cheaper, just a little less convienient that's all. I must say there's just something alluring about living in a cabin in the woods heated by a wood stove. I think it would have been cheaper for me to live there as well. The only bills I would have would be the propane, 1 time cost of a load of wood, and maybe a land-line phone. Oh well, hindsight is always 20/20

peace
Demon

Sunday blues

2006-11-12T17:25:00.000-08:00

I've been marking all day for report cards and for math in particular. It's taken me about 6 hours so far and I'm not done yet. I'm listening to the Wolf and it's pretty decent. I heard Three Days Grace play "the animal I have become" and it reminded me of some good times I had with R, and it was a nice little memory kind of made me miss her for a minute or two. I seriously don't miss living with an animal though! Since I've moved into my new place I have used my inhaler a total of 3 times...I think I'm alergic to cats, or shitty old houses I'm not quite sure.

My brother told me that when you work MWD you have no life, but I have no life now anyways so I think I would rather work a job that pays more to be honest.

Yeah sorry about the random thoughts today but that's what's been on my mind.
Demon

44 days and counting!!

2006-11-09T06:24:00.000-08:00

Hey all, I just checked over how much time I have left out here in the boonies....44 more days then I can leave and officially call myself a teacher. I can't wait to come home I miss friends, family, having a little more of a life. I will miss all the teachers I've been working with down here though. I went out to a rig last night to check out what an MWD does...wow it's pretty incredible to see how everything works! It's a real interesting job (for someone who's interested in Geology at anyrate).
Lots of graphs, charts and measurements to take. I also got to go up onto the drilling floor and watch roughnecks throw another casing into the hole. There's a whole bloody lingo out there, that I'll probably never understand but meh I could care less.

Peace
Demon

In other news

2006-10-29T19:37:00.000-08:00

So I guess I'll be helping the RCMP find some bones I found a few months back. Turns out you're supposed to report any bone findings no matter how small due to the fact that tons of people go missing all the time and never turn up. So me and the staff sargent were drinking when I told her this story of me taking pictures and I found this bone so she told me I had to report it. I get to go bone hunting tomorrow with a constable (yay!) kills my afterschool.

I was invited to join an afterschool jam club aparently there is a place for a jawharp in a band and I'm actaully really good at it. I joined up with the rythm section. We're playing Rockin' in the USA by John Cougar Meloncamp. We have a drum set, 2 acoustic guitars, 3 electric guitars, electric bass, flute, and alto sax, then me on Jaw harp. It was a good time. It;s nice to learn how to play as a group. I get my own mic LOL.

I'm also helping out with volleyball afterschool and Jeebus it's funny I havn't played V-ball in like well since before most of these students were born. So I'm learning alongside them and really letting the not-so-good players feel better about themselves.

Oh yes and I can't forget the grade 1 who found condomms in his lunch bag. That was a funny day. Poor kids didn't know what they were so, one girl pulled out a pair of scissors and opened one up. I think the words were "eeeeeew it's sticky". The teacher had to call the parent to tell them what their son had found (oh by the way the father is a minister) so when the call came in and the teacher explained there was a long pause....with an "oh....Ok" at the end of it. Needless to say someone on the bus sabotaged him (at least we think so).

that's all for now

peace
Demon

Diving in...

2006-10-28T20:50:00.001-07:00

First off I have to appologize for the lack of postings (heck I havn't even checked my comments until today). School has been pretty crazy and I also discovered youtube (and lacking television this has been a welcome luxury).

Well the stones concert was great and I had a great time with KT I havn't talked to her in a long time, and I havn't really talked to her since. The highlight of my weekend though was definately the wedding in Watrous. I went with an ex gf (Mel), who I have certainly missed over the past year I'll admit. We went her friend Sara and her bf Tony (an ex H.A. member) who were ok to be with but seriously hard to handle being around for practically 24 hours. I can't drink for 24 hours anymore I'm getting old which reminds me I celebrated my b-day a few weeks back.

Anyways, I get to the church and who should arrive but Raylene H. I went to school with her, and we almost had a fling during my first semester of year 3 but I was in a relationship at the time (with Mel ironically enough) and couldn't have that. Right after that she met a guy (from Watrous) who she fell madly in love with and was going to marry until he was tragicly killed in the mine he was working in. Long story short she was surprized to see me and we chatted about old times at the reception.

The time with Mel also gave us the opportunity to talk about our past relationship and all the things that have happenned to us in the past year. I don't know maybe I'll re-kindle an old flame not sure yet. I keep comming back to the "why did we REALLY break up?" question. I don't know maybe I really shouldn't be chasing women though when I dont' know where I'll be in a 2 months from now. Where I would be after internship was, after all, the final nail on the coffin for me and Ronda.

Which brings me to some job opportunities that might come my way.
1. There is a non-profit Exec director job that'll probably be making itself known in Weyburn in Dec some time.
2. Subbing, always with the subbing I could try
3. MWD-I pray to god every night that I will be able to get on with an MWD company. My brother showed me the pay scale...and after 5 years of experience I could put my degree to work and train people to do it...for Ludirous amounts of cash. FREEDOM 35 ha ha ha...
seriously though for those still interested in the sustainable community project it would be a good cash flow...but I havn't heard of too much support for it so maybe I'll just buy a house in the Caribbean.

On the work side of my life, things are going great in fact. I've been teaching virtually every class this week the only exception is Social Studies. Wow do the days ever go fast! I have a feeling that it'll be a blink of an eye and it'll be the end of November.

I went to a teachers conference in Saskatoon Oct-19-20. I went to a session on Aboriginal Gangs, Crystal Meth addiction, and Maintaining a peaceful school. All very good sessions. I also got to see how much teachers like to drink. We went to Earls and ended up nearly getting kicked out for partying in the bathroom lounge (yes the bathrooms had a co-ed lounge). The 2 grade 1 teachers danced the tango and I drank plenty of rum. My colleague who I shared a room with that night didn't really get to any sessions in the morning after having polished off probably 3 bottles of red wine. We also partied in a hotel room till 5in the morning. The kindergarten teacher couldn't even walk by the end and vowed to crawl back to her hotel room.

The night after I went out on a 'date' with Mel it was fun and nice to see her again. I'll be going to a dinner theatre to see her in a play in Balgonie on the 4th. I get to sit with her family wow how awkward is that going to be. "sorry I broke up with your daughter a year ago and now I'm hanging out with her again and such." "sorry I broke her heart and might do it again because I dont know where I'll be working/living in a few months or the fact that I'm still not sure I want to be a dad yet" Oh well, c'est le vie.

On Monday I start the beginning of my 3 week teaching block. I don't feel overly stressed, even though I still have a pile of work to get done before then. I have had super amounts of trouble getting anything done on my weekends, mostly due to burn out. But it's so nice to be able to go to the bathroom at your leisure though. I like teaching but I still don't know if it's the "life" for me.

Anywasy sorry for the long post, I didn't even get to talk about the grade 1's getting a head start on their HIV/AIDS education...oh well another story for another day.

Peace
Demon

This week in life...

2006-10-02T16:32:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a bloody busy past couple of weeks for me. I was out at an internship seminar Sept 20-22 where I sang coom-bye-ah and got intouch with my true inner feelings.....ha ha nope J/K. It was all about Professional development, and how to improve my teaching. I definately got something out of it. I feel like I have more direction now, and I'm feeling physically better as well. I am still pretty drained at the end of the day though and there never seem to be enough hours to eat sleep, and get work done, with a tiny bit of leisure time to not think about school for a bit. I signed up for a lunch program, so I won't have to make any more lunches (at least for this month) which I guess, besides living and breathing school, I'll be eating and I was joking with another teacher about camping out one of these days as well. But it's going well, I started a Science unit today and the first lesson went well, but I still got the shakes before it started odd how that works. I'm completly confident teaching Math and Phys Ed, and Science is my thing so why the nervousness? I don't know, but goddamn I was in my element when I got started and I had the kids eating out of the palm of my hand.

In other news, I'm going to the stones this Friday with K.T. I hope to see her new place. I'll also be attending a wedding in Manitou Springs with Mel on Saturday (tentatively). It might not happen if I'm swamped with school shit to do and trust me there's plenty of it!!

Anyways that's all I have to report this week
Peace
Demon

An Odd Weekend

2006-09-11T12:06:00.000-07:00

It all started out with a trip to Weyburn. It was a long day at school and I just wanted to head to Weyburn and Relax and go for a drink with a new friend of mine (Terra). We ended up going back to her place and watched some TV. I was so tired conversation was a chore so there wasn't much said between the 2 of us. Saturday I had to go to Regina to pick up some teaching resources and drop off a b-day present for Kim, as well as, visit some people I havn't seen in a long time. I ran my errands and went to visit Kristie at work and we made plans to go out to Kim's B-day. I actualy hadn't planned on going, I was going to maybe go to LQ but I was more or less planning on just buying her a present and giving it to Kristie to drop off with her. I also planned on going for coffee with Mel. Coffee was good and we decided to continue it on Sunday morning as we were out of time. I left the brewsters and headed back to the house, and met up with Rob, Kristie, Kat. WE stopped at an LB and then hit up Little Saigon for some fine dining, which took a fair amount of time too long. After a few wrong turns we finally arrived at Laser Quest which was all good I wish I could get out there more often then I do but I live out in the styx so meh. Anyways, first place went to....ME ha ha ha! Rob took 2nd with 7 points less, and Kat in 3rd. We then headed out to the party at kims with Kat guilting Rob all the way about comming and watching her run the marathon It took some convincing but he went out for it. The Party was eventful complete with games, (sociable Jenga, and Dirty minds), Party crashing Minors (who were trying to convinve a lovely gal to remove her shirt). Excellent party and I barely drank more than a few ounces of anything (getting drunk wasn't on my to do list). I met my dream girl (who of course has a bf) blond hair, brown eyes, and incredibly intelligent! She's in her 4th year of pre-med and she's funny too, despite the fact that she has a bf, she felt inclined to give me her e-mail and phone number before I left, so I'm not sure how much weight the bf thing holds. But I'm not going to get my hopes up especially right at this point in time. After the party I went back to the house and fell asleep watching a movie with Kristie, which brings back lots of memories (she always had a habbit of falling asleep during a movie).

Sunday was a hard moring to face I really didn't want to get up or go anywhere at all. But I had to leave and I stopped out in Balgonie to continue the coffee I had with Mel. On my way out a whole flood of memories came back from a little over a year ago, all the trips I made out there many times before. Then the creepiest thing happenned.....our bloody song came on the radio (Velvet Revolver: Fall to Pieces). The song always came on whenever we saw each other, or when we were on the way to see each other...damn creepy, especially since I havn't heard it in about a year. After a nice chat and coffee I headed back to the Styx. 2 hours later I arrived and my weekend was over....LONG POST but damn it that's what I did this weekend.
J.B.

An infininately better day!

2006-09-06T09:50:00.000-07:00

Ok so I was a little ticked off and depressed yesterday, but today is another story. I just finished teaching my first lesson of a new unit on place value (created by me) and I'm glowing. my teacher gave me tons of positive feedback and said she had never approached it that way before and was overall fairly impressed. I also taught a phys ed. lesson at the end of the day yesterday and it went very well. I have been given duties by my teacher and then left alone (like a sub) to teach them so it shows they have some faith in me. My health is also strong so I dont think I'll be taking a leave anytime soon.

Gotta run
Demon

Letter to Carlyle Observer

2006-09-05T11:43:00.000-07:00

Dear Carlyle and area I would like to thank-you for the nice warm welcome your communities have given me. I moved here from Regina and I must say you are all doing your best to make me feel like I'm in the city again. For instance my car has been vandalized twice since moving here 4 months ago! That's more than it ever got vandalized in Regina! So again I applaud the welcome wagon. Yes I found my car in a ditch this morning clearly pushed from it's parking spot, as well as, a poorly covered up bunch of verticle scratches on one of it's sides (covered up with mud, the only mud on the entire car).

So my message to the vandals who pulled off these stunts, Karma is a bitch and she WILL catch up with you!!

Demon

STD's, Condom Use, and Pregnancy part 1

2006-08-22T10:05:00.000-07:00

Ok so on the weekend I was having a chat with my friends and we got on the topic of STD's and they were throwing around the old stereotpes (which is fine) but I quickly realized that some of them really didn't know what some of them were and probably have no idea the prevalence of occurance. I just took a Moral Ed. Class last semester and I have learned alot about sex ed. so I will pass on some of my knowledge.

HPV (humanpapillomavirus) or Genital Warts is present in 80% of all sexually active people. Yes I said 80%. This means that if you've slept with 3 or more people, chances are you've been exposed at some point in your life. It is the most common STD to catch, but here's the catch; condoms will not prevent it easily. It is a skin to skin contact contraction so since more than just the penis has contact with the skin, it is possible to spread even with "protection". The best way of preventing it's spread is for the male to wear their boxers and a condom to limit skin to skin contact. This method is of course not fool proof but it helps.

People can carry and spread the virus even though they show no symptoms or visible warts. Some people will never have a problem with HPV for their whole life even though they carry it.
There are 100 different types of HPV some are worse than others. Some are linked to cervixial cancer, but many are just a nuisance.

HPV will clear up on it's own because our immune systems are pretty amazing things. Eventually your body will develop an anit-body and kill the virus off, and you'll be immune to that strain.

There is a vaccine being developed for a few of the cancer causing strains, as well as, some non-cancerous strains it should be released in 2006/2007.
As far as STDs go this isn't the worst you could have even though it's most common.

HSV1-2 (Herpes Simlex Virus types 1 (cold sores) type 2 (genital sores)
Not the most pleasent of STDs to have. The sores sting and look awful when flaring up. Again some people can live with Herpes for years without any signs of infection and then have a sudden flare up. A person with no signs of infection can spread HSV to another person. Again like HPV condoms are pretty much useless at preventing the disease.

It's estimated that about 30% of sexually active adults have one type of Herpes or the other.
Herpes is treatable with drugs like Valtrex with lower flare-ups.

That's all for now
More to come later
peace and be safe out there

An End, and a New Beginning

2006-08-15T16:21:00.000-07:00

Ok it's been a month since I blogged but there have been some crazy things going on in my life thus far. The biggest thing is the break-up between me and Rhonda. This was the person I was going to resolve my life to, she was going to be my last gf ever. I fell hard for this girl and I did love her. So where did everything go wrong? I think it all started when we moved in together. I've never lived with a gf before let alone a gf with a kid. It took some getting used to but we were on a good track. I think though looking back...we should have waited and taken smaller steps. We basically went from being a long distance relationship where I might see her for a night or 2 per week to being all Rhonda and Tai, all the time. I missed my friends, and when they came down the few times to visit, shit was weird. None of the the houses we lived in were home either. Although the second house was promising for the first month we were there when her dad stayed with us. When Gord left, he left us high and dry, no vehicles, and no extra support. I really liked Rhonda's dad, he was someone I could talk about "guy" stuff with.
When he left, meals were rarely served at the table anymore...and well I'll be honest supper time has always been family time to me. "Grazing" as R puts it just doesn't do it for me, and it also take away the control you have over your childs diet. I wasnt' getting consistency on her part especially if she was tired from work and didn't want to deal with Tai. I was also getting tired of being in the dog house whenever I wanted to visit my freinds or co-workers. R has been so jealous of my close-tight friends and family too. We also had an arguement that really made me see her immature side and I really lost alot of respect for her and didn't see her the same anymore. I urge to flee, came sudden. When I returned, I went to talk with her and get everything out about our relationship. Which we did and I really wanted to take the girl back....but then Tai-shows up at close to 10:00pm at night, after riding her bike unsupervised. It was pitch black out by that time and a 6 year old has no business being out that late without a parent....and that was the kicker. I don't want this person raising my children and that is the bottom line. This isnt' something that can be worked on very easily and it requires her to help me out...I want consistancy for a child but I wasnt' getting that on her end. She's not the worst mother in the world so don't think that anything that I'm saying points to that. But we have different views on parenting, and what it means to be family.

so I left.

I'm sad...because everything was going so well....I had stability, and could have had a family. But I think she was lacking some key qualities that I need in a life partner.

It would have been so easy to go back to her. It's always easy to fall back on the comfortable. But when would all these issues raise their ugly heads again? It was like every 3 months with Kristie and then slowly they worked their way down to 3 weeks and then 3 days....(but I dont' want to compare apples and oranges). Shawna gave me the best piece of advice and said not to give into guilt or those tough sad emotions because they will betray you. After you make-up and get into a new honeymoon period, how long till that fades and the next cycle begins.

I stopped the cycle...but I'm still sad, and don't get me wrong I miss her deeply I loved her for a year of my life. She has many endearing qualities.

If you go out to the woods today.....

2006-07-19T21:10:00.000-07:00

Watch out for BEARS. Yes you heard me gentel readers BEARS!!! Spotted outside my parents cabin at White Bear Lake. Yes a mother bear and her 2 cubs were going through my neighbours garbage, (which pissed me off because they got there before me). Unfortunately they didn't manage to get any pictures but they were black bears. Before long there were people on quads chasing them away. It's quite the development but lets face it, they are clear cutting trees out at Kenosee so where are the Bears going to go? Our backyards of course. Did you know there used to be a prairie grizzly that used to roam until the last one was shot in 1886? Crazy. In other news I finished a book called "Prairie History" so now I know everything that happenned around here in the last 400 years. I read this book exclusively at Cannington while I was "working". I've started a new book "The Paliser Expedition" and I'm already halfway through it. The book is about John Paliser who explored the western interior in 1857-9. It been a pretty interesting book so far.
In other news, my girlfriend has come back from Ness Creek "all nessed up".

Anyways that's all from my corner of the province and internet
Peace
And watch out for bears

Depressed....

2006-07-05T21:41:00.000-07:00

So yeah here's the lowdown on my week.
There are some positive but damn it's hard to be today.
So gentle readers where do I start? Well first off as your may have previously read, my car has crapped out on me. There is an engine for it and it's supposed to be comming to me. Rhonda's dad knows this guy, it's his boss. He's also supposed to help me install it. But. Rhonda's dad is quitting.
This means it may not get done. But tha's not all it also means he's leaving here and probably never returning. Which sucks ass because I like that he's around.

My mom keeps getting screwed-over by mechanics in Weyburn, I think people have been charging her for doing work and they actually havn't been doing.
If anyone knows anything about ABS breaks fucking up a transmission then please comment and give me your e-mail.

I miss my friends, I feel cut off out here without a phone I can use for any lenth of time.

On the plus side, With Rhonda's dad gone, we'll have a bedroom open for guests.
I guess we'll have to fend for ourselves now (ha ha).
j.b.

Frustration on a national scale

2006-07-03T22:54:00.000-07:00

It's interesting to watch tv ( I only get 2 channels CTV and CBC), and I watch alot of news.
It has become aparent that the US will never leave Iraq ever. There are plans to build permanent military bases there. Why? Because you need to keep the oil, to drive the military machine that is the U.S. To preserve a way of consumerism and introduce products to more people so that they can buy and make other people super rich. Without oil, you can't run a military. Without oil you can't dominate the planet with your totatlitarian regime.

So lets just take a quick look at the situation of the U.S. right now. Ok the parts to build a B-52 bomber are produced in every single state. Why? National security? In a manor of speaking. Because it means that every state employs people to build weapons. It doesn't matter how Liberal of a person you are, if you build weapons to support your family you WILL vote to keep you job.

War for Profit. This was once a term used in Sid Meier's 'Pirates!' but is now big business. If you are an arms dealer war is your business and in order to make money, people have to die.

So you install a government that is collecting kick-backs or were at one point linked to a defence contractor in order to give your business a "boost".

Dick Cheney and Halliburton for instance is a prime example.

I alos find it "funny" that a friend of the U.S. for almost 30 years went by the name Saddam Hussein. In fact he was given weapons by the U.S. during the Regan administration. Donald Rummsfeld personally delivered them.

So where do the Troops fall in? Well they are basically your average good-hearted American who are just trying to get ahead in life. They were promised skills to succeed in life, to learn a trade and to be given money for college, at the expense that they might be killed and lose it all. If you're a gambling persona then go for it I say, or if you already have nothing to lose, which would suggest you're poor and clearly your country could do without you (seeing as how Congress has voted against raising the $5.15/hour minimum wage where it's been for 9 years).

Yes, so war is the grand solution to the problems of the rich people in the US. It makes them money, and gets rid of all the poor people cluttering up the streets not buying anything.

So when someone asks me if I support our troops I say "damn rights I do, god save them"

Makes me bloody sick to my stomach to think of all this going on and I'm powerless to do anything but bark about it from my dark little corner of the internet.

Peace
J.B.

Legalize it!

2006-06-28T07:15:00.000-07:00

Well you can criticize my political ideas all you want but lets look at a simple chart to see what might happen if we legalized all drugs and started up a drug licensing program like I suggested back in February.

Legalize Cocaine = a broken economy in countries like Columbia, Venezuala, Bolivia. But it would mean that the US couldn't meddle with them at their will or does it? There's oil in Venezuala isnt' there? and the abasador already said the leader should be assassinated on public television.

Legalize Heroin/Morphine = a broken economy in Afghanistan where we are fighting a war that will probably never end...

Legalize Crystal Meth = natural selection of species it's the bottom of the fucking foodchain right here. Not to mention that a government controlled lab facility would probably be alot safer than a lab moving in next door to you or into an apartment building where there could be innocent children.

Legalize Pot = Problems with grow-ops will dissapear overnight. Farmers will get another crop to plant in the spring. Reports of domestic violence will go down.

Just some things I thought people should consider.

The south prevails!!

2006-06-21T17:45:00.000-07:00

Hey all I just wanted to salute the Confederacy on their victory. Yes sir Evangalistic southern conservative values have overtaken the United States and it is spewing over into Canada (just look at the federal election last Jan). 90% of the black/hispanic people in the states are living below the poverty line and are slaves to the government (or big corporations). Thousands of black voters were disinfranchized in the 2000 election so lets face it they arn't included in the democratic process so they really ARE second class citizens. Science is taking a back seat to religion and God's 'warriors' are taking over and bombing abortion clinics. To this I reply: GOD HAS A BIG ENOUGH BUDGET HE DOESN'T NEED PEOPLE TO FIGHT HIS BATTLES.
Fly on confed flag and fly true

Ever wanted to know what happens....

2006-06-20T08:37:00.000-07:00

when you combine diet coke with Mentos?

go here http://eepybird.com/dcm1.html

Back On-Line

2006-06-15T23:29:00.000-07:00

Hey all,

I've just got internet re-connected in our new place and I have some developments to share. First My Suzuki is giong through some technical difficulties, probably is going to need a new engine. I'm torn as to what I should do with it. Buy a used engine, have the current one rebuilt, or sell the body and buy Rob's Topaz for $300. The hot tub is still leaking but not as bad so I'm going to have to re-repair what I worked on and then hopefully it'll stay fixed. it's been about a month now since I've been able to use it and I'm damn frustrated with that.

That's all for now.
J.B.

For Saskboy:

2006-06-01T20:49:00.000-07:00

Echo's or the new Toyota Yaris are phemonenal on fuel. If you are looking for great gas mileage you won't be disappointed. It's about 51MPG. July 22 is our special event day at Cannington Manor so I will have to work but it would be nice to meet all the bloggers from Sask.
J.B.

More Tales from Cannington Manor

2006-06-01T20:26:00.000-07:00

So these past few days have seen me working with school programs which so far have been all day programs. 9:30-3:30 They start with Criket, then peel and cut vegetables for Cannington stew. Then they have lunch, go on a tour of the village, eat their stew and leave. One of the real challenges is keeping the kids busy so I tend to knock down the wood pile and blame it on the raccoons. Speaking of which I saw one on the road today running along the grid. I've certainly been brought closer to wildlife lately, as well as, farming life. Yesterday I got to help heard cattle for the Cudlows. They were moving the herd down the grid by Cannington when I was leaving for the day so their truck was on one side of the road and my Swift was on the other and they had quads in the ditch pushing them along. It was a mess of mooing, and horn honking but I had nowhere in particular to be so I didn't mind giving them a hand.

Yes I have started driving my Swift to work now after some serious thought. Rhonda's car is good on gas but it's just too light, it's tires are too small, and it's gear ratio's are too far apart. My Swift however is nearly perfect for these roads and lets face it, with a few mods it could be a rally car, which is something an Echo doesn't have a chance at being because it's too high off the ground.

More news: R's buying a house. It's far bigger than this one and doesn't leak. The house we're in sucks soooooooooo bad. For those of you who came down at May long you already know there's not enough room to keep anyone over or entertain in the living room. The roof leaks when it rains and the roof is metal so it's impossible to fix. The floor in the bathroom is rotten and the floor joyces were cut too small and the whole floor is slowly sinking. There arn't any screens on the windows. There's no fence or privacy in the back yard not great for hot tubbing or playing Croquet. Our landlord isn't happy we're leaving he even offered to sell us this house for $20Gs but i wouldn't pay more than $17G for it. The neighbourhood is sketchy too (well for Carlyle anyways). Our neighbours lawn is knee high and they have a dog tied up in the back yard that doesn't go anywhere, and we never see them because they never open curtains even during the day (I know who they are thought). Their front yard is littered with old appliances and BBQs and some are overgrown with vegetation.

So yeah we're moving up in the world and I like Crikket
Peace
J.B.

Echo's don't off-road well

2006-05-24T17:57:00.000-07:00

So I'm comming home from Cannington today and I decided to take the 603 Grid to Manor rather than drive through the Rez because there's more pavement out that way (2km more). It has been Raining since 3 in the morning and I thought it was a better idea. so about 6 KM down the road there's a huge patch of quicksand basically. I coulnd't see it until about 3 seconds before I hit it. Down sinks the Echo at 80 KM/hour. Still moving though because rule #1 of driving in muck...NEVER TOUCH THE BRAKE. The ass end of the car starts to slip and veers right while the front end starts to slip left. I still have my foot on the gas because you have to keep the tires moving or else again, sink. I gave the wheel a light crank to the right and started to pull out of my jack-knife. I was bracing for the impact with the ditch (and probably a roll) when it pulled out and back on the road. Mud was flying up all over the cab, and I still had a fair stretch to go before I was out of trouble. I was able to keep the front wheels relativiely straight for the remainder of the mud patch but the ass end still slid around and I wabbled around back and fourth in the cab until I finally hit some solid ground. Needless to say I almost lost the car and it's covered in mud, but I arrived in one peice.

Tomorrow I'm going to jump it over a gorge.
J.B.

Big Dreams Big Failiure

2006-05-19T08:40:00.000-07:00

I'm starting to feel the theme of Cannington Manor in my own life now. The main theme being big dreams and big failiure. I won't be able to make canoe trip this year so that disappoints me, but I think the biggest disappointment is my hot tub already has a leak in it. I guess I got what I paid for eh? So needless to say I'm pretty pissed off, because I have $1350 paperweight in my back yard unless I can figure out how to fix it. The leak is fairly slow but I'm not sure how to go about finding it unless I pull the liner off and I'm not sure I can do that if there's water in the tub. Anywhoo, I better get back at it

Later
J

Tales from Cannington Manor

2006-05-17T19:33:00.000-07:00

Monday-cleaned Cannington, all of it. Every building that's out there, (except the blacksmith shop). The Maltby House at the end of Cannington is possibly haunted, apparently one of the workers last year felt a hand on their neck while playing the piano and a few others felt something "strange" when they were there I myself feel as though I'm being watched in that house.

Tuesday- taking inventory and setup. I basically worked in the carpentry shop all day, and was about the best place to be temperature and shelter-wise. So far it's my favourite place to be in the whole village. I also found out that we can use the shop to make stuff. We're allowed to start and run our own projects (blacksmithing excluded). I was soooooo pissed off when I was told I couldn't blacksmith! Of all the shit that I wanted to learn was how to do that kind of work, but I guess you can't leave a fire burning unattended.

Wednesday-Watched movies all morning about Canningtion, Remittance Men, Motherwell, and Pioneer Quest. Then went out to Cannington to get a thourough history lesson from my boss. I also tried on some costumes.

Shit I've learned this week:
-Just like our idea to start a planned community the people at Cannington had the same idea to build a utopian society.
-They call it "Moose Mountain" for a reason I have seen 2 Moose already on my way to work.
-I have to drive about half an hour from Carlyle to get to Cannington on gravel dusty roads but the traffic isn't bad. I had a bloody scary moment today when I drove past a semi on the grid road and I went completely blind from the dust! I could'nt see out the windshield for a few seconds, but it was enough to get the heart pounding. Rhonda's car wasnt' exactly built to handle gravel. It's way too light and it fishtails around 110kph. I imagine it's better than my car what with no struts and all.

Other shit:
My parents have been out here all week and it's been nice we've gone over for supper and stuff a few times. Tai has cavities in all her teeth and needs to have them fixed soon. Rhonda is coaching soccer and is already frustrated with all the "soccer moms and dads" Jesus Christ the kids are 5 -6 years old just let them have fun and chase the bloody ball.
I've tried to get ahold of Dan Duthie but I think his phone number has changed. I think I might have saw him riding a bike this morning on my way to work. It was a guy with red hair, and a bandanna, it kinda fits the description.

Anyways that's all from the Moose Mountains.
peace J.B.

Chillin in Carlyle

2006-05-09T11:22:00.000-07:00

It's been a great few days out here. Fairly relaxing. I spent yesterday playing pirates and eventually finishing the game I started a few days ago. I've been catching up on all the Dead Like Me episodes I havn't seen yet. I've also had time to chill in the hot tub in the back yard. It's pretty crazy here compared to Regina or Weyburn even. You don't hear much at night here. The odd car passing on the highway, but mostly the crickets, which chirp in odd rhythms and patters. You can hear the Mallards in the ditance, Bats flitting around, the odd dog barking. I havn't actually lived in a town this small before, so it's a bit of a surprize. The moon is bright behind the trees and it's quite dark, not alot of streetlights. I also recently found out we have a picnic table.

Anyways, I will grace y'all with some pics of Carlyle town later on.

Peace

Training

2006-05-02T16:41:00.000-07:00

Ok this is 2 posts because I barely had time to breathe let alone blog.

So May 1st 2006 started with me getting to the university at about 9:40am my boss had told me to be there by 10:00. So I waited.....and waited.....and then another girl showed up she was told the same thing by my boss. We chit-chatted, grabbed some coffee and eventually by about 11am some people started showing up. They gave us a package of info, and rooms in the North tower of the new university residences (which are very nice). We proceeded to have some long but interesting presentations with lots of pictures from all the parks and a historical overview of Sask Parks. The session wrapped up at about 2:30 and then we went outside for a walk around the bird sanctuary which was F***ING cold and windy. Of course I dont' have my winter coat it's in Carlyle town. I was ok though. I was getting through it. The ticks were out in full force. One guy tucked his pant legs into his socks, another girl had 6 of them on her, but I seemed to luck out.

The time was about 5:00pm by the time we got to the Wascana Tourist center for supper and a celebration (it's Sask Environment's 75th b-day this year) and yes we sang happy birthday to sask environment parks and recreation....happy birthday to you. We had beef on a bun and coleslaw, and chocolate and white cakes, which were delish. Then we had to go sit around a camp fire, down by the lake.. Oh yes did I mention it was cold, rainy and a lake is possibly the windiest place in the world to be? I had a short sleved shirt, long sleeved shirt and my fleece, but I also grabbed a few pop bottles and filled them with HOT water. They were my saving grace for the first hour while we watched 2 presentations but I was bloody well freezing by the end, and I had to pee REALLY bad. The day finally ended at 9 PM after having sat outside in the bitter cold for 2 hours.

Damn I will have to finish thes later, time to eat

On the Move

2006-04-25T11:50:00.000-07:00

Wow what a weekend! Moving sucks but it's always a good time for reflection. When you toss out all the junk you've accumulated and think about when the next time you'll need it. That's how it always works isn't it? The second you throw something out you need it. I guess that's how people turn into pack rats.

A thousand thanks to Stevie D. for his services on Monday. I coulnd't have moved that fast, and convieniently with anyone else. Yes he even moved a hot tub for me! Unfortunately I left all my bloody chemicals in Regina, oh well I'll pick them up another day. It took us a good part of a few hours to move out of the room I was in at Krisite and Robs, but less than half an hour to move into Carlyle, (not having to go up 3 flights of stairs and accross a parking lot makes a huge difference.

I also got to surprize the hell out of R. because she certainly wasn't expecting me till later in the week, if at all.

So for all my gentle readers, I just thought I would extend my back-yard for your camping pleasure. We are living in a corner lot and have a Massive and fairly level back-yard right close to Kenosee and White Bear. It's wide open for visitors so please feel free to come out.

Peace
Jeff

Is this the alternative we're looking for?

2006-04-20T00:37:00.000-07:00

Yet another point for organic farmers.

Loose ends

2006-04-16T14:55:00.000-07:00

This semester seems to really have been a time of pulling everything together. It truely is the end of an era for me because it has been 6 years since I started a serious career path. It's funny how things seem to be comming together and other issues are resolving themselves.

It's been 6 years since I bagna my interest in hot tub. I researched them and studied them, hell I even built a few. Now I'm actually about to buy, own, and hopefully run a business with them. It's been a dream I've had for so long and it's finally happenning. I tested the tub out yesterday for the first time. I couldn't find anyone in Regina to help me either and it ended up comming down to a last resort. The tub was amazing, it even has a surface skimmer! There are 6 jets and they are easily interchangable and customizable. I'm even working on a plan to add a gas heater to the tub.

The last reort I spoke of is an old flame who still carries a torch for me. My torch for her went out long ago, which can make it dificult to be around her. I want a friend no more, she wants more but will settle on being a friend. Anyways it was another loose end I had to tie up. I dont' know how many times I had to tell her that the only torch I carry now is for my current gf R. When I started spouting off wedding plans I could tell she was starting to get the picture and it all came back to why? She wanted to know why everything changed and why I'm so willing to get married now when a year ago I was against it. All I can say is maybe I grew-up.

Everything happens for a reason. If I had never dated Mel, I can honestly say I might not have dated R. It was my expereince with Mel that made me more accepting of dating a single mom. Dating a single mom isn't always a bed of roses there are certain things you have to get used to, and you lose certain freedoms. However, you do gain some new freedoms that you never expected either.

So where does that leave Mel? During my short time with her I think I helped open her eyes to new approaches to parenting. I also motivated her to finally do something with her life (she's pursueing an education now).

I had a huge interesting conversation with Rob at 2 in the morning, just after Mel left my place. It was great, he informed me about "the Naked Arciologist" and how Jesus may have just been a student of the messiah, and Jean de Batiste might have been the true messiah. I think some of those deep conversations hit me more as I went to bed and really reflected on the past few years. I've also been meaning to hang out with Rob for sometime but school keeps getting in the way, so this was another loose end.

On a broader scale, I've been running into people I know EVERYWHERE! I've been stumbling into old friends and relations on a continuous basis up here. It's like I'm having one final conversation with them in person before we all go out into the black.

Wow aren't blogs theraputic LOL!

peace JB

Robert McMullen is the funniest guy I know!!!

2006-04-13T02:17:00.000-07:00

there is something about rob that just kicks ass! he's damn good at being funny! I mean he told me about this awesome picture he drew in high school. but a bunch of teachers dumped on what he was doing so then he created one of the funniest concepts ever. Using Jesus to sell nails! The tagline was "Christ, those are good nails!" It's kind of offencive but meh you have to be able to laugh at your god once in awhile because he's got to have a sense of humor! No if's ands or buts about it.

At anyrate I hope I never stunt my student's creativity either. If it wasn't for shittty teachers sometimes you wouldn't have greats! Rob never would have made that joke if he would hav been more encouraged out of spite. Interesting shit, but damn it made me laugh.

J B.

A Sad Farewell...

2006-04-07T01:06:00.000-07:00

Ok so tonight I said good-bye to a one of a kind unique prof. Helen Christieansen, who taught me ELNG 326 (Teaching as a second language) , taught her very last class that she's ever going to teach tonight, she is retireing. I can say that I truely felt 'taught' by her. She started univeristy in 1959 and never really stopped. So she gave us some nice words of encouragement and we said our good-byes. Any ways I ran into Katie, W. tonight and wow it was so crazy talking to someone about the good ol' days of living in Weyburn. The conversations really made me think back to when I was 5 years old and hanging around Souris Valley with my dad. Back then they used to produce their own electircity (until 1993). I remember how many cars were around the power house, and the steam pouring out of the stacks...the grounds were beautifully groundscaped. We just stopped to drop my grandfather off lunch. It was also part of history...Anyways...I'm sleeping in tomorrow because I deserve it!!! Rhond, don't know if you'll read this or not but Goddamn I miss you lots!! can't wait to see you again!!!

I can see the light

2006-04-04T22:29:00.000-07:00

8 more days left till classes are over and counting...I think I have a job comming to me as well.
I'm moving in with R at the end of the month and I'm pretty pumped about it!! It seems like everything is falling into place.

Just 4 more projects left to go I'll keep y'all posted

Night and day

2006-03-22T13:52:00.000-08:00

I know I wrote a harsh post yesterday but it was mostly for therapy.

The story I leave out is all the fun we had on Saturday and Sunday!!
I went over to her place in the afternoon, before she had her meeting, and we patched things up.
I really missed the REAL Rhonda and wanted to see her. We made some plans to get together after her meeting. I went home and did homework until she called. Steve, Matt, and Kim showed up as well. Sunday was good times, we got up and went for breakfast, and candy (mmmm...banana icecream!) and I stupidly forgot my wallet so Rhonda had to be my sugar momma! We also went shopping at london drugs and chatted a bit about why we should get married (for all the wrong reasons LOL).

But eventually Rhonda had to go back to her hellish job in Carlyle and I said my sad good-byes
Chances are I won't see her for a few weeks (damn school).

The Joys of a neurotic PMSing gf

2006-03-21T14:03:00.000-08:00

Birth Control, a beautiful thing for about 28days a month. I find it interesting that the menstral cycle coincides with the lunar cycle. Basically my gf turns into a werewolf for a 3-4 days a month (just like the full moon). Maybe I'll investigate this further when I have less school and more time.

Anyways friday night I was expecting it to be good times
-R was comming up
-party's were planned
-ST. Patty's day mean green beer

But shit never goes according to plan:
The first thing to happen is a R fucking up at work and being stressed from that (on-top of the pre-mentionned cyclical condition). Ok well I know the remedy for this...green beer.
But Rhonda only wanted to go to O'Hannlons (an Irish pub) for a green Alexander Keiths.
We originally made plans to go, but I wasn't sure when she was going to get to the city for them to actually happen. I also made plans with a few other people to join us.
The fact of the matter is it was 9 pm before R had her daughter dropped off somewheres and lets face it an Irish Pub, in a big city on Friday Night, and ST. Paddy's day...what are the chances of getting through the door after 9pm, let alone trying to get a cab (2 hour wait) or a parking spot. I heard from friends that it was packed by 4 in the afternoon and lined up down the street. It was not about to spend 2 hours out in the BLOODY COLD for a green beer I can get anywhere else.

Who can I explain rationally to an irrational person that it is an imposibility to get into this establishment. I'm serious when I say I've had an easier time explaining math concepts to 4 year olds.

My alternative was to go to Triffons Pizza near my apartment. We could still get green beer, there would be plenty of parking since most people would be out at major pubs like McNally's, O'Hannlon's, Bushwakers, Barts, and pretty much anywhere but a small restaurant lounge. I understand it's not the same atmosphere, but a green beer is a green
and guess what? THEY SELL KEITHS at Triff's!!

She wasn't interested in a beer anywhere's else, too bad, because I still had plans with other people to go. She was welcome to join or go fulfill her dreams of drinking a green Keith's at O'Hannlons but I was going for my green Keith's at Triff's. So I went with K, my roomate and we ordered a pitcher and waited for other people who decided not to show up. We had to drink the pitcher ourselves. Needless to say I couldn't drive afterwards...not because I coulnd't...but its St.Paddy's day and cops are out in full force. By this point it was 11 PM and R was tired and I figured if I call a cab and try to get there, it'll be a 2 hour wait. Not to mention she'll be asleep by the time I get there. She sleeps like a ROCK so she probably won't know I've even been there till she wakes up. SO I said "FUCK IT".

Drugs (in particular birth control) effects every woman differently...I know this because of all the different shit I've witnessed over the years. I've never dealt with this level of irrationality before and I've worked in a pre-school!

I chilled with Krisite and Rob for a bit and then went to bed by 12:30 because I was tired from a week of hellish work, and boring classes.

Whatever, I love her so I persevere, but I wonder what demon awaits me next month?

An Odd night...

2006-03-03T00:33:00.000-08:00

Ok so it's now 2:33 in the Am on March the 3rd 2006. I have just gotten drunk with a university buddy of mine and it was good times. Anyways it doesn't happen very often but he's a good guy and tonight we were talking about our futures when the topic of our Gf's came up. And we both have gf's which is pretty cool because I mean he used to be total player most of the time and I'm not, so it's neat that we have gf's at the same time. I talked aobut how me and R met and why we're so Perfect for each other and he told me how he and Vanessa (his GF) met. It was neat to finally hear his story and I have met her a few times seems like a cool chick to me. She invited me out tonight but I didn't want to go (I'm hoping to make it to Rhonda's tomorrow afternoon and I really can't be out late I do have shit to do.....well let's just say tha possibility exists...but gorramm!! This has been a busy week. Wow my LAST semester in university I'll never experience this ever again (unless I go back and what is the liklihood of that I praytell??) I have to enjoy what I have left. At the same time am I ever happy to be moving in with Rhonda in April. This is awesome I finally have a life-partner someone I love and can spend the rest of my life with. I don't know thick and thin I can see myself getting on with that gal very well. Jeebus this is turning into such a gush session it's making me giggle. Anyways I took a bunch of pictures from this evening and some include this mentally challanged girl I met tonight (apparently Jason knows her from his Avonlea days) her name is Beth, she was a cute girl but not so keen on social skills but she was good conversation nontheless. Jason and I talked to her from the get-go and after she left we both wondered how many people would give this girl the time of day? I know all too many peole who would "pooh-pooh" this girl. She was cool though, very nice girl....looking for a boyfriend, but wow I wish her the very best and pray to whatever god I might believe in that she finds a decent guy because she deserves one!! She's taking Library Information Technology through SIAST and it's not an easy cousre, but I thought it was cool that I might work with her one day. So anyway people who read this blog should tell me...What is your favorite jam? I think mine is Saskatoon berry Jam....

First Carlyle Blog...(of possibly many)

2006-02-21T11:00:00.000-08:00

So here it is my first blog from the town of Carlyle. I really do miss this corner of the province, I pretty much grew up here. I spent many summers at our cottage in the Resort. For some people that I've talked about the Planned Community idea with I feel that this would be an ideal eco-region to start up something like that. There are farms around here that are almost entirely trees, but also have workable land, an excellent combination of both.

There's a good chance I'll be living here in the summer, and fall. I think I'll be moving in with Rhonda (although I'm still not 100% sure how ready I am for that). My brother is moving out of this area, which isn't helpful either because it was nice having that little extra bit of support. Meh Weyburn isn't far off though.

Nontheless if things continue to go well with R, I expect that we'll be making Carlyle or Kenosee our home for some time.

Anyways, later folks.

It's been too long

2006-02-19T11:31:00.000-08:00

Wow it's been so long since I've blogged I'm sure most of my few readers have dropped off. But oh well such is the life of a procrastinating student LOL. Well actually I've been pretty good this year staying on top but this past week all the teachers wanted their projects in so they could mark them all week so I've been busy busy. This also marks my midpoint in the semester, it's all uphill from here (because most projects are going to be due in the next 2 months). So I have a pile of work to do this week I pray to get most of it finished because it would sure help me out in the long run.

I've also been pretty into video games this weekend. I've played alot of Mechwarrior and Civ 4. I still love Civ 4! I wish I could just get an IV, a bedpan and a really comfy chair I would play a Marathon game and not move for a week.

I also figured out the most vile method of torture in the world. Tie a person up, pry their eyelids open (clockwork orange style). Use an Eyedropper to drip tuna juice (from canned tuna) into their eyes. Then release a starving cat into the room and watch in evil glee as they lick the juice off the victims eye-balls with their sand papery tounge....ooooo...how wicked.

Thought of the day...

2006-02-07T15:26:00.000-08:00

"A watched toaster does not pop"

5 months of fuel pricing

2006-02-06T12:37:00.000-08:00

Since I bought my car in Sept. I have spent a grand total of $310.05 on fuel and have put on a total of 4770Km That works out to about 6.5 cents/km. Fuck I don't know why someone doesn't open up a Taxi company that uses compacts. You could even charge less for the service and still make a profit.

Of course that is only the fuel cost involved. Factor in some of the maintenence items.
Oil changes 4/year @ $70 (using Mobil 1 synthetic). = $280
Coolant Flush/fill $40/year (based on a figure of every 2 years)
Tranmissionfluid change $7/year (based on a price of a manual transmission $40 every 5 years)
Fuel System cleaning $100/year
Air Filter $40/year
Tires wear and tear $30/year (based on a price of $330 over 8 years)
Tune-up (including plugs/wires/timing and whatnot). About $100/year
Carwashes $50/year
Paint $200 (based on an estimate of $2000/10 years)
Engine $ 200 (based on an estimate of $3000/15 years
Battery $20/year (est. life of 5 years)
Alternator $50/year
Clutch $20/year (est life about 10 years)
Suspension $15/year (if replaced with lifetime warranty parts)
Muffler/exhaust $25/year (with lifetime parts)
Other: valves/hoses/caps/gaskets/seals etc $25/year

Extrapolating the fuel cost to be about $1000/year and an estimated 12000km/year
$2202
Total Cost per KM = 18.5 cents/km

A/C parts and an automatic transmission would raise the cost to about 20 cents/KM
Imagine if it was a new car and you had to factor in depreciation as well? You might be looking at almost 25-30 cents/KM

So I should be putting away about $200/month into an account just for car maintenence anything left over would go towards the next car purchase.

A beautiful face

2006-02-05T02:41:00.000-08:00

Don't you agree...

I know I've sure gotten used to looking at it.
I hope it'll be around a little longer.

J

A life changing weekend

2006-02-04T23:59:00.000-08:00

It really has been truely a life changing weekend.

For those of you that know me, I have been interested in hot tubs for about 6 years now and I have finally gathered enough funds, found the perfect deal and gained all the supporters I need to make it happen. I am going to buy a Softsider hot tub (6person).

I got to go see my gf that night with a great big smile on my face and a feeling that all was well. I felt her love last night as we cuddled on the couch we just couldn't seem to get close enough. I had to be up early the next day because my parents were comming to Regina (on a whim). They're early risers (meeting them at 9am) and I am not (I have basically all night classes).

I had a great day with my parents and I have missed them so much! My dad RARELY comes to the city ever so it was definately a treat to see him. When I met them my itinerary was this:
Chapters: meeting point and tea

Wal-mart:to buy a cheap computer for mom

Mr.Lube: lots of work done to the van (saved us ooodles of $$$ though)

Aware House Book store:mom needed some reading material

Don's Photo: Pick up developed film for my bro

McNally's Tavern: Lunch and a pint (a jam session was taking place buncha people playing some sweet Irish folk musice fiddles and guitars...simple amazing)

Wet and Wild Hot Tubs: to show my parents the new purchase and arrange for shipping

London Drugs: where we found a better computer than the wal-mart model

Wal-Mart (east): return crappy computer

Rhonda's: to drop off film to be returned to my bro

Chapters to pick up my car

All-in-All 8 hours (9-5) it was a busy day

But all was not well today: Rhonda had been very depresed since this morning. She misses me...at least that's what she says. There's definately something wrong underneath it all. She didn't want to touch me or hug me good-bye even though I won't see her for awhile. So something is definately up. Why the sudden down swing though? Last night all was well?
I guess maybe I just don't understand women at all.

I just happened to be reading her blog...and by the sounds of it I can expect to be single in the next few days you can check for yourself by heading to Rhonda's page or you can read the highlight I have cut from it:

Quoting Rhonda: "I can see what I can't do now, which is maintain a relationship. I want to be fiddle numero uno... which isn't fair to any man. My family and friends have dwindled even when I try to nurture them..."

What can I say I'm pretty broken up over this development After all I have pretty much based a large portion of my life and future on our relationship such as:

-interning in Carlyle to be closer to her
-including her in the canoe trip
-planning to move in together
-being able to settle down a little and start a home and family
-knowing that I've found the person I want to spend my life with

What can I say I guess she's dissatisfied with being second fiddle to school (even though it's only a few more months till I'm done in Regina).
When is it time to leave a relationship:
bottom line: when your needs aren't being met

I guess I can't provide the close-ness and being-thereness. So my bird is going to fly. Flushing my current life plan into the sewers.

I dont' know the reality still hasn't set in yet. It probably wont' till I change my internship placement not sure where to go exactly...maybe I'll go there anyways. My bro lives out there and I DO have a cabin to live at.

Whatever, at any rate I love that girl and she will be missed dearly. I truely did give her a piece of my soul.

Peace
JB

BLOG WARS Secret weapon and ops

2006-02-02T22:08:00.000-08:00

Ok as some of you know Dave @ CCCP and Pilot from Pilot's World have been at war for some time now. As of late I've been bombing the shit out of Dave...

At any Rate I have a SECRET WEAPON of Blogging destruction which both of you should BOW before mwa ha ha ha ha ha ha (more manical laughter).

So who should I use it on hmmmmm....? Do I hold strong to my values and wipe dave off the face of the blogging earth? Or does he bribe me and I turn my back on pilot's world forever?

The 2 of you will have to prove yourselves for my Alligence. The date is set for Thursday February 9th. That is the day I will rain judgement down upon thee.

Demoncrush has spoken
<>

A message from the Right

2006-02-02T21:00:00.000-08:00

This comment found on my post about "words defined":
John Doe said...: "see what happens when you make it your day job to hate bush..."

http://thinkright1.blogspot.com

It seems my blog has attracted some attention from the "right" side of the political spectrum. This chap's from Ontario. I implore everyone to go check out his blog, Especially Dave of CCCP (you can't get any far left than that).

Words explained...

2006-01-31T11:00:00.000-08:00

Word: Explanation: Used in a Sentence:

Egg: chiken embryo "Whould you like your chicken embryos scrambled?"

Dohnut: deep fried cake: "Could I have a deep fried maple dip cake please?"

Jell-O : Ground up cow hooves: "There's always room for ground up cow hooves!"

Alcohol: Yeast Excretions: "Raspberry yeast poop tastes good!"

Flower: Plant Genetalia: "Hey Baby! Nice Stamen!!!"

Tutor tomorrow

2006-01-29T17:00:00.000-08:00

As my title suggests I will be a tutor in a Regina School tomorrow. I'll be working in a Pre-K class with a few students for a half hour each. Time with them is going to fly!! This is part of my education math class I'll be meeting with these students 2 times a week for the next 3 weeks. Bassically I'll be assessing where exactly they are at and then be working on counting, shapes, patterns, ordering and really basic math skills. What can I say I'm pretty excited (essited as Tai would say). I'm seriously starting to think I would be a better Pre-K or Kindergarten teacher than a higher grade. Granted the kids have more energy but everything is so hands-on and just plain FUN!!

We are supposed to make a game and then leave it for the class to play with. I had the idea for a number bingo game. it would be fairly simple for them to practice number recognition as well it wouldn't be too difficult to make. I was thinking of using a foam board and gluing the numbers on it. They can then use something to cover the numbers. I was thinking poker chips maybe. Of course I could do shape bingo as well (maybe on the back of the cards).

Anyways I better get back to work
any ideas or suggestions I'm more than open to them.

Social Policy Idea: Licensed Drug Use

2006-01-25T08:24:00.000-08:00

Ok some of you may have heard me talk about my idea for a User License regarding drugs and alcohol. If you havn't then please let me enlighten you.

Just like you go through driver training where you learn the rules of the road and then take a test and maybe pass and get your license. I propose the same idea for Drug use.

You can apply for a class 7 and sign up for courses when you reach the age of majority for your province.

People from other countries visiting Canda are exempt from the licensing system.

Drug classification: Just like there are class 1-7 on your drivers license there are classes for users. The more dangerous the substance the higher the class and more training is required. So for example Heroin would be a class 2 drug because A: It's an IV drug B: Super addictive. Crystal Meth would be a class 1 because A: it's Cheap B: dangerous to produce C: Super addictive D: Destroys your brain. Nitrous Oxide would be considered a class 1 because A:Compressed gas B: Moderate Addiction potential C: May cause death if not properly mixed with Oxygen D: Dissosiative anethstetic (you can't move while under it's influence).

So a course for class 2 drug use would emphasize harm reduction...this is what happens to your brain....this is what the side effects are...long term/short term effects...this is what withdrawls look like...this is how you shoot up without missing or getting infected....etc.

Class 3-4 substances would be reserved for psychedelic substances.

A class 7 license is a restricted/learners license. You can purchase class 6 or 5 substances (Cannabis Class 6, Alcohol/Tobbacco Class 5). However you are restricted to small amounts like .5-1 gramof Pot/week. A 6pack of beer or 1 bottle of wine (750ml) or a few small testers of spirits/week. A class 7 is allowed 1 drink at a licensed bar/restaurant per day. For Tobbacco a single pack of regular 20's/day.

In order to obtain your "prescription" it would depend on your classification. A class 5 or 7 substance like alcohol would remain pretty much the same with certain exceptions. You have to show your card and it will be swiped when you place your drink order at a bar or when you arrive at the check-out counter. The card reader is linked to a nation wide server (because people travel from all different provinces) and it informs the server/clerk whether you have met your daily/weekly limit or not. If someone has then their purchase is declined and they will have to wait.

Drugs with higher classifications will be run out of Government run pharmacies (open 24hours). They will have an office where you can seek addiction counselling. There will be a nurse on staff. Needle exchange/disposal and safe injection site. Just like the Class5-7 substances you will need to present your user license to be swiped. There is a limit on the amount that to be purchased in a day/week as well.

The reason for the limits is a way to control the amount that can be given out and to prevent hoarding for black-market sales.

It becomes a Criminal Offence to sell your legally purchased subtances to anyone else, especially a minor or unlicensed individual. A person who purchases a class 2 substance and is caught selling to a minor or unlicensed or over-their limit (police will have limit readers too) will be punished with Mandatory Minimum Jail sentances, fines and a Criminal Record.

Home brewers/growers: Again you need to have the right class of license to purchase grow or brew equipment to produce your own subtances. Up to 100 Gallons of beer/wine per year for personal use. Distilation of spirits is prohibited.

Growers will have restrictions placed on indoor grows for health and safety reasons. There will be no municiple out-door growing of Cannabis (because it's too easy to steal). Limits will be based on medical needs, and safe growing space.

Well tha's it for now. Let tell me what you think (if you read the whole thing).
If you have anything to add feel free to leave a comment or suggestion.
This is by no means the extent of my idea but for brevity I cut it short.

Peace

Tory government in 4 days and counting

2006-01-18T22:22:00.000-08:00

Yeah I've already given up hope...call me a pessimist. My Old best friend messaged me just to say "GO CONSERVATIVES GO". I don't even know what's funnier the fact that either he's too stupid to realize how badly they're going to fuck this country or the mental image I get of Stephen Harper fucking him up the ass while he's screaming it. I don't care I'm still voting for who I believe in and that's Helen Yum the NDP candidate in my riding. I just hope those blue bastards don't get a majority.

But let's focus on some of the more positive aspects of a Conservative government shall we....
1. Lower GST...yeah I could use that...especially if I buy a new car in the next few years.
2. lower income tax...yeah we already pay too much in taxes

That's about it to be honest...there's nothing else that's really going to be a benefit to anyone.
Unless you're already rich, own a business and don't smoke weed but are an avid drinker.

I've also been cut off from R (due to her car wreck) which sucks ass I can't say for certain if I'll get to see her this weekend because school is pretty hecktic and I have some catching up to do.
Oh and I think everyone needs to see this go here: it's a delightful little cartoon that describes how some of us might feel click here

So yeah anyways I gotta go and get some sleep talk to y'all later.
Peace

My Hallway Smells like Urinal Cakes

2006-01-15T19:02:00.000-08:00

But at least it doesn't smell like urine.

In other news: I've given up on my SNES it's all Karma. When Chris (my former roomate) moved to Weyburn to left a bag of Clothes, a clock Radio, and a bunch of Records (good ones too). Easily worth more than the price of a SNES from Ebay, tramps, or any number of pwn shops in this town. Plus Dave is right Emulators are awesome in fact I have a German copy of Sim City a great way to learn a new language lol!

On Saturday, Rhonda and I helped Rob make a short film for a contest. We made food and just tried to keep everything running smooth for him. One of the shitty things that happenned, Rhonda wrecked her car (not her fault) I'm sure she'll be blogging more about it so check her out on Rescue Regina.

I'm getting back into the groove of school so I might not blog as often as I should please bear with me.

Green or Orange I'm still torn!

2006-01-13T10:50:00.000-08:00

Ok I just got back from the debate for my riding. I must say the Green party candidate was far more on the ball than any of the rest of the candidates. The NDP candidate seemed to stumble alot over her words but possibly just nerves. The Conservative Candidate was reading everything off of cards. Ralph Goodale of course couldn't be there so they representative in his place came. She was ok but it's just not the same.

So where do I stand? Well I'm not supporting either of the Red or Blue parties the Reds can't be trusted, and the Blues are crazy, and can't be trusted. I don't like independants so they're out. There's no BQ candidate out here (They are a left wing party and they were one of the first parties to address poverty...Besides it's Friday and Gilles D's looking good in my books *wink*.)
So basically I'm left with Voting Green or NDP.

The Green has a good platform. I agree, environment should be our priority but the changes and statements they make aren't realistic to Canada. Not to mention the changes they propose cannot be done overnight. Like it or not we are part of a global economy.
The NDP have been in the house and I have seen what they are capable of. David Suzuki endorses the NDP which is definately a plus for them.

I guess, what it all boils down to is both parties are pretty descent. A vote for the green is a positive because it shows government that their issues are important to us.
I think I still have to support Layton though because I feel he's earned it.

Back in Reg....

2006-01-12T23:55:00.000-08:00

Fuck...What can I say.

I'm sorry to open the first blog of the new year but wow!

So I moved back to the RGC I'm living in an apartment with one of my best friends and her bf. It's working out GREAT! I'm really happy living here. Granted some crappy shit happenned like my car being towed on my first day costing me a $95. I have my freedom back though and it's sweet I missed it so much in the last 8 months! Classes are ok I like 3/5 which is ok with me. The other 2 are not too bad.

Ok so onto somthing that just happenned to me tonight!!! I found....my Super Nintendo that's been missing since I left Regina. I just happenned to find it at my old neighbour's house building 50, #11 Munroe Place. But...those fuckers won't give it back...not even when I offered them money!!!! And I know it's mine because it has identifying characteristics like the power jack on the back being missing. The games I left with it are the same games that are in their pile.

So how to get it back??? This much I know...they are on the ground floor of my old building. The back door to the building itself is always open.

Thus begins Operation "Get Jeff's SNES back..."

First out-of-province Blog

2005-12-27T21:14:00.000-08:00

So yesterday (boxing day) Rhonda stops by my house at 1:30 in the afternoon and we...drive to Calgary to do some serious shopping. It's good times. Right now we're at the holiday INN Express in the heart of downtown Calgary. Prices for goods are crazy good here. NO PST. Liquor costs are astronomically cheaper here not to mention selection.
Item Alberta Sask
Oban Scotch $69.25 $85.37
Prem Oban $82.39 Not Available
12 Moosehead $19.99 N/A
6 Moosehead $10.49 $15.75
Grey Goose $33.56 $50.53

Not to mention the fine selections of Texas and half mickey's (tiny mickeys 200ml)
A texas Micky of Grey Goose, Grand marnier, meh whatever your taste you'll find it here!

If you're into Ganja, you have bicycle couriers everywhere who are fairly open about their goods. Not that I picked any up.

Anyways I had a good xmas, got some things I needed some I didn't, Kicked ass in my families annual Axis and Allies, and risk games, and I placed 3/5 at poker.

This blog was made possible by my gf's laptop and the highspeed internet offered by this fine hotel.

Peace.

The Importance of Maintaing a vehicle

2005-12-22T13:09:00.000-08:00

I just finished dropping $500 at Mr. Lube today because everying needed to be done to my car.
I just stopped in for an oil change but discovered my coolant was no good, I needed an air filter, PCV valve. It was idling rough too so they gave it a fuel system treatment. The only thing left that they could do for me was Change my gear oil (manual transmission) so I figured might as well go for broke and Git 'er done.

The changes are noticable.
Smoother shifting
Nicer idle
Power up the wazoo!
Fuel economy increase

In some previous posts I said my car uses about 7.6L/100km or 34 MPG. Fuel consumption has decreased to 6.5L/100km or 40 MPG. Not too shabby.

The oil I put in is fully synthetic Mobil 1. It is truly the best.

Are Xmas parties going south!

2005-12-22T00:15:00.000-08:00

Tis the season to talk about staff xmas parties. We all have them (those of us that work a steady job). The Staff Christmas party is supposed to be a time for the management/owners of businesses to show appreciation for their employees. Well I tell you I've never felt more under-appreciated by an employer than at my xmas party last sunday.

First of all, staff had about 6 days heads up.
During the first 4 of those days...we weren't allowed to bring guests.
We were given 3 free drinks/person
Deep fried appetizers (which of course I can't eat), 5 large pizzas and fruit were provided for supper.

The "party" started at 6:00pm I arrived a little late but missed nothing.
There was NO entertainment other than we could choose the radio station to listen to, and there was free pool (which is free all the time anyways).
No gift exchange

The only people I really talked to were Pilot the breakfast cook (who broke up with his gf that day), Katie (the cool lesbian girl from front desk) and Rhonda (my gf). We played a thrilling game of Ker-plunk and I learned how to play 3-hand Cribbage. Around 9:00ish I was off to the bar to get Rhonda a drink when I found out that "Last Call" had already been called. Now I know that as a bartender....you can't just say you've given last call without going to everycustomer (whether they are drinking/loitering) and telling them it's last call. The owner turned red and said "take one quick beer". I still had about 3 drink tickets left which I wasn't going to have the chance to spend (this night anyways ha ha ha).

So there ends the party we drank up and were all kicked out by 9:30PM
I still thanked the owner. I'm sure if he had planned the event would have drank with us all night.

I worked out the costs involved
Pizza = $100
Drinks for about 20 people = $105
Apps = $50 (tops)
Total = $255
Respect left for management = NONE

Teachers are the worst

2005-12-18T02:30:00.000-08:00

An interesting night of work I had this evening. We had a reservation for all the comp school teachers. All I could think was "wow I can't wait till I'm a teacher so I can be a cheap prick". Teachers are the worst. One teacher (Mrs. Cameron) was spouting off about how the Martini mixes were "all wrong...That's not how you make a classic martini." Oh really asshole and which bartender school did you graduate from? I don't go to your classroom and tell you how to teach (although I'm sure I could). I went to university for 2 years surrounded by the same people and wow...some of the most annoying people I've ever met. They're know-it-alls. Does that mean I'm becomming the thing I hate? I'm not sure. Anyways slap me if I turn that way.

After the kitchen closed at 11pm I decided it was time to smoke a bowl. I don't usually do this at work but tonight I felt it was necessary. I built a classic make-shift pipe out of a pop bottle and aluminum foil. I only took one hoot because of time constraints but it was enough. It made the last few hours of work go by much faster!

Around midnightish the Pilot showed up with a bunch of movies in his arms (the movie factory had just shut down for the evening). He bellied-up to the bar and within 2 hours was pretty fucking messed. I left him to finish his beer while I did my cash-up. When I returned there was no Pilot and his untouched drink. I figured he was in the can and went about my buisness finishing up some other work. About 15 mins later still no Pilot. I went in search of my friend and behold there he was on the floor of the bathroom hugging the john. Oh I felt bad for him. How many of us have been in this position before?

Lets just take a little time out to discuss some of the points of drinking to get drunk. (these are observations made over the course of my bartending career and are not based soley on Pilot's experience).
1. always eat something before you drink! I can't stress this enough. Don't overdo it to the point of bursting either because that's just as bad as not eating. Just have a sandwhich or something bready.
2. Pace yourself. Never do more than one shooter/hour because they are usually 1oz pure alcohol slammed back in .5 seconds.
3. Some people shouldn't mix their booze. Some people can enjoy a variety of liquers, hi-balls, beers, coolers in a night. But some people shouldn't.
4. Plan a safe ride home. (maybe this should be number 1). It gets FUCKING COLD outside in winter and you need to be prepared to walk it or have a cab/sober driver lined up.
Interesting side note: In Swift Current, when you order a cab, you can order a driver to take your car home as well.

Anyways, long story short it took Pilot an hour to get mobile (with the help of a bucket) to get him out to my car and on our way home. But It didn't bother me at all no worries!

In my next installment I'll discuss ways to avoid hang-overs most likely because it's my staff party tomorrow.

Peace Y'all

New Years

2005-12-13T02:00:00.000-08:00

So some of us have been rolling some New Years Party ideas around. I have some up with a few plans.

1. The first plan I came up with was a take-over of a small bar or lounge. I don't know I was kind of thinking of Trifon's by the university but that's definately not written in stone.

2. Rhonda has offered her house (in Regina) for a party. Her roomates are taking off so we'd have a house all to ourselves. It's on Toronto Street and easy to get to.

Someone also rolled around the idea of getting a keg for the event. Maybe that could be a possibility. I also had another option. If we all brought some kind of booze/liqeur I could mix some kick-ass cocktails/shooters for everyone. Or maybe an around the world in 80 beers event where everyone brings a different kind of beer for everyone to try.

Just trying to throw some ideas out

December 12, 2005 Almost done work!

2005-12-12T00:42:00.000-08:00

So what can I say It's been over a month since I started back at the INN. I thought I would leave some positive things about that job since there's been so many negative posts. So here they are in no particular order, other than the order I thought them up.
1. It's great when friends stop by (we can usually work out a deal of somekind)
2. Staff discounts on food and drink
3.A fun staff to work with
4. You get to meet all sorts of interesting people.
5. Experimenting with booze (in the mixing sense).
6. Working nights means saving $$$ by not going out.
7. No possible way of getting a sunburn or skin cancer
8. Getting paid tax free $$$ (every day is payday)
9. Always having a story to tell.
10. Knowing that I'm going somewhere in life and not ending up like some of the people I serve.
11. Seeing drunk people everyday makes me want to drink less to get drunk, but more for the social side of it.
12. I have a re-newed appreciation for late-night tv
13. I don't hate/dread going to work ( I just can think of other people I'd rather spend time with, Rhonda for instance).
14. I actually know how long it takes police to get somewhere in the burn (at least 10 minutes from the phone call). So if you can plan your heart attack call 15 mins before so you can pack a hospital bag.
15. It's just like working with children only bigger and stupider

Thanks for reading!

On the evils of Santa...

2005-12-12T00:39:00.000-08:00

Since for some fucked up reason I can't leave a comment on Pilot's World (word recognition my ass!) I will leave it here.

What of this Easter bunny comming into your home and leaving "chocolate eggs" all over the place? There is nothing quite like letting a diseased rodent shit all over your house to celebrate some creative carpentry. And we think worshiping cows is strange.

You never touch the bartender!

2005-11-29T02:24:00.000-08:00

Wow everyone (for those who actually read my blog) must be getting sick of my negativity. To you I appologize. Tonight was an other LOVELY night at the INN, another fight broke out this time between a fe-male patron and a male. This chick was absolutly crazy...nothing would calm her down. She was flinging pool cues, climbing over table to attack a guy. I'll say this now. I'll fight a man ANY DAY over a woman. They are vicious. This chick couldn't be controlled. Hell even after Weyburn's finest showed up, she was still on the war path. You'd think hearing the words: "The police are on the way, if you don't leave you will be arrested" would maybe make people think..."gee I should leave" but no...it never ceases to amaze me...anyways long story short the cops pull these chicks out of the bar. I guess one of them charged a cop outside as well. Anyways...just getting awfully sick of this bloody job. $7.05 an hour isn't enough to be dealing with this crap. Oh well it's off to school soon enough and I can leave the glitz and glamour of the bar behind.

In other news, I'm starting to be able to relate to Marvin from The Hitch Hiker's guide to the Galaxy...

I'm hard pressed to find something good that's happenned lately besides seeing my gf a fair amount in the past few days.

Manamana

2005-11-18T03:56:00.000-08:00

For all you Muppet show fans....

go here:

http://www.zippyvideos.com/162356247488965.html

That's all today folks.

Gush session.

2005-11-17T00:09:00.000-08:00

Ok so now most people are aware that I am dating the coolest girl in the world. Her name is R (for all intents and purposes). A little background on her. She's a gorgeous blond with dread-locks, who has beautiful blue eyes that you can lose yourself in. She has a smile that makes me melt. She's just finished her nursing degree and is taking a job in Carlyle. She has a lovely daughter named T, who is 5 years old and in Kindergarten. I miss R so much, especially now that I'm back to work and don't have the time to run the the RGC to see her as often. I feel like I lost a limb. I don't think I talk about her enough so I decided to dedicate this entire posting to her.

What can I say I coulnd't have found a better person. Kind caring, adventurous, beautiful, good with children, artistic, musical, has a great singing voice...I could go on but I'm sure people get the drift. She's a hippie through and through, someone who cares about the planet and the people on it. Someone who sees a positive future.

Anyways, this blog is for you!
always in my thoughts....

Now we're cooking with.....Wheat???

2005-11-16T22:42:00.000-08:00

An interesting twist of events today I was hauling my 77 NewYorker to my friend's farm today to store it for the spring. A beautiful car I only wish I could drive more often but with gas prices as high as they are, it's just not possible. I estimate that the car would use almost 22L to drive 100KM.

But anyways, I digress... my friend who's being kind enough to store it for me informed me of a Stove that burns wheat. It's more like a fireplace just like the kind that burn those wooden pellets but instead it's grain. What is the price of wheat at? Maybe like $2 a bushel (5 gallon pail) if it's even that expensive. These stoves burn about a bushel of wheat/day to keep the building heated. $2/day X 7 days a week = $14 X 4 weeks/month = about $60/month. Heat is only needed for about 8 months of the year tops (in my part of the world). $60 X 8 = $480/year total heating costs. Some people on Equalization payments might pay $125 a month for Gas to Saskenergy. Or like $350 a month if they arn't. The Savings you would have in 2 years would pay for the stove. Which cost in the area of $3000. Even if you had 2 of them in your house, your fuel costs would would still be 1/3 less than a forced air Natural Gas or Liquid Propane funace.

I can see it now...instead of a guy driving up and down streets filling tanks with heating oil...they fill hoppers with grain. Natural Gas lines are capped. Think about how much safer grain burners would be. No more pipeline explosions.

It makes Conservative sense too...because there would be no need for SaskEnergy anymore so there's one less Crown Corporation for the NDP to throw money into. Taxes would be reduced as well.

Living off-grid would be much easier as well.
For more info, go to: www.noutilitybills.com

Back to the bar...

2005-11-10T04:41:00.000-08:00

So tonight I started back at the bar.

What a shitty night, I belive this was a test of character or something because possibly everything that could go wrong, happenned, including running out of cash for the VLT, and having to empty machines to pay out customers. A shitty thing to have to do at 11pm and all your staff rushed to be done so they could sit and drink for 3.5 hours. A bar full of assholes, and I had to forcibly remove one at about 3 this morning. The guy left me little choice, he started to wreck the bar so...he left unwillingly. I will give credit to D the front desk guy who opened the door for me so I could toss the jerk outside (and he landed pretty hard too).

So why does George Bush Suck in this case. The war on drugs of course. Let's face it everything else is illegal except for booze...which makes people stupid, and agries up the blood. I'll bet you wouldn't have that many problems with someone jacked up on heroin or weed. Could you imagine a pot bar...do you think the cops would ever be called to a 'Cannabar' (if it was legal) .
Maybe if someone didn't pay a tab...or someone was robbing you. So the only legal drug in the U.S. has the potential to make you violent, towards yourself or others, toss in the fact that anyone can own and AK-47, and you have one retarded country. Booze in the states isn't like here. You can buy alcohol ANYWHERE in the states, 7-11 for instance can get you bombed anytime of the day 365 days a year. You can buy all the live ammo you want from a 24 hour Wal-Mart. SO yeah that's a pretty fucked-up volitile situation. Especially when you also throw in extreme poverty, fast-paced living, and crowded cities. Fuck they should be handing out sedatives and pushing for people to smoke weed...but I guess, the earlier statements are sort of an unemployment solution. Keep the people at war with themselves.

Anyways, enough anger fueled rants for this morning I have shit to do tomorrow like go to the doctor.

Peace.

Fuel Efficinetcy follow-up+ CHALLANGE!!

2005-11-07T17:31:00.000-08:00

I just returned from the RGC today, about a 100km journey, or 66 Miles roughly. I decided to measure how much fuel my Swift uses. I found the number to be around 7.57L for 105km it works out to around 34 MPG. The Swift is a 1990 and has a 1.3L 4-cylinder engine and 5-speed manual transmission. Using the same maths, I found that my dad's car, a 1989 Pontiac Firefly with a 1.0L 3-cylinder engine with an automatic transmission, uses 5.25L/105km. I think it works out to something like 45 MPG. Not too shabby. These engines have some miles on them, but my dad's car has been consistant even in 89 it was getting 45-47 tops. I remember the dealer was trying to say that the 3-cylinder Firefly,Sprint,Metros could get 66MPG but I think that is a little far fetched. I had a 1995 Firefly once upon a time and it had a 3-cylinder with a 5 speed and it got about 48-52MPG.

I'm curious to know what the actual fuel economy of a Honda Insight would be. They claim it is around 76MPG which means it would use less than a gallon (or 3.8L) of fuel to drive 100KM.
They are built for economy with the hybrid technology, streamlined drag resistant designs (right down to the skirting over the rear wheels). They are also a 2 seater car (weight reduction). Note: for every 10 lbs. you can take out of your car you increase Horse Power by 1 therefore increasing your economy. Time to take out all that garbage that's been collecting in the hatch...LOL

Here's the challange for you (though it's not overly challanging. It's more about Data collection.
For those of us in the SE corner of this province who make the odd or even frequent trip to the RGC, I propose to you this challange. All you need to do is this:

1. Next time you take a trip around 100KM FILL UP YOUR CAR full of fuel (almost overflowing to keep the data accurate).

2. Drive your car the distance stated 100ish KM. (try to keep your speed between 95-105 if possible).

3. Find the closest gas station you can find and fill up again to almost overflowing.

4. Get a reciept for the fuel for your records

5. Post your Litres used (which will be the amount you filled after the trip) on this website, along with the Make, Model, Year, Engine/tranmission type.

This is for highway driving only.

For the city I plan another experiment. I will fill the car every 100km of city driving for a total of 5 times and average the litres used out. That should give me an approximate ACTUAL fuel usage in the city.

I estimate my car uses gets about 23 MPG in the city (based on my highway performance).

Drive safely and happy motoring:)

This week in Jeff...

2005-11-02T12:52:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since my last post so here's the update.

I have applied for medical leave from the university. Which means I have some time on my hands.
To fill that time I have taken up my favourite job of Bartending. I only wish it paid more because damn I just love doing it. I guess I'll be setting up for banquets too.

The doctors still arn't 100% sure what's wrong with me all they know is I'm not digesting food properly and getting the full benefit of the nutrients.

I've been playing alot of Sid Meiers Pirates...GREAT FUCKING GAME!! Of course I played the it in '87 which kicked as too on my Tandy 1000 HX.

Speaking of pirates....G.W.B. seems to be sweating a little now that his approval rating has dropped through the floor. I guess now more people are thinking he sucks than just me.

The plan thus far

2005-10-16T15:34:00.000-07:00

Well here's the plan so far. I talked to the Dean of Education and I'm going to take a week off to try to get better. I'll be doing some hard planning if I'm up to it this week as well. If I"m not feeling better in a week then I'll be deffering my internship until a later date. Maybe May-June or next fall who knows for sure. This is too important to let slip or try to muddle through.

It has also occurred to me that I havn't actually had "time off" in almost 5 years. I've never had a week where I did nothing. Vacations are always a whirlwind of travel, and partying. As soon as school is over it's off to the next job. As soon as school starts, I'm back in class.
So I guess maybe this is my body's way of telling me it's time to chill...that or I have West /Nile which seems to be on everyones mind.

Oh Happy Birthday to me!!!

Interning a no go...

2005-10-13T13:14:00.000-07:00

Well that's all folks...my health has been crappy since the last week of August, and it hasn't improved. My advisor suggested yesterday that it's time to pull the plug and do the internship at a later date.

For those of you I talked to yesterday about this, the situation seemed worse. I found out some options today.

Option 1: deffer my internship until May-June and work on it then.
Option 2: get re-imbursed and re-start it next fall.
Option 3: Take a week off and hope my health improves while doing some serious planning and return to finish the rest of it this fall (I'm guessing it'll be a prep for the 3-week block).
Option 4: Muddle my way through what I'm doing now.
Option 5: Quit Education and start a new career as a championship weinerdog-sled racer.

I'm leaning towards the first 2. I guess I find that out today which way I go but until them I'm in Employment limbo...halfway between work or school but really somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Meh, it could be worse...I coud have migraines, or no fingers.

It looks like I'll be going back to the Doctor to be poked and prodded, as well as, my Witch Doctor (who incedentally diagnosed me with Mono about 2 weeks before a Physician did).
Homeopathic Doctors might not be for everyone but they worked for me.

In other news I'll be heading to Regina Friday to square some things away with the university and possibly to bowling with the greatest gal in the world (R you rock!!!).

I'm also thinking about going back to the INN for work. Bartending....sigh...if ONLY I could make a career out of that. It's not just a job, but I thoroughly enjoy it.
Speaking of which I ended up being the one on the other side of the bar bearing my soul to the bartender yesterday. You'd be surprized how often people actually do that. I think it should be law that bartenders must posess a Social Work degree or something, although I find waving a gun around could accoplish the same job LOL.

Fuel efficientcy

2005-10-11T17:32:00.000-07:00

For those of you that know me I've always been a promoter of fuel efficient vehicles (with the exception of my 7 7 Newyorker, which I hold onto for sentimental reasons). The fact of the matter is most car companies (especially American ones) really arn't answering the call for cheaper running cars. I mean do they think that gas prices are going to go down? Not bloody likely! Have gas prices ever dropped? In 1998 a litre of gas cost around 58.9 cents/litre. and it is now 2005 and gas costs 107.9 cents. That means gas has risen 7 cents per year on average. The Asian market (particularaly China) has openned up which means 1.3 BILLION people are now allowed to own cars. Demand is NOT going to go down.

So here's what you can do to help reduce demand.
-walk more often (I understand that Canada it is bloody cold, and living in a big city doesn't
always make it easy to to this, but if you can walk it makes
an impact. Think of all the time it takes to warm up a car, drive somewhere, and find a parking spot. Sometimes it is cheaper to just walk to a slightly more expensive store than to drive all the way to Wal-Mart for cheaper prices.

-Public transportation: I'm not a big fan of it, because the buses are big stinky diesel burning engines. The only good point is, they will save you money, that you might otherwise pay into insurance, maintenence, payments, and fuel.

-Hyrid Cars: It seems like every company is thinking about Hybrids, but isn't really doing anything about them; with the exception of Toyota, Honda, and Ford (yes Ford believe it or not).

But hybrid cars are expensive. Almost $5000-10 000 more than a regular car.
Their fuel economy is also greatly exaggerated I would venture to guess. The technology is new and there's no telling how long it'll last.

-Used Cars: for those of us who fall into the "Poor" category a good cheap used car is what the doctor ordered. Geo Metros, and Suzuki Swifts are among the best for reliability and fuel economy. My Swift burns about 7.5L/100Km. My dad's Firefly is about 5.25L/100Km. Which is fairly amazing! These cars can be purchased for very reasonable prices.

Those are just some of the options an average Joe can do on the transportation side of things.
Later I'll talk about home improvement ideas.

Plastic from hemp! Is there anything that plant can't do?

2005-10-06T12:58:00.000-07:00

I recently stubbled across this website www.hemplastic.com

This company has created a plastic product that is not Petroleum based!! It does not pollute the environment, and it is bio-degradable. This company is dedicated to providing a sustainable alternative to petroleum based plastics.

The company has some serious R&D on their hands but the headway they've made is impressive!

Back in the Saddle!

2005-10-06T12:38:00.000-07:00

Ok I havn't been keeping good track of this blog and it's about time I started. There are certain things that need to be said.

So a little about me...well I'm almost 25 years of age. I'm currently interning to become a teacher. I'm working in a grade 5 class and they are some of the best children I have ever worked with!

I believe in Social Justice, and protecting what we all depend on for life...the environment.
Everyone should have the right to be free of crippling debt, soaring gas prices and unreasonable search ans seizure.

I imagine this makes me sound like a commie or socialist. Fair enough but I also beleive that capitalism can work but there needs to be more ETHICAL buisness practice. Resonsible buisness should be practiced and there should be strict government standards which should be followed. We need to get away from the money grabbing and spending spree that the "American Dream" pushes. "Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash" this lyric from "Money" by Pink Floyd speaks to me about the attitude that has been shaping the North American culture. Make as much money as you can and screw everyone else...a culture of selfishness...well maybe you donate a few hundred to a charity once in awhile.

Well my first blog back and I've already done a rant. It's all relevant though....who has been shaping our culture...people who want you to spend money! Who's at the top George Dubya Bush and his Dick, Cheney.

We're up against a lot but I'm not giving up. My next post will have some other things you can do to fix this mess.

I also believe that religion and politics have no place together.

What to do!

2004-11-08T14:17:00.000-08:00

Since the war is for Oil let's take oil out of the equation and make George Dubya poor!

There would be no war if we didn't depend on oil and gasoline for transportation.

Thank-whatever god you beleive in that WE DON'T NEED TO DEPEND ON OIL ANYMORE!!!

Water is the future! H2O Hydrogen and Oxygen it is a stable fuel source that does not pollute, and is relatively FREE

If everyone visits this site: www.fortunecity.com/greefield/bp/16/hboost.htm

It is possible to run a car off of hydrogen with little modification. Or run it as a Gasoline-Hydrogen Hybrid. It will reduce emmissions and increase your fuel economy.

It will also take money out of the hands of oil companies...and into YOUR pockets

So George Bush Won...now what do I do?

2004-11-08T13:56:00.000-08:00

For those of you who are like me, a little pissed off and suspicious about the 2004 election, you are probably feeling powerless and unheard. I'm from Canada so I feel even more powerless but my hearts go out to Americans who are forced to live under the tyranical GWB.

Lining all your friends and families pockets with oil money at the expense of the American tax payers and lives of soldiers is just plain unethical!