Hello all;

 

            So it’s been a long, long time since my last entry, and a lot has changed, while a lot has stayed the same.  Let me update you on what is what in the land of Fred and honey.

            I am no longer employed at the UFA.  Things went sour between me and a certain person there, and I opted to give my resignation with a company I truly enjoyed and moved on.  On the bright side, however, I am now a fresh-faced new employee at the Home Depot.  Let me tell you a bit about the Home Depot, as I see it right now.

            It’s a really fun place to work.  You have a lot of people who come to you because they are working on fixing up one piece of their lives, and you get to be a part of it.  And that is great.  The company really seems to appreciate the effort put forth by their employees, and that is also great.  They are safety conscious, also great.  They are less than a 10 minute drive from my house, and have over 2000 stores worldwide.  Still great.  My hopes are that things continue to stay great there, and that I can move up in this company.

            Christine and I are still happy and going strong.  She’s alternating between working at the Restaurant and at the Banquets at the Hyatt, and that can be a bit trying for her, but she likes the place a lot, and that make me happy.  We still plan on running off to Greece to get married sometime within the next year or two?  (Sooner, hopefully)

            The cats are good, the families (respectively) are good, the Yaris is good.  We got a new 33 gallon fish tank the other day, which we are slowly going to replace the 20 gallon one we currently own with.  It’s a bit of a process, but I think we’ll be fine.

            I found a great Lazer-Tag/ Airsoft Arena near my house that I’m going to soon try out, as well as a Shooting range that I am also going to try.  I am starting to like Calgary more and more.  I still love the zoo, I love the Chinook mall (I know, I know), and we’ve discovered a new ‘shopping area’ in Deerfoot Meadows which we dig.

            And finally, the pet alligator.  We don’t have an alligator.

            Talk to you all soon, I hope.  Take care.

 

Fred

Hey all;

 

  Here's an interesting story for you.  Please read it all the way through for a feel good message and a good life lesson.

  A few years ago, my sister had borrowed one of my father's cars as a means of transportation for her husband to get to and from work with.  It was 90 something Caprice.  One snowy and cold night, they had parked it on their driveway.  As the night wore on and on, the snowfall became heavier and heavier, while the temperature dropped colder and colder.

  Sometime in the night the cold and the weight of the snow became too much for the neighbour's tree to handle, and half of the tree split right off and fell on top of my father's car; doing some fairly extensive damage to it.  The next day, after taking many photos of it, my father, my brother-in-law and I chopped the fallen tree in to small bits and took it away.

  In the process of fixing/replacing his car, dad found another silver Caprice (same model, same year, only fueled by Propane instead of gas).  It was in Calgary for a relatively cheap price.  Dad drove up to Calgary one weekend and purchased the car, got it running and brought it home.  This new old Caprice (which was an ex-taxi cab) was in worse shape originally than the old old Caprice, but it would have had the parts needed to fix the old old Caprice.

  Fast forward years later.  I am now driving the Propane, ex-Taxi Caprice to and from work on a daily basis.  It's cheaper to run and it only needs to be driven around town.  I'd like to be driving Dad's newest old silver Caprice (yes, we have three of them, it's our own little fleet service!), but I'm okay with this one.

  Now, on to the rest of the story.  Last night I borrowed Christine's Toyota to go to Lethbridge in, in order to go out with some of my co-workers and friends to celebrate my last day of work here at the Taber UFA before going to Calgary.  Having taken Christine's Toyota, I left her with my Caprice to drive home from work when she was done.

  This morning, Christine goes in to a panic, because she cannot find her wallet.  She recalled having it at the end of her work night at Luigi's, but she couldn't find it.  She was running late so she grabbed some cash and ran out the door to look outside one more time on her way to work.  She couldn't find it.

  About 8:30 AM (far too early for me for a day off and after a late night), she called, really upset.  She couldn't find her wallet, no one knew where it was, etc.  Immediately (being the good boyfriend I am), I got up, got dressed, and went on a more extensive search for her wallet.  I looked all over the house, then looked in the yard, and finally looked in my Caprice.  I did the most thorough car search ever, and I found a wallet.  Only, it wasn't Christine's wallet.  Nor mine.  Nor anyone I knew.  Remember this, because I'm going to come back to it.

  I get in the car and drive to Luigi's, and what do I find, in the middle of the parking lot, open but untouched?  Christine's wallet.  Everything intact and money still there.  Talk about luck, eh?  I call her and tell her I found it, which made her feel a lot better.

  After a slurpee stop, I go back home.  Walking in the door, I recall that I found another wallet.  Curious, I open it and see that it belongs to a fellow out in New Brunswick.  It has no money or credit cards, but does have some cards, some bank cards, other papers, etc.  I find his license, use the address to do a search for a phone number on 411.ca, and call it.  I get this gentleman's mother.  She tells me that the wallet owner now lives in Ontario and that his wallet was stolen in a club years ago in Calgary.

  I guess that someone took his wallet, cleaned it out and stuffed it into the cab they were riding in, which has since become my car.  I also guess that no one has done a thorough cleaning on this car for many years.  Anyway, I package up the wallet and send it to this gentleman explaining how I found his wallet.  So, today I found two people's wallets.

  And that's my feel good message for the day.  As for the good life lesson it is this:  Clean your car more often.  You'll be glad you did.

  Take care everyone, and have a great day.  Spread the good deeds, too.

 

Fred

 

Hey all;

 

  Yes, you read correctly.  Christine and I are moving to Calgary.

  I got offered a promotion with UFA, and I elected to take it.  So, provided everything stays on the straight and narrow, Christine and I will be moving to Cowtown.

  My first day at my new job will be June 26th and Christine will be finishing out her schooling in Lethbridge until December, we think.  That means we will see each other only on the weekends for about 5-6 months unless we figure on something else for Christine's school arrangment.

  The company is going to help a lot with the move, to make it virtually effortless on our part, which is really, really good.  We get to live close to Christine's family for a while, plus my oldest sister, her husband, son and dog.  That will be nice.

  To eat at a variety of restaurants again!  To go out to shows whenever we want!  Concerts without the 2-1/2 hour drive!  I miss the city so much.

  But, this is just a heads-up to all.  I'll write more later, as things progress.  You can feel free to e.mail me to ask questions or add a comment for me to respond to.  Otherwise, take care everyone and talk to you later.

 

Fred

Hey all;

 

  Well, the time came and the time went, and I am officially past the 10 year mark since graduation.  Ouch.

  The day of the first day of our reunion party, I almost elected to consider the $60.00 Christine and I spent on it null, and just skip the whole thing and spend the evening visiting my friend Jerrod.  Jerrod had come down from Grande Prairie for the reunion, but we really didn't think we'd have that great of a time.  Jerrod had an okay time, as did Christine, but, wow, was I ever glad that I went.

  Ever have a friend who you haven't seen for a few years?  And when you finally see them again, you approach them kinda nervously, not really sure how to act or what to say?  Then, once the initial 'Hi' is out of your mouth, it's like the conversation just falls naturally and you seem like you had never been apart?  Imagine that with an entire grad reunion class and you'll understand how our 10 year went.

  About 2/3rds of the class showed up, with their significant others when able.  I really felt bad for a lot of the significant others, because we Grad '96ers tended to get talking to one another and forget about them for a while.  We all apologized for it, but I mean really, we've known everyone there for at least a decade, and some of them we've even known for 23 years!  How can our significant other's compare history to that?  Even if we got married a year before we graduated, we still knew some of the attendees there twice as long as our hubbies.

  Some of our grads elected not to show up.  For those who lived quite a distance away, I could understand.  But we had people who lived in town who decided to not show up.  That's just lousy.  They had excuses like: "I haven't done anything in the last 10 years, no-one wants to hear about my boring life," or, "I was never friends with any of those people, so why should I go?"

  For the record, I have to say that not only was everyone welcome into the fold again, and not only did everyone get along, but we also never really talked about anyone's lives or successes and failures.  We talked about teachers, classmates, family, etc.  It was really awesome.

  The next day (Sunday), some of the reunionites went down to the park and brought their whole family with them.  It was great to see children from our grads playing together.  Kinda brought back memories, y'know?  Plus, the food was great.

  So, I guess what I'm saying is this:  if you ever get the chance to go to your reunion, do it.  Maybe it will just be like old times, good or bad.  Maybe it will be a wash.  But you'll never know, and you'll regret it for the rest of your life if you don't give it a shot.

  Take care all and talk to you real soon.

 

Fred

Hey all;

 

  So, I was browsing the net and something kinda annoying happened.  You know when you have a page opening, and you see the link you want, so you quickly click on it to avoid waiting?  But, it turns out that the page was taking so long opening because it was either loading another spam page, or because it was loading a dynamic banner?  Instead of clicking on the link you wanted, you ended up clicking on an ad, which, in turn, opens a whole other page?  Well, that's what happened to me.  And I ended up opening Lavalife.  I think that's what it is called.

  Ever the adventure seeker, I began to browse through the site to see what I could see.  It's interesting.  It's truly amazing how many people in this world are seeking companionship.  It's also amazing how many fat/ugly people try to put up artistic pictures to hide their look.  Hey, people... confidence!  Be confident and the world is yours!

  It's also amazing how many people try to sound smart on their little tiny sentence that accompanies their pictures.  Like: "I love a good latte, a Walt Whitman novel, a good bottle of wine and a symphony."  You know that that really means; "I drink too much coffee while wearing my trendy logo shirt, I drink booze to hide my pain, and I listen to very little music, and if I listen to symphony, I do it only to seem smart, because I really enjoy punk rock or country."  And honestly, how could you like Walt Whitman?  Megods folks, he was an insane weirdo with a large vocabulary.  No unlike yours truly, I suppose.  But at least I don't have the gnarly ugly beard.

  Anyway, enough of the open mockery of the personal ad.  I mean, it's great that people find the courage to seek connections out there and its great that they put themselves out there for heartless jerks like me to mock.  I really do admire the fortitude to take that step.

  Regardless of any forthcoming admiration, though, I thought I would take the time to make my own personal ad.  I'm not going to pay a cent to do it, either, because it will be right here.

 

Screen name:  Wonderstud XXX

 

Sex:  Male

 

Status:  In a long term committment, happily and without any desire to change it.

 

Seeks:  Friendship, idle philosophical banter, or 4 hot women who want to share dirty time with me and my hot girlfriend all at the same time...no string attached and no cameras.  Oh, and someone who likes cats.

 

Last book I read:  "Canticle" by R.A. Salvatore.  It was mediocre, but a childhood favorite.  Just before that I read "Chainfire" by Terry Goodkind.  Awesomeness!

 

5 things I couldn't live without:  My heart, my brain, my lungs, my liver, and blood.  It's true, I couldn't live without them.

 

If there was only one word I could use to describe myself it would be:  http://spaces.msn.com/members/FredandChristine .  That's one word, right?

 

My favorite saying:  A bird in the hand is worth the same as the gander when the cat is away.  No, that's not it.  How about:  Why yes, that is my briefcase full of unmarked bills, all in untraceable 5's, 10's and 20's.  Thank you for returning it.

 

What I'm looking for in a relationship:  Me.  I'm looking for me in a relationship.  And, oh look, I found it!  I'm in one!

 

Celebrity I resemble most:  Bruce Willis mixed with Uncle Fester.

 

One thing that makes me unique:  My DNA.

 

The first thing I look at when I look at a woman:  My girlfriend to see if she noticed.

 

My favorite pornographic movie:  Pirates

 

My favorite pornographic magazine:  Penthouse Letters

 

My favorite pornographic cereal:  Fruit Loops

 

If I could be anywhere in the world right now it would be:  Wherever I am.  Only not the me that is writing this, but the rich, successful me that I haven't met yet.

 

  Alright, I'm done.  Take care all and talk to you soon.

 

Fred

Hello all;

 

  Despite how much I would love to wax poetic and/or deliver some incredibly deep prose, I shall refrain.  I shall.  I...okay, maybe just a little...

 

 

  Enough of that.  I guess that sometimes one just needs to spew poetry, good or bad, just to do so.  Unfortunately, you had to witness it.  Ha Ha and sorry.

 

  Anyway, lots of little things going on, so I thought I would give all you readers a quick summary.  First and foremost, I am now 28 years of age.  As of May 1st, I am now 7x4.  I really, really wanted to throw a huge party/concert for my birthday, like I used to do in Vancouver, but, alas, I now live in Taber.  So, it was a nice, quiet, restful birthday; just me and Christine.  And that was great.

 

  Next, I have a 10 year high school reunion coming up in a few weeks.  10 years.  Ouch.  At least I get the chance to bump in to some old aquaintances and see how we've all gotten fatter, balder or uglier.  Hah!  Take that class of '96!

 

  Speaking of school of the past, one of the greatest teachers/principals to exist passed away yesterday evening.  Mr. Dave Oswald was a great, great man, and I know that many people are very sorry to see him go.  This was a man who could have a grade 1 kid in his school for one year, and then not see the kid again for 20 years, and still remember that kid's name.  He was a genuine, sincere and warm hearted man.  He will be missed.

 

  Onto brighter notes.  Christine and I intend to go out to Vancouver for a few days at the end of July.  Two of our friends are getting married, so we are making a mini vacation of it.  At the very least, it will force me to update this site and add a bunch more pictures as well.  So, look forward to it.

 

  Finally, I would like to once more encourage all my friends out there to add some comments to this site, or e.mail me some pictures, or just e.mail me.  Whatever.  Perhaps I don't update all that often because I doubt that anyone out there is interested in what I have to say...  Hey, I'll try anything to get you to write comments on this site.  I'm shameless.

 

  Okay, take care all.  And take a moment to listen to your secret shame band/musician.  Y'know, that one band that you really like that you are kinda reluctant to mention to anyone, because you know you'll get raked over the coals.  I knew someone who secretly loved "Fine Young Cannibals."  That doesn't make me feel too bad about mine: "Gowan".  What's yours?

 

  Later.

 

Fred.

Hey all;

 

  I have had a badish kind of day today.  Many things go bad for Fred.

  First, I slept through my alarm this morning, only to awake 5 minutes before work.  I leap out of bed, get dressed, bathroom, grab my book and iPod and race out the door, with no time to make lunch or do any house work.  Outside, at my car, I find that my doors are frozen shut.  Grrr.  And Brrrr.

  I fight Jack Frost's frigid grip for a ten minute round before he finally throws in the towel and allows my car door to come open.  The car starts no problemo, so I let it warm up while I scrape off the snow.  Fifteen minutes late for work is not a good start to my morning.

  Pulling in to the lot, I see a truck load of plywood waiting to be unloaded.  Quickly, I throw on my warm clothes and start to unload the 24 lifts of OSB, two lifts at a time.  About half way through unloading, I am taking two lifts to where I'm stacking them and I hear a snap.  It turns out that the plywood was banded with plastic bands.  I say 'was' because that snap?  Yeah, it was one of the bands on the bottom lift snapping.  That, in turn, starts to spin the lift, thus snapping the other two plastic bands.  The bottom lift slides along like a deck of cards, taking the top lift with it.  When the top lift hits the ground, it also splits it's plastic bands, spreading THAT lift out, as well.  180 sheets of plywood, spread out in the snow, mud and slush.  Wonderful.

  I returned to the truck and unloaded the rest of the plywood, signed off and returned to pick up the cascaded boards.  Somehow, I managed to get most of it in installments with the forklift.  After I had it all picked up, I brought them inside and started to stack them nicely again.

  Side note:  we got these OSB lifts fresh from the mill.  The reason I know?  Because as I was restacking them, each sheet from the inside of the lift was so hot I almost couldn't touch them.  Seriously.  They were covered in snow and mud and they were still so hot that standing over them felt like standing in front of a heater.  It was crazy, and the very first time I ever saw something like that.

  Anyway, lunch rolls around.  Of course, I never had time to make lunch, so I get the rare 'opportunity' to run and get lunch.  As soon as I announce that I'm going to go buy lunch, I suddenly have a list of stuff to get for co-workers.  Alright, no problem.

  The lunch choice of the day was Subway.  I drove to Subway at 12:30 pm on a Friday.  School kids get out of school at noon on Friday.  And school kids LOVE Subway.  The line up was just about out the door.  I stood in line for 15 minutes to make my order.  They start to make my order, putting two of the subs in the toaster to toast them.  She pulls the toaster lifter out of the toaster, but accidentally snags it and launches those two subs across the building.  It wasn't just 'dropped the subs'.  No, it was 'launched the exploding subs like fireworks'.  So, back to square one.

  I finally return back to work, far, far past my 30 minute limit.  Oh well, right?  I quickly ate and went back to work.  The rest of the day was quieter and less eventful.  But it was enough.

  Alright.  Take care everyone and I hope your day was better than mine.

 

Fred

  I don't know how many of you who read this site are not from around these parts (aka Alberta), but we have a weather phenomenon out here called a Chinook.  It's basically a heat wave coming from the Rockies that turns winter into summer, practically overnight.  Or, as is the case today, in a day.

  This morning I awoke, got ready for work, bundled up for the cold, ventured out in to the cold and snow, unplugged my car and went to work.  This afternoon when I got back home, I was in jeans and a shirt, with a good part of the snow melted and huge puddles and mud everywhere.

  Normally, this is a good thing.  And, it still is, but now there is a downfall to it, too.  I work outdoors.  In a very large dirt yard.  That has many vehicles coming and going.  It's muddy, slushy, slippery, dirty and wet.  And it should just be drying out by the time winter hits us again.

  Anyway, enough about the weather, let's talk about March.  Lots of good things being 'released' in March.  Samurai Jack season 3, the new Live cd, the new Goodkind book (?hopefully), Scrubs season 3 on DVD, and the new Harry Potter movie on DVD.  Now that's a lot of media that this humble man will be forced (yes FORCED!) to purchase.  All this hard work down the drain everytime something remotely cool gets released.

  I exaggerate.  I'm not quite obsessive about it, I just like to have stuff to do at home instead of going out every night.

  Okay, I'm done for now.  I hope you are all doing well, and I look forward to hearing from each and every one of you.  Take care all!

 

Fred

Hey all;

 

  It seems that the month of February has become the 'hidden expenses for Fred' month.  Everything I pay for or wish to pay for suddenly seems to become more expensive than it should have been normally.  Everytime I pay for something, I get a notice one or two days later telling me that I didn't pay enough, or that 'we have not received payment and are now going to charge you $X more.'

  First, it's Direct Energy.  I overpay them on my last two bills, and then overpay them on a third.  Two days later, I get a letter from them telling me that I own them so much money before the 2nd of March, and that I am acting in bad faith by not paying them.  AND they will want a security deposit due to my negligent payments???  I've already paid you!

  Next, it's the Post Office.  I pay to ship some items to the states, and the clerk doesn't know what they are doing, so I end up paying more than I had calculated it to cost.  Next day, I get a phone call telling me that not only did the clerk have me fill out the wrong information, but that she also UNDERcharged me.  The day after that I go in to ship another package: same clerk, same problem.  I spent about $30 more than I had figured on.

  And what's even worse, is that every package I have sent during the month of February has taken a lot longer to get to it's destination then is reasonable.  3 weeks for a letter-mail to get to Alabama from Taber?  Are you sending this on a Mule?  Is that why you have to charge me extra?

  Then, it's Ebay.  Oh, sure, you pay us on time and no problems, but we've decided that since you've paid us yesterday, we're going to send you a warning notice for the 11 cents you did not pay us yet.  Yep, 11 cents.  I double checked, and not only did I not owe them 11 cents, but I had also paid the majority of the upcoming month's bill.

  And finally, Christine and I go to Lethbridge to buy Christine a new coat.  She finds one she likes a lot, and it's on the $49.00 rack.  Wow, $49 for this coat?  Great deal.  It's good we went winter coat shopping at the end of winter, so we could get a deal.

  When we get to the check-out, however, the girl presents us a bill of almost $70.00.  Huh?  Why is that so much more expensive?  "Oh," the oh-so-helpful clerk replies, "that rack is the $49.00 and UP rack."  Then shouldn't it say "AND UP" in letters nearly as large as the $49 part?

  Anyway, I'll be happy when this trend is over, because its making me angry.  Take care all.

 

Fred

Just another 'brief' entry for everyone.

 

  It seems like every time the snow is just about fully melted and the mud is just about fully dried, we get another downfall of snow and another severe drop in temperature.  It started snowing like crazy today; big, fluffy, feathery, crappy snow.  I would shovel off my walk, and as soon as I finished, I would look back and it would seem like I hadn't done a thing.

  Anyway, the return to terrible road conditions has reminded me of a story I wished to share with everyone, in order to get it off my chest, and hopefully to give some folks a bit of a lesson.

  Not too long ago, maybe a month or so, I was driving down the road on a snowy, cold and icy night.  As I was driving, I saw a car at a yield sign shoot out in front of a truck that had right-of-way.  The truck tried to stop in time, but the roads were icy and the truck ended up smashing in to the car severely.

  The car spun around, jumped a curb and came to a stop up on a lawn.  I stopped, parked, and jumped out to see if I could help.  There were five youngish kids in the car; two boys and three girls.  The boys seemed to be alright, if a little drunk, as did one of the girls.  One of the girls had a damaged hand that was bleeding a lot.  The last girl was pinned in the car, pinched in between the seat and the crumpled door.  Of what I could see of her, I honestly did not think she was going to make it.  She had blood all over her face, she was shivering and slurring her speech, plus she was crumpled in the car.

  The guy from the truck called 911.  With Taber having decided that they didn't need snowplows, and with Taber also deciding that the best place for Emergency response to be would be in the industrial section, it took about five minutes for an ambulance to arrive on the scene.  Even thought the Hospital was only 5-6 blocks away.

  As the guy from the truck was on the phone with the 911 operator, he said "They just shot out in front of me," to which one of the girls snidely remarked (in his face), "Oh yeah, like it was our fault."

  I witnessed the whole thing, and yes, it was their fault.  Anyway, the emergency crew (the 10 or so I saw on site), ended up using the Jaws of Life to cut her out of the car and haul her away.  I had left before then to go to the Police Station to file my statement.  Judging from what I had seen, I thought this young girl would be lucky to survive the night.

  I spent the night thinking about my loved ones and my friends, and basically feeling horrible that I just watched someone die.  The next day, someone told me that she had not made it.  I know I was only just a witness, but I felt completely depressed upon hearing that and didn't sleep much the next night either.

  The following day, I heard from a reliable source that the girl did, in fact, survive.  "All" she suffered was a broken collar bone, a crack to the head, and her braces drove through her lips.  It looked a lot worse than it was.

  The lesson?  A few, actually.  First off, when you have someone, anyone, in a vehicle with you, it is your responsibility to make sure you take care of them like they were your child.  Drive like a maniac if you must, but do it by yourself and where no one else will get hurt.  Second, make sure you let those you love know you love them, because as doom sounding as it is, they could be gone in the next minute.

  And finally, for the last lesson: don't recite gossip when you don't have the facts.  Because somebody made an assumption and wanted to 'spread the news', I honestly thought I witnessed some young persons final minutes and it bothered me a lot.

  There, Fred out.

Hey all;

 

  Just wanted to 'BRIEFLY' say hi and wish you all well.  Nice and short.

 

Fred

As stated in previous posts, Christine and I have purchased a new car, with the help of her parents.  We have bought a bright red, four door Toyota Yaris.  We didn’t particularly want a red car, but it was the only four-door Yaris that they had in southern Alberta available for immediate purchase.  Otherwise, we’d have to wait for over a month to get another color, and that would involve severely risking our safety by continuing to drive Christine’s crappy Neon.  So, red it was.

                We drove up on a Saturday night and stayed at her folks’ place.  Sunday, we awoke and got our new car.  I have always been impressed with Toyotas, and this car is no exception.  We love it.  It’s got a CD player, it’s a standard, and it’s really good on fuel.  Plus, with Toyota’s magic ability to bend inter-dimensional space there is a lot more room inside the car than the actual size of the car.  I swear, you sit in there and you are actually inside a car that has more space inside than it should.

                Plus, Toyota must love to study Swiss Army knives.  So many things all tucked away and secreted within this car.  Why, just two days ago, I discovered our third glove box and a garbage.  We didn’t even know we had them!  Magic.

                All-in-all, we love the car and highly recommend getting one if you have to buy a new car.  Christine test drove a bunch of cars before we finally went with this one, and neither of us have any regrets.  If you have any questions about these amazing and cool little cars, please feel free to contact us.  Take care all!

 

Fred

                So, Christine is now a College chick.  She began Culinary Arts at LCC in January.  We scrambled around a lot, and with some help from her folks, we managed to get her in to school and pay for it.  It was a lot of work, and will continue to be so for the next year and a half, but it’s something she really wants to do.  That means we’re both more than willing to earn it.

                Also, her being accepted in to College has brought about a few technological changes for us.  First, obviously, is that we now have a computer at home.  That is so she can do her assignments and research at home, with a cat on her lap and her boyfriend constantly pestering her so he can get some attention.

                Second, we have gotten cell phones.  I have been watching the ‘plans’ a lot over the last year, and when I saw a spectacular deal appear with Bell, I leapt at the opportunity.  Now, she and I can be in contact while she is in Lethbridge at school and I am at work in Taber.  I know, I know; I swore I would never again have a cell phone in my life, but Christine’s security is more important than my ego.

                AND, we have also gotten a new car.  Mostly because Christine’s car was using more oil that gasoline, and we had a danger of it exploding.  And the $3000 that the dealership was asking to repair it was far too stupid an amount for us to agree to.  So, with some help, we managed to get a new car.  Christine now travels to and from Taber and Lethbridge in as much security as we can get.

                The only downfall (besides the debt we’ll have at the end of this all) that comes from Christine going to College for Culinary Arts is that she cooks less at home.  She’s not allowed to bring her work home with her unless she buys it, so I’m completely ripped off!  All day long she makes amazing food, and I just get to hear about it and not taste it.  She doesn’t even have to cook for homework!  It sucks.

 

Fred

 

                We had an incredibly hectic Christmas Break last year.  And we actually had Christmas twice.  Once with her family, and once with mine.

                First, we had Christmas with Christine’s family.  We drove up to Calgary on Christmas Eve (in the dying Neon).  We arrived later in the evening, with Christine’s parents out of the house, and Christine quickly got ready and left with Jonny (her brother) to visit some family members, while I stayed behind and relaxed.  Her parents and grandma got home and I visited with them for a while.  Then Christine and Jonny got back and we opened gifts.  I got a great jacket, a car seat warmer (which got installed in Christine’s car), some tools and gift certifs.  Christine got a Food Processor, some clothing, and some gift certifs. I’m sure we got other stuff, but that was two months ago and I don’t recall it well.

                Christmas morning we awoke and crossed Calgary to have breakfast/brunch with my sister Donna, bro-in-law Paul and nephew Jack.  I learned how to make Dutch pancakes, and it has since become a staple food in this house.

                After breakfast, we returned to Christine’s folks’ home and then went to one of Christine’s relative’s homes to eat dinner and celebrate together.  It was really great to meet some of her family, and we had a really good time, a great meal, and I got another jacket.  From famine to feast, eh?  Then we returned home, because Christine had to work on Boxing Day.

                A week later, we celebrated New Year’s at our place.  We had some friends and family over.  Surprisingly, we had both my sister Karen (and b-i-l Ron) and my sister Donna (and b-i-l Paul) come by.  We visited, played some GTA – SA, ate, played Scene-it, and just had a really great time.  At midnight we saluted the departure of our proclaimed “Year of the F-Bomb,” and welcomed in the newly proclaimed “Year of excessive expletives.”

                The next morning (Jan 2^nd), the entire family went to Karen and Ron’s for another great breakfast and some visiting.  Later, we went to Mom and Dad’s and had a great dinner and a gift opening.  Lots of gift certificates for us, as well as cool little baubles, some books, etc.  After all that, we went home and relaxed as we oozed off of our couch.  All-in-all, it was a great and busy Christmas.

                That was our holiday season.

 

Fred

November last year (2005), Christine and I went to Calgary to see our favourite live performer: Henry Rollins.  For those of you who don’t know much (or anything) about him let me give you some details.

                Henry Rollins basically started his ‘career’ as a singer for the infamous ‘Black Flag’.  After that, he formed his own band, named (originally, of course) “Henry Rollins Band”.  He has since taken small rolls in various films (“The New Guy”, “Jack Frost”, “The Chase”, etc), voice acted in several games (“Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter”, “Def Jam: Fight for NY”, etc), voice acted for a Batman Cartoon, guest ‘sung’ with other bands/singers (“Tool”, “William Shatner” etc), hosted several shows both on TV and the Radio, written several books, and toured all around the world several times over.  Oh, and if I recall, he used to be a poster-boy for Apple.

                Most famously, however (at least to me), he does something called “Spoken Word.”  Essentially, he stands on stage for anywhere between 1-1/2 hours to 3-1/2 hours, and just talks.  He talks of things that have happened to him, things he’s thinking about, funny stories, sad stories, everything.  Truly, he is one of the most enrapturing orators you will ever witness.  It’s a career path that if I could take, I would.  So, if you get the chance to hear him, take it.  It will impress you, I promise.

                I first heard of Henry Rollins the same way many people first heard of him: His song “Liar”.  At the time, I just thought it was an interesting song with an interesting video.  But then, one night I was watching Much Music, and they had this mini-segment with Erica Em (<-spl?) that was entitled “Reader’s Corner” or something similar.  Basically, she would ask famous music figures what their favourite books were.  Well, I saw the one where she asked Henry Rollins what his favourite book was.  At the time, it was “The Fountainhead” by Ayn Rand.  Which, for those of you who know me, is one of my favourite books.  I’m a huge Ayn Rand fan.

                That started me on a path to discover just who this Henry Rollins fellow was.  And I have not looked back since.  Of all the celebrities I could ever meet, he’s the one I would choose first and foremost.  He’s had a fascinating life, he’s a crap-magnet (just like me!), and he just gets better with age.  I saw my first Rollins Spoken Word in Vancouver with my buddy Tim, and Rollins spoke for almost 3-1/2 hours.

                The next time I saw him was with Christine and Daren in Calgary.  The night in general sucked, but the Spoken Word show was amazing.  And then, most recently, I saw him for the third time this last November.  Every time I love it, and I will always see him any chance I am able to.  Christine is a huge fan of him as well, and the two of us have been slowly collecting Henry Rollins media steadily since I’ve gotten her hooked.  And my hope is that after you read this, you give him a chance and become hooked, too.  Take care all.

 

Fred

Wow.  I guess it’s been a while since I’ve entered anything here on the Blog.  Time for some major catch up.  Major.

                First, let me explain why I haven’t been keeping this updated better.  I think that it is a combination of being too busy; of not really having an interest of spending much time on the computer in my free time; and perhaps too much stuff going on to be able to keep up in any event.  It’s a long weekend and I intend to catch up everyone on as many things that have happened in the last three months as I can recall.  It’s kind of funny that once I finally get a computer at home, I just don’t keep up online as much as I did when I was computer-less.

                Generally speaking, I’ve been busy with my full-time new job (just passed the three month probationary period), and my little bits of work on my E.bay store.  Now that Christine is in College, she gets up at 6 am Mon – Fri and gets home around 4:30 pm, plus she still works Friday evenings 6pm – 2am and Saturdays 11 – 8pm at Luigi’s, AND she works a few hours at the local Taber book store on Tuesdays.  That means whenever we have time together, we take it for just ourselves.

                I wanted to talk about seeing Henry Rollins in November, and me and Christine’s Christmas/New Year, as well as Christine going to College, and us getting a new car.  I think I’ll divide a bunch of this up into separate entries.  Enjoy!  And ‘see’ you soon, if anyone still even checks this site…

 

Fred

  The time has finally come.  Chrsitine and I need to purchase a new/used car for the beginning of January, in order to have something for her to drive to Lethbridge and back.  We are just plain tired of having the problems with our cars, and we would also like to have something 'new'.

  So, this entry serves two purposes.  The first, is to 'advertise' our cars for sale, and the second is to request if anyone has any decent vehicle they would like to sell to us.

 

  1st Car:  a 1995 Neon, standard.  It looks good, and is very clean.  The goods?  We had the head gasket replaced about two years ago, just replaced the clutch, put on four brand new tires, replaced the thermostat and sensor.  If the deal is good enough, we will throw in a CD player that is less than a year old, and a remote car started.  And it is good on fuel.

  The bad?  Lower engine seal needs to be replaced (about $10 part), but has to have the transmission moved in order to do it.  Because of the oil leak, the engine has a minor bit of extra noise, that may eventually result in relacing quite a few parts in the engine.  Also, the rear wheel bearings need to be replaced as well.  We will take offers, but we want it sold by January 3rd.

 

  2nd car:  a 1992 Caprice, automatic.  It's inside looks good, the outside body is in good shape but could use a paint job.  It runs off of propane, and was once a cop car, and then a taxi after that.  The goods?  It's propane.  At the cost of gas nowadays, having a cheaper fuel source is good.  It's a comfortable ride as all of these cars are.  Uh... and it has power locks.

  The bad?  No radio.  I have a radiator leak in it that I am sure just comes from a bad hose; I just haven't really wanted to fix it yet.  The body shows the fade marks where the taxi logo once was and where the taxi lights were.  So, it needs a paint job.  Er, but it has power locks.

  I'm looking to get $1500 for it, but I will take offers.

 

  And finally, the car we are looking to buy.  We'd like a good highway vehicle that is as good on fuel as Christine's car is.  Reliable.  CD player would be nice, as would any accessory, but we aren't looking to spend more than $1500 at all, and would prefer $1000 or less.

 

  Okay, that's all for now.  Take care all.  Feel free to e.mail, or leave comments.  Thanks!

 

Fred and Christine

 

                Hey everyone.  It’s been a while since you’ve had a real entry from me, and I’m glad to say that I am back on track.  I have a computer at home, the internet is running, and I should start having free time on a regular basis in order to update and touch up my blog space and photos much more frequently.  Yay.

                First off, many of you have been inquiring as to my new job.  I took a position at the local UFA Farm Supply.  I’m a yard worker, and I have to admit how much I missed being one.  Outdoor work is great (except at the recent stint of minus 30 degrees C lately); I get a decent wage and a good benefits package.  It’s in town, close enough that I can walk if need be, and nice hours.  And the best part?  I don’t have to worry about where my next dollar is coming from once Christine starts College in January.  That is a load of reassurance.

                Next off, obviously, I have my computer at home.  I still haven’t finished off the room I want to put it in, so when I do, I’ll be much more comfortable.  The kitchen table is a good enough spot for it for now, but it will soon begin to annoy us, especially when we want to have a nice sit-down dinner.

                Christine’s car continues to invent whole new problems after we fix the last ones.  It’s getting very frustrated, and if I had the money to get another car, I’d take this one out and shoot it.  But, it’s all we have, so we keep pouring money in to it.  It will practically be a brand new car before much longer.

                The cats are doing well.  We’ve gotten Rylan to start accepting us holding him a bit longer.  And they both have several new tricks now for me to show guests.  I love the little guys.

                Christine has come down with the flu yet once more.  I feel so bad for her being sick, but there isn’t much I can do except make her food, tuck her in, and get up in the middle of the night to get her some water or medicine.  She assures me that I take good care of her, but I just hate her being sick, y’know?

                I’ve decided that for Christmas this year, it would be nice that all of my “internet only” friends sent us a nice personal e.mail along with some pictures of themselves and their family.  How about it folks?  Think you could help me out with that?

                Alright, it’s time for me to start trying to catch up on my enormous backlog of e.mails to respond to.  I’ll hopefully add another entry or two this weekend.  Take care all.  Glad to be back!

 

Fred

Hey all;

 

  Quick note.  I'll be completly down without a computer for a few days.  When I come back, I hope it will be on a much more regular basis.  Talk to you all soon.

 

Fred

Hey all;

 

  You may have noticed that I haven't had an update here for a while.  The reason?  It's because I've started a new job.  The job is almost entirely outdoors, and is entirely physical.  So, until I get a computer and internet at home, my entries will be few and far between.  I apologize, but I promise that when I get back to this, I'll be back with a vengence.  Take care all, and feel free to e.mail me if you like.

 

Fred