The Final Frontier

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