Sunday, May 08, 2005

Mother's Day and other things

For mother's day I took my mom out to get some more flowers for her garden. I'm not of the botanical persuasion that I know what to suggest nor what to get, so this was the best idea I could come up with. Think of a living, breathing gift certifcate.

David capitalized on the idea and came along to do the same. We went to the local shop owned by a friend family. My mom chose her plants, as well as some for grandma. I mentioned that it was a "friend family". I've known these folks since I was 3 years old. Scary. So while we were there, I ran into her. It's good and it's bad at the same time. I've known this girl since I was wee, and have liked her since I knew I liked girls.

Have I ever had the guts to ask her out?

No.

Have I ever done anything about it?

No.

Why?

I don't know.

I've written this whole story of what happens whenever we meet. The catastrophic pinings I get onto. The high hopes crushed by reality. There is never enough time before either of us disappears to one end of the continent or the other. She goes south west, where they speak English and Spanish, the sun is almost always shining and there is plenty to do all the time. I go north-east, where the snow has not yet completely melted in June, the majority of people speak French only, and there is not much to do.

Our timing sucks.

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Staring out of his window, as the world rushes by, Arthur Robinson closes the glass and replies: I dream of ballerina's and I don't know why. I've seen Cadillacs sailing....
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That's such a great summer album. This song usually hits me pretty well, regardless of how much C likes it because of me.

In the car in the way back my mom was teasing david because apparently while I was talking to a guy I used to work with, David and her had met up with the owner of the shop. He asked how the boys were and my mom replied that she had the oldest and youngest there with her today. This got the 2 daughters going about which one they were friends with. (her from above) was saying that she knew me, while the other was saying that she knew David. It was an altogether funny situation, and David walked out into the yard blushing like a beet.

Afterwards, he and I washed my car, and Dad's 2 trucks, then went for a cruise. I was pretty disappointed with the calibre of tourists on the hill, until on our last tour, we saw a bright red Viper followed by a racing yellow Diablo. The Viper made David's jaw drop before he even saw the Diablo. It made the whole trip worth it. Although I now want a high-end sports car.

Went to grandma's for dinner which was fun too. Got some time with the uncles and aunts and some cousins too.

Wednesday, April 06, 2005

Fiction and Reality

Well I originally wrote this last Thursday for my 3rd spot, but I figured not everyone knows where that is, so I should post it to somewhere the rest of my friends can see.

The great thing about comics and fiction all around is that the characters you create (if you're the author), or read about (obviously if you're the reader/viewer/listener) have the potential to be or do anything. Spider-Man can swing on web lines through a jungle of concrete and steel. Wolverine heals when he has flown through the window of his pickup truck. Neo returns returns to life after Smith kills him. Fiction is great for these things. They let us believe that miracles are possible. They give us the hope that we can somehow overcome the seemingly insurmountable.

But what about our every day heroes? The guy who directs you when you've lost your way. The woman who dropped a $5 bill into a donation box instead of using it to buy a bag of milk for her family. When they fall, who is there to pick them up? Another hero. They don't always wear masks or flashy spandex. Sometimes they don't even wear pants above their asses.

But they are there.

Today I salute the heroes at the hospitals in Niagara Falls and Hamilton. The Ambulance drivers, the doctors (with or without special names), the nurses, and everyone who helps these folks along the way. I salute them because today I can still talk to MY hero. For the miracles they performed yesterday, they should all be venerated. It's all in a day's work for them, but it means the world to me, and to my entire family.

True Heroes.

To all of you: Thank you.

S

Tuesday, March 15, 2005

Glitches?

So I'm sitting at the bar in my hotel in Granby. There is some French blues playing just now, but a few minutes ago it was French pop, and before that it was Linkin Park. The barmaid came to my table while I was under it trying to find the bloody jack to plug in my computer so I can talk to all 2 of you who know where this thing is. I asked her for an Iced tea, no deals, they don't have any. My substitute: Stella Artois. Bad idea, I know, but I've decided I want nothing to do with pop except ginger ale anymore. Even then it's iffy. There is a couple playing pool nearby, I think they're friends of the barmaid and a few English-speaking folks just walked in.

So I'm in Granby. It's not quite as sparkly as Montreal, but it's here, there's food nearby and the hotel bar has a free pool table.

I had a pretty good day until I got to the hotel, then I just crashed. exhaustion. Damn. And one of my customers was saying I should go to the bar to pick up chicks. At this point I'm lucky if I can pick up a fork.

I think I should get work done, but the likelihood of that happening is about equal to the odds of me winning the lottery without buying a ticket. I realized there's a few glitches in the CSS on this, or is it just my computer? I need to figure out where I messed up. Let me know if you see the glitches too.

Mont-Ray-Al!

So here I am in good old Montréal. I got here Sunday night and have been staying on the West End. Thankfully they didn't mess up my reservations this time so I had free access to high speed internet the entire time. Helps when I'm trying to set up meetings around here and receive files from home or from California.

Yesterday was a really good day. Had a meeting with a customer that went fairly well even though he did not sign out a cheque. I spent the afternoon setting up meetings for today and tomorrow, however, tomorrow is still pretty open. I would have done this last week, I mean should have done this last week, but as I was sick the week before and knocked out with a massive headache that week, I didn't set up as much as I wanted to. Damn.

Today I have 2 meetings in the afternoon, so I'll try to get at least one in this morning on the way there.

I met up with an old friend from my Toronto days last night. Genevieve. She was originally from here and has recently moved back. Much for the same reasons I find myself in NF. (working for family, Toronto doesn't have the right feel to it) It was good to see her and catch up. Her apartment has now raised the bar for what I'll be looking for in my next place. Huge and wide-open. My place sucks in comparison.

So we went out for dinner and coffee and traded stories. Overall it was a great night and I definitely plan on giving her a ring next time I'm in town too.

Also: thoughts of moving to Montreal have increased. This city has a much better feel to it than Toronto does, and I can't put my finger on it. It certainly isn't the drivers, since they're all worse than those in Toronto.

Anyways, tonight I'll be in Granby, my home away from home, and tomorrow I'll be in Québec City. Looking forward to that too.

Saturday, March 12, 2005

WIPs and chains

What are WIP's?
It's not a spelling mistake. I do not mean Whips.

WIP's are Works in Progress. I'm going to start posting some kind of progress reports on the different writing projects that I have on the go. Right now I have 3 major ones and a few smaller ones that I'm working on. Once I have a bit of time, I'll start giving more details. Until then, the WIPs will stay empty.

I figure this will give me more incentive to get this stuff done. I need to be able to remember where I left off.

Worked out the new layout. Thoughts?