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June 30, 2006

 

Moving On

 

It's late and I'm itchy and sore so I thought I might as well blog. I was going to in the morning anyway so I might as well do it while I'm awake.

The lad's commencement was yesterday. It was a lovely ceremony, with the kids in their caps and gowns, getting their diplomas, and receiving awards. The ceremony was followed by refreshments in the cafeteria and of course there was lots of picture taking. Later the family all went out for a lovely dinner. The lad was very happy but also a little sad. He made some good friends in high school and he'll miss them. Oh sure he'll still see them once in a while but it isn't the same.

We're very proud of him and we wish him well for the future. Yeah, his mom and I were a little teary, how can you not be when your son is moving on to a new phase in his life ?

Hey, do you remember high school ? The dances, the parties, the teachers, ?

It was a good time wasn't it ?

Do you wish you could do it again ?

Okay, maybe not, but if you stop and think about it, it was a pretty decent time for most of us. I was one of the popular guys in high school so it was pretty cool. Not the most popular, but a member of the "in" crowd, so life was good.

Ah well, that was then, this is now.

And anyway, this is about the lad. He's a good kid and we're very proud of him. Not a bad looking young fellow either I think !

Hey, you know what, this is the first real picture I've posted of him. The others were those photo booth drawing thingies. The pictures turned out great and I played with this one in Photoshop a little, cropped it, removed the lines from the background (it's actually a mural made up of several pieces and you could see the lines quite clearly) and added a frame so it stands out.

On a final, unrelated note, I'm not going to be battling at Blog Explosion anymore. I won my 500th battle a few days ago so that's it. I decided about a month ago I'd quit at 500 wins. I figure I've proven I can write okay and the Photoshop stuff is coming along too so maybe I don't need to do it anymore. And hey, I managed to stay in the top 50 all that time so I'm okay with that. I have a small readership and I'm going to concentrate more on visiting other blogs and less on battling. I have to say it was fun, especially battling folks like Stacie, Tony, and Mike, just to name a few. You guys have great blogs, and I enjoy them all. A special note about Stacie, she and I battled constantly, and it was always a back and forth thing, she'd win one, then I'd win one, etc. Stacie, it's been fun.

Anyway, that's it for now folks. Take care and see you in a day or two.

   

Posted by OldGuy at 1:34 AM | Comments (4)

   

June 27, 2006

 

Keeping Busy

 

Well, I'm into my second week at home and I'm getting as much rest as I can. The arthritis hasn't been too bad the last few days, which is good as another problem has cropped up. If it isn't one thing it's another. Ah well, hopefully everything will work out soon. I've been giving a lot of thought to how the arthritis has affected my life, and it's pretty much crept into every aspect of it, which makes sense since you really need to be able to give even the smallest chores a modicum of thought and effort and often weariness or pain would get in the way. The only good thing about it is that you really learn to appreciate a day without pain.

On another note, the lad had his graduation dinner and party last night (tomorrow is the commencement ceremony for family and friends). He wore a tuxedo and he looked like a million bucks. Our neighbour drove him and a couple of friends to the dinner in his new black mustang, so they arrived in style. It was a late evening and my wife picked the kids up at 2 a.m. so I stayed up so she wouldn't be alone.

And on yet another note, someone confessed to the killing of the young girl who was murdered in our community last year. I blogged about the event then as it really affected me, as it did a lot of people. Of course there's still the trial to go but already there is a sense of relief at this turn of events.

The logo ? Well, I'm a big Pepsi drinker and I had to keep my mind busy yesterday so I decided to try this one. It was a real learning experience as there were a lot of techniques I'd never tried before involved in doing it. Think I'll have a nice cold one now !

   

Posted by OldGuy at 6:51 PM | Comments (1)

   

June 22, 2006

 

The Poker Game

 

"Whose turn is it to deal ?"

"Not mine, I dealt last time."

"It's the big guy's turn."

"Again ? He cheats, he deals from the bottom of the deck."

"I do not !"

"Do too."

"Okay boys, straight poker, jokers are wild."

"Aw man, I so suck at this."

"It's your bet."

"I bet $5"

"I see your five and raise you $10"

"How many cards you want ?"

"I'll take two."

"I'll take two as well."

"I'll take three."

"Dealer takes one."

"It's your bet."

"I'll bet $10."

"I'll see your $10 and raise you $10."

"I fold."

"Me too, I got nothing."

"I'm calling you boss."

"4 Aces."

"Again ? It's your night."

"It's getting late, I'm outta here."

"Me too."

"Same time next week my friends?"

"Yes, Holy Father."

"So what charity get's this week's winnings Holy Father ?"

"I'm not sure yet, there are so many that need help."

And speaking of poker, this is my latest desktop, done with Photoshop. I had to keep my mind occupied yesterday so I thought I'd try something a little different. It was a bit of work but it was fun to do.

   

Posted by OldGuy at 8:10 PM

   

June 19, 2006

 

Untitled Because I haven't Got a Clue What to Call This Post

 

I guess the "non-title" works. What do you think ?

I wasn't here yesterday as it was Father's Day and I spent most of the day with the princess. My wife was feeling under the weather and my son was studying for an exam so we spent all day together. We did manage to eat brunch and dinner as a family, but again, my wife really wasn't up to it and the lad had to get back to studying. Anyway, to recap the day, the princess awakened me around 8:45 and led me upstairs for a tub, complete with coffee and cookies, then after that we played outside for a few hours. Then it was brunch, which my wife and I made together. Then back outside to play in the sprinkler and then we went to see the movie "Cars." When we got home we got Chinese food and had a lovely dinner. My son did get me a lovely card and gift certificates for Chapters (that's a bookstore) and Starbucks so I can go and browse and sit and relax at the same time. After dinner we vegged out and then it was time for bed. All in all a good day, albeit an exhausting one.

I'm not sure where the rest of this post is going so please bear with me.

I'm taking a little time off work to deal with a few things, primarily the impact arthritis has had on my life and where I'm at right now. I'm sure things will be fine but for the moment I'm feeling a little unsettled.

Speaking of being unsettled, I'm having a hard time coming up with ideas for stories or poems at the moment. I've said before that the ideas come easily when I'm feeling on top of the world but I have to struggle for them when I'm feeling down. I know things will get better but it's very frustrating nonetheless because writing is what I like to do and when the ideas won't come it feels like just one more thing that's broken.

At dinner last night my fortune cookie said that I always look for the greater meaning behind things, and my wife commented how true that is. I guess I do tend to do that and sometimes I wish I didn't. I mean seriously, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, but me, I want to know who made it, what they were thinking at the time, are they happy, do they listen to same music I do, what do they think when they see the stars at night, etc. ?

I've had this line in my head for months, "There is a peacefulness", and I wish I knew what to do with it. I don't know if it's the start of a story, or the middle, or the end, or if it's a line in a poem but it won't go away. I have a vague feeling it's part of a story and I've had a glimmer of how it's supposed to go but that's about it. Hopefully I'll figure it out soon.

Anyway, I gotta go. I have laundry to fold and Neil Diamond to listen to.

   

Posted by OldGuy at 12:53 PM | Comments (8)

   

June 15, 2006

 

End of Year School BBQ

 

I've been away for a few days but I'm back.

Yesterday was the end of the year BBQ at my daughter's school. The weather was lovely and the food and drink were good. Once again, the entertainment was great too. What struck me last night though as I was thinking about blogging about it was that I wrote a lengthy post about it last year. That's right, last year. Now, that may not be a big deal to some people but to me it is. See, this is just about the longest I've ever stuck to a hobby. And I'm still enjoying it. Seriously, I know I've said it before, but blogging really is a blast for me.

I've been thinking lately I'd better write "Signs of Summer" as this is the only season missing (the other four are there, you just have to know where to look) so I guss I'll get on that this week or next.

I'm still playing around with Photoshop too. I got my "Dummies" book last week, and I've read about half of it. It's truly amazing what the program will do, and of course, I've barely scratched the surface of it. I'll never be a graphic designer or anything but hey, it's fun, and that's what counts. Check out the new logo along the left side. I may change it again soon, who knows, I'm experimenting.

And speaking of graphics, here's a neat link. If you go here you can preview your name, site, whatever in neon. Kinda cool.
http://www.neonsign.com/bizsign.html

My son's high school graduation is in a few weeks. He's rented his tux, and our neighbour, who just bought a brand new black Mustang is driving him and a couple of friends. It should be a fine evening. Of course, he's going away to university in September so while we're proud of him for that, we're not looking forward to seeing him go. I think it will be especially hard on his mother. The princess doesn't seem to think she'll miss him but I'm willing to bet that she will, after all, he's been her big brother and she's looked up to him for 8 years now. Plus he helps her out when she's stuck on a videogame !

Anyway, that's it for now folks, see you all tomorrow or the next day or whenever it isn't nice enough to be outside.

   

Posted by OldGuy at 1:08 PM | Comments (6)

   

June 6, 2006

 

Don't Mess With Texas

 

Apparently today is supposed to be the devil's day. Well, even the devil should stay away from some places. BTW, I'm not from Texas, I'm from Canada, but who ever heard of the devil coming to Canada.

I give you "Don't Mess With Texas"

The devil roared down the highway
Doing a hundred and twenty-five
He was in the mood to party
And nobody would get out alive

His breath stank of corpses
His eyes burned like coal
He'd cranked the stereo to the max
And was listening to some soul

He saw a sign that read El Paso
And shifted into low gear
He was getting a little thirsty
So he'd stop and have a beer

He cruised up to a honky tonk
And stepped out of his car
It was 110 degrees outside
And not much cooler in the bar

He didn't mind the heat one bit
In fact it felt as fine as paint
And if it made the natives a little touchy
Well damn, he was certainly no saint

He sipped his beer and looked around
He thought he'd start some trouble
But the hombres in here were tough as nails
And soon he'd get paid back double

He spotted a tall rangy man
Sitting near the back
Packing a pearl handled 45
And dressed all in black

The devil challenged the man to a fight
He was sure he had the faster hand
The man slowly got to his feet
It would be the devil's very last stand

The man in black calmly waited for the devil to pull his gun
Then in a blaze of lightning speed he pulled his as well
The devil never saw the move, it was so very fast
The next thing the devil knew he was blown clean to hell

   

Posted by OldGuy at 8:51 AM | Comments (3)

   

June 5, 2006

 

Sunday Morning Musings

 

It's late Sunday evening. Okay, it's the middle of the night and it's technically Monday.

Sheesh.

Turns out there was nothing wrong with the taps. I might have figured that out earlier in the week but the indoor waterfall had me mesmerized. Rushing water does that to me. Same thing happens when I go pee.

"Dear, the house is on fire."

"I'll get to it in a minute my love, I'm going pee."

Anyway, I was about to replace the taps the other day with the new ones my wife purchased a few months ago when it occured to me that both the hot and cold stopped running at the same time.

Two taps died at the same time. Hmm ... what are the odds of that ?

In the end it turns out the aerator was to blame (that's the filter thingy at the end of the faucet). Or are the faucets the things you turn ? So what's the part in the middle called ? Wait a minute. You turn the other things then the thing in the middle spurts water, so it must be ... no that isn't it. Whatever, I replaced the aerator and all was well again.

And get this.

Today my wife asked me to put a ceiling fan up in the princess's bedroom !

Well, I got it up but I needed my neighbour's help. In fact he did most of the work, I just stood watched.

I know what you're thinking and I'm referring to the ceiling fan !

On another note, a musical one to be exact, my wife and I attended a fantastic show on Friday night. She won tickets to see Matt Dusk at the casino so off we went. For those of you who haven't heard of him (and I hadn't until last week), he's a crooner in the Harry Connick style, but he's really just getting started, in fact he cut his first cd in 2004. He sang a mix of old classics like "Mack the Knife" and a few of his own tunes, like "Two Shots of Happy, One Shot of Sad." He had a fantastic band too, guys who really know how to play jazz. All in all it was a wonderful evening filled with songs you can actually understand and sing to, and that's what I like.

I always say music is supposed to make you happy, not bring you down, so give me the old stuff any day. I mean sure, maybe you hear a song and you reminisce about the old times and it brings a tear to your eye, but it's still a good feeling, you know ?

And on a final musical note, the princess and one of her friends put on a little show for us tonight. For weeks they've been begging to do a little number with hoola hoops and dancing on our street so tonight they finally had their chance as it was warm out and several neighbours were out and about so they had a captive audience. Anyway, they did their show and although it was far from perfect they put their hearts into it and you could tell they were enjoying every minute so that's what counts. Later, after dinner, my son remarked that she's going to be an entertainer some day. He's probably right because she's never happier than when she's performing. And she works at it too, she's always practising up in her bedroom.

I'm still waiting to get my "Photoshop CS for Dummies" book, I hope the store gets it in soon. Speaking of which, I was asked by some folks at work if I could help make a logo for our rewards and recognition program. Nothing fancy, the preliminary design is already done, but it's still kind of neat that they asked me. Turns out a guy I sit next to brought my name up because I'm always showing him stuff I've done.

Anyway, that does it for another Sunday folks.

Cheers, and have a great week.

   

Posted by OldGuy at 12:52 AM | Comments (2)

   

June 2, 2006

 

Let the Good Times Roll

 

Wow, I can't believe it's been a week since I was last here. The week has flown by once again. That's what I love about summer, you don't notice how quickly the days are going by, you just enjoy the weather and hope it never ends.

So, about the squirrels. Unfortunately they all died. I guess it was just destined, I don't know. We tried really hard with the third one, even put it in the garage at night so nothing could get it, but when we woke up last Saturday it was dead. This despite the fact that it seemed fine the night before. I guess it just wasn't meant to be. What I can say is that the last one was very playful and provided us with a few days enjoyment and that counts for something.

I shouldn't try to fix things. Seriously, it's just not my bag. I was replacing a burnt turn signal on the car last night. My wife had bought a new one so I knew what it was supposed to look like. I took the headlamp assembly out, removed what I thought was the turn signal then went into the house and told my wife she bought the wrong size bulb, at which point she insisted it had to be the right one, she had even asked a clerk at Canadian Tire about it and he looked it up in the book. So back outside I went, turned the signal on the other side on to see which bulb it was and saw I'd removed the wrong one. Five minutes later the new bulb was in and I apologized to my wife.

A few minutes later my daughter told there was no water coming out of the taps in the lower level bathroom. I checked the lines under the sink then made sure it was fine in all the other taps in the house. I then proceeded to take the taps off to see what the problem was. Of course I shut the water off under the sink first. Almost. Took the cold water tap off and the the water came gushing out right up to the ceiling. Turns out I hadn't shut the water off completely so there was still lots of pressure in there. It was like Niagara Falls only indoors and without the tourists. Blew three light bulbs in the fixture over the sink too. Better than setting the house on fire I suppose, although I would have had lots of water to put the fire out anyway. Oh yeah, I banged my knee on the door frame a few minutes later too, hurts like a ... well, trust me, it hurts.

All in all not a very successful DIY evening.

On another note , I mentioned at the top of the post that summer has me preoccupied these days. Well, for me summer arrived yesterday. That's right, June 1st has always been the first official day of summer as far as I'm concerned. I know the calendar says different but for me it's always been June 1st. See, the weather can sometimes be a little cool in May (in fact it was for a while there) but cool weather is very rare in June. And even when the weatherman (oops, weatherperson) says it's going to be cool you know it doesn't mean the same thing as when they say that in or April or May. Cool in June is still pretty damn decent. Also, when I was growing up June was the month of the year you really looked forward too because it meant school would be out soon. No more heavy duty assignments to do, no more begging for extensions because you didn't get an essay in on time, it was just a matter of a few weeks and you could kiss school godbye for another couple of months, which, when you're a kid, seems like a million years. So although I'm grown up now I still get that feeling when June rolls around, it's like summer's here, the living is easy and I can find a million excuses not to work around the house. Like taking the princess to the park.

I bought "Photoshop CS for Dummies" this week. A lady at work gave me a bunch of Photoshop books and they're great but there are some things I don't understand so I figured it was the way to go. I remember the first time I bought a Dummies book years ago, I'd take it with me on the bus but I'd hide it inside my coat because I didn't want anybody thinking I was, well, a dummy. Nowadays everybody has Dummies books but back then admitting you read them was like admitting you read porn.

One other thing just because it occured to me as I was going to lunch. When I was in university I had a friend who spoke better French than English. Anyway, he liked French fries so every once in a while he'd say "let's do some French fries." He never could get it straight that you make French fries, you don't do them. Well, unless you're into that kind of thing.

   

Posted by OldGuy at 12:56 PM | Comments (6)