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October 31, 2006

 

 

   

Posted by OldGuy at 1:04 PM | Comments (3)

   

October 30, 2006

 

Monday Morning Morsels

 

Geez, I missed another Sunday, certainly can't make a habit of that.

So, the lad got a tatoo. We found out about about it by accident (his sister saw it) the first time he came home and I even suggested he make an "official" announcement but it seems he wasn't quite ready to do that. When he was home again last week he still didn't say anything until the day he was leaving then I asked him to show it to me and suggested he show it to his mother as well, so he did. It's a rose with blood dripping from it surrounded by fancy black curlicues. Doesn't look to bad although I wouldn't get one myself, I'm not into tatoos.

On another note, the lad started a new type of long-lasting insulin that lasts for 24 hours so that should make it a bit easier for him as he'll no longer have to get up early every morning to do his insulin, now he just does it at night. Of course, he still has to do short-acting insulin with every meal too (it's complicated I know). Anyway, as long as it makes his life easier then it's worth it.

As for the princess, she had a project due for school this week so she and her mother worked on it all day yesterday. She had to make a map of her neighbourhood with street signs, parking lots etc. all indicated. The other kids all got a section as well and they'll put the whole thing together to make a map of the community. I'm anxious to see it.

Anyway, not much else going on so I'll sign off for now.

Oh yeah, I wrote the Halloween story, it's the post below this one.

   

Posted by OldGuy at 11:15 AM | Comments (2)

   

October 26, 2006

 

One Too Many

 

George loved horror movies, always had. He wasn't big on the really gory ones but the release on DVD of a good scary movie was always an occasion for a trip to the video store. He liked nothing better than to sack out on the couch with a bag of red licorice, Pepsi, blanket and pillow, and enjoy the fun. His son was a big fan too so they often watched them together.

Sometimes George got a little spooked, once in a while he even had nightmares if a movie was especially scary but that was just part of the fun.

Tonight George was alone as his family had gone away for the weekend so he had gone to the video store earlier and rented a movie that looked particularly scary. He had stocked up on snacks, put a Pepsi in the fridge to chill, and by the time he started the movie he was all cranked up for it.

George turned out all the lights and put the movie in. The movie was about a young girl who was possessed by the devil. He had seen The Exorcist years ago and it was kind of like that, except the girl in this one was older and you were supposed to question if it had really happened or if the girl was just crazy. It wasn't edge of your seat type stuff but the story was just, well, creepy. After a while he realized he no longer wanted to be in the dark so he turned the lights back on. It helped, but just a little. He wished his son was here watching the movie with him, he might feel a little better.

After the movie was over he turned out the lights again and tried to sleep but he kept hearing things, funny noises he'd never noticed before. It was just the house of course but he couldn't convince himself of that. He hoped he wouldn't have nightmares tonight. He usually didn't even think about that but he didn't want to dream about this movie, no, he would rather just forget he'd ever watched it. Eventually he fell into a troubled sleep and dreamed that something was trying to get into the house. He didn't know what it was, just that if it got in he would go completely insane. Several times he awoke in a cold sweat only to fall back to sleep and have the dream again.

The next morning George woke up exhausted, feeling like he hadn't slept at all. He remembered the dream, remembered having it over and over all night long and it troubled him. He'd had nightmares before but never had he had the same dream several times in one night.

He got out of bed and noticed it was cold in the house. Well, maybe it was just the time of year he thought, October nights can be cool and they hadn't turned on the heat yet. He went to the kitchen and made coffee, then poured himself a cup and sat down. He took a sip of coffee then started to shake so bad he needed two hands to hold the cup steady. Get a hold of yourself he thought, it was only a damn movie. Still, he couldn't get it out of his mind. Not for the first time, he wished his family was home so he wouldn't feel so vulnerable.

He decided to take a hot shower, maybe that would help his mood. As he mounted the stairs he noticed a small dent in the wall he'd been meaning to repair for months and decided he would do it today. He'd paint the wall when he was done so it would look good when his wife got home.

Except it suddenly occured to him that he might be dead in a few hours.

What the hell, where did that thought come from he wondered aloud ?

Genuinely frightened he went into the bathroom and locked the door. He turned the water on and stepped into the shower, hoping the hot water would warm him up and change his mood a little.

He lathered up, rinsed off, then stood under the hot spray for several minutes. When he finally felt warm again he turned the water off and reached for a towel.

At that moment he felt something cool brush the back of his neck, and the chain he always wore, the one with the small gold cross, fell off and landed in the bottom of the tub with the cross upside down.

And George suddenly felt very cold again. He stepped out of the tub and stood with his back to it, shaking violently. Just as he was about to turn around to retrieve his cross he saw a bright flash of light. It was so quick that later he almost convinced himself that it hadn't happened. Except that he couldn't. Because of the other thing.

He stepped close to the tub and saw his cross still lying in the bottom. The cross was right side up again and several links had been blackened and fused. Later he would tell his wife that he'd been burning papers in the fireplace and when he leaned over to throw a few more in the cross had fallen into the fireplace. She didn't believe him but the look on his face said it was best not to pursue the subject.

He put his cross back on, dried himself off, got dressed, and went to work fixing the wall.

Later, when he was done working, he went into the family room, gathered up all the horror movies, and threw them all out. And when his wife noticed that she decided not to ask about it because she didn't want to know what had happened after all.

   

Posted by OldGuy at 10:53 PM | Comments (4)

   

October 25, 2006

 

Just a Little Update

 

I didn't get a chance to come by on Sunday like usual so I thought I'd just do a little update.

The lad has been home since last Friday. He brought some homework with him so has been doing some of that. On Sunday he had to do an open book exam via the internet for school so did that also.

Last night he and I watched a movie called "Two for the Money" with Matthew McConaughey and Al Pacino. Pretty good movie and we both really enjoyed it. I won't spoil it for you by telling you what it's about, you'll just have to rent it yourself.

Not much else going on right now, work is work and all is quiet on the home front.

I was going to write that Halloween story today but I'm just too lazy. I will defnitely get it done tomorrow though so check back then.

   

Posted by OldGuy at 1:40 PM | Comments (1)

   

October 18, 2006

 

Just Something I Made

 

I was playing with Photoshop last night and made this thing. I have no idea what it is but it looks cool so I thought I'd post it. The neat thing is I can change the way the gold colour loops around the brown ring for a completely different effect or change the colours altogether. Blue and gold actually looks pretty cool too but I went with these because they're the colours of my scroll bar and of my old header. If you can think of a name for it let me know.

On another note, today is a fairly warm day here. It was actually a pleasant surprise to step outside this morning and feel that the temperature had gone up a few degrees. It won't last long though, in fact I expect it will have cooled down considerably by the time I leave work tonight.

The lad is coming home again this Friday. He'll be here for a week and then it's back to University until Christmas. We're looking forward to having him, especially for a whole week.

Anyway, not much else going on right now so cheerio until next time.

   

Posted by OldGuy at 1:35 PM | Comments (2)

   

October 15, 2006

 

Sunday Morning Musings

 

I think I'm going to have to change the title of this weekly post coz I hardly ever get a chance to get at it on Sunday mornings anymore. Still, I try to think up stuff in the morning so that's gotta count for something right ?

Anyway, it's been a working weekend. I've been doing prep work prior to painting again. Yeah, painting, I can hardly wait. NOT !! Oh well, it's gotta get done so I might as well get it over with. This time it's the upstairs hallways and the baseboards throughout most of the house. Doesn't sound like a big job I know but by the time I've done all the patching, sanded the walls, and washed everything down it's a major job. And you know me, I always underestimate the work involved and the time it's going to take me so what starts out looking like a weekend job ends up taking two weekends, maybe three. The thing is, it happens every time, I just can't seem to estimate these things right. Even if I think I'm overestimating, like maybe I think okay, it looks like a small job, maybe a day or two, so I'll double that, it still takes longer than I thought it would. I don't get it, I guess I just suck at this stuff.

On another note, I wanted to say a few words about celebrating the human spirit. Maybe it's because I'm getting old and mushy but lately I really notice when this stuff shows up in a movie. I was channel surfing the other day and happened across the movie Jerry Maguire, which I'd already seen. But I flipped to it just at the scene where the football player scores a game winning touchdown and gets tackled at the same time. He's out cold in the end zone, and just when everybody is worried that he's badly hurt he opens his eyes and says "just let me enjoy this" and he lays there for a few seconds enjoying the feeling of having scored a game winning touchdown, then he gets up and dances around the field. And I started to laugh and then I started to cry because this was a celebration of the human spirit. For a few brief moments this guy was basking in glory and he was celebrating that feeling the best way he knew how.

Here's another one. I was watching "Radio Flyer" last night, and the scene near the end where Bobby takes off into the air in his jerry-rigged wagon is incredible. Surely he's going to crash you think as he's barreling down the hill, but at the last moment he takes off and starts to fly. It doesn't matter that it's impossible, because it's pure magic, magic and a feeling that nothing is impossible if you believe hard enough. And you celebrate with the boy because his magic wagon worked and his step-father will never hurt him again because he's flying away. And once again I laughed and cried.

To celebrate the human spirit; what a glorious feeling.

I haven't forgotten I owe you folks a poem and a story too. They're coming, they really are, I just keep changing my mind what I want to write about.

Cheers and until next time folks.

   

Posted by OldGuy at 8:22 PM | Comments (2)

   

October 11, 2006

 

The Long Weekend is Over

 

But hey, it's already Wednesday so that isn't so bad.

What a gorgeous weekend it was too. The weather was in the high teens/low twenties (I don't remember what that is in centigrade anymore, it's been too damn long since we switched over but it was warm), definitely Indian Summer, so the last of the warm weather probably.

The lad was home for the weekend, and it was great to see him. He and I watched a movie on Saturday night, and the rest of the weekend he caught up on his game-playing as he doesn't have his Playstation at school. The princess spent some time outdoors and some time playing with the new Gamecube game she got for Thanksgiving. As stated previously, we intended to eat lots this weekend, and that we did. We barbecued steaks on Saturday, went to Grandma's for turkey dinner on Sunday, and on monday we ordered in Chinese food. Yesterday was kinda quiet as my wife wasn't feeling well, so we'll have to celebrate our anniversary another day.

With the weather being so great this weekend and the fall colours on full display I got an idea for a poem, so I'll have it up later this week.

Other than that, the only news of note today is that my friend TNC made a lovely pic to commemerate our 20th wedding anniversary, so I just had to show it to you. Thanks TN :)

   

Posted by OldGuy at 1:57 PM | Comments (5)

   

October 6, 2006

 

Loooonng Weekend

 

Yep, it's Friday, and a long weekend again.

As this is Canadian Thanksgiving we have Monday off. My wife and I are also celebrating 20 years of marriage on Tuesday (not too many couples last that long these days) so I took that day off too. So that translates into a four day weekend. Gotta love that !

The lad is coming home tonight and we're all very excited to see him. His sister has been talking about it for a couple of weeks. She'll be in bed by the time he gets in but she's asked us to wake her up coz she wants to see him and give him a big hug.

We'll probably have a BBQ tomorrow then it's off the Grandma's for Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday.

Hey, I just realized I've been blogging for almost two years now and I still love it. That's by far the longest I've ever stuck a "hobby" out so I guess I'll keep at it.

Anyway, I know it's a short entry but it's Friday afternoon and the weekend is just a whisper away so I'm outta here. I'll report back on Sunday if we get back from Grandma's on time.

And yeah, I haven't forgotten about the Halloween story, in fact it's all figured out, just gotta wait till closer to the big day to post it.

Happy Thanksgiving to all you Canadians.

   

Posted by OldGuy at 2:13 PM | Comments (6)

   

October 1, 2006

 

Sunday Morning Musings

 

Well, another week gone by.

Work is work, nothing much to report there.

On the home front, we had a very busy weekend. My wife and I spent most of the day yesterday cleaning up. The princess had a bunch of friends over so there were five kids at the dinner table last night. My wife picked up several pizzas and we all munched to our hearts content. Later, my wife spent the evening playing with a couple of the girls while I went to the neighbour's for a drink. Then one of the other girls stayed for a sleepover. This morning we had a big breakfast with a couple of the girls over again, then we played some games with them. After that I took four of them to see the butterfly show at Carleton University, then it was back here for cake and more games. Right now the whole crew is playing in the garage for a few minutes before everybody has to go home.

Back to the butterfly show for a bit. The kids were lukewarm on it. Me, I loved it ! They had butterflies from all over the world flying around the greenhouse. Big ones, little ones, every colour of the rainbow and then some. Black, red, emerald green, orange, yellow, etc. What a fantastic display of mother nature's beauty. And they had pieces of watermelon and oranges you could hold in the air so the butterflies would land on them. The kids didn't manage to attract any but several people did so you could stand and watch them. Actually, one very big moth did feed off a piece of watermelon that several people passed around so they could hold it. The princess thought it was pretty cool. When I got it the moth flew off and landed on one girl's nose. Now, this was one huge friggin moth so needless to say she was a little freaked out but she handled it well, didn't scream, just waited for it to fly away, which it did after a few seconds.

All in all, it was a very busy weekend.

Anyway, it's getting late, and I'm hungry so I think I'll go warm up some left over pizza.

One other thing. I hadn't done much Photoshopping for a while but this weekend I played around a bit again. Nothing fancy, just some text on a black background, which I put on my desktop. What do you think ?

Cheers, and until next time folks.

   

Posted by OldGuy at 7:03 PM | Comments (4)