The rest of the story isn't as jam packed as the crazy move but is still worth telling I suppose. Friday Thumper, J-Bun and I made a delicious pancake breakfast for our last meal together before the holidays. It was nice, quiet, festive and overall a nice segway into the beginning of the holidays.
After that J-Bun gave me my her x-mas gift to me which turned out to be an acoustic guitar! Based on this she scores high in gold stars for the best gift ever given. I've wanted one for a long time but would only ever go so far as research price before I decided I couldn't as a student. Leave it up to her to get me the one thing I'd never get myself and while I think this might have been a bit much in terms of cost, I love her for it.
The three of us parted ways from there onto our seperate holiday journies all filled with delicious pancake goodness. I went to visit the Vancouver imported Giles for a little while along with the rest of the Giles clan. We chatted it up for a bit and then played a little bit of friendly poker. We were originally going to see a movie, but the promise of some freezing rain pushed me to head out a little earlier.
The trip itself was pretty nuts with much of the promised freezing rain and various traffic jams which I could only attribute to the weather. It took me four hours to complete what usually takes three but would make it home safe and sound. I think all I did friday was unpack and then head straight to bed as my body was very broken by this point.
I awoke saturday to a delicious breakfast which for once in the past few months, I didn't have to prepare making it even more delicious. The remainder of the day was spent taking care of last minute christmas tasks including purchasing and wrapping of last minute items. Saturday night I helped my sister bake x-mas cookies which didn't turn out that hot since I'm not as much of a culinary expert as her. Still edible though.
X-mas day was nice and festive again with presents, turkey, family and all around merryment. There were no gifts that could realy top the acoustic guitar but they were all still very much appreciated.
I bought a new DVD player and cordless keyboard on boxing day at Future Shop. I got up at 5 am for the 6am opening which in the end was a bit of a waste since none of the items mentioned were door crashers. Later on, I would end up seeing more family some of which I had not seen in years. People grow like sprouts after a couple of years but that's to be expected since time dosn't stand still in my abscence.
I've also purchased a few more items since then including a stool ($15 at Can Tire) and the Lost DVD box set which was a great deal at Zellers for $30. Box Day/Week deals will be the end of me.
I'm heading back to Kingston on Friday for a few social events provided that my cousin dosn't give birth that day as I would like to see the baby if possible before I go. I've told her to have it soon because of this but if it's not here by friday then I'm going with the original plan.
The plan for New Year's this year is pretty chill for once. Giles and I are planning on heading over to McM'ss to honour his invitation and then are going back to the Giles residence for something more low key. My suggestion was wine and movies. I think it will be refreshing to actually remember this new year's once it's passed.
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
The excitement is tapering off
So X-mas has come and gone and soon we'll all be into the new years swing. Before I move on to that subject though, I'll resume the events of the past couple days for those who are interested.
Tuesday morning I was notified that we'd be getting the thursday off work in addition to the friday. This was right up my alley since I'd not felt like doing the whole try to learn/get told how to do it/get put down routine that I run into so frequently. That being the case and also coupled to the fact that I wanted to be in Kingston the next day to help Thumper move, I decided to take the wednesday off.
The rest of tuesday went pretty quickly and before I knew it I was home scurrying around getting things ready to head into the holidays. Thankfully, I'd done laundry the previous night and managed to get everything done in reasonable time.
I awoke the next morning and readied myself for the drive to kingston. The drive for the most part was pretty straight forward except for the last ten minutes of snow squalls that spontaneously came out of nowhere. The there was the move...
The drive to Trenton was pretty straight forward and so was the loading process from the storage. The fun started when it came time to get the other set of couches from the house and get them into the truck. Firstly, the couches were tremendously heavy. Secondly, they were huge and we needed to re-organize some of the stuff in the truck to get it all to fit. That was the first obstacle which we tackled sucessfully. Next was the lunch at Tim Hortons.
Thumper had graciously offered to buy us all lunch for helping out which was nice of him. This seemed to be a problem for the cashier for some reason as she gave us a quizicle look. However, we did digress past that. From there I began my order asking if I could get chili in place of the soup if I got a soup and sandwhich combo. This must have been an important thing to get right as she needed to reference two other employees and likely the oracle to make this work. Finally after about 5 mins, she decided that it would be okay and the order was processed. I ended up getting my food and sat down to eat. After finishing off half my sandwhich and some chili I noticed that I was still by myself and after glancing over my shoulder, noticed the other three were still putting in their order. I would later find out that she screwed up the entire order at least three more times before Thumper could pay. Geez.
We drove to Kingston from there and arrived at the new T-humper shag pad ready to unload. We first tried to take the truck in through the rear and about halfway figured there was too much ice and that we'd likely run into more problems and so after taking ten seconds to get the truck into the alley, we took about 30 mins to get it out moving inch by inch. Mission number three ended up in sucess as we mangaged to get to the front of the house and started to unpack.
Everything once again went well until we got back to the hell couches. The Love seat went in with a bit of struggle but the three seater would end up being the one battle we'd end up losing. We'd walked the couch around to the back, removed the legs, tilted it up and around, brought it back to the front, removed the door all to no avail and would end up just putting it back into the truck and taking it to another storage the next morning. If anyone wants a $1300 couch for $800, Thumper might have one for you. We ended up at Montana's that night for a Mock Thumper b-day celebration and a few drinks. Somewhere in between the end of moving and dinner, I'd also managed to put a small dent in the Bone Buggy too. In the end I think it bothered others more than myself. What a day!
Thursday morning was spent getting the couch into another storage. This was another hellish battle as we had only two people (instead of four) to move the couch this time. I wanted to burn the thing in the end and dance around it but I don't think Thumper would have been happy with that. In the end th0ugh it was taken care of to some degree and the move which was suppose to take a day, ended after a day and half. Thumper and I had Smitty's for breakfast which was delicious. He mainly talked and I mainly listened throwing in my two cents every once in a while. The rest of the day was more straight forward than the previous day had been. I took a nap, showered and then went shopping for some x-mas items. Later we'd train with Mark for the last Jitsu session for the winter term at the Y and it was a definate proper send off. We tried to be novices and have J-Bun teach but she decided to be a novice too. I'm not too sure why as I love it when I get to teach my seniors since its so rare. But it was definately pretty sweet.
We'd later head to the BusCave for some wine and other treats made by the BusMan. I remember wanting to get drunk but passing out within five minutes of sitting on the couch. I think my body was totaled to say the least.
I think I'll end the post there and start from friday on the next post. So, to be continued...
Tuesday morning I was notified that we'd be getting the thursday off work in addition to the friday. This was right up my alley since I'd not felt like doing the whole try to learn/get told how to do it/get put down routine that I run into so frequently. That being the case and also coupled to the fact that I wanted to be in Kingston the next day to help Thumper move, I decided to take the wednesday off.
The rest of tuesday went pretty quickly and before I knew it I was home scurrying around getting things ready to head into the holidays. Thankfully, I'd done laundry the previous night and managed to get everything done in reasonable time.
I awoke the next morning and readied myself for the drive to kingston. The drive for the most part was pretty straight forward except for the last ten minutes of snow squalls that spontaneously came out of nowhere. The there was the move...
The drive to Trenton was pretty straight forward and so was the loading process from the storage. The fun started when it came time to get the other set of couches from the house and get them into the truck. Firstly, the couches were tremendously heavy. Secondly, they were huge and we needed to re-organize some of the stuff in the truck to get it all to fit. That was the first obstacle which we tackled sucessfully. Next was the lunch at Tim Hortons.
Thumper had graciously offered to buy us all lunch for helping out which was nice of him. This seemed to be a problem for the cashier for some reason as she gave us a quizicle look. However, we did digress past that. From there I began my order asking if I could get chili in place of the soup if I got a soup and sandwhich combo. This must have been an important thing to get right as she needed to reference two other employees and likely the oracle to make this work. Finally after about 5 mins, she decided that it would be okay and the order was processed. I ended up getting my food and sat down to eat. After finishing off half my sandwhich and some chili I noticed that I was still by myself and after glancing over my shoulder, noticed the other three were still putting in their order. I would later find out that she screwed up the entire order at least three more times before Thumper could pay. Geez.
We drove to Kingston from there and arrived at the new T-humper shag pad ready to unload. We first tried to take the truck in through the rear and about halfway figured there was too much ice and that we'd likely run into more problems and so after taking ten seconds to get the truck into the alley, we took about 30 mins to get it out moving inch by inch. Mission number three ended up in sucess as we mangaged to get to the front of the house and started to unpack.
Everything once again went well until we got back to the hell couches. The Love seat went in with a bit of struggle but the three seater would end up being the one battle we'd end up losing. We'd walked the couch around to the back, removed the legs, tilted it up and around, brought it back to the front, removed the door all to no avail and would end up just putting it back into the truck and taking it to another storage the next morning. If anyone wants a $1300 couch for $800, Thumper might have one for you. We ended up at Montana's that night for a Mock Thumper b-day celebration and a few drinks. Somewhere in between the end of moving and dinner, I'd also managed to put a small dent in the Bone Buggy too. In the end I think it bothered others more than myself. What a day!
Thursday morning was spent getting the couch into another storage. This was another hellish battle as we had only two people (instead of four) to move the couch this time. I wanted to burn the thing in the end and dance around it but I don't think Thumper would have been happy with that. In the end th0ugh it was taken care of to some degree and the move which was suppose to take a day, ended after a day and half. Thumper and I had Smitty's for breakfast which was delicious. He mainly talked and I mainly listened throwing in my two cents every once in a while. The rest of the day was more straight forward than the previous day had been. I took a nap, showered and then went shopping for some x-mas items. Later we'd train with Mark for the last Jitsu session for the winter term at the Y and it was a definate proper send off. We tried to be novices and have J-Bun teach but she decided to be a novice too. I'm not too sure why as I love it when I get to teach my seniors since its so rare. But it was definately pretty sweet.
We'd later head to the BusCave for some wine and other treats made by the BusMan. I remember wanting to get drunk but passing out within five minutes of sitting on the couch. I think my body was totaled to say the least.
I think I'll end the post there and start from friday on the next post. So, to be continued...
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
An X-mas Quote
The perennial dictum is to spread goodwill towards all men. The irony of course is that this is contrary to our nature. So why do we do it? Because we are being watched! And so we unselfishly think of others, assured that our good behavior will be rewarded with love and plutonium.
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Christmas Shopping
Before I begin this post, I must say that I just decided to have swiss chalet for dinner as oppose to Wendy's. The meal I purchased was just about the same price as I would have paid for a classic double combo with baked potato (cheese and brocolli). The conclusion I've come to was that this was the best decision I've made since yesterday. I love Wendy's to pieces but swiss chalet just hit the spot.
Yesterday, I spent most of the day x-mas shopping and overall was very satisfied with all my purchases which isn't always an easy thing to attain. Overall I think those who have gotten gifts and will get gifts from me will find them to be fitting and appropriate.
I've also spent some of this Kingston time visiting friends who I havn't seen. Yesterday, I made a long overdue visit to RA to see both him and his apartment. It was quite the quick one in retrospect but it was still nice and relaxing. Sparxx was in town today and I joined her for a little bit on the tail end of lunch and some shopping.
Tonight I'll be attending Montana's X-mas party as Mrs. Bun's Guest. Even though booze is free, I'm not quite sure if I'll drink a lot since I don't know a lot of people there and since I have to drive in the morning. I guess we'll just have to play it by ear.
Thursday, I'll be back in Kingston but I've got a full platter of things to that night and the next day. Giles is back in town, Mr. Bus has invited me to train with him, I've gotta visit Thumper's new pad and get the holiday thing done with the woman.
On the 23rd, I'll head home for about a week of relaxation. I'll be back on the 31st and 1st for new year's and will likely head to cornwall on the 2nd. Should be a good holiday overall.
Yesterday, I spent most of the day x-mas shopping and overall was very satisfied with all my purchases which isn't always an easy thing to attain. Overall I think those who have gotten gifts and will get gifts from me will find them to be fitting and appropriate.
I've also spent some of this Kingston time visiting friends who I havn't seen. Yesterday, I made a long overdue visit to RA to see both him and his apartment. It was quite the quick one in retrospect but it was still nice and relaxing. Sparxx was in town today and I joined her for a little bit on the tail end of lunch and some shopping.
Tonight I'll be attending Montana's X-mas party as Mrs. Bun's Guest. Even though booze is free, I'm not quite sure if I'll drink a lot since I don't know a lot of people there and since I have to drive in the morning. I guess we'll just have to play it by ear.
Thursday, I'll be back in Kingston but I've got a full platter of things to that night and the next day. Giles is back in town, Mr. Bus has invited me to train with him, I've gotta visit Thumper's new pad and get the holiday thing done with the woman.
On the 23rd, I'll head home for about a week of relaxation. I'll be back on the 31st and 1st for new year's and will likely head to cornwall on the 2nd. Should be a good holiday overall.
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Christmas is creeping closer
And I have done a thing yet to get ready for the holidays! But hopefully this will be a start and a place to get my ideas down and maybe have people comment on them.
Holidays run from the night of the 22nd to the 2nd of january for me. I was planning on spending the majority of the 22nd and 23rd in kingston to spend time with a few of my comrads. Giles is back and I'd like to spend the majority of the night with him but then I've also made plans to train with the Bus for his last session and visit T-humper at his new pad. I've also got to spend my holiday time with my dear lady. Maybe I can drag her with me in my travels. Then again, she'll likely have to work.
There might be a tentative plan with T-humper to visit Sparxx in TO on the night of the 23rd but that has yet to be sorted out. There isn't a whole tonne of drive behind this visit other than T-humper's wishes based on last years fiasco but there is still a little bit.
After that I'm home until the new year at which point I'll be returning to kingston for new years. I will likely be visiting McM for new years and well as Mr. Bus. Definately going to be bringing in the new year with the lady. This will be the first new year's I won't be single. First time for everything I guess.
I've also told Fish that I'd stop by for some of her high end baked goods. Overall I think it will be nice to leave all of the past years tensions stay in the year as I move on to the next.
I don't have a huge x-mas list myself. It mainly consists of anything Lord of the Rings related and perhaps one of many dvd boxsets eluding my collection. (Lost S1, Dawson's Creek S4,5, Simpsons S7, 24 S2,3 and 4). I've found that I've become addicited to DVD boxsets. Not too sure why though.
Going to the Bon Jovi concert in the Bell Centre on wednesday. It should be pretty awesome.
I've spent the weekend in Cornwall recuperating from the blur of events that has gotten me to this weekend. Catching up on sleep, cleaning up the apartment and doing the things that seem to always get left behind when I run off to other cities.
Holidays run from the night of the 22nd to the 2nd of january for me. I was planning on spending the majority of the 22nd and 23rd in kingston to spend time with a few of my comrads. Giles is back and I'd like to spend the majority of the night with him but then I've also made plans to train with the Bus for his last session and visit T-humper at his new pad. I've also got to spend my holiday time with my dear lady. Maybe I can drag her with me in my travels. Then again, she'll likely have to work.
There might be a tentative plan with T-humper to visit Sparxx in TO on the night of the 23rd but that has yet to be sorted out. There isn't a whole tonne of drive behind this visit other than T-humper's wishes based on last years fiasco but there is still a little bit.
After that I'm home until the new year at which point I'll be returning to kingston for new years. I will likely be visiting McM for new years and well as Mr. Bus. Definately going to be bringing in the new year with the lady. This will be the first new year's I won't be single. First time for everything I guess.
I've also told Fish that I'd stop by for some of her high end baked goods. Overall I think it will be nice to leave all of the past years tensions stay in the year as I move on to the next.
I don't have a huge x-mas list myself. It mainly consists of anything Lord of the Rings related and perhaps one of many dvd boxsets eluding my collection. (Lost S1, Dawson's Creek S4,5, Simpsons S7, 24 S2,3 and 4). I've found that I've become addicited to DVD boxsets. Not too sure why though.
Going to the Bon Jovi concert in the Bell Centre on wednesday. It should be pretty awesome.
I've spent the weekend in Cornwall recuperating from the blur of events that has gotten me to this weekend. Catching up on sleep, cleaning up the apartment and doing the things that seem to always get left behind when I run off to other cities.
Monday, December 05, 2005
How could I forget
In what might be considered shocking news, a three month silence was broken last night as I was invited back to the 439 for New Year's. I was planning on being in Kingston but have not yet decided on whether I will attend. As I was telling Thumper, I'm leaning towards going as the worst that can happen is that we could continue not talking afterwards. Everything just goes uphill after that. We shall see.
Another great weekend logged
This past weekend was another great one for the books. All around it was just great to see so many people that I've come to know these past few years grading, progressing and then moving on to share some larfs with.
Friday was good because I got to sleep in a little since I was on a late day shift. It was also good because I had taken a half day off so that I could make it into to the grading on time and thus only had a four hour work day. For the most part it flew by and before I knew it I was on the road to Kingston. I was beginning to get a headache stemming from the past weeks shots to the head I'd taken so I stopped off at walmart to purchase some ibuprofen. After an hour the headache was gone which worked out perfect in time for the start of the Queen's Grading.
The Queen's grading itself was awesome and a stark contrast to that of the past week where brutality reigned. This was in and of itself a clinic of how jitsu should be done and was highlighted by two candidates, going for dark blue, tearing up the mats with some brilliant stuff. Overall the grading was awesome. Didn't hurt that I got to do a few makikomi's either (which is rare in a grading).
As per quo with jitsu, we ran right to the last minute and thus needed to boot to out social venue before the kitchen closed. Because of this, I forget that I had made some arrangements with RA to visit his new pad and he ended up waiting for nothing. I have since apologized to him but still feel a little bad for having someone uncessarily wait on me.
Dinner at the Hojo was awesome. I had some fantastic chicken dish which must have been made with chicken delight as it was delectable. Celebrations soon followed after that as per the usual style of jitsu canada. Shots were had and a lot of laughs were shared. I retired when most did at about twoish since I needed to be in working order to drive to Peterborough the next morning.
I awoke the next morning quite well acutally and even had time for a shower beforehand. I had breakfast, got my things together and proceeded downstairs to coral the troops. Suprisingly, and at the same time not suprisingly, only high chief was there and ready to go. With two parties missing in action, we quickly discussed where they might be and how we might find them. Right on cue, High Chief recieved a call from Flippy Dan saying they were at Big Sam's and as we'd guessed they'd gone all night.
I went to pick them up so we could get on the road quickly but we were still set back about a half hour. I wasn't too worried about being late though since we were with the grading panel and thus by proxy would inevitably arrive just on time. The drive to peterborough was nice except for Anders Rage-ahol music that was playing. It was pretty intense stuff and I usually enjoy my drives quite chill. I had my own way on the way home though.
The peterborough grading was another treat and thankfully I was not the only Uki present on the mats this time with three others there to do some bashing. It was good since I was feeling the wear of the previous night a little bit and don't think I could have done things as effectively by myself.
The grading was followed by the peterborough semi formal which was a blast filled with great food, good wine and more laughs. I had a small incident with some nuts in someone else's Thai food but would do it all over again just to share all those laughs again. We had some hungover Smitty's breakfast the next morning and laughed at jokes which, most of, were terrible but because we'd been up all night, seemed to be funny. Afterwards, we said our goodbyes and proceeded back to Kingston.
I spent the night with Mrs. Bun having a little dinner and hang out time and though I would have loved to have stayed forever, I had to return to Cornwall for work. In the end I put 800+ clicks on my car but every bit was worth it.
Closing thoughts:
- I have twenty days to both start and finish my x-mas shopping
- Am I the only one whose heard Orange Sky by Alexi Murdoch and love it?
- I'm not doing anything this weekend as I need to rest my body up and let my mind catch up with everything that's going on. Today at work, my mind was constantly fighting me for killing my body so much.
- Red Wine is delicious. Favourite has to be Yellow Tail Shiraz.
- DVD boxsets are my love and nemesis. I need to stop buying so many.
Some closing photos:
Friday was good because I got to sleep in a little since I was on a late day shift. It was also good because I had taken a half day off so that I could make it into to the grading on time and thus only had a four hour work day. For the most part it flew by and before I knew it I was on the road to Kingston. I was beginning to get a headache stemming from the past weeks shots to the head I'd taken so I stopped off at walmart to purchase some ibuprofen. After an hour the headache was gone which worked out perfect in time for the start of the Queen's Grading.
The Queen's grading itself was awesome and a stark contrast to that of the past week where brutality reigned. This was in and of itself a clinic of how jitsu should be done and was highlighted by two candidates, going for dark blue, tearing up the mats with some brilliant stuff. Overall the grading was awesome. Didn't hurt that I got to do a few makikomi's either (which is rare in a grading).
As per quo with jitsu, we ran right to the last minute and thus needed to boot to out social venue before the kitchen closed. Because of this, I forget that I had made some arrangements with RA to visit his new pad and he ended up waiting for nothing. I have since apologized to him but still feel a little bad for having someone uncessarily wait on me.
Dinner at the Hojo was awesome. I had some fantastic chicken dish which must have been made with chicken delight as it was delectable. Celebrations soon followed after that as per the usual style of jitsu canada. Shots were had and a lot of laughs were shared. I retired when most did at about twoish since I needed to be in working order to drive to Peterborough the next morning.
I awoke the next morning quite well acutally and even had time for a shower beforehand. I had breakfast, got my things together and proceeded downstairs to coral the troops. Suprisingly, and at the same time not suprisingly, only high chief was there and ready to go. With two parties missing in action, we quickly discussed where they might be and how we might find them. Right on cue, High Chief recieved a call from Flippy Dan saying they were at Big Sam's and as we'd guessed they'd gone all night.
I went to pick them up so we could get on the road quickly but we were still set back about a half hour. I wasn't too worried about being late though since we were with the grading panel and thus by proxy would inevitably arrive just on time. The drive to peterborough was nice except for Anders Rage-ahol music that was playing. It was pretty intense stuff and I usually enjoy my drives quite chill. I had my own way on the way home though.
The peterborough grading was another treat and thankfully I was not the only Uki present on the mats this time with three others there to do some bashing. It was good since I was feeling the wear of the previous night a little bit and don't think I could have done things as effectively by myself.
The grading was followed by the peterborough semi formal which was a blast filled with great food, good wine and more laughs. I had a small incident with some nuts in someone else's Thai food but would do it all over again just to share all those laughs again. We had some hungover Smitty's breakfast the next morning and laughed at jokes which, most of, were terrible but because we'd been up all night, seemed to be funny. Afterwards, we said our goodbyes and proceeded back to Kingston.
I spent the night with Mrs. Bun having a little dinner and hang out time and though I would have loved to have stayed forever, I had to return to Cornwall for work. In the end I put 800+ clicks on my car but every bit was worth it.
Closing thoughts:
- I have twenty days to both start and finish my x-mas shopping
- Am I the only one whose heard Orange Sky by Alexi Murdoch and love it?
- I'm not doing anything this weekend as I need to rest my body up and let my mind catch up with everything that's going on. Today at work, my mind was constantly fighting me for killing my body so much.
- Red Wine is delicious. Favourite has to be Yellow Tail Shiraz.
- DVD boxsets are my love and nemesis. I need to stop buying so many.
Some closing photos:
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