All Hallow's Eve
If history serves me correct, that is what this day used to be called. I actually don't remember any of the other history behind this date. What I do know is the present. And well - it goes a little something like this. On Halloween night, my house is all DARK. We leave virtually NO lights on. My dad even puts up a piece of cardboard to block any light that might escape through the window over our front door. I think my mom is preparing dinner in the kitchen in the dark right now. It's pure jokes. Yep - we are one of those families that just doesn't bother giving candies out to those little boys and girls in the neighbourhood. Oh, and speaking of those kids - there are hardly anymore these days. In the past few years (when we actually gave candy), we probably saw about 10 - 15 kids in the night. Then, we saw our fair share of older kids wearing No costume or some Ghetto mask saying TRICK OR TREAT. I ain't gonna give you sorry souls any candy! Get off my porch. And then, the tires get slashed! (well, it's never happened to us, knock on wood). Actually, we did get egged once. And another fun Halloween story was the time I got rolled for my candy back in like grade 6 or 7 or something. Oh good times for sure.
Weekend came and went and so did my brother. Man, that went quick. He was here for 8 days in total but it flew by for sure. One of the highlights of his trip had to have been when the two of us were drinking Johnny Walker Blue on Saturday night with our dad. We got it for him for father's day this year and he busted it out on Saturday night. I am not a scotch guy but dang, that stuff is smooth! It just rolls off your tongue and down your throat AND makes you feel all nice and warm inside. I don't think I'm converted or anything but it definitely was enjoyable. While my bro was around, we looked at a bunch of wedding venues for the reception next year. Man, that is proving to be more and more difficult a task. You end up liking X at one place, Y at another. Saying "I could live with ABC at this venue but can't live without 123 at that venue. In the end, $$$ will play heavily into the hall. Whatever is picked, the day will be beautiful and that's the most important thing. As a belated birthday gift, I got my bro a massage (and I figured I might as well treat myself to one as well). We went to the spa in the hotel at Warden and Hwy 7. I was not impressed at all. First off, it was the most expensive massage I've ever had. $95 for 50 minutes. What's up with that??? And second of all, the masseuse sucked. She was useless and didn't do much for me. I did fall asleep a couple times so I must have been relaxed but man, I was still stiff after. So, to make up for things I went all ghetto on them and took some extra cookies and bottled water as I was leaving. Also, when asked if I wanted to include any gratuities on my bill, I promptly said "No".
Here's a link to an ofoto site I created with various pictures from all the fun we had last week. Special thanks go out to everyone who hosted us and came out for various dinners. It was a blast!
Fantasy NBA has started. I think my roster is okay. I need to make some small tweaks here and there but I should have a decent team, anchored my Nowitzki. I didn't attend our draft last night so I got computer picks which for the most part, were fine. My Fantasy NHL teams are doing pretty well. I'm in first in one league and battling for 4th/5th in another. I was doing fine wrt injuries but then, got jacked in the last week. Hopefully, that'll turn around soon. I don't have any Leafs on my roster (probably a good thing - did anyone see the 8-0 pasting they took at the hands of Ottawa on Saturday night?) I'm a diehard Leaf fan but since day 1 of this season, I said that it would be a stretch to make the playoffs. They are just proving that these days. I'll be happy as long as the young guys play and they don't deal anymore away for the next Owen Nolan or Brian Leetch.
Today, I was sitting in a doctors office waiting room. As part of my job, that happens from time to time while I'm waiting around for customers, etc. Today, was hilarious because it was a complete array of all that society has to offer. Where do I begin? I heard at least 10 different languages and saw at least 5 different skin colours. I saw this uptight guy that was so pissed off that some lady "barged in" after him and got number 34 whereas he was sitting with 39 so she got served first. When he finally went up when it was his turn, he went on and on about being pissed off cause he couldn't eat and couldn't have his morning coffee because he had to fast for some bloodtest. Just cool it you idiot! Then, there was the crying baby. Man, that kid wouldn't stop. Anything and everything his mother tried just didn't work. Finally, the girl behind the desk went and asked what they were in for and promptly pushed her to the front of the line so that they could get treated and streeted (to use a term from ER). I'm sure no one minded the "two-tiered" nature of our healthcare in action in that instance. I also saw the 16 year old pimply, awkward couple who I overheard talking about sex and private parts and stuff. Were they there to discuss birth control? The list can go on and on. It was quite amusing to just sit and observe. Kinda like a zoo actually. Who knows what peeps were saying about me too cause there I am sitting in a chair in my suit looking all cool (or maybe that's "trying to look all cool").
Monday, October 31, 2005
Friday, October 28, 2005
no laser vision for me
Well, I had my consultation this morning at Lasik MD in hopes of finding out if I'm a candidate for laser eye surgery. Well, it turns out that I'm not like the average population. You see most people have corneas that are about 540 microns thick. But mine are only 462 and 470 microns thick respectively. They even tested the size twice (once with the machine and then, the other manuallly using a little Ultrasound probe that they put right on my eye after giving me some numbing drops).
The optometrist (girl I knew who is a friend of a friend) was very honest with me. She basically said that if they were her eyes, she wouldn't do it.
This isn't to say that I can't do the procedure at all. I could get it done and use the newer PRK method which hurts a bit more, involves more follow up but has the same excellent results in the end. It just seems like it might be a bit too much to go through at this stage.
She was also saying that the technology is continually improving so it's not 100% that I'll never be able to have this procedure done. There might be a time in the future when the technology improves that I'll be able to get the surgery done. Perhaps in the future they won't cut the cornea as much?
So, back to glasses and contacts. I did find out that my perscription has actually improved since my last one so I will be getting some new glasses and contacts I think. We'll see how that goes...
On to the weekend!!!
Well, I had my consultation this morning at Lasik MD in hopes of finding out if I'm a candidate for laser eye surgery. Well, it turns out that I'm not like the average population. You see most people have corneas that are about 540 microns thick. But mine are only 462 and 470 microns thick respectively. They even tested the size twice (once with the machine and then, the other manuallly using a little Ultrasound probe that they put right on my eye after giving me some numbing drops).
The optometrist (girl I knew who is a friend of a friend) was very honest with me. She basically said that if they were her eyes, she wouldn't do it.
This isn't to say that I can't do the procedure at all. I could get it done and use the newer PRK method which hurts a bit more, involves more follow up but has the same excellent results in the end. It just seems like it might be a bit too much to go through at this stage.
She was also saying that the technology is continually improving so it's not 100% that I'll never be able to have this procedure done. There might be a time in the future when the technology improves that I'll be able to get the surgery done. Perhaps in the future they won't cut the cornea as much?
So, back to glasses and contacts. I did find out that my perscription has actually improved since my last one so I will be getting some new glasses and contacts I think. We'll see how that goes...
On to the weekend!!!
Thursday, October 27, 2005
new name, new look, some changes
So, I was tired of my old blog and decided to change it up a little. I still have a few questions though...
1. Why aren't all of my archives showing up? I only have archives from December 2003 until now available but what about all that great literature from February 2002 - December 2003??? - Don't worry, I republished all - problem solved.
2. How do I truncate my archive lists so they say "2005", "2004", etc and then, within those - you can choose which month you want?
3. How do I put my archive list in reverse order? So 2005 is at the top...
Stay tuned for some photos! You know I love to take photos.
Drop me a line if you can answer my questions.
You can e-mail me here
So, I was tired of my old blog and decided to change it up a little. I still have a few questions though...
1. Why aren't all of my archives showing up? I only have archives from December 2003 until now available but what about all that great literature from February 2002 - December 2003??? - Don't worry, I republished all - problem solved.
2. How do I truncate my archive lists so they say "2005", "2004", etc and then, within those - you can choose which month you want?
3. How do I put my archive list in reverse order? So 2005 is at the top...
Stay tuned for some photos! You know I love to take photos.
Drop me a line if you can answer my questions.
You can e-mail me here
Exactly a Month has passed...
Wow, Septemeber 27 - October 27 just came and went. I never would have thought that it would go so quickly. Where to begin? Where to end?
Well, the easy thing will be to give a few shoutouts right off the bat.
First, I think I told you that my friend Ruth is working in Uganda right now. Well, she has started a blog to keep us up to date on her experiences. So you should definitely check it out.
Also, Mr Tchao is back on the blogging tip. The internet community welcomes your humour back with open arms my friend. Make sure you watch the movie that he (and his sister) put together. It's pretty cool.
And the last greeting goes to our friend Clara who is in the UK for school for the next year. She has a cool blog telling us about her adventures across the pond.
Oh yes, and how could I forget the best one of them all - the Franklin Foursome is back. Read, be inspired and laugh a little (or a lot if my rhymes are that bad)
Okay, so the shoutouts are done. It's definitely cool to see how a bunch of my friends are all spread out around the world doing amazing things. I hope that I can visit many of them sometime soon and share stories.
My bro is in town this week. Visiting from London. His fiance has gone home to Australia this week so it just him flying solo. It's been a fun week and it's been good to just chill as a family. Haven't had that much time to spend together just talking and catching up but we are looking at Wedding halls all afternoon so I'm sure that'll give us plenty of opportunities. Last night, Rajs' company took us out to Susur for a fancy dining experience. We had the tasting menu and man, it was quite a treat. It was supposed to be a 7 course meal but by my counts, I had 10 so I'm not complaining. Man, everything is so small but dang - it is rich and cause it takes so long in between courses, you fill up fast. We sat at 7:31 and we were the last to leave the restaurant at 11:34. Can you believe that? Have you ever sat in a restaurant for 4 hours? It was fun at first but after a while, it just got a bit boring and you just needed a change of scenery. I am having a hard time remembering all of the courses that we had but let me give it a try:
1. Amuse Bouche - just to we the pallette - Squab pate, lobster in pear sauce, and can't remember the other one (3 in total)
2. Main - Seared Ostrich Meat in a coffee marinade with spring onions, shallots, carrots, apricots - DAMN, that meat was so tender and melted in your mouth!
3. Fois Gras in an exciting presentation
4. Another presentation of Fois Gras
5. Fatty Pork with Pear and an Asian inspired sauce - Not that great, definitely an acquired taste
6. Pineapple and citrus gelatin garnished with fresh marigolds so refreshing!
7. Halibut Sashimi with a coconut wheel and garnished with shallots
8. Lobster Shrimp grilled to perfection on a skewer
9. Warm Chinese Wintergarden soup with Chicken
10. Dessert - 4 small cakes - one banana, one chocolate, one strawberry and one more (which was the best by far but I don't know what it was).
We had 2 wines during dinner - an Austrian bottle and a French wine.
Overall, a very neat experience. The service was great when it was there. At times, it was a little slow. That place is all about style. All about presentation. Definitely a good memory. And man, I need to go for a jog today!
More in a jiffy (hopefully).
I guess I should do some work now.
Wow, Septemeber 27 - October 27 just came and went. I never would have thought that it would go so quickly. Where to begin? Where to end?
Well, the easy thing will be to give a few shoutouts right off the bat.
First, I think I told you that my friend Ruth is working in Uganda right now. Well, she has started a blog to keep us up to date on her experiences. So you should definitely check it out.
Also, Mr Tchao is back on the blogging tip. The internet community welcomes your humour back with open arms my friend. Make sure you watch the movie that he (and his sister) put together. It's pretty cool.
And the last greeting goes to our friend Clara who is in the UK for school for the next year. She has a cool blog telling us about her adventures across the pond.
Oh yes, and how could I forget the best one of them all - the Franklin Foursome is back. Read, be inspired and laugh a little (or a lot if my rhymes are that bad)
Okay, so the shoutouts are done. It's definitely cool to see how a bunch of my friends are all spread out around the world doing amazing things. I hope that I can visit many of them sometime soon and share stories.
My bro is in town this week. Visiting from London. His fiance has gone home to Australia this week so it just him flying solo. It's been a fun week and it's been good to just chill as a family. Haven't had that much time to spend together just talking and catching up but we are looking at Wedding halls all afternoon so I'm sure that'll give us plenty of opportunities. Last night, Rajs' company took us out to Susur for a fancy dining experience. We had the tasting menu and man, it was quite a treat. It was supposed to be a 7 course meal but by my counts, I had 10 so I'm not complaining. Man, everything is so small but dang - it is rich and cause it takes so long in between courses, you fill up fast. We sat at 7:31 and we were the last to leave the restaurant at 11:34. Can you believe that? Have you ever sat in a restaurant for 4 hours? It was fun at first but after a while, it just got a bit boring and you just needed a change of scenery. I am having a hard time remembering all of the courses that we had but let me give it a try:
1. Amuse Bouche - just to we the pallette - Squab pate, lobster in pear sauce, and can't remember the other one (3 in total)
2. Main - Seared Ostrich Meat in a coffee marinade with spring onions, shallots, carrots, apricots - DAMN, that meat was so tender and melted in your mouth!
3. Fois Gras in an exciting presentation
4. Another presentation of Fois Gras
5. Fatty Pork with Pear and an Asian inspired sauce - Not that great, definitely an acquired taste
6. Pineapple and citrus gelatin garnished with fresh marigolds so refreshing!
7. Halibut Sashimi with a coconut wheel and garnished with shallots
8. Lobster Shrimp grilled to perfection on a skewer
9. Warm Chinese Wintergarden soup with Chicken
10. Dessert - 4 small cakes - one banana, one chocolate, one strawberry and one more (which was the best by far but I don't know what it was).
We had 2 wines during dinner - an Austrian bottle and a French wine.
Overall, a very neat experience. The service was great when it was there. At times, it was a little slow. That place is all about style. All about presentation. Definitely a good memory. And man, I need to go for a jog today!
More in a jiffy (hopefully).
I guess I should do some work now.