It's me, Simpsonized

New internet service...

Ok, so it's been a LONG time since I updated this, I know. Sorry. Anyway, rather than catch everyone up on the past few months, I'll just start from now. So last week we had a couple of power outages within a few hours. After the second one, my ADSL modem stopped connecting with Telus' internet service. It would take them about 5 days to send someone to check it out. So, I set up an appointment, and go to work. Then I get to thinking, I've been wanting to switch to shaw for a while anyway. So the following evening, I call Shaw to set up installation. They were very helpful, and though I called them about 36 hours after I called Telus, they were able to make the appointment for only 24 hours after Telus could. So then I call Telus to cancel the appointment and try to cancel my service. Well, the guy (who hardly speaks English, and made me repeat myself about 5 times for everything I said so he knew what I was saying) tells me that he's cancelled the appointment, but that he can't cancel my service. I have to talk to "sales and retention" so he transfers me, but they're not open so I go back to him, though it takes him a while to realise this, and I'm sitting there listening to background mumbling for a good 2 minutes before he clues in that I'm on the line with him. He says that they're close 'till Monday morning (this was Friday evening) so I ask him to talk to a supervisor, he says they're all in meetings for the next three hours. After countless times on hold and him thanking me for "patiently waiting" every time he returned, he finally patched me through to customer service (instead of tech, which he was, since I wanted to cancel my tech appointment). Customer service tells me that sales and retention are open the following morning. This is somewhat acceptable (though I'm not sure what 24 hr service means if they can't access the entire system 24 hrs a day). Finally I call back the next morning, and I'm able to get them to cancel my service. (Like there was ANY chance I was going to change my mind after what I'd gone through the previous night.)

So yesterday, the guy from Shaw comes over. At no charge he finds a way to get a cable connection up to the computer room, checks the connection, but sees that it's quite weak. So he goes and gets a signal booster from his van, hooks it up, and now it's nice and strong. We go to the computer to check the bandwidth now. From Telus I was getting around 500Kbps down, and probably around 100Kbps up. Immediately I'm now getting 5000Kbps down (yes 10X what I had) and about 500Kbps up. Then he calls in to the office to activate the "eXtreme" connection (which I pay $10 more a month for), and within about 2 minutes my connection speed doubles. The link included (click on the title of this post) will take you to an image of the results of a test I did today, to make sure I'm still getting the same type of connection. The slight drop is caused by the fact that I now have it going through a router. Still, quite impressive for those who are tech savvy enough to know what any of this means.

Ok, so it's been a while...

Ok, so I'm being attacked quite briskly for not keeping up to date with my blog. (Sorry, I guess.) I knew before I started this that I'd go through dry spells. Oh well. So if I have to write something, I figure I'll write a movie review for the most recent movie I went to, Perfect Stranger.

Be forewarned if you're thinking of seeing this that there are some disturbing images, though they're not really focused on much. The biggest thing for many people will be the pornographic images posted on a wall that they pan by with the camera at one point, and also a couple on the computer screen at another point. If you think you can handle this, and a lot of bad language, then I think this movie is sure worth a look. I tend to like a movie with twists in it, and this one takes plot twists to a whole new level. Remember the twist in the Sixth Sense, that's child's play in comparison to Perfect Stranger. I'll try to explain somewhat about the movie, without giving away the main twists.

So Halle Berry and Giovanni Ribisi are friends. Berry is a big time investigative journalist for a major newspaper who writes under a pen name to keep the heat off her while she's investigating. After being pulled off her latest expose for political ties between her target and the newspaper she works for, she runs into an old friend who appears to give her a tip about another story she could work on. A few days later the old friend turns up dead, and Halle puts on her investigative hat to find out about this tip she had given her, trying to see if she can find evidence that the target of this tip (Bruce Willis) was involved in this murder. Willis is a top executive for an advertising firm, and Halle gets a temp job near his office to get close to him. Things get pretty tense as the less-than-happily married Willis takes a bit of a liking to Halle, while she's trying to implicate him in her friend's murder.

SPOILER ALERT!
I'll try no to give away too much here, but as the investigation leads to charges and eventually a conviction, something just doesn't seem right. Far too many other more believable suspects have emerged, and soon it seems like literally anyone could've actually committed the murder.
Well, anyone except the one who actually did. I don't care how good you are at seeing twists coming before they're revealed, you'd never see this one. I can't bring myself to reveal it here though. Just watch it, you'll see.
END OF SPOILER!

Anyway, I thought the movie was very well done. Great acting!! (Duh! Berry, Willis and Ribisi!) And very entertaining! Again, just be forewarned of the crudeness in a couple of scenes, and the language throughout. But this one will keep you on the edge of your seats. (And try not to chew your fingernails down to their nubs!)

Ok, so I've finally updated my blog. Hopefully this will buy me another couple weeks before I'm goaded into updating this again. I'm really not trying to be a slacker, I just don't have a whole lot to say right now. At least not to the audience that reads this blog. ;)

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Your Birthdate: September 22

You tend to be understated and under appreciated. You have a hidden force to do amazing things, doing them your own way. People may see you as strange and shy, but they know little. Your unconventional ways have more power than they (and even you) know. Your strength: Standing up for what you know is true Your weakness: You tend to be picky and rigid Your power color: Silver Your power symbol: Square Your power month: April

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

An expensive trip...

So I took a road trip to Calgary today to deliver a birthday gift to my dad, and also to do some shopping of my own. My main goal was to find myself a good leather coat. (I've looked all over Lethbridge and there's nothing.) I got a great deal on a winter coat at the Danier store in Chinook Centre. It was more than 50% off. It's a 3/4 length with a removable liner. It's probably not going to be cold enough this season for me to leave the liner in, so I've removed it and I'll start wearing it right away. (Since I'm not really in the mood to wear my Oilers coat anymore these days.) There was also another one I was considering there as well, and I almost decided to get both of them, but the other one didn't have a fully removable liner, and I figured I wouldn't wear it at all for at least 8 more months, so I settled for just the one I figured I'd get the most use out of.
I got such a good deal on the coat, I went and bought a nice $110 pair of shoes from FeetFirst. Then I spent more money on some shirts and socks from Old Navy, and a couple DVDs at HMV. What a day! (And what a drain on the wallet.)

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... in THAT order!!!

Ok, so today was NHL trade deadline. I, unfortunately, had to work most of the day. The deadline was to end at 1pm. I receive text message updates to my cell phone about any Oilers news, and I was anxiously awaiting such a message most of the morning. At about 1:30pm I took my lunch break, and realized that I hadn't heard anything yet, which would be just fine with me, except that there were a few players I'd be reasonably content with trading, so long as we got the better end of the trade. As I'm sitting there, enjoying my Chicken McNuggets (McDonalds is the devil), I feel a little vibration from my cargo pocket on my pants. I reach in, pull out my cell phone and see "Oilers updates" on the screen. I open the message and my jaw dropped as I read "Oilers trade Ryan Smyth to Islanders for Ryan O'Marra, Robert Nilsson, 2007 pick (1st Round)." I don't mean to sound like a whiner or a sourpuss, but that's pathetic! This is Smitty we're talking about! The man who by all accounts (other than his, of course) SHOULD be the Oilers' captain! I suppose I shouldn't be to surprised, I suppose. After all, this is the team that's famous for the "train 'em and trade 'em" philosophy. I guess I just thought that in this new era of the NHL, they might be able to hold on to some of their stars, rather than seeing Smyth follow the likes of Messier (who's being honoured by the team tonight by retiring his jersey), Gretzky, Weight, Guerin, and many, many more to other teams while in the prime of their respective careers. Needless to say, I'm NOT a big Kevin Lowe fan today. I just hope there's some stipulation that hasn't been made public that would make this more of a rental situation than a full on trade. I'd sure like to see Smitty back with the Blue and Copper before too long.

I feel sorta guilty, so I have to vent...

So I feel like I should be a restaurant reviewer today. This evening I went to dinner with some friends at East Side Mario's.

I arrive in the place at about 7:45pm and join my friends' table in the middle of the dinning room. I sit down and the waitress promptly asks me for my drink order. I ask for a ginger ale and continue my conversation with my friends. The drink arrives shortly and we ask for a couple minutes before we order food. I notice that the waitress seems to only be working two or three other tables, so we should be good for service. Boy was I wrong! So after sitting around for about 20 minutes, long enough for me to completely forget what the waitress even looked like, I finally noticed a waitress walk up to our table (again, in the middle of the dinning room), ready to take our order. I was really in the mood for a steak, and I figured I had brought lunch to work today, so I figured I could splurge. It just so happens that the steak (they only have one) is the most expensive thing on the menu. I order it anyway. Now those of you who have been to East Side Mario's should know that they give out free bread while you wait. Well, after the orders were finally taken, we waited a good 20 minutes and no bread. Finally one of the guys at our table knew one of the guys working there, and called him over to chat. While he was at the table, I asked him if we could have some bread. He brought it over quickly. We munched on the bread for about another 20 minutes. (Let's do some quick math here: 20 minutes to order + 20 minutes to get bread + 20 minutes eating bread = 1 hour of wasted time.) Anyway, it occurs to me, through all of this, that the soup for my meal still hasn't arrived. The waitress finally starts to bring out the food, and I mention that I still hadn't gotten my soup. Without a word of apology, she mentions that she forgot, and that she'd bring it right out. So here I am with my steak dinner, with pasta on the side, AND a bowl of soup in front of me at the same time. All this, remember, after ordering the most expensive dish on the menu. Needless to say, I was NOT impressed. If only that was the end of the bad service. However, after a few bites I realize that my ginger ale has been empty for the best part of an hour. I look around and can't see a waitress anywhere. I wait a minute, and see her walk by to help one of her other tables, I see her look at my empty glass and walk right back by. Maybe she didn't see that it was empty, so I move it to the corner of the table to make it obvious. Again I see her walk right by and look at the glass, yet nothing. A few more minutes and she's off in the corner talking with some co-workers. I look intently at her with my glass in my hand and wait for her to glance over. Finally she looks over and walks over, after first walking into the kitchen for a few seconds. She forgot what my drink was (no surprise after an hour), and I had to tell her that I had ginger ale. I think she thought I was drinking water, and so I could just refill with the pitcher at the table. Anyway, as you might be able to tell, I was NOT the happiest customer today. She brought our bills, and mine came out to $22.66. Not I should note that I'm generally a very generous tipper. With good service I might even leave $30 at the table for that bill. At least $26 or $27. I left $23 even, only because I didn't want to wait another 20 minutes to have her come by so I could get change. I don't expect to have someone pay more attention to me just because I ordered the highest price entree they offer, but I do expect decent service for everyone, and perhaps a little more awareness of the service offered when one DOES order the highest priced entree.

Anyway, I generally like to leave decent tips, and I feel a little guilty about leaving a mere 34 cents, and so I had to vent.

Hockey talk...

So, the Oilers are having a rough road trip so far. I'd sure like to see them turn this around, but they took a step in the wrong direction today, in my opinion. That is, unless they're just prepping for a better move. Here's the scoop...

They traded Marc-Andre Bergeron today to the NY Islanders for some prospective defenceman named Denis Grebeshkov, who's not expected to play at the NHL level at all this season. I mean, I'm as impressed with their calling up Zach Stortini as the next guy, but they've been struggling on defence all season. And I was just starting to warm up to Bergeron, after the grudge I had against him for being responsible for the injury to Roli in the finals that, in my opinion, as well as many others opinions, made the difference in allowing Carolina to take the cup. Anyway, I'm just hoping that the reason they've made this trade is to open up some salary cap room to do two things: re-sign Ryan Smyth, and acquire a bigger defenceman. What I really hope they haven't done is give up on the season and resigned themselves to
rebuilding for next season.

Another month...

Alright, it's February, and I know you've all been rapt in anticipation of my next instalment so here it is.

I really don't have a whole lot of news, except that I tore a muscle in my shoulder at work the other day. I was lifting a desk into a car (when are people going to learn to bring a truck or van when shopping for furniture, or else let us deliver, since we do it for free) into which it refused to fit. This happened to be a rather heavy desk (it said it was a two man job on the box) but I'm a stud do I figured I'd do it myself. Anyway, it didn't fit, so I put it back on the dolly and wheeled it back into the store. On the way back in I noticed that my shoulder was hurting, but I figured I just strained the muscle a bit, and that I'd be fine. Within about five minutes I realized that the pain was only getting worse, and that I couldn't use my left arm at all. I filled out a WCB form, went home, iced it, went to the clinic, got told by the doctor that I tore a muscle, and now I have an excuse to be a wimp at work for a week or two. (I can't lift anything more than 10 lbs with my left arm. Doctor's orders!) I'll be fine, it just hurts a bit, and I might pick up some muscle relaxants if it continues to bug me.

Aside from that, the new Windows OS is out (Windows Vista). I get to play around with it at work, and as amazing as it is, with all the great new features and enhancements, I just like the new ink-ball game that's included. I'm such a dork!

In recovery mode...

Ok, so I figure I should write on here again to update on the remainder of my vacation. So on Friday, I hit the highway and headed back up north to the remote tundra town of Grande Prairie. Ok, so maybe tundra is a bit of a stretch, but it sure is a long drive to the northwest. I think the most challenging part of the drive is the fact that the road was fairly wet, not snowy, but wet for the last hour. This caused quite a bit of my washer fluid to be used, as there was also a lot of traffic on this highway. It actually surprised me just how busy the highway was. Lots of trucks, especially. Anyway, when I finally got there (about 4.5 hrs later) I noticed that, especially on the side streets, they don't clear the roads very well in G.P. Instead, they just plow all the snow into the middle of the road, leaving about a 4 ft. tall barrier between lanes, and making it tough to find enough room to park safely on the side of the road while leaving enough room for cars to drive by. I survived though.

I got to spend the best part of a day in town, hanging out with my friend and his wife. We played some computer games, had a good chat, caught up on all the news from old friends, and generally had a good night staying up 'till 3am. We had a good venison roast for dinner, and then had some nachos for a midnight snack, and then in the morning he fed me so many pancakes, I thought I was going to turn into Aunt Jemima. Anyway, I got back on the road around 1pm and started the trek back to Edmonton.

Upon arriving in E-town, I caught up with my roommate who was up for a couple days on business, and we went to the Oilers vs. Flames game. The game didn't go so well. Kipper was on his game, and the Oilers, namely the defence, were having a bad night. Flames won 4-0, and that's all we'll say about the actual game. After the game, however, is a different story. We went down under the stadium seats, into the lower concourse, where the Oilers broadcast control room is. It's also right outside the Oilers locker room. After HNIC (Hockey Night In Canada) they have an interview segment called After Hours. When the late game is in Edmonton, they broadcast that segment from that control room. We stood just beside the big glass wall that divides the room from the rest of the concourse. We had a front row view. The hosts, Kelly Hrudey and Scott Oake, had on the Oilers' star forward Ryan Smyth. It was so cool to be that close to three people I've watched for years on tv. At one point, during a break, Kelly Hrudey (who was once an NHL goalie, and a pretty good one at that) looked out at us, and as he looked at me, I pointed to my HNIC T-shirt, which are apparently quite rare, and was a gift from my sister for Christmas '05, and he responded with a thumbs up while saying, "Hey, I like it!" So now I have this incredible claim to fame. While I may no longer be the biggest Oilers fan to never have been to a game, I can now say that Kelly Hrudey liked my T-shirt!!! (Hey, I'll take what I can get.)

Anyway, after heading back to Sis' place for the night, she showed me the taped footage of After Hours, and on four separate occasions you can clearly see me as they panned a camera across the crowd watching them shoot the segment. So, for a grand total of about 15 seconds, I got one sixtieth of my fifteen minutes. (And I'm going to hold out for my remaining 14:45!!!)

Finally, Sunday I drive myself and my roommate back to Lethbridge. This was a bit of an adventure in itself. We left Edmonton with almost a full tank of gas. We drove straight past Red Deer, then Calgary. As we worked our way out of Calgary, I noticed the gas tank was almost empty. I figured I'd have enough to at least get to Nanton. Well, we pull into the station at the south end of Nanton, where the price was 5 cents less than at the north end of Nanton. (And if you've ever been through Nanton, you'll know it only a few blocks away.) As a result, there was a substantial wait to get into the pumps, and it being a full-service station, the cars tend to take even longer to get through the pumps. I decide we'll have enough gas to go the added 40 kms or so to Claresholm. Well, I was right, but barely. As we came up a gradual slope, about 4 km north of Claresholm, the car started to stutter a bit. I eased off the gas a bit, though I was already going below the speed limit to conserve gas, and that seemed to help a bit. As we came over the crest of the slope, the car still stuttering a bit, the few drops of gas that were left in the tank moved back to the front of the tank, and we got our power back, at least temporarily. At this point, with about 3 km to go, we hit a gradual downhill slope. I put the car in neutral on more than one occasion to coast as far as I could. As we rolled into town, I didn't touch the brake to slow down to 50 km/h, but rather just slowly coasted down to speed. Again, if you've driven in to Claresholm from the north, you'll know how easy this is through the long 70 km/h zone before finally getting to the 50 zone. Anyway, the only light in town was green, so I cruised right on through, and right up to the 7-11/Petro-Canada station. I think if I had to go just a couple kms further, I wouldn't have made it. Anyway, a quick fill and off we went.

Overall, it was a good trip. One bad hockey game, but at least the sting was reduced by the whole After Hours incident. The roads were pretty well all clear, maybe a bit wet at the worst, at least on the highways. It's really not that bad of a drive, especially for someone who enjoys being behind the wheel, like myself. I think I may have to do this trip again sometime, though I'll have to plan for a longer stay in G.P. as that was the only thing I would want to change about it, at least that I can control (stupid Flames).

Let's Go Oilers!!! (Pronger Sucks!!!)

Ok, I know Pronger didn't play tonight, but that was still the chant that began during the third period.

What an AWESOME game!!! Aside from a shaky start, the Oilers totally dominated the Ducks. This was a great first game for me. (I still can't believe I've been an Oilers fan for well over 20 yrs and this is the first time I've seen them play live.) Anyway, it was so cool to actually be there and see some of the players I've been cheering on up close. This being only the second NHL game I've ever been to (the last one was almost 12 years ago, and we were way up in the nosebleeds), it was impressive just to see how fast and skilled they are, compared to their WHL counterparts. It really was something to behold. Now I just hope Hemsky will be back in the line-up for Saturday's game vs. Calgary. I'd really like to see him turn on his jets and show some of the magic he brings to every game.

Anyway, for those not aware, the Oilers won 4-1. It was great. Smyth had 2 goals. The first of which was in classic Smyth fashion. I was just waiting for him to put a third one in, as I would've been willing to part with my hat (especially since I had just bought a new one before the game, which would've been a good replacement).

Well, that's my report for now. Feel free, as always, to comment.

Spontaneity can be fun...

Monday afternoon, I'm trying to come up with a idea for what a good activity would be to do with a friend of mine who recently moved back to town. I'm thinking we'll probably just end up going to a movie or something. Then she calls me and asks me if I'd want to go to a concert in Calgary. It was very last minute (we had to leave in less than an hour), but it sounded like fun, so I agreed. We ended up getting 4 of us piled into her car and we drove to Calgary to see Evanescence. The timing of this was actually really good. While I'd known of the band, and a few of their songs, it wasn't until last week, when band leader Amy Lee appeared on The Hour (great show on CBC, George knows how to speak to our generation) that I really gained a deep respect for her talents and her music.

Anyway, we get to the concert, and not only did we have tickets, but they were for floor level. I guess the only downside is that we didn't have seats, but we didn't need them anyway as we were happy to stand just a few feet from the stage. I have to say that this was an incredible concert. I may not be an expert on concerts, but I've been to a few different ones. While there have been bands that I liked better, I don't think I've seen/heard many better performances. I don't know if anyone reading this is even familiar with Evanescence, but if you are you should know that she (Amy Lee) really doesn't rely on the studio to give her good quality vocals. This girls is simply an amazing singer. (And not a bad pianist either; turns out she's classically trained on piano.)

One other thing that we found was that she was perhaps more "normal" than most of her fans. Aside from perhaps a tiny bit of dark makeup around her eyes, and a strange skirt thing, she had a great appearance and was very modestly dressed for a "rock chick". Also, I didn't hear a single bad word from the stage with the one exception of when she almost tripped over some cords while walking backwards, and later commented how she almost fell on her a**. But that's pretty mild for a rock show.

Her audience, however, was a completely different story. Apparently the band appeals to the Gothic crowd, and so there were white faces with black lips and eyes, and lots of ripped stockings and leather and chains and the like. Strange hair also seemed the order of the day. It seems the goal here is to spike as much hair as you can, and then shave the rest. But this is all ok, as it wasn't the audience I went to see.

All in all, the concert was a great show, and much better than just going to a movie. Ah, what a fun adventure.

Time off is a glorious thing... And there's something else, too...

So after the craziness of the past few weeks, especially at work, I'm excited to be taking a week off for myself this coming week. I'm going to be taking quite a road trip the last half of the week, including attending 2 Edmonton Oilers games. Not to exaggerate anything, but this is going to be a life-changing, monumental experience. I've always touted myself as "the biggest Oilers fan to have never seen them play in person." This is a claim I will no longer be able to make. Though it's a small price to pay for the chance to finally see them live. My wonderful sister bought me one of the tickets as a Christmas gift. I can't tell you how great this is going to be. I'm also going to spend a day up in Grande Prairie, visiting my friend up there. I've only been there once before, and it was the middle of the summer then. I'm a little unsure how I feel about going that far north in the middle of winter, but they tell me it's supposed to be fairly mild this week. The highways should be clear, anyway.

This should be a great, and much needed, break from the daily grind. I even just love the feeling of knowing that I don't have to go to work on Monday, and yet I'll still get paid as if I were. It's a great feeling.

But with all this, there's something else that makes this a great time. I'm currently sitting on my couch watching Hockey Day in Canada!!! This is one of the best days of the year. Hockey all day long. Ottawa is currently beating up on Montreal something fierce. In a couple hours Toronto will play host to the Vancouver Canucks, and then we'll see the Oilers slide into Calgary to extinguish the Flames. If I remember I'll update this post later on with a bit of commentary. (I was told by my uncle, after emailing a review of his son's basketball game, that I should consider a career in sportswriting, so let's see how this goes.)

Montreal at Ottawa

Ottawa came out firing on all cylinders to score early and often in this bout. By the end of the first period it was 4-0 for the Senators. As the Canadiens took to the ice for the second period, I was surprised to see Huet return between the pipes after his disastrous showing in the opening inning. It wouldn't be long, however, until he took his spot on the bench due to two more quick goals, giving the Sens a 6-0 lead. So as the Habs make a goaltending change, they also find an offensive spark, as they come back with two quick goals of their own. All this, and it's only halfway through the game. The remainder if the period has some good hitting and a few good saves, but no more scoring until the final minute when the Sens score twice again, including a really strange bounce, to take a 8-2 lead into the second intermission. The third starts with Montreal coming out hard, but Emery seemed up to the task in net for the Sens. Finally, about halfway into the final period he lets one by again. Of course this was far too little, far too late, for the Habs as they go on to lose the game by a margin of 8-3.

Vancouver at Toronto

I actually didn't watch much of this game. I went out grocery shopping and running errands. But it ended up another one-sided game, due to a big third period by then 'Nucks. Even at 1's after one, Vancouver scored a go-ahead in the second, and then they followed it up with 4 in the third for a 6-1 toppling over the host TML's.

Edmonton at Calgary

Good fast pace to start off the first, with the puck going up and down the ice, and a few good chances at both ends. The first 10 minutes went by very quickly with just a couple whistles. And while there were a few more whistles to round off the opening act, none of them where due to goals. (I was disappointed in the non-call on the high-sticking with about a minute to go, though I understand how the ref could've missed seeing the stick, as it looked like he was hit with the puck.) As the second period begins, we see the first penalty of the game against Edmonton, but the excellent PK of the Oilers are easily able to kill that one off. A few minutes later, as the Flames get caught for high-sticking (and Phaneuf gets away with a cheap shot after the whistle), Horcoff nets one for the guest Oilers to put the first goal on the scoreboard. Just a few minutes later Calgary was able to answer back on a power play of their own to tie things up, and that's the was the second period ended. A little over halfway through the third, the ref made a very questionable call giving Sykora a holding penalty. The Flames were able to score on the ensuing power play. Another Calgary goal, this time on the transition, gives the Flames a two goal lead to finish the game at 3-1. While I'm sure I'm biased, I have to say that I think the officiating was quite skewed in Calgary's favour. Very disappointing indeed.

Wow! What a crazy day...

Ok, I don't want to sound preachy or anything, but you know how you hear those stories about a Church pageant that was held out doors, and the rain stops for the duration of the show, and then once they finish it begins to pour again? Well have I got a story for you. But first, let take things in order...

So I get up this morning, get ready to go to church, and head out. I was fairly well prepared to teach my class, but my voice wasn't. This crazy infection his practically made a mute out of me. Anyway, time for class comes around, and I make it through the lesson. My voice was crackly the whole time, but I somehow made it through. It was actually one of the best lessons I've taught in a while. I think it almost helps to talk so quietly, as everyone really has to pay attention in order to hear me. I may have to just speak more quietly whenever I teach. Anyway, the class went well, and I got quite a few compliments afterwards. (I find that when the classes go better, people I don't know well will compliment, but when they're sub-par, my friends compliment.) Anyway, it went well, and then after church, we all ate together. Mmmm... BBQ burgers!!! Then I thought I'd go home and rest my voice so that perhaps I might be able to sing this evening. Plans changed as I got invited over to someone's house for dessert and games. This probably wasn't the best thing for me to do. Oh well.

The time for singing was hastily approaching, and I had no voice. I tried the warm salt-water gargle, and it helped a bit. Anyway, I went to the church to practice with the others before the performance. I pushed my voice through one complete run-through. It was quite shaky, and I cut out a couple of times. (Time for a silent prayer, and a Fisherman's Friend.) Anyway, I tried to save my voice as much as possible until it was time to sing. Little did I know, we were second last in the program, and I had long since dissolved my last lozenge. The time came, I joined the others in the group on the stand, and we sang. I sang. The notes just came out, and in key even. So then, I go to sit down and listen to the final number. There was then a closing congregational hymn. Halfway through said hymn my voice fell apart again.

Again, I don't mean this to sound overly preachy, but I know that I was blessed with temporary relief from my voice problems to sing this song. It was literally about 5 minutes after I sat down that my voice died again. While this wasn't walking on water, or any great vision or something, this was still a bona fide miracle, at least to me. And people say that the days of miracles are over. I beg to differ.

And so it begins...

Well, it's 2007, and time to set out on some new ventures and create new habits. I'm hoping this will be one of them. I'm not exactly sure what topics I might discuss here, though I'm sure I'll touch on Sports (namely NHL and the Edmonton Oilers), Technology (what else would you expect from a guy with a degree in Computer Science), Music (possibly my biggest passion in life), and Spirituality (ok, so maybe music is second). Also, I'm sure I'll probably talk about some of the more interesting experiences I have, and the people I come in contact with, as a result of my employment at a major retailer. I might even delve into my personal life a little bit, such as how I missed 2 days of work this week, due to this sinus infection that has basically made a mute out of me, when I'm supposed to teach a class in church tomorrow and sing in the evening. I sure hope this penicillin does its trick soon.
Anyway, that's the plan for now. Feel free to comment to your heart's content.

BB (And yes, I am the King. Deal with it.)