Equipment Issues

So I'm going to play some hockey on Boxing Day, with Miss Ashley's family. (WOO!) And to be sure I was ready, I got me a mouth guard, 'cause "shot blockers shouldn't leave home without one." (I'm quoting myself, and I like the feeling.) Am I right? 'cause I mean getting hit in the face (slash teeth) with a stick or the puck would be quite painful, whether you have one or not; but the mouth guard can SAVE your TEETH.

So I got one of those "mold to your mouth" deallies, in the hopes of it working awesomely and all; and isn't it JUST my luck... after going at it a good half dozen (I'm talking regular dozen, not the baker's dozen. six and a half goes would be challenging) times, I can't make it fit, for the life of me. It hurts the crap out of my teeth, and if I don't bite down just the right way, my teeth bleed.

Mmm... How do you spell "fun"?

Solution!

Not wearing a mouth guard. Yes, I have thought on that. This would have me REALLY test my reflexes. I'd need to turn my head, or get a hand up, just in time; EVERY TIME. No pressure, right?

OR

Go for it and deal with the painful mouth issue for however long the game is.

My goodness, what a tough choice... I'm gonna go for "start with it, and see if I can deal. If not; 'bye bye' mouth guard, 'please please' reflexes for the remainder of the game."

My biggest disappointment would be that I paid a wad of dough for a mouth guard which does not work, and I cannot return. THAT's stupid...

Thoughts anyone?

MY Genre of Music - Part II

...but ACTUALLY can) break down and cry to. And some songs can be SO funny, that you can't HELP but laugh to it.
And I LOVE that about it.

Now I know I'm not the first to notice that country music's awesome; nor will I be the last. I mean, it has had a HUGE explosion of followers recently.
But I just wanted to say - for all those disbelievers to hear (or read really) - that "I am a country boy!"

It also helps a bit that I LOVE bluejeans, boots, belt buckles, and cowboy hats.
:P

MY Genre of Music - Part I

I'm labelling myself country.
There, I said it.

I've been humming, and singing, and playing with music a lot recently. I'm a Sinatra boy, don't get me wrong, and I love to sing that era, and genre of music too. But I find country the MOST fun to sing, listen to, and (attempt to) create.

I'm not really lyrical (and I mean that in the sense of "writing lyrics for music") but it's fun to play in country music. There's so much you can say, and do that just won't fit anywhere else.
For instance, what other genre of music do you see a title like "Pretty Good at Drinking Beer"? Yes, everywhere sings of drinking and partying, but no ONE song is solely made to say that one guy (the one singing it, no less) is "pretty good at drinking beer."

I'm sorry, but I find that awesome.

I find that country keeps the humour IN the music, which makes it fun to sing AND listen to. Not only that, it CAN be serious too! And sad...
You can have a song that gets you so well, that you can (not just want to,...

And there we have it...

A good victory from the boys in red last night. They held it together for 60 minutes for a 3-1 win over the Minnesota Wild.
It's good to see some life in them. Now the real question is; will they follow up next game.

I'm glad they had to come from behind to win. Now let's see what else they can put together in their next game.
Fingers crossed people.
Rev up the red.

Passing video game thoughts...

So I've played through my Call of Duty game. Beat the GAME game, like offline play. Actually that's been beat for bit, to be completely honest. I've been playing through online levels. Got to level 70, a while ago. In Laymen's terms that means "reached the end." Now comes the great debate...

Do I prestige, or just play there for a while, and hope for a new game soon? (Laymen's terms for "prestige"; reset back to level one, but keep all titles and stuff. This pushes a player to get to the end again, and again, and again.) Apparently I can't even have the OPTION of prestiging (what an awkward word) until I "level up" again, which I have been playing. But the questions still remains; should I continue with the same, with the lacking number of people because Black Ops came out, or should I think of checking out new games.

I wasn't really interested, but I heard some good things about Assassin's Creed. The series caught my attention. I heard a radio show talking about it, and they had good things to say.

Of course I'd start with the first one, but I'm just sort of running on two people's (who I don't know) opinion on it. Has anyone out there played it? What do you suggest? Is it close to Call of Duty? I assume it's medievally, which is cool, if it works.

So words of advice would be cool. Also, should I rent it to test it, or just go balls out and buy it? Do they tie into each other, or can I hop down the list to the last one without missing anything?

Let me know if you have any words of advice, and/or input.

:)

A quick rant about music...

I was just driving miss Ashley to work, and something caught my ear in the music I listen to. I enjoy when artists make each song their own.

Now I don't mean that as in, "No one else sings it," or "If it's a remake, they change EVERYthing about it." How I mean is that they add their own flavour, or their own personality to it. They almost... feel an attachment to it while singing, and let it be known. D'you know what I mean?

For instance, when you can hear their emotion in their voices, or when they sing about something and you can tell it's really close to home for them. Even when it's something fun, and they laugh a little.

Examples, examples... Umm, Luke Bryan's 'Rain is a Good Thing'. When he gets to the last chorus, you can tell he's really into it, and is having fun. So much fun that... he laugh's instead of usued the words that've been there the entire rest of the song. The only other one (off the top of my head) is Taylor Swift's - I know, "What?! You listen to Taylor Swift?!" Talent's talent, what can I say? - 'Speak Now'. You can tell she had fun with it. Not that she doesn't have fun with all her music, and CLEARLY it's not s true thing she's singing about, but he little giggle near the end's priceless.

Yes, I know in both these cases (and all others) they do a million takes, and pick the right one. But hey, a change can be made with ONE slip up. If you sing through a section enough times, and you enjoy it, the slip ups don't usually involve an "Oh S#*! I messed up." They can have a few, but never in bad spirits. And I'm not saying they COULDn't make it through the song, just after a few takes, and one cute slip up after a day of recording; the editors realized, "You know, that sounds good that way."

Now not everyone can do the laugh thing. A perfect example being Pitbull, in 'I Know You Want Me'. I love the song, but I hate the opening, with the clearly obvious fake laugh. It hurts me...

A few gooders, are 'Anything Like Me' by Brad Paisley (I'll admit it makes me tear up); 'F U' by Cee Lo Green, not for the faint of heart as the non-radio edit is the F-bomb, and; 'Stutter' is a good one too, by Maroon 5.

If you haven't heard of some of these tracks before, please check 'em out. They're good enough to mention. Taylor Swift, Maroon 5 (on their first and last album), and Brad Paisley are - 9 times out of 10 - a good listen too.

Check them out!

The Job Search Continues - Part VI

..."check out more girls," so you can't be upset with me honey. And
American Eagle would be good because of the employee discount. But
given the choice between them and Lids, I'd pick Lids because it seems
more welcoming.
And it all does depend on hours they can promise to offer. At minimum
wage I need 45 a week. At $11.54/hour, I can settle for 40 a week.
That's the MAJOR major factor. But after that Lids'd come first.

Anyway, later!

The Job Search Continues - Part V

... calculator, which on would you be, and why?"
Without pausing for a breath, I answered. The answer came to me when
he finished the word "calculator" and I wanted him to know I had just
as quick of wit as he did.
"The plus button, 'cause you always want more."
He looked down, wrote and said at the same time "3 - + cuz..." then he
paused, looked up and said, "That's what she said..." I smiled, and he
finished writing, "...you always want more."
He then stapelled the paper to mhy resume, and told me he'd put it
where his manager could find it since "She does all the calling and
stuff."
I felt good about it though. He got my humour, and all the other
employees enjoyed my interview.

So that is all. It was fun, and I feel good about my future employment
at Lids. Don't get me wrong, Northern Reflections, Le Chateau, and
(maybe) American Eagle would be nice. The first two 'cause "c'mon
they're women's fashion, and let's be honest; I'm a guy. Yes, I know,
that sounds jerkish, but my New Year's resolution was to ...

The Job Search Continues - Part IV

... really aren't so common sense." I nodded, since I had no idea what
to say to that.
I realized my resume was still in my hand, "Should I give this to you?"
"Yeah sure," he said as he took it. He then hit the "extra paper"
button on the receipt machine and tore some off. "Now I have to ask
you three questions right now." I nodded, and gave an affirmative
response, "K! There's a list somewhere, but I dunno where. Question
one! 'Why Lids'?"
"Well I like hats, and I have a whole bunch at home. I figure this'd
be a great place for me to work."
He wrote a 1 on the paper, and stopped. "You're not wearing one now."
That was true, but I'd gotten all dressed up to drop off resumes, so a
collared shirt with a baseball cap wouldn't have gone over so well.
"I just wanted to look good -"
"- to drop off you application. Good one!" He said with a grin.
"Number two," doesn't matter to the story. He was asking my
availability, and was just as silly about it.
On to "Question three! If you could be any button on a...

The Job Search Continues - Part III

... was off to my last stop.

You're probably all going, "Oh my god! Why'm I reading?!" Just hang in
there, here comes the "big" finish.

Lids is a hat store, This I know for sure, for sure. And hey, I like
hats. *shrug* But I'd said if the place looked sketchy, or like it
wouldn't be a good fit for me, I wouldn't apply. But I could tell it
looked like a fit for me from across the food court.

As I cross the store threshold, I was greeted with a HUGE "Hey! How are you?!"
I responded politely, but just as friendly (I didn't know if this guy
was the manager) "I'm good, and you?"
"I'm -" and he paused to accentuate the point, "fan-tastic! How can we
help you today?"
"I was looking to apply for a job," I said, keeping smiling and
friendly to make sure they knew I was "cool."
"That's great we're always looking for smart people to work here."
And without missing a beat, "And what would classify me as a 'smart person'?"
"Well, it depends on the day really. Somedays things that seem common
sense (at least to me)...

The Job Search Continues - Part II

... a few steps in peeking around. It was all chick stuff, so I paused
- figuring I'd walked into the wrong place - and took a few steps
backwards to take a peek at the store's sign.
I realized that I WAS in the right place, I walked up to the counter.
There was one girl working. She asked, "Can I help you?"
"Hi, yeah, I was hoping to apply for a job."
Her response was funny, and it took a lot to not laugh. "Here?"
Once she realized I was being serious, she took my resume. I thanked
her and left.

I know this is kind of dragging, but just hang in there.

Next stop was Le Chateau, which I know had some guy stuff (that
increased mhy confidence in the situation), even though it was really
known for high end girl stuff.
As I walked in I realized there was no guy stuff at this location. I
still made my way to the counter, where after a moment I was greeted
by a manager. She asked if I had any sales experience (no) as their
OTHER location needed an experienced men's fashion person.
She took my information and I...

The Job Search Coninues - Part I

So, for those of you who don't know, I am on the look out for a job. I
need something more consistent and with a little more pay. *shrug* but
who doesn't; am I right?
I've already applied to a few places, but to no avail, an you know the
only reason I'm writing is because SOMETHING was interesting about the
escapade. :)

I walked in the mall, ready for whatever American Eagle - err... -
they could throw at me.

For a small clarification, I had issue with the previous American
Eagle I applied to. The manager was (How do I say this in the most
politically correct fashion?) a female dog.
Needless to say, "I didn't end up applying there."

Once I got inside the mall, I checked the directory to see where I
needed to get to. The stores were in good places, and had me able to
walk a full curcuit of the mall, and end up at the door to get back
out.

First stop was American Eagle; a store I want to work at solely for
the employee discount.
What can I say? Good clothes. *shrug*

Next was Northern Reflections. I took...

Things that I can't say on my own... - Part II

... through it with [you]. [You make] me happier than... anything I've ever known. And If I can have a part in making [you] happy again, that's all I want to do. That's all I want to do for the rest of my life." (Eric Dane [Grey's Anatomy S07E02]) Let me help you. "Help me, help you." (Tom Cruise [Jerry Maguire])

"I'm right here. I'm ok. We're ok." (Patrick Dempsey [Grey's Anatomy S07E02]) I hope we can get better, and be better. I don't want to be just "ok," but ok is good for now. We need somewhere to start. Agreed?

Sorry... I know you're not a fan of public stuff, but I want you to know I'm sorry for the way I acted, and I'll have the whole world know it too; if that'll aid in our healing process.

I love you, I hope you know that. And nothing will ever change that. No mater what's said between us, I will always love you. Even when we're old, and grey, and I have no hair; I'll love you.

Promise.

Things that I can't say on my own... - Part I

"You felt [upset, blamed, and disrespected]. You were angry at me, and after what you've been though; you're allowed. It's what you should be feeling, and I know; 'cause when I was there I felt all those things, and I... I took it out on you." (Kevin McKidd [Grey's Anatomy S07E02]) I've done it to you before too, and for that I'm sorry. But "you were patient, and you were kind, and you stayed though it, because you love me. ... You can be scared with me, you can be pissed with me - or at me; I don't care, 'cause I'm going to stay through it all. I'm not going anywhere [honey]. I'm not going anywhere without you." (Kevin McKidd [Grey's Anatomy S07E02])

I don't want "to wait around to be happy anymore." (Eric Dane [Grey's Anatomy S07E02]) I want to be happy with you, right now. I know we can't just jump right to happy. We need to start working at making it back to happy. We need to work at being happy, together.

"I know who [you are], and if [you're] going through [your] worst right now; I want to go ...

Where I'm Whirring Right Now

Did you know it's actually spelt "whirring"? I though it could be "wurring," or "whurring," or maybe "wherring." Dictionary.com says it's "whirring," so that's what I'll go with.

Got as few things buzzing around in my head right now. They didn't just start now, they've been there a while, but I figured I might as well get them down now, asI really haven't written in a while; for which I do apologize, once again.

Keep in mind, none have anything to do with any of the others, so I seem disconjointed; I am being disconjointed.

*shrug*


Tattoo

Yes, I am contemplating getting a tattoo. I'm thinking of getting it in ten months, which'd be sometime in July. I placed it there for a few reasons. One, I've had people say "Wait a year on it," and some have said, "Six months is a good wait time." Twelve plus six is eighteen, divided in two (to get the average) is nine, so ten should be just fine. I just finished designing it, and got it okayed (as in doable), so ten months would be ... July, and; two, it has much to do with TV I watch (alone, and with Miss Ashley), and that would be after all the seasons this fall/winter have concluded.

I plan to get it on the upper right side of my back (shoulderish), but I'm not doing the stereotypical "dude shoulder tattoo" thing. I want to be able to take part in the work force, as I will need to be employed outside of refereeing to survive, before I really start taking off there.

To do that, I needed to keep it in the torso area. And as I refuse to get a tattoo on my lower torso, I confined myself to the upper torso.


Here's the current picture that has been put most places I am usually (ie. Above my TV, over my bed, the stairs to my room, and my computer in my room. Also it's the wallpaper of my cell phone, laptop, and computer.)

In "real size" it's 4.5 inches tall, by about 4.3 inches wide.
Apparently that'll take about three and a half hours to do, and cost close to $500.

Now, there are a couple shows on there that are on the chopping block this season; Dexter and Grey's.
I didn't like them much last season, even though I do really like them.

Dexter, was sort of sketchy, and not as good as it's first two seasons, which was really disappointing to me. And Grey's had a good start and finish, but not so good in the middle. We'll see how they turn out this season.

The Mentalist was on there, but I didn't like last season at ALL, so it got cut. A tangent, and yet not...


School
I thought I was missing school. At first I couldn't put my finger on why, but after some though I think I got it. It's not the class; definetely not class or the work.
The social aspect. I'm not a really social guy, so I know that sounds weird, but it's true.
I miss being around a large group of the same people (who I vaguely know) on a regular basis. Meaning, "Going to the mall wouldn't cut it."

Both dad, and Miss Ashley have said, "Well go back." I put some thought into it; and I guess I could. But I will NOT go back and run up my student debt for shit I won't ever need.

So today I went browsing. I could only find two things I want, or might like to know as a part-time student. Digital Music Production (http://bit.ly/c8NMa5), and Graphic Design (http://bit.ly/dpFQCN). Each one has stuff I'd like to learn, and the good thing is that I can pick the courses I want to learn at my pace, which is awesome.
So, say if there's "How to Draw a Dude Picking His Nose" I can just not take it, 'cause fuck; that's completely and utterly useless.

I looked at Digital Music Production 'cause I like music. I've done the "sing into the computer" thing, and want to know how to make it better. There's a course on making your at home studio, and guiatr lessons for beginners. "No previous music experience required." Awesome, 'cause I'm instrumentally challenged, but would LOVE to learn to play guitar.

Graphic Design I looked at because I like playing with stuff like that. In my Photography course, that was on of my favourite things. And I deisgned my tattoo; so learning how to use all those programs better would be of good use, if I ever decided to do something that involves graphic design, or maybe want another tattoo; it'd work out to my advantage.

I mean there's nothing cooler than being able to go, "Yeah, I designed that," and I think as a tattoo, it'd be even cooler. But we'll see. I mightn't even want another tattoo.


Work
I am looking for a job. I want full-time emplyment, and I want to be at least a little happy with what I do for now. It certainly won't be a career, as I want refereeing to be my career, but like I said before, "I need something now in order to survive."

I am currently living with my parents, but I can't use their health insurance once I turn 21. I turn 21 beginning of February, so the clock's ticking.
It also doesn't help that I'm diabetic. That makes living - even without paying rent and utilities (in the future), food, etc. - VERY expensive. So I need full-time employment, decent pay, and benefits.

In Conclusion
...figured I'd put that so we'd all know I wasn't continuing on the last section.

THAT is what's running through my head right now.
Cheers.

Going the Distance

...yes, the movie.

Saw it on Saturday, and it was SO good. I don't care what the ratings said, it was REALLY good.
It could be cheesy at some points, and flat in others, but the on screen chemistry between Drew Barrymore and Justin Long MORE than made up for those points, whcih really didn't come around that often. I hope it does really well in the box office.

I want to thank Miss Ashley for suggesting it.

Everyone; GO SEE IT! It's worth the cost of the ticket. Trust me...

The World from Right Now - Part 4

... it back, and then call "[the order] up!" when it's done. Yeah, I did that. Mind you, I really only had two different orders to pick from (a single or a double). But I needed to have them out in order. Like, yeah; I could have five doubles and three singles to do, but they had to come out: double, double, single, double, single, double, single, double. So it was a handful.
I kicked ass though.
:P

Anyway, I'm finishing off my last drink of the day. I plan to watch some of the last season of 24 (I'm kind of upset it's all over) and then I'll head to bed probably.

I have to remember to get bus directions tomorrow to my interview on Monday. I need "Katie's" comupter for that. God knows if it'll work on my Playstation.

Later!

The World from Right Now - Part 3

... share plan) you need to call or go into their store. I find it irritating. I'm not really a huge people person; much less a phone person, so that makes it all quite annoying; especially as I used to be able to look at the plans and set it up online.
Something tells me it was also easier for the customer service people too.

Anyway...

Yesterday I worked a shift for the Ranch. We were at the Navan Fair. Who knew Navan had a fair; certainly not me. I worked thirteen hours at a conscession booth. I pretty much made fajitas for thirteen straight hours. My hands (and wrists) officially hate tongs. And when Jasmine (my co-eyecandier) was on break; I got to work the cash too. Woo... (Oops, I forgot the "hoo!")
I made all proper change, remembered orders, and added prices (without a calculator, cash register, or the price list). I'm THAT good. And when I was on "the line" sticking together fajitas; I called them out like in a kitchen. You know, like you see on Hell's Kitchen; the chef calls an order, you call ...

The World from Right Now - Part 2

... on their website, and none of the positions are marked for Ottawa. All are in Missisaga (I know that's spelt wrong). So really, I'm somewhat lost.
I know they got in trouble recently in the states. They jipped a load of people. The equated a therm (an energy term) to a gallon, and charged people a whole lot more for gas than they should have. They got people to sign contracts for several years that were like cell
phone contracts. "Leave us and pay us a LOT of money," deals. Don't you hate those?

Speaking of cell phone contracts. Miss Ashley's is up around Chirstmas (and mine in March, I think (still waiting on word from my provider)). We wanted to use Bell ('cause they're awesome; need I say more?) and thought, "Well hell, we plan to be together for - well, the rest of our lives, and; it'd be a whole lot cheaper (in the long) run to do a family plan." Unfortunately for me, I can't check pricing on that online.
It's silly, I used to be able to, and then the site changed; and to do a family plan (or a ...

The World from Right Now - Part 1

Holy, it's been a while, no?

I've been keeping busy. Work at the Ranch has been more frequent than usual. Baseball's really died down. Summer hockey's finished for - well, the summer.

I resigned from the Ranch - officially - today. Sent an "e-mail of resignation." I sent it to the guy who hired me, who lives on the property; the woman who runs the office (pretty much) and loves (like a son (in-law)) the shit out of me; and the current scheduler. Since they were the highest up people who I received any contact from, I figured they'd be the right people.
I also asked their permission to use them as references. Let's keep our fingers crossed, shall we?

I have a job interview (with a company called Just Energy) lined up for Monday morning. I'll be taking the bus. It's downtown, and I dunno about parking. It'll be one of the questions I ask when I get interviewed.
I learned a little about the company. They do gas and electrical energy. I'm not sure which position they were interested in me for.
But I looked ...

Return to Reality

I stated this earlier at work, and then my phone decided to forget it; so I'm starting over. Bare with me...

Some people drive me up the wall. It's the people who pretend they don't notice the world around them. I know there are people who actually don't notice, but then there are those people who pretend; and they're morons.

There's this guy I met in high school. He video taped my classes dance presentation so we could all get DVDs. As I was the only male dancer, he figure that made us automatic friends (I guess). This is not true. We're merely aquaitances. I have no need or wantto know anything about him away from that last year of highschool when he recorded my dance.

I've told him this before, but he doesn't seem to get it.

Then I found out (first day of college; two years ago) he was in the same program (and classes) as me; and I was just so happy to know I had a friend in college.

FAT CHANCE!!!

Anyway...
As second semester ended I asked out my now girlfriend (for 1 year, 4 months, and 6 days). God knows how he found out when he did... but he did, and had a class with Ashley before our first date.
To her, he announce that he was surprised I hadn't told him about her, as he was my best friend. He then continued on to tell her to not go out with me, and gave various (stupid) reasons.
Unfortunately, all of his reasons contained previous girlfriends. So; in essence, I was having the ex-girlfriends talk, pre first date, and without being present.
Needless to say he was (and still is) interested in Ashley to a creepy extent. I won't go into details.

Later on (fall semester) he made many passes towards Ashley, knowing - full well - we were still dating.
I'm sorry, but there's a fucking line.

Get this, he added me on Facebook just the other day.
I have never made better use of the ignore button in my life.

You'll be pleased to know I didn't write him a message or anything, although I really did want to. Now, if he writes me all "Dude! Why didn't you add me? We're best buds! Why'd you delete me before?" I'll give him a damn good piece of my mind.

Moron...

Where has the evening gone?

Well, I've been trying to get into paintball. One of the guys I knew in high school (and elementary school) said it was fun, and he'd bring me along sometime. That was in grade 10, if not 11. Needless to say; it never happened.
Then a year ago, a Medieval fighting buddy of mine (Kendric) mentioned it, and that for fighters, we didn't need to wear pads because it's stupidly light. He said my knight (Ed) and I should join him sometime... Once again; never happened.

A few weeks back Ashley's brother went paintballing.
I decided, I'm going to take to take my own damn self. And I've also though (if I go and like it) that I may do it as a birthday thing with family friends and stuff, but we'll see.

Last Friday, I drove out to the closest paintball range (for lack of a better term) and waited for it to open... It didn't, and I ended up heading home and getting ready for work.

I tried again today. I figured it was later in the day, so they'd be open... Nope. So I parked and called them (as they had a huge sign with their phone number in their parking lot). [QUICK NOTE: Calling is a huge deal for me. I'm not a phone person.]
I found out they're open only on weekends, pretty much all day. I figured, "Well, they have a store, and I know where it is. Maybe I'll go check prices of gear for when I go." I had nothing else to do, and it was a little before 5pm.

When I got to the store, it turns out they close at 5 on Wednesdays (only on Wednesdays), so I couldn't get in.
Just my luck...

Now I'm home, alone; with very little to do.
Ho hum...

Tangents and Ideas Alongside My Thoughts and Feelings - Part 2

visited, and taught me how to do everything specifically. I could hit that ball straight and long (no pun intended).
Then my granparents moved, and I lost my golfing.
When I picked it back up - years and years later - dad kept mentioning taking me to the pro teacher and seeing if he thought I'd had natural ability, and if it was worth my learning.
We never did this...

I go out to the driving range now, and have some fun. I try and teach myself what I'm doing wrong and attempt to correct, but I wonder a little; what could've been, every once and a while...

I think that's all; for now at least.
lol

Tangents and Ideas Alongside My Thoughts and Feelings - Part 1

I'm back, once again...
Hello, hello.

Firstly; yes I do have something to keep me writing (or typing) in here every day. This is thank you to Ashley (in case you haven't picked up on it yet; she's my girlfriend).

It involves writing "letters," and each letter each day is to someone who is designated by a list.
For example "someone who [blank]."
Now, as each person is different, I found it difficult to put someone to each day, so I decided it best to not start writing said letters until I decided on a person for each day. This may take some time, so do be patient.

Next...

Dad mentioned to me today if I felt like I should have continued with golf. Like if it'd've been a good path for the future and what not.
I said, "Yeah, and I felt the same about hockey."
Ironically, I had golf on me from goodness knows when. I used to beat the snot out of a yellow golf ball (which matched up REALLY well with those damn dandelions, let me tell you) in my grandparents back yard.
One time my grandpa

Taking a Break...

...where's my Kit-Kat?
Nah, I'm kidding.

Been busy the last bit. Summer season of baseball's started, I'm still working, and reffing once a week.

Got a neat idea from Miss Ashley. She found a 30 Letters in 30 Days thing, which is pretty cool.
I looked it over and found, "I don't have names to many of the letter." So I decided I'll start once I get a name to each of the letters.
That should be fun.

Some more good news; Facebook mobile's working once again, I can send and receive wall posts, pokes, and receive messsages.
Hurray for that.
(Is it "recieve," or "receive"? I dunno. I'll follow the I before E rule on this one, as it looks right.)

Back to work!
Later.

Funny Moments that Make Memories

"IT'S TAYLOR SWIFT!!!"

That is all.
lol

Favourite Thing to See

Last night before I went out to Ashley's, my sister was playing Call of Duty on the XBOX 360, in the living room. Dad and mom (technically) were watching.

My sister was camping (like I do, and get made fun of for) and was picking guys off of the roof as they ran by.

Di said, "Don't take your eyes off there. There's a guy hiding."
They conversed a bit, and Katie got direction to where about this guy was hiding. He popped up and she got the kill.

What I liked was that Di'd gotten into the game AND helped. She likes the shoot 'em up movies, and war movies, but (unfortunately) isn't so good at the whole "hand-eye coordination" necessary for video games. Mario's good, but racing or anything you need more than a few buttons to play, or you need to react quickly, and she's a little challenged.

Day of Decency

Well, we've found what I'm good at.
First drills today were offside stuff, penalty procedure, and dropping the puck. All of these things I'm awesome at.
:)

Most of the teachers now me by name now, and the main NHL teacher (who's new as of this morning) does too. He also enjoys chirping at me, and picking on me (like guys do) for fun.
Don Koharski's son was also having some fun with me in the offside drill, and his cousin was doing the same in the penalty procedure drill.

We're at lunch now, and I'm back to the classroom at 1:45pm. I was having trouble staying awake this morning. Some because it was just REALLY long, and some because it was just too early.
College and university students who've had those ridiculously boring early classes know what I mean.

Ugh, Comm II at 8 was TERRIBLE.

We'll see what the rest of my day holds.
Later!

When I'm back... I'm back. - PART III

from home and Ashley, which I really wouldn't want to do.
The OHL would have me more centralised around my home town, kind of;
but I don't know if the same sort of NHL visiblity is there...

I don't think I'll go for the CHL, just 'cause I don't want to be so
far from everyone, and everything I know.
I'll just keep coming back to camp every year 'til the NHL notices me
here. Not only would I be close to home, but I would get to keep
training with Don Koharski, who is awesome; just as a side note...

Anyway; I'm trying to get to sleep, as A I'm tired, and B I need to
get up closer to 6 in the morning for shower, breakfast, and camp
photo.
*shiver*
It's so early.

I'm going to batter with friggin' Novamov for a bit; see if I can
maybe get House to work on it. If no, then I'll try and find a movie
before it gets too late.

:)
I'm sleeping in my Taylor Swift concert shirt, and pyjama pants my
Ashley and her family gave me for Christmas.

Ah Christmas; it's so far away.
I love Christmas. Don't you?

When I'm back... I'm back. - PART II

which IS the proper way; don't get me wrong, I'm not being a smartass.
The left turning crossovers I can do, but they're REALLY weak in
comparison to every one else. And there's LOADS of power-skating stuff
that I just DON'T know as I've never, taken power-skating.

It bothers me.
It really took the wind out of my sails.
But I'm glad the teachers are very helpful, and try to help me out as
they see I'm struggling. Unfortunately, they see I'm struggling.

I could out there were six referee spots open in two different
leagues. Five of which are in the Ontario Hockey League.
The last one is in the Central Hockey League (which is now known as
"The Center of Hockey," becuase it's in the center of the States.
Unfortunately, I'd have to go and stay down south in the winter to do
it, whether I go full or part-time. This would mean I would room with
three or four other guys. Pay's good, and I'd REALLY have a chance at
beening seen by the NHL (which I really want to go for) but I'd have
to be so far away

When I'm back... I'm back. - PART I

Yes, I plan to be back.

So... I went to registration, which was MUCH more than "registration."
We got there, and got registered. Got our name tags and "free" swag.
(Yes I know; Stuff We All Get. That's why I used it.) Met the
"teachers." And then oh yeah, "Quick, go outside and stretch."
"Why did you stretch?" you might ask, "I thought it was only
'registration.'" Oh no, it was stretch, and then get your gear on and
skate your ass off for an hour.

This is when I realized; I have a lot of work to do. I'm in good
shape, compared to the other guys. They were huffing and puffing
quick. But they can do skating stuff that I just can't. :( It really
bothers me. I have good speed (in comparison. And that's all I'll
compare here) in straight-aways, and I'm pretty sure if the ice was
better, and my skates were sharpened well ('cause they weren't, or
aren't at the moment) I could do decently in the turny stuff.
But the right turning crossovers, I can't do. Backwards skating, I can
do my own way; not their "proper" way

What's There to Complain About?

Well... I am now in Burlington, cozied into my hotel room, with my PS3 set up for online-ness. Took a while to get it that way though. Even had to go down to the front desk to say, "Uhh, your network won't let me on..." and they couldn't tell me what I was doing right (or wrong) and how to fix it. They gave me a number to call (that wasn't even IN the hotel) so I said to myself, "Either I'm figuring it out myself, or I'm being bored for my stay." Look at that, I figured it out. :P

Once I did that I tried to load the next episode of House (since I had like two hours to kill). That was... fun. I tried a ton of times, and haven't been able to get that episode working for several days. So I have given up on it, unfortunately.

Now this gets graphic, so continue at you own risk...

I sat down to take a - well, what guys do sitting on "the throne." Best one by far, not that anyone needed to know that. I looked down... there, and realised, "Uhh, I'm alomst touching the water," and IMMEDIATELY fushed, which made no difference in my - *coughcough*'s - proximity to the water.
My reaction was, "Aw c'mon! You gotta be kidding me..."

After some thought (which I had time for while finishing my business), I realized that that may not be the proper reaction to the situation.
There are three ways to look at it:

1 - My reaction. This being the, "Aww damn!" way;
2 - A "Dude, I have a decent sized object down there," way about it, or;
3 - The reaction that is complete neutral between the two, and doesn't
care. Just finish and get off.

Anyway, I need to start getting ready to head to registration.
Depending on what happens there I may write more later; be it AT registration, or back here in the hotel room.

We shall see...

Back in Business!

Hurray for this! We are TRULY back in business (for which we can greatly thank Apple).
I have a brand spankin' new keyboard and It is SO awesome. Lord it's comfy. It makes me think my (upcoming) transition to Mac will be even more awesome than I'd hoped. PC's been REALLY getting on my nerves, and my laptop crashing over - well; nothing, was the last straw.
I plan to keep my desktop tower until I can afford myself an iMac, and the first thing on the purchase list (technologiwise) now is a MacBook something or other. It'll make life much easier.
Miss Ashley and I can go back to the good old days, where I could go on Twitter in my room, and do stuff while Direct Messageing her, rather than (since the laptop crashed) my running up and down the stairs to send text messages. (Please note that I have ZERO issue with text messaging, just I have NO cell signal in my house, so my cell has to stay up a floor, which is SUCH a pain in the ass.
Trust me on this one.

I may have to go soon. My (soon to be) brother-in-law's friend has signed on the Playstation Network, and I may be wanted for a Call of Duty rematch. Now don't get me wrong, I didn't beat him, but I did do better than the pair of them expected.

Where was I? No clue...

Anyway... Tomorrow night, after my chiropractor appointment (yes, I see the chiropractor) I'm off to Burlington. The first thought to SOMEone's mind will be, "Burlington Coat Factory! Haha..." This can, undoubtly be blamed on The Office, and Michael Scott. I'm off to Burlington for a referee camp, where NHL, AHL, and CHL scouts (for referees) will be, to see if I've got what it takes to be (what I really want to be as a career) a referee.
Fingers crossed pleases everyone. Oh yes, I AM nervous. As in "sick to my stomach, might throw up sometime soon," nervous, which is no fun at all. Again, trust me... Four days away from all I know; friends (the few that there are), family (except for Liz on Thursday night and Friday morning) and most importantly, my beautiful girlfriend Ashley. I really do wish she could join me; not only because she'd really help my nerves, but because I love her and I'm really going to miss her.

Out of things to say now. :$

Later!

Taking a quick break...

And... I'm back!

Sorry it's been so long. I've been a little busy. On top of the busyness (I know it's supposed to be "business" but that's the wrond word altogether) my laptop, which is my complete and utter "awesome" online access; has been fried. This means I must use my new PS3 to do all online things, and; without a wireless or USB keyboard, it makes things challenging.

But the good news is, "I'm here now." Agreed?

I'm currently at work, but on break; so things MAY seem rushed, for which I am truly sorry.

Went to see Taylor Swift on Thursday (May 20th), which was an awesome experience. Ashley bought us tickets, for which I am thankful. Mind you, even if I was completely uninterested, she'd've still gone; the uber fan that she is. :)

I really enjoyed myself, and thoroughly enjoyed the happiness you could read from Miss Swift as she sang and interacted with the crowd. I found myself wanting to try - once again - to attempt a try at entering the music business.

Everyone seems to think I'm great (except those that can sign me, and make me famous). Anyway, we'll see what comes of it.
I'll be the first to say, "Most likely nothing."

Oop, back to work.

Later!

Common Courtesy

I live in a decent sized house with my parents and little sister. I live in the basement (and have ZERO issue with it).

Now, everyone knows that the walls and floors are kinda thin, so we try to keep the noise down in general.

My sister (who's room is on the third floor, but enjoys playing on the middle floor) neglects to be courteous of others on (frequent) occasions. For instance... Today; she was playing XBox 360, online and had the BlueTooth thing on her ear. She was playing Call of Duty, and talking really loud.

I walked up to check what was up, and she wasn't even talking to the person on the headset about the game she was playing. So I wanted her to turn the volume (on her voice) down.

Me: ...could you please be a little quieter?

Her: No.

Cut and dry just like that. There was no "I'll try," or "I'm sorry, but I can't." Just "no." AND she became louder.

My answer to this was, turn on the music in my room; really loud. I can't hear her as much anymore. I think she tried to beat my music in loudness, but gave up quickly.

I win, but still; there is such a thing as "common courtesy."

Weekend Activities

Alas, I am back!

No I didn't forget about the blog; although that has happened before, but not with this blog. Checking Miss Ashley's (my girlfriend's) will keep me updating some. I kinda suggested she write a blog to kill time, so my not writing would be somewhat hypocritical, no?

Saw Iron Man 2 this weekend. No, I didn't go on opening night: that would have been stupid on my part. I'm agoraphobic; which means "afraid of large groups of people," pretty much. Not to be confused with "afraid of outside."

Damn good movie! "Better than the first one?" you may ask. My response would be, "It was good, but you can't really compare the two." Iron Man was a set up to SEE the second. If you didn't see the first, you could understand the second one (like the recent Star Trek movie, only not) but you'd miss the throw backs, and jokes that tie the second one to the first one.

Now; it wasn't a flop, as most sequels (on a semi regular basis) are. Examples being (remember, I'm only naming sequels (my definition being, "Things that aren't 'first' in a series.")) Spider-man 2, Spider-man 3, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Austin Powers - Goldmember, Pirates of the Caribbean 2 - Dead Man's Chest (those are all I can think of right off the top of my head :$ ). It was actually really good. Robert Downy, Jr. did an excellent job in keeping his character (as did Gwyneth Paltrow) and I really do look forward to the next movie.

*SPOILER* I also look forward to the Avengers movie (or whatever they're called). Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson should be great; especially the latter.

I also watched Paranormal Activity with Ashley (online) and I must admit; watching that one late at night was not such a good idea. It was kinda dumb, but was still freaky.

Other than that, we watched Devil Wears Prada, He's Just Not that into You, and started Hostage and Invictus. So we kept pretty relaxed this weekend.

Anyway, I have work tomorrow, or; today rather. So I'll leave it at that.

Fingers crossed for more to write tomorrow (or at least soon).

Cheers.

Childish ways...

Now, I was play Call of Duty with my sister. I've never really played on an XBox 360, but that's the system she's borrowing at the moment.
I'm a competitive being; it's just the way I am. And yeah, I was really tired of losing every time; but hey, I was getting better.

We play capture the flag. First time I played, it was 3-2. Then a whole bunch of 9-1 and 9-0 games. More 9-0, but I was getting better. I killed her more often.

Played tonight, and I kept all the games close; she never won by more than 3. When I'd say that, I'd get shot down and made fun of; but I never bit back.

One game I even got to take it to a TIE-BREAKER!!!

Still lost though.

Last game, she decides (without asking) to "make it fun," which means "pick a really hard map to watch [me] run around like my head's been cut off."

It was 1-0 for her for the longest time. When I finally got my hands on her flag; then I was running around like my head was cut off. I COULDN'T FIND MINE!!! AHH!!!

When she caught up with me and killed me, I said that the level was so hard, and that it was like a giant huge maze. (Remember I was playing, not grammatically correct.)

She gave me an instruction - that I was really already doing - so I told her I was doing that. Then she got all almighty about it, and said it again, but more rude. I told her I was doing it already, and called her a smart ass.

She flipped out.

She was winning, and one word got under her skin.

She threatened to turn off the game, and I told her that would be very immature of her.

We went to the second half; I was down by one. We switched sides.

Somehow I managed to get one, and stop her from getting mine. We went into a tie-breaker at 1-1.

She'd kind of started to chill a little... but then I WON!!!

Usually, when I win after LOADS of losing, I explode into celebration. But this time; all I did was whisper, "Finally," set down the controller, and look to the ceiling.

And then she exploded about me calling her a smart ass, and said I could never play again. (Kind of like turning off the system, no?) Then she tried to tell me that she was going to let me use the system when she wasn't home (as I wasn't allowed), but now she won't.

Between you, me, and the world; that's a bold faced lie. She would have told me sooner, and of course she say it then, 'cause it makes her not have to follow through. That' be like her saying, "I was going to lie in the middle of the highway for you, but I won't now because..." or "I was going to jump off the roof just for you, but I won't now."

Anyway...

She's a liar; I won, and; I completely unnerved her with logic (thank you Vulcans), so that's another win for me.

Not being able to play Call of Duty is a VERY small price to pay. Winning is MUCH more important.

I plan to buy a Wii and PS3 with Call of Duty in the future, and they will be mine (not borrowed from someone else) so I can return the favour; FOR YET ANOTHER WIN!!!

I love winning.

Rules are Just That; Rules

I'm both a umpire (baseball) and referee (hockey). In both of these positions; I'm there (I won't say paid, 'cause that sounds bad even though it's true) to enforce the rules, and penalize those who choose not to follow them.

Hockey (in some minor league levels) has a fifty minute curfew time. Meaning you have fifty minutes on the ice, and then you have to get off for the next group.

Then there's all the other technical ones that I really don't need to get into at the moment. But know that I do know them, and enforce them.

Baseball is similar with the curfew time. You get two hours on the field. You cannot start an inning after those two hours. Now, you cannot play on the field at, or after dusk; for reasons of safety AND common knowledge. (I say "common knowledge" as there is no such thing - scientifically - as a "common sense." Blame it on high school science.)

So, say an inning takes - on average - 40 minutes to play (at the Minor National level). Sunset is at 8:11. You finish an inning (doesn't matter which one) at 7:45. Is there time for a full other inning before sunset?

The correct answer is, "No."

Therefore, "No coach. The game is over because those are the rules." Deal with it.

Some people...

Typing in Boredom

Well... Boring day so far.

Figured I'd be all "Woo hoo!" 'cause I started this, and have a million things to write and say. But not so much. Spent the whole day home.

Tried to play some XBox; that was boring. I find myself wanting to play Call of Duty, but I only have it for DS, so I looked for a similar game I already own; I don't have any. Star Wars Battlefront got old when I beat it for the hundredth time.

I tried Lord of the Rings, which (as it turns out) is just as boring as the movies. Mind you, all I have is The Fellowship of the Ring, and The Two Towers.

The first one, all you do it run around as Frodo, who does nothing (I was looking for and action game.

The second one you do fight, but there's one guy you can't land a shot on, AND he's huge. All you can to is run up and swing at him - which does nothing - and then he smashes you wth a HUGE bloody hammer; if you're lucky, you don't fall over. THEN, he picks you up, shakes you around, and throws you at the ground. Oh! And running away doesn't help either, 'cause then he throws logs at you until you come back, or he decides to "chase" after you. (I used the term "chase" very loosely, as he's a huge clumsy orc, and can't run fast.)

Then I tried Star Trek - Shattered Universe. (Shut up. Yes, I'm kind of a Trekker.) The premiss of the game is that your ship got sent to a parallel universe and you're trying to get back. On top of that; YOU are a BAD guy in the alternate universe, so everyone tries to kill you. I played before, but my save file was lost (apparently) so I started over. Beat the first level, then got bored.

Now I wait to go umpire some baseball.

Tik... Tok...

Puttin' it all together...

Well, I must say; this is new... ish.

I mean I've blogged before, but somewhere else; so this is kind of my fresh start, or "fresh page" so to speak. But I mean; it is technically a fresh page, as it's a brand spankin' new web site (or webPAGE, I should say), which would make it fresh, no?

Mind, the last one kinda fell though the cracks, but we'll see if I can keep this one up to date; at least for the most part.

I don't really have much to write now,but as things come to me (whether while online, or in public) I'll see what I can do about spewing them in here as soon as I can.

Keep in mind that I can be very uhh... argumentative, let's say, about topics I feel strongly about, but I'm not an angry or hate filled person.I just have a strong point of view (that would/will change with persuasion, logic, and a good rebuttal). But that doesn't mean I'll take it lying down. I won't be afraid to rebut a rebuttal (and that why I said "argumentative") and I hope not to offend anyone, or have what I say taken the wrong way.

Let's have fun shall we?

Cheers!