Poor Becky

My wife was supposed to be accompanying a friend and her family to Florida for a week in November. Her friend's daughter is terminally ill and the Make a Wish Foundation was sending them to Disneyland. They were allowed to choose a friend to come with them to help out with the kids and the dog. They picked Becky! What an honor!! Right?
Well, Make a Wish vetoed their pick. It seems that eventhough they talk to eachother almost everyday (online) and are really great friends, Becky hasn't spent enough "face time" with the whole family. So they said Becky can't go. She was so excited to go.
Why let the family choose who they want to bring if you are just going to shoot them down? How in hell would Make a Wish know what kind of relationship they have? All Becky and Sam talk about is kids, parenting etc. We bought cloth diapers from her (home made), got lots of advice on all kinds of things, gave lots of advice to them, etc. We have the same ideals with regards to how we raise our kids.
I just don't see how Make a Wish can judge that Becky would not be a good fit to go with them based on total face-time. It's not like there has been NO face-time, apparently just not enough.
My mom lives in Vancouver and I only see her every few months, so does that mean she couldn't come with me to Florida?? I haven't seen the Keeches in a couple years, so I couldn't go on a trip with them? It just doesn't make any sense!
I am sure they have their reason, I mean, they do this all the time, but I just don't like it when judgements are made by outside parties that don't know the real score.

I just hope the Knapps have a wonderful time at Disney with whomever they are "allowed" to bring. It should be a wonderful family trip!!!

Somebody shoot me

I had the worst night last night. I got home from ball, fine. Heard a big accident when I was letting the dog out. Still don't know what happened. Lots of sirens though. Whatever. chatted with Becky for a bit. great. Then:
11pm Amelia starts crying. It get intense so I go get her, Bring her down and give her a bottle.
1145pm She's ready for bed again so I take her up and she lays right down.
1230am Crying again. I let it go for a bit but it's not getting better. I bring her back down.
1245-215am numerous failed attempts to put her back to bed. I'd get her asleep in my arms or in the rocker and when I try to lay her down again she just wails. Even tylenol didn't help. I thought it was her teeth.
215-3am I listen to her cry.
3am I finally go get her again, give her another bottle and she falls asleep on my chest. Whatever, I fall asleep too.
7-8am She is still sleeping but is moving around a bit and every time she does, I wake up.
8am Up for good.

We went over to Jess's for pancakes this morning then I dropped Grace off at Fiona's for a birthday party. I have to go back and get her in like 20 minutes so I have to wait til I get back to lay Amelia down. I really really hope I can get Grace to have a nap too. Maybe all the crying kept her up enough that she'll be tired and I can get some rest. I got most of the laundry put away so other than dishes (after supper) and some tidying up, I am good to go. I am so going to bed early tonight. After I give myself a haircut (bye Faux-hawk!), shower and shave. Becky will have to wake me up when she gets home. IF I am asleep that is. Dollars to doughnuts I won't be asleep when she gets home, for whatever reason.
Wish me luck!

Baseball vs. Hockey (and the LPGA crap)

I have a really hard deciding whether I prefer baseball or hockey.
There is nothing sweeter than a homerun swing.
Hockey is Canada's game.
I am good at baseball (most of the time)
I can play hockey.
I love the anticipation and payoff of baseball.
Hockey is fast and exciting.
I love the Blue Jays and Indians, and they both suck.
I love the Blackhawks and they suck. (for now)
So, really I can't decide.
I'll give them a tie because they are played in different seasons.
Football gets second. (NFL and CFL)
Football gets third. (MLS)
and I couldn't care less about basketball. Honestly, I don't give a shit.

And what's with this shit about the LPGA suspending golfers who don't speak English??
What the fuck!!!???? How racist is THAT!??!?!?!?
Yet another reason why I enjoy playing golf but I hate the golf world. Stuck up assholes.
One day (after I win the lottery) I am going to open Matt's Rebel Golf Club.
NO dress code. Beer stands on every hole. Mulligans granted when jackass blows an airhorn at you. Ya know, make it fun!
Anyway, I better go to bed. Becky isn't home which mean I have to get up with the girls no matter what. But Becks is enjoying a well deserved break. Love you hunny!

Poop Flinging Baby and a Blog-worthy Sandwich

I'll start with the sandwich. That way you can stop, make one, eat it and then come back to read the rest. Possibly the best sandwich I have ever made. Here goes: Bacon, scrambled eggs (cooked in the bacon grease), and a cheese slice on buttered brown toast. Oh. Hell. Yeah.

Now for the poop flinging baby. When I heard Amelia playing in her crib I thought I would just leave her be because she wasn't fussing. At one point, I thought, "hmmm, what if she got her diaper off?" (I didn't know what Becky had put her to bed in) A little while later she started crying and I went in to get her. Lo and behold, the diaper is on the floor, Amelia is only wearing a shirt and there is poo all over the place. She's sitting it, it's smeared on the sheets. There is even some on her blanket box. Which is not in a position to catch a roll out. It was tossed over the end of the crib!
Why I thought that might be the case before I even went in there is beyond me but it happened nonetheless. The really weird thing is that the first thought that popped into my head upon discovering the scene was the cover of Green Day's Dookie album and the monkey with the poop in his hand and the thought bubble saying "Throw?"

Have a nice sandwich!

My favourite place in the world. (other than my house)

Becky and I went to Chad and Kelly's cottage this weekend. (well, Kelly's step-mom's cottage) We left the girls with Gramma and Grandpa and enjoyed an adult weekend.
Friday night we boated over and unpacked. Then just sat around, played Wii Sports, drank adult beverages, and ate lots of junk. (we were VERY hungry, wink)
Saturday Chad and I went fishing in the morning and didn't catch anything. Got a few hits but Chad tells me that the fish in that lake are hard to get out.
In the afternoon, Becky, Kelly and I got pulled around in the big tube. Becky got dumped. She is in some kinda achy state. I am too really but mine is from holding on for dear life and not getting dumped. Oh, they tried. Did they ever try!! At one point, the tube was right out of the water, vertical. My head pointing to shore. Somehow, it righted itself and I stayed on. Woo Hoo!!! They whole time we could hear the dogs on shore barking and howling at us. hahah
We came back and ate lunch out in the lake on the big 4-person floater. Then more fishing.
Chad and I fished while Becky and Kelly floated behind us on the tube. No fish caught.
For supper, we had giant steaks. I mean giant. The smallest one was about 20 oz. Damn they were good. That's all I had to eat. No salad, no bread, nothing. Just meat!!!!!
That night we played more Wii, watched a movie, drank and ate more junk.
We came home this afternoon tired, sore, missing our girls but very grateful for a weekend at My Favourite Place in the World. The cottage.
We will be going back in Sept with the girls. Maybe not with the dog. Leia was GREAT this weekend. She hung around the cottage all weekend. We even left her alone, outside for over an hour when we went fishing/floating Saturday night and she was right there waiting for us when we got back. Taking her AND the girls might be too much. At least for sleeping. Not to mention room in the car.
Maybe I can catch a fish next time. Gotta put that license to use!!

Back up!! Back up!!!!!!

Thurday night Becky and I were going to pick the girls up at her parents we had a little incident with a transport. We were travelling south on Centre st. and were stopped at the Bridge St. intersection waiting to turn left. Mr. Transport was going east on Bridge turning left onto centre. (You can see where this is going, right?) As he is turning the corner, we both say out loud, "is he going to make it?" Answer: NO! Back up Back up!!!! Becky backs up quickly, not even checking to see if the was anything behind us. She stops. MORE MORE!!!! So she fires it back out of trailer range.
Now, most (competent) truckers would know whether or not they would be able to make a corner like that. In which case they would pause and tell the tiny little car they are about to crush, to move back. Not this guy!! Looked right at us and kept on going. What the hell was he doing that deep in town anyway?? Idiot.
So, we didn't get crushed by a transport but it was a bit scary. I don't know what the hell we would have done if we couldn't back up fast enough? Shit!

Me got burned

I got a wee bit of a sunburn today. but only on my neck, ears, face and lips. Ya know, the parts exposed to the sun. I KNEW I would too. I did! I chose not to put sunscreen on. Why,I dunno.
I was out playing baseball all day. I should have put some on.

We played 3 games in the Goodyear/United Way Tourney today and won the B Champs. It was a good day. We had fun.
It wasn't really stinkin hot today, which tricks you into thinking you aren't getting sunburned.
I used Garry's Demarini F3 and I liked it. I hit like shit but it wasn't the bat. I still want to get one of those bats. And I will sometime. It's way better than that crap ass Worth Insanity bat I bought last year! Ting!!

I watched Hellboy 2 after the baseball. Not too bad.

Now my hammy is tightening up. Great. Aaaah, it's worth it! I love baseball!

Swimming Lessons are done!

Grace and Amelia have finished their swimming lessons for this year.
Amelia graduated from Starfish and Grace graduated from Salamander.
They both did great.
Grace can swim from one end of the pool to the other with only one water wing on or the "turtle shell" on. She had made great progress this summer.
Amelia can swim about 2-3 metres with water wings on. Not bad for only being 16 months old. Maybe in 2024 she can win Canada some medals!!!
I am very proud of both my girls.

Hinch/Lynch Family Reunion

We had a big Hinch/Lynch Family reunion yesterday. It was great. I think the count came in at 118 people but I know ALOT of people couldn't make it. ALOT. I have the family histories so I could count up the living people and have at total for the family. I will. Later.

We had mass at 1130 lead by my dad's cousin Msnr. Joe Lynch. The Kennellys and Murphys sang the hymns accompanied by Michelle on the keys, Liam and Calum on guitar.

Chocolate on Your Face Photography was there to take family photos, as well as large group shots. I think she was the best photographer I have ever seen. And sexy too.

There was a big potluck with way too much dessert. Sack races, 3-legged races (Grace did very well with here stuffed unicorn, but I think it was more 4 legged), board races ( I think that is what they are called) and a tug of war. My side won the tug of war obviously.

I have some nice little talks with a couple cousins that I don't see very much. So that was good. The girls really enjoyed themselves. At the end of the day, we were all very tired indeed.

Let's do it again next year!!!

Live review: Jucifer

I saw Jucifer in Kingston on Monday (AUg 4) and the Time to Laugh Club. I wasn't sure what to expect going in. I was quite familiar with their music but had never seem them live. I didn't know if they had any touring musicians or if it was just Amber and Edgar.
I was just Amber and Edgar but that was all that was necessary.
First, they had this MASSIVE wall of amps. Almost identical to the big one their video for Pontius of Palia (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-AFuyIbS6g). They didn't play that song.
Unless you are a total nimrod, you can figure that stack was LOUD. And how.
I don't think I have EVER been to a show that loud. I saw Morbid Angel/Static-X/Pantera/Slayer once and that was nothin. I had this weird waffling sensation in my ears after the show. Like the echo of a stream cascading over rocks. Fuckin' weird.
I could break down the song list but honestly, most of the time I didn't know the name of the song. I don't really remember that shit. What I can say is they mostly played the heavier side of their catalogue for the better part of an hour. From grindy to deathy to flat out noise.
The emo crowd cleared out pretty quick once they started playing (support provided by FBTMOF).
Amber comes on to a darkened stage and, from what I could tell, sprayed Pam on her strings. I think. Then proceeds to make love to her guitar. You can't tell me she doesn't get the jollies from the heavy low end tone and that oversized stack of amps. Edgar makes his way onstage after a few minutes and wham!!! They takes off and we are all blinded by the numerous worklamps scattered around the stage and on top of the amps. The retinal scarring only last a few moments so no permanent damage was done.
I have been to a fair bit of shows and I would have to say Jucifer put on one of the best I have ever seen. Amber Valentine is second to none as a frontwoman. She brings a very confident stage presence. Her range as a vocalist is just amazing and the way she plays the guitar like it's a partner......It certainly commands attention. The only thing is, Edgar Livengood commands just as much attention. I never seen a drummer play with such conviction. Each time he pounds something it's like his life depends on it. Like a man posessed. Coon-skin cap in tow, he goes from the sludge timing to flat out grind drumming in a heartbeat. He looks like a demon hell bent on destruction for the low to mid-tempo stuff and when it gets really fast his face morphs into a state of ecstacy. I was tempted to check under his stool for someone on their knees.
Maybe it was just because I was so close to the stage, but when Amber sang her softer stuff, I couldn't really hear her. That's really my only complaint other than the drunk ass that kept hitting Edgars drums with his hands. After he knocked one of the sticks out of his hand someone must have said something to him because he basically stopped moving. I was seconds away from showing him the floor.
If you ever get the chance to check Jucifer out live, don't miss it. You will leave changed.

N.B. Don't (!) forget your earplugs. It hurt.

Heavy Metal in Baghdad

I watched this documentary movie today and let me tell you, it's an eye-opener. It chronicles the Iraqi heavy metal band Acrassicauda and their struggle to be a heavy metal band in war-torn Baghdad, express themselves and flat out survive.
It really shows how oppressed the Iraqi people are since America moved in to liberate them. Kind of ironic.
I highly highly highly recommend checking this movie out. Even if you aren't a fan of heavy metal, you should still watch it based on how it shows how real people have to deal with all the crap going on in Iraq.
If you want to watch it and can't find it online (isohunt.com) I can get it to you somehow.

Keep on headbangin' in the free world.

PS: The guy who made this is Canadian, so that's awesome. And no, it's not Sam Dunn. World Metal isn't out yet. I don't think. The guy is Eddy Moretti. Genius.

Assistance svp??

I gotta figure out why the line breaks get all messed up when I email my
posts in. It's annoying.

Maybe I'm just getting old

We took the girls to the 177th Annual Napanee Agricultural Fair on Monday.
177 years, that's pretty cool. That's since like 1831. I am glad we didn't
have to pay 10 bucks each to get in. Partly because we were only there for
like and hour and a half but mostly because I don't do rides. I used to be
all about the rides but now I can't even handle a swing for more than 5
minutes. Grace loves rides but she can't go on all of them and it's
expensive!! She went on 2 rides and it cost us $7.50. If we were going to
make a day of it, we would have got a bracelet. I love you see her happy so
it's worth the money.
Grace entered 2 flower arrangments in the children's division and placed
1st in one and 3rd in the other, netting her $6.75 in prize money!! Woo
hoo!
I was way more interested in the non-midway stuff. The arts and crafts, the
baking, the animals and all that. The poultry was pretty cool. Grace had a
nice conversation with a goose. I was fascinated with how the judge for one
of the 4-H Dairy competitions was able to determine which cow was better
than the others. They all looked good to me!
I would like to have seen the heavy horse pull, the tractor pull and the
demo derby too but I had to work and stuff.
So maybe I am just getting old but not being interested in rides and being
interested in chickens is definitely a sign of something. Next year I might
even submit some entries into the food comps. some salsa, or spaghetti
sauce or maybe a pie! okay, maybe not a pie.

I still don't get "emo"

I went to see Jucifer last night. This band called Fear Before The March Of Flames played before them. I guess they would be considered "screamo". But all the kids that were there to see them were your emo kids.
Swooped haircuts on the guys.
Straight billed ballcaps.
GIRLS PANTS!! cutoff just below the knee or rolled up. Huh?
They are all about 100 lbs regardless of height.
The dumbest "dancing" I have EVER seen. It makes Elaine from Seinfeld look like Fred Astaire.

I have tried to think of what those same kids would be when I was that age. The best I can reckon would be goth? Isn't that what the misunderstood youth of the mid-90's were? Listening to Marilyn Manson and the like.
Can we go back to that? fishnet sleeves and black nail polish (80's-eye makeup, 90's nail polish, 00's girls pants)

I just know that in like 5 years they are going to look back and themselves and laugh/cry at how ridiculous they look.
I will admit that I look back at my late teens-early 20's and laugh. I had the very very baggy pants, backwards ballcap, or spiked hair. Total Fred Durst impersonator except it wasn't a Yankees hat. I hate the Yankees.

I just wish that when I went to a show I didn't have to worry about some kids spazzing out and hitting me with dancemoves. That there would be people honest-to-goodness headbanging, some horns being thrown.

The Terror/Warriors/Death Before Dishonor show on Labour Day should be better. Real hardcore.

I mean, Come ON, people!!

I've been buzzing my hair for about a year. Not thatlong really, but being
the dynamic person that I am, I decided to change it up. I thought, hey,
what the hell? Faux-hawk!!
I started it about a month ago and last week it was good enought to
actually wear it, like without hat.And I have gotten(almost) nothing but
grief about it for 8 days. and I wore a hat for 3 of those.
At first Becky was like "what did you do that for? Whatever, it's your
hair." But now she says she likes it. Sarah (our hairdresser friend)
cleaned it up for me and she said it looked good. Lianne at work, was like
"yeah, right on, awesome!"
Other than that. grief. Most of it is playful grief. Most of it. I've
gotten:
"Did you have to go to the reserve to get that?"
"Have a special on haircuts on the reserve, did they?"
"Spend some time on the reserve this weekend?"
" But you're not an Indian?" (nb shit, but I was never Roman either and I
had a caesar cut)
"You lose a fight with the lawnmower?" yes, yes I did.Idiot.
"Let me guess, 3000 Miles to Graceland?" I don't even know what that means.
Most of it has not been verbal. Lots of staring, snickering, weird looks, I
am sure some laughing behind my back, you know, various looks that say
"weirdo, punk, or loser" basically.
There was even a plant tour yesterday (bigwigs stopping at MY machine to
watch me build. luck of the draw) and I was told to keep my hat on because
of the mohawk. Dare I say, fuck you? I did keep it on only because I didn't
have any gel or anything in my locker.

It's just a haircut people!!!!

I don't judge the guy with the wannabe skullet, or the guy with the
flat-top, or the rest of the morons that have had the same haircut since
1983.
So what if I have a "mohawk". It's not a mohawk, it's a faux-hawk, I didn't
go down to the skin. I am trying to express a little bit of individuality.
Is that so bad?
I had consider just shaving it off. But now I want to keep it just because
I know people think it's weird or something.
Down with the system!! F the people!! FTW!!!! lol