Last couple days

Thursday was a rough day. I had to go to a wake for a 4 year old. It was the son of a friend I grew up with next door. He drowned in the pool. Well, the pool cover. Quite possibly the saddest thing I have ever seen. I cannot begin to imagine what the family is going through. It was awful. He was in this too tiny coffin, with all his favourite toys, with his little hat on and a copy of Kung Fu Panda. They were transporting his urn to the internment in Tow Mater. I couldn't bring myself to go to the funeral. It was just too much. The wake was hard enough. I came home bawling and sobbed into Becky's shoulder. I went and hugged Grace too. Amelia woke up in the night so I hugged her then. It really made me appreciate how much I have. I will try my damnedest from here on out to enjoy every moment I have with my family. It could all be taken away just like that.

On a lighter note, I would have been really embarrased if someone had seen (or rather, heard) me cleaning out the freezer and moving the new (to us) one into the backroom. I had Iron Maiden on the stereo and I was singin' along. Doing the best Dickinson impression I could. I am sure if anyone heard my falsetto it would have made their day! I did some gardening too. Scratched my arms all to ratshit trying to get all the leaves out of the bushes. Had burgers on the BBQ. yeah baby! Rode the scooter in to work. Got it under cover before it started to rain. I just hope it's not raining when it's time to go home!

Dribs and drabs because I am bored

I came up with a new saying with regards to dog poo/pee on the floor. "You
seen it, you clean it." It does NOT apply to general messes, dishes or
laundry.

Rain sucks.

I am all out of black tea.

Kylesa and Intronaut play Kingston in less than 2 weeks!! And Mastodon
might be there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Toxic Holocaust if playing there later this summer. Oh yeah!

I should really be concentrating more on work right now.

RIP Hunter

Good weekend

I think I blogged about Saturday already didn't I? Remote blogging and a
terrible memory don't go well together. I'll assume I did.
Sunday was another good day. Not only for us as a family, but for me
personally.
We went to Chad and Kelly's Saturday night. We had a very good time (sans
kids). They let us know that Kelly is pregnant!!! Cool. I took one beer
with me (St. Peter's English Ale. Try it. Organic and awesome) and Chad
gave me a celebratory one. It put me to sleep and I missed the end of the
movie.
We got home late and in bed by like 1. But we were up around 8 and all was
good. We got donuts. We took Tyler home and hung out there for a bit. Took
Amelia out to pet the calves and the donkey and see the chickens. Grace
played with Robyn.
Then we went for a little drive and spent the afternoon in the yard. After
supper we went to Dairy Queen and had some treats and played in the play
thinger there.
Girls went to bed great but Meel didn't stay down. She has a cold so she
was all stuffy and woke up.
Good weekend.

I had a beer last night

It was my first alcoholic beverage since January 15. That's a whole 93 days. I am proud that I could do it. Truth be told, I wasn't super impressed with the beer I had. I don't know if I have lost the taste. I don't think so. I think a) it wasn't cold enough b) Steamwhistle just isn't as good out of a can and c) Amelia was on my lap and not feeling well so I couldn't properly relax.

Pretty good morning

Becky went to work and I took Grace to gymnastics. Amelia behaved and didn't give me a hard time. I could tell Grace isn't 100% yet because she wasn't as into it as she usually is. After that, we went to the library to hear Peggy Collins read. She read her book In The Garden as well as a book she illustrated called Tallula's Atishooo! Grace drew a picture on a big sheet with other kids and planted a pea plant to bring home. Amelia played with some other kids. It was a good time. I took them to McDonald's after. Sort of as a reward but also cuz I wanted a burger.
As a side not, it was the first time I used the emergency brake on the van. I had never had to park it on a hill yet.
Amelia is napping now and I am going to try and tidy up a bit while Grace rests too. Grace and I have to make a Zoo board today. For her next reward, she chose the zoo. 5 weeks of blue tickets at school and good days at home and here we come, Zoo!!

Last night we took the girls to Chuck E. Cheese's. That is what Grace had worked towards as a reward. Both girls had a blast and Becky and I weren't stressed! The pizza wasn't that bad. We all had lots of fun and for little money. Grace is really good at the water gun game, Amelia does not like the rides that move, and Becky and I need work on our basketball skills. We will have to go again sometime. It was great!

I haven't had to snap on anyone's head! (yet)

Because I am a bit of a cynic, I thought that I would get some flack for riding our e-scooter to work tonight. (daymak.com  "Gatto")  I haven't, yet. I hope any detractors choose to keep their negativity to themselves because I have not in the mood for jokes or other non-supportive comments. Depending on what may be said, I am lible to snap on their head. Or just walk away. It's an environmental choice and I am proud of it. I'm reminded of a Slipknot song but I won't repeat the lyrics here. I've had positive comments from WW, JW, SC, and RB. Possibly a sarcastic comment from LM. Not sure.

I Give Up

Everything I try to feel better doesn't work. or it works for a couple days and then it doesn't anymore. Maybe I am just realizing that my mood and behaviour wasn't a side effect of being tired. Maybe I was using it as an excuse. The only thing I haven't done that I have wanted to is exercise but my knees are bothering me enough that I just can't.
I go to see the doc on the 27th and I will do whatever they tell me to. Drugs, therapy, anything.
I can't do this anymore. I can't be this person anymore. It's not fair to those who love me and it's not fair to myself. I wanted to fix myself by myself but I can't.
Good thing I have benefits at work.

We gots a new pupper

That's our new puppy Sara Princess Marie Hinch. Grace picked the name. She is a 9 week old Jack Russell/Beagle. Cute as a button. Likes to chew. Great. Getting pretty good at doing her business outside. We need to work on not shitting in her crate. 2 baths yesterday and 2 stinky hose-outs of the crate. BIG TIME cuddler.
She gets along with Leia very well. The cat, not so much. But Franki just goes somewhere else.
I'll have to do some reinforcements to the outside kennel. Just to be sure Sara can't wiggle her way out. Nevermind about the picket fence. She'll always be small enough to slip between the boards.

Amelia's Birthday and dual party

Sunday our baby turned 2. That was fast!! We had some relatives over for a little party on Sunday for a dual Grace-Amelia party. We won't do that again. Too much. They both got some great stuff. Problem is the sharing. They are sisters, what can you do?
It forced Becky and I to clean a little harder so that's a good thing. Now it's all about maintenance. I guess I'll just have to be a hard ass. haha (as I look at the disaster that is my computer desk)
5 and 2. Damn, where does the time go?

NHL no closer to team in Sin City

Bettman says NHL no closer to team in Vegas

They better not be!! Are you kidding me? Take a look at the team in the southern states. Phoenix, Tampa, Florida for example, are struggling to keep people in the stands. Why? Because hockey is cold weather sport! In the article it says they have no plans for expansion but if they did, how about Winnipeg! Quebec City! Hamilton!
If they ever put a team in Vegas, it would crash and burn.

Ya know what's awesome?

Grace loves science! That's awesome! She loves the show Sid the Science Kid. First time she watched it she comes running in to me all excited. "Dad! We can smell because of scent molecules!!!"

There is a show she watches at daycare called Adiboo. The video they have is about the circulatory system and Fiona says she eats it right up! I read her a book once about constellations and she talks about Ursa Major all the time. The other day she was watching Zula Patrol, she comes running into the kitchen, "Dad! Stars are held together by their own gravity!!" Maybe it's just me but it seems like she gets more excited about science then other stuff. Don't get me wrong, she like other stuff but you know what I mean. She really likes Super Why and Word Girl. Both are about reading. And Martha Speaks, which is about language skills. It's kinda neat. They use big words (bigger words) and then explain what they mean.I can't wait til she can read!

I am going to start reading a series of books to her. I had them when I was a kid. I call them the Value books. The Value of Determination, Understanding, Knowledge, Forgiveness etc. Each one is about a historical figure. Johnny Appleseed, Ben Franklin, Marie Curie, The Wright Brothers. There is pictures so that's good. hahah I hope she likes them.

When I woke up

Friday morning, I had a thought. (I know!! That IS hard to believe) But it's pretty deep. Why are they called Chinese? Why not Chinan? I can't think of another country that ends in "a" that refers to their people as "-ese". Most of the rest just add an "n". For example: American, Cuban, Australian, Bolivian, Indonesian, Slovakian, Russian, Algerian, etc. Am I right? There are other exceptions CanadIan, ArgentinIan. Where an "i" is added. But by and large if a country ends in "a", just add an "n". Not China. They follow a different trend. Like Japanese and Sudanese. Who decides on "n" countries? Whethere to go "-ese" or "i", or "-ian"? I better drop this train of thought before my brain explodes. Netherlands=Holland-->Dutch? WTF?! Are they called New Zealanders? Trinidad and Tobaggan?? HAHAAH I'm so easily amused.

Grace had a party!!

Grace had a party for her 5th birthday on Saturday. She had lots of fun. There was friends from school, friends from daycare, cousins and other friends. They did some crafts, decorated (and ate) cupcakes, played some games and opened some gifts. I got to meet some of her friends from school. Mixed first impressions. They made lots of noise and plenty of mess, but they had fun. It really made me feel like a dad. I do everyday but I felt like other people identified me as "Grace's dad". Nobody called me Mr. Hinch, so that's good. That would just make me feel old. Although, I did almost have one the parents convinced that TV was only in black and white when I was a kid. Almost.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

I just finished reading The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne. It about two boys on opposite sides of the fence. One in striped pajamas ( in a concentration camp) and the other the son of a high ranking Nazi. It is written from the perspective of the naive son of the Nazi official. It's a very compelling read. It explores the Holocaust from a very interesting perspective. We have all read about the horrors of the Holocaust but never in this way. It speaks to the innocence of youth even in the face of the unspeakable. It's even relavant to our time, without the blatant hatred of the Nazis. It demonstrates what we can learn from children. In the eyes of children, we are all the same. No matter our race, religion, ancestry or social standing, we are all people.

I highly recommend this book. It's a very quick read. Which is good because once you start, you won't want to put it down. In the notes at the end of the book, the author states that he wrote it in a week and half, but it doesn't feel rushed or half-assed.

It's almost time!!

The snow is gone. The flowers are coming up. Time to get outside. We went for our first after supper walk of the season the other day. It was very nice. We are now looking for a double jogging stroller. We used to have a double bike trailer/stroller but it was cumbersome and Grace hated it. Then we had a jogging stroller but we never used it. I think we sold it for as much or more than we paid for it. We want a jogging stroller because they tend to have bigger wheels and can handle uneven sidewalks better than normal strollers. We need the double to we can take both girls when we are alone. Finding a used one is not proving easy.

I am really itching to get outside.  I have a lot of work to do. Not to mention using the scooter!! I need to get some dirt and level out the yard in some places to make it so the fence doesn't look crooked (it's level). And to "freshen up" the dog's kennel. I can pick it all up but with the rain and stuff....

I need to strart doing some measuring and planning for my first project of the summer. I am putting a railing around the front porch. Need to measure to see how long of 2x4s I'll need and then plan for spacing of the 2x2 spindles and calculate how many of those I need. I'm going to get those holders I guess, that you screw onto the upright and then fit the end of the 2x4 into it. That is so much easier than trying to hammer the nails in on an angle and all that. When that's all done I will be building some window boxes but not for the windows. haha. They will sit on either side of the stairs. I am going to mount the numbers for our address on one of the boxes. Dad and Zena got us some really nice ceramic ones from a vendor when they were down in Chile. I haven't put them up anywhere yet because I wanted to do it right. If I get all that done, and we have the money, I'll be building a bigger deck. Not sure on the size yet but it will be bigger then the 8x7ft one we have now. At least 12x12, maybe 12x16. I have room for 12x20 but that might be a bit much. We'll see. I might even use the wood from the old deck to make a scooter port. hahaha Like a carport, but for the scooter.

Grace's birthday party is Saturday. There will be quite a few people at the house. I think 11 kids including Grace? plus Amelia, and the teenage cousin help. and parents. I just hope Amelia is well enough that she can be involved and we won't have to seclude her or take her somewhere else. Poor thing.

Saturday morning, I will find myself in Kingston. I have to get Becky the Best Buy exclusive Limited Edition Twilight DVD. It's got a bunch of extra stuff that is only on that version. It's sold out online. I need to call the store tomorrow and see if the are doing anything special. Like opening early or anything. Doubtless there will be hordes of teen girls there waiting to get it. Should be interesting. I hope I don't look like a creep and/or nerd. IT'S NOT FOR ME!!!!! hahaha

Grace's Birthday!

Grace turned 5 today. Well, yesterday. Fine! Wednesday.

She got a Peek-a-Boo Barbie and a Princess Barbie. A Tinkerbell balloon. A nice little toy bin and a Littlest Pet Shop Fitness CLub from us.

She got a Bratz Princess (she thinks it's Barbie) and a Camp Rock "Mitchie" doll (She thinks it's Hanna Montana) in the mail from Grammie and Poppa Rose. She's happy, that's all that matters. She was very excited to get mail.

She spent the day with us and her friend Makenzie. We went to the Pirate Park in Belleville then to McDonald's (with PlayPlace). When it was time to leave, Mackenzie went to get Grace and Grace screamed bloody murder because she didn't want to leave. My gawd was it loud! This horrible screech in a little acoustically resonant room was loud enough that federal safety regulations would have required hearing protection. Then we went back to our place and the girls played. I managed to nap in the next room with no problem. I wasn't THAT tired, and I doubt they were quiet, but I think I have myself trained.

Grace talked to or got birthday messages from just about everyone. It was good. She is going to have such a blast at her party on Saturday!

Hard to believe she's so old!! Next thing I know she'll be in high schooo. Please no! I'll stick with the fancy song she sang Grampa about how she'll be six and go to Grade One.

Can I get my hopes up yet?

No daily high temperatures in the minus until at least Monday. And the 14 Day Trend says nothing below 5 after that. That would be very nice indeed. I am sick of the cold.

I went to Value Village yesterday to grab a couple cassettes that I didn't get last time because I didn't want to use debit for $2.26 and they were gone!! Who else other than me would want a Megadeth and Rage Against the Machine cassette? crap.

I hope to do alot of cleaning up outside on Friday. The high is only 1 for Friday though. But sunny.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! and Happy Submarine Day!

wow!

I had to walk down to another area of the plant to train someone on something. It looked nice enough outside so I walked to the end of plant outside. My initial thought was "Yeah, not bad. Not t-shirt weather, but maybe a light hoodie."

20 minutes later, I take the same path back. But in that 20 minutes, it has warmed up even more! There was robins hopping around in the grass chirping at eachother, not a cloud in the sky and a nice gentle breeze.I felt like doing cartwheels! Seriously! And yes, I can do cartwheels. I did not, however, do any cartwheels. Someone might have been looking. And I'm already gonna catch enough flack this summer when I ride our electric scooter to work. I don't need to add any fuel to the fire.

I guess what I am trying to say is: What a nice day for me to be cooped up in a smelly ole plant!

I lost my travel mug

I can't find it anywhere. I probably left it laying around at work. And
since it looks like everyone else's, someone probably picked it up. I
didn't pay for it so it's no big loss, but now I have to buy a new one.

On Sunday we took the girls to the Pirate Cove playground in Belleville.
Man! did they ever have fun! I really enjoyed seeing them so happy. It's a
geat place to take them. It's great because it's fenced in. Then we took
them to the new renovated Reid's Dairy for ice cream. Amelia made quite a
mess but it was better than my expectations. That's why they get vanilla.
First Grace wanted vanilla, then Pistachio, then strawberry, then chocolate
then back to vanilla.

Amelia slept throught the might Sunday night. A full 12 hours. Thank you
thank you thank you! I haven't got an email from Becky yet so I hope she is
sleeping through tonight aswell.We've had her on lactose free milk for a
couple weeks now and she actually has solid poops now and her diaper rash
is clearing right up. It's a little more expensive but it's worth it.

I was freaking Sunday and all day Monday because I could find the receipt
for my $500 orthotics. Then when I was leaving for work I had a revelation!
I flipped open the thing in the center console that I keep my change and CT
money in and Voila!! I thought I put it right on the seat but the console
wasn the next logical place to look because that's where I put everything
so it doesn't blow out the window or fall out the door. Why I didn't look
there is beyond my comprehension. But now I have it and I can submit it to
my benefits. Phew!!

I have this feeling in the back of my throat. It's like there is a string
or a feather or something stuck at the back. It would be really nice if it
went away soon. I haven't been able to swallow normally for over a week.

I should take PC repair

Wednesday night my computer didn't work. It wouldn't turn on. It sounded like a car turning over but it just didn't have the strength. It would start going full bore for a couple seconds and then it would start chugging again. I asked a buddy at work and he said it sounded like the power supply. That's what I thought too.
Friday I went to Canada Computers and bought a new one. I changed it myself and everything is cool.
Then yesterday I took the old hard-drive out of my old computer and putting in the one I am using. And I didn't mess it up. It gives me an extra 10GB of storage after I formatted it. It's a 12GB drive but I can't seem to get the other 2GB cleared.
Later today or Monday I'll be swapping out the DVD drives. The one that came with this computer wasn't working right so I put my old in a while ago. It was doing the same thing so I figured it wasn't the drives but rather a CPU problem. In light of the power supply issue, it may be related so I am going to put the newer, better (it burns) one back in and give that a shot.
Someday I am going to buy some more RAM and speed this baby up a bit. I have slots for at least one more RAM card, maybe 2.
In the meantime, I have to move all the pictures onto the MyBook. Just in case this baby dies. I can replace programs, mp3s, movies and stuff but I can't replace the pictures.

Stand back people!!

So here's the thing about adding lots of fibre into your diet. Yeah, it lowers cholesterol, helps regularity, detox and it tastes great (lmao), but I have been farting A LOT. Nowhere near silent, and very violent. I ripped an air biscuit last night doing dishes and it almost knocked ME on my ass. It's that bad. Maybe it's just temporary. My flatulence had sibsided considerably when we cut way back on pop, but it's back with a vengeance.

Maybe the nasal strips have something to do with it? I am getting more oxygen in my system at night so maybe it's building up? But it's not oxygen on the way out.....

I have a follower!!

Does that make me leader?
It doesn't matter that it's my wife. It's still a follower!!

So here's the deal

I got my new glasses today and I must say, pretty sexy. I need to do something about my hair though. They don't go well together. HAHA listen to me.
I got the results from my blood tests back. Totally normal. I guess that's good. But it still doesn't explain the fatigue.
But I have found that since I cut out the coffee I feel better. Plus, I have had very limited pop too.
So much less caffeine. Maybe the caffeine was acting like nicotine or something and I was having "caff-fits". I don't' really like coffee anyway so it's no big deal.
I have to back to the doc in 2 months. I am going to work on my diet and exercise (as in actually exercising), going to bed earlier and staying off the coffee and alcohol and see if that changes anything. I think it will.
I am also going to try those nasal strips to see if maybe that helps. If I am breathing better at night I will get a more restful sleep and recharge better.
My friend KL has also told me to ask my angels to let me rest at night. Instead of "downloading". My body is resting but my soul is not and it is manifesting itself in my body. I need to let my body and my soul rest properly.
I'd really like to get back to how I felt a couple years ago. Which coincidentally, was when I was exercising regularly. Gotta but myself some new runners and have at 'er!!

New Glasses!

I don't have them yet but I ordered them yesterday. They are pretty sexy. LOL Very modern. Semi-rimless, silver, very rectangle. I can't wait!

Becky was trying on some Cocoons. They are these sunglasses that fit over your glasses. They fit right to your face and block all light (you know what I mean) from every angle. They also make you look like an old blind person. They would be good for fishing though! Becky opted to just in her old glasses and get them tinted. good move.

I'm done with winter. But it's been snowing for the last 15 hours, so I guess winter is not done with us.

I'm not drinking coffee anymore. Sometimes it makes me feel like shit, sometimes it gives me heartburn. Most of the time it makes me feel like shit. And it never seems to actually pep me up. So I am cutting it out. My teeth with thank me. I'll have less sugar in my diet. One less thing to rely on. Becky and I haven't had any pop in a couple weeks either. Well, maybe at McDonald's, but that's a treat. It's a hell of a lot better than the 3-4 cans a day each we were drinking before! I just hope these dietary changes (no alcohol, no coffee, less pop) yield some positive benefits.They should as long as I don't fill the void with chips and cookies. aaaahhhh, cookies.

We got a Brita pitcher so hopefully I will start drinking more water. I just need to get a new water bottle. the ones we had all smell like milk from sending milk to the sitter's with Amelia.I'd like to distance myself from bottled water altogether.

Sometime in the next few days I'm gonna look at my New Year's resolutions and see how I'm doing. Pretty good I think!

I have GOT to get me one of these!!

Star Wars Force Training Toy

I don't care that it will cost like $100! It uses brainwaves to move a ball!

Hey! Did ya miss me?

I thought not.

what's new? well, last week Grace had the flu. Earlier this week, Becky and
Amelia had the flu. Later this week/weekend, I had the flu.
The dog and cat seem fine.
I might be getting the girls a fish tank for their birthdays. Or just
Grace, not sure yet. I miss having fish myself. Not sure whether to get
cold water or tropical. Tropical gives you so much more choice, but it's a
little tougher to maintain. I wouldn't be getting a big 65 gallon monster
tank like I used to have so either way would be okay.

At the end of the day, I am throwing out the shirt I am wearing.

I went for blood tests on Thursday to see why I am so tired all the time.
Everyone says it's shift work and kids, but I've been working shift and
have had kids long before I got his tired. I can and do, fall asleep at the
drop of a hat everyday. I'll fall asleep rocking Amelia at 7, and then
again laying with Grace for her affirmations at 730. Then I want to go
right to bed. The doctor said that in anything, given my circumstances, it
should be harder for me to fall asleep. So my "passing out" is not normal.
I really wonder what is up. I used to work OT like clockwork but I haven't
worked any in at least 7 months and I see no change. I haven't had a drink
(of alcohol) in almost a month, and no change. I thought the alcohol was
affectin my quality of sleep. And it's a depressant. but no change. I go
back on the 25th to see the results.

I can't wait to start riding my bicycle and/or our e-bike to work. There is
a plug right at the bike rack so I can plug the e-bike (electric scooter.
like a Vespa, not a mobility scooter. I'm not that old.) in when I get to
work. yee haw! I just hope when the MTO trial is over in October, they
don't make all the rules to be like a motorcycle. Insurance with an M1 is
outrageous!
As long as it's charged, I will ride it to work on night shifts, and day
shifts that Becky is not working. Or maybe just nights and weekends. not
sure yet.

Yesterday was Valentine's Day. It's kind of funny that I got an email about
a guy who had a arrow lodged in the back of his head. What the hell did he
say to Cupid?

I'm going to try and go Wednesday to pick out new glasses. I am so sick of
the ones I have now.

Later!

25 Random things about me

1. I think I have 5 copies of the original Star Wars trilogy.

2. I wear socks that only come up to my ankle sometimes.

3. I try to scream at the top of my lungs everyday.

4. I'd rather read the book than watch the movie.

5. I'm really big on full-zip hoodies right now.

6. I have a really hard time keeping my knee(s) from bouncing.

7. I wish I had time to be in a band.

8. I can't make a decent cup of coffee to save my life.

9. I have killed 6 mice with blunt intruments (i.e. other than in traps)!

10. I haven't had a drink in 18 days.

11. I could eat breakfast food for every meal!

12. I have a metal blog. www.kingdomofnoise.blogspo

t.com

13. I have a personal blog. www.matthinch.blogspot.com

14. I prefer pie to cake.

15. I would have alot more tattoos if I had the money.

16. I could go without TV as long as I had music.

17. I'd rather be blind than deaf.

18. I need to go see my doctor. For a bunch of things..

19. I don't chew my food enough.

20. I love sports but I don't like basketball (I like to play it though).

21. I don't know as much about computers as people think I do.

22. My favourite job (as an adult) was the one that paid the least.

23. Sometimes I wish I was born in 1955. Because I would be in high school in the '70s.

24. I haven't played Guitar Hero or Rockband in WEEKS! That will change today.

25. If you think someone farted, it was me!

You know what bugs me/I'm bored

I hate just about every motorist except myself. Why? Some go too slow. Like the idiot the other day going 60 on Hwy 2. In a 4x4. The roads were wet, sure, but there was no snow on 'em! It wasn't windy and it did not appear that anything was wrong with this truck. And the Caprice and the Tracker behind him had no designs on passing either. It's an all-together too familiar scene on today's roads. People driving too slow for the safety of everyone else. It causes accidents. It causes road rage (in me). "It's a maximum, not a minimum." True, but have some sense already! It's those same people who (in inclement weather) are driving says 20km slower than posted in the 80 zone, then when it changes to 60, slow down to 40. (I'm getting deja vu, Have I blogged about this before?) Wait a minute! 60 was just fine back there!! Are you going to slow down to 30 when we get into town!!

some drive to fast. I live 2 blocks from a high school and 1 block from a public school and there is no stop sign on my corner. Kids from the high school FLY down my street. Of the 3 intersections between the 2 major streets on my street, mine is the only one without a stop sign. And then there's the idiots from down the other street that zip up and down the street on their ATVs and Ski-doos with complete disregard for the N/S stop signs that are there.

I talk on my cell phone while driving sometimes. Not all the time. Ask anyone who has talked to me while I was driving and they wil tell you I am paying more attention to the road. "Sorry, what?" But it's not even the people on their cell not paying attention that drive me nuts. It's those who are talking to a passenger!! I know it's polite to look at someone when you are talking to them but, you are driving!!! I think they will understand if you watch the road.

Then there is the people who just plain suck at driving. Like stradling the lines, stopping where there is no stop sign, and vice versa, I saw 3 people in the last week alone blatantly run red lights. I think there needs to be a national program put in place to teach people the rules to who has the right of way (me. haha)

Anyway, I'm pretty much just ranting and probably coming off as a jerk. I never said I was perfect (I almost failed my G road test) but this isn't about me, it's about you. I mean them. Them. You're cool cuz you're reading this. And I love my readers.

See you on the road!!

Just because

Since I haven't blogged since last week I thought I should. Let's see. I picked up my new safety glasses this morning. They are those fancy brown and orange ones. I am wearing them at home right now. Just to get used to them. I was going to go to Kingston today to pick up my new safety boots but the copious amounts of snow have prevented me. Don't need them that bad. I could go Thursday or Friday.
I watched Mary Poppins for the first time ever this morning.
I am almost done compiling my list of the Top Albums of 2008. But them I have to put them in order and write a little blurb. I am so behind on listening to stuff from this year!
I got a new tattoo last Friday. it's awesome. It's a Tree of Life with my girls' initials around it.

I got it done at Skin Graffix in Belleville by Ken. He's great.

That's pretty much it. well, I went to a concert right after getting the tattoo. No-one you would know (Rozea Haven, Titan and Fuck The Facts) It was awesome. The word awesome is awesome.
I just might give myself a haircut this afternoon. It's a wee but shaggy. I though about letting it grow out but it's too much of a bother. Plus, the shorter the hair, the less grey you see.

I'm a wee bit excited.

At 6pm today, I shall converge upon Skin Graffix in Belleville to get my latest and greatest tattoo!! On the back of my left calf I am getting a Celtic style Tree of Life. Outside of the main tattoo, in the top "corners", I'll have the girls' initials. G on the left, A on the right. I was going to get them in the dead spaces on either side of the trunk, but just in case Becky and I go certifiably insane, and decide (?) to have another child ( I will jump out a window if it was twins) I wanted to be able to incorporate any more initials without it looking like an afterthought. I would put a third initial at the bottom-center. So the three would frame it like the points of a triangle. Or if we never have any more kids, I could put and M and  a B or the word Hinch or something on the bottom if I wanted.

At 9 tonight, I will find myself at the Autonomous Social Centre in Kingston. There, I will have my ears assaulted by the metal stylings of Kingston's Rozea Haven, Toronto's Titan and Ottawa's F*ck the Facts. The ACS is just a house, so you know it's going to be Intimate. I'll have a still bleeding tattoo, so the mosh pit will not be my mistress this night. I wam going to try and bring my (shitty) camera and maybe snap a few pics. I am not going to risk one of the good cameras in such a small venue. I will have to FIND the old shitty camera first.

I won't be home til after 1130 at least and then I have to come into work on a shift trade Saturday morning. I'll be plenty tired, but I shouldn't be bruised.

So yeah, I'm excited. A new tattoo and a concert all in the same day. Lucky me!!!

Amelia's funny sometimes

Amelia's first "real" exposure to hockey was the Winter Classic on New Year's Day (She is usually in bed before any games start). She looked at the screen and asked me what it was. I told her it was hockey. And now she is pretty much obsessed. Everytime she sees hockey on the tv, "Pockey! Pockey!" (sometimes she says hockey) But when football is on, it's "pockey!" So she hasn't really differentiated the two sports yet. But she isn't even 2 yet so I can understand if she just sees is grown men in shoulder pads and helmets playing a sport on a big rectangularish area.

The really cool thing is, she specifically associates hockey with the Chicago Blackhawks!! She'll see my toque and says hockey. She will see my hat and say hockey. She saw my jersey and said hockey. So to her, hockey IS the Blackhawks. Same with me. Well, it looks like I'm doing something right!!!

What the crap!!!

Something is wrong with my eyelash. It's like I have a hair hanging behind my glasses or something. But there is nothing there. I rub at it and it doesn't go away!! SO annoying. Anyway, I am gonna find a movie on my hard drive to burn and watch. I'll let you know how it goes. And if I am able to pluck out all my eyelashes.

The Diagnosis

Amelia has strep throat and an ear infection. And I forgot to call Zena last night to tell her. Oops!
She seems to be doing much better today. Still not 100% by any means but she slept last night which was pretty awesome.
I should be doing some cleaning and stuff but I have a killer headache and I am pretty tired. That's life I guess.

That was better?

I was able to sleep yesterday from 930 to 3. I needed it. Becky took Amelia up to the hospital and they were dicks. Test results tomorrow. She didn't really sleep well last night but I think she is over tired now. She slept on my chest, on the couch, from 1230 to 430 and 730-830 last night/this morning. Becky got some good solid sleep last night so I hope tonight can be my turn. lol

Joe fixed the roof on Sunday. A piece of steel lifted during the wind last week. He says we're gonna need a new roof within a year. I', not surprised. It hasn't been done in at LEAST 43 years. Steel is good that way. Don't know whether to go steel again (we love it!) or go with 30-year shingles. It will call come down to price.

Who wants to come clean my house? The sickies have held us back a bit. lol

What is this thing called "sleep"?

Here's how the whole sleep thing as gone down since Friday.
I have slept: Friday from 130-4pm. Saturday from 1145am-6pm and Sunday from 1215pm-5pm. So let's see, since 6am Friday morning, til
now, (510am Monday) which is almost 72 hours, I have slept a total of 13.5 hours. And I think I've got the better end of this deal.
Becky slept (and I use that term lightly) til like 9am friday, From 8isham til 1130am Saturday, and sunday from 730amish til 12pm. so
that's only 12 hours. She might have grabbed some sleep during the nights to bump her up over my 13.5 hours but it's hard to tell.
It's close. In any case, we are both exhausted. We should have had like 24 hours sleep by now. and when we are sleeping, it's not
quality. Sleeping in the day time is not quality sleep. Especially when the girls are noisy. And I am somewhat accustomed to being up
all night because of the shift work but Becky isn't. I can't imagine how she feels if I feel this bad.
I don't know how Amelia is still functioning. She has Becky up all night and then only naps for a couple hours. I really hope she
starts feeling better soon. Like REAL soon. It's one thing when it's the weekend and only one of us is working. But Becky has to go to
work at noon today. So if Amelia doesn't go to the sitter's (which she shouldn't if she is sick)then I will be staying up with her and
getting NO sleep today. Unless she lays down for a nap and I can grab a couple hours before Grace gets home from school. Only getting
a couple hours may just make me feel worse though. I will take any sleep I can get. I hope this fever of Amelia's has broken. Should
call the doctor anyway but there isn't much he can do if it's a virus. Nobody said parenting was going to be easy!!!
Wish us luck.

Some New Year's Resolutions

1. Yell less. At people.
2. Scream more. To nobody. (or to a microphone)
3. Stop being such a grumpy SOB. Even if I have to fake it.
4. Start playing bass again.
5. Get more tattoos.
6. Visit Todd and Adele and Jessalyn.
7. Drink less.
8. Lose some weight.
9. Somehow get rid of all my aches and pains. (shoulders!)
10. Make the lives of people around me even better.

It's not over yet!

The last week has been very busy. Runnin' around doing all the Christmas stuff and what not. I haven't shaved since Boxing Day. I got a real Ipod! Now I can look like all the cool kids.
Mom and Al flew back to Vancouver this morning. I hope they have a good flight.
The only dishes that aren't done are this morning's breakfast dishes. Oh, that makes me feel good. But then I look at the mountain of laundry and......
You can tell how hard I am working on that as I sit here blogging.
Guitar Hero: World Tour is out on PS2. 189 at walmart for the full kit. Oh, how tempting.
I got a sweet deal on some winter hikers last night. Regular 150, on clearance for 30!!! and they fit!!!
Amelia had me up at 315 last night. I put her back down at 4. Stared into the darkness til 430ish, on the computer til about 520, stared at the darkness til about 6 and finally fell back to sleep. Just one of those nights when the brain won't shut up.

Should make for an interesting day.

Taking down all the Christmas deco tomorrow. And hopefully getting the rest of the house back in order too.

Happy New Year!

Snow

I like snow. I really do. I like it better when it doesn't fall on my sidewalk or driveway. After I shovelled last night after supper, I sat in an Adirondack chair on the back desk and just sat. I listened to the wind. I watched the branches sway in the breeze. There is just something just so relaxing about snow. I was reminded of a line from the Neil Gaiman book, The Graveyeard Book, "a silence like falling snow" ( that might not be exactly the quote but I borrowed the book from the library so I can't refer back to it just now). I love that line. Luckily, I have a neighbour with a snowblower and he does, like, the whole block. I try to get my own done on my own anyway because I am not going to rely on someone else to do something I am fully capable of doing myself. Besides there are others in the 'hood that shouldn't be doing it for themselves, so I would rather he help them.
Out of Friday-Saturday-Sunday, there was only one day that I had to work and that was the only day that it didn't snow like crazy. On the other 2 days, I stayed home and missed a concert that I REALLY wanted to go to but it wasn't worth the risk, and the Hinch Family Christmas was rescheduled. So two things I wanted to do were affected and the one thing I didn't want to do (work) was not. Figures.
I don't have to work anymore this year. But, the kids are not going to the sitters for the rest of the year either. So that is like work. haha but I don't get paid. Well, I kinda do. Since I don't have to pay the sitter, it's more money in my pocket.
I really need to shave.
I really need to wrap the presents for Becky.
Amelia is destroying the tree. Again.

This is what I think about at 330am

I'm not anti-social really. It's close, but not really ANTI-social. I'm not
against being social. I just avoid it. At least in public. At home, shit,
I'll talk for hours with friends and stuff. But in public, I avoid people
like the plague. I just don't like talking to be people I don't know. And
often I don't want to talk to people I do know. For example: I use the
drive-thru, not for convenience, but so that I don't have to talk to anyone
in line. In a store, I will search for something for a half hour before I
ask for help. Or just give up. If I see someone I know in a store, I will
avoid them. Except for close friends. I avoid taking my kids to the park
because I don't want to talk to other parents.
I am sure there is a word for how I am but I don't know it.

By and large, people are stupid.

I judge people alot but I don't give a rat's ass what people think about
me.

F*ckin' baseball players. Honesly, C.C., what the HELL are you going to do
with $20+ million PER YEAR? It would take me 400 years at my current pay to
make $20 million.400 years!!!Let's see, 162 games a season, pitch in (for
ths sake of the math) one out of every 5 games, so roughly 32 games. That's
about $625,000 per game. Per game. That's over 12 years of my salary.
Nobody is worth that much money. nobody. anywhere. for anything. And there
is no loyalty left in the game at all. It's all about money. No "I believe
in this team and I think we can build a contender." no no no! It's who's is
gonna give me the most money? That's why I hate the Yankees. With the money
they spend, they should win the World Series, hands down, every year. But
do they, no. All they do is drive up the price of mediocre players and put
elite players out of the reach of many teams. The Yankees pay a luxury tax
higher than the entire payroll of some teams! and does the luxury tax
really help the other teams? No. The shitty teams are still the shitty
teams. The exception would be Tampa Bay but they will never be able to
afford all that talent in few years. (a la Florida Marlins). But I still
love baseball!!!

My feet hurt, I think I pulled a muscle in my calf,my shoulders, knees,
elbows and back hurt. My eyelids hurt. My lips are chapped. My ears need to
be flushed. I didn't shower today. I need to brush my teeth. My hands are
dry and always dirty. I need to shave. This is a long post. Listen to me
whine!! LOL
If you haven't stopped reading this post by now, too bad, because I am done
writing it.

In the news!

London, New York-

Earlier today, Hands Christian Sanderson was caught "pleasuring himself" in
the window of his high rise hotel room. When asked to comment on his lewd
behaviour, Sanderson replied that it was merely "research for his next
book" and "no man is an island". While that may be true, Mr. Sanderson, not
all books need illustrations.

Upstate New York-

Researchers at Durvalley University at Hampton have concluded a multi-year
study in which they have discovered that people who are restricted to a
total of 4 hours sleep in a 24 hour period may experience periods of
drowsiness and a lack of energy or focus. This latest revelation comes
right on the heels of the University's last study linking excessive food
consumption and weight gain. School officials are hoping that these studies
will help put Durvalley on the university map and teens at the local high
schools have taken up the mantra "Who needs MIT? We have DUH!!"

NHL All-Star Voting!!

I don't know why it's in French. It is supposed to be English. Just VOTE FOR BLACKHAWKS!!!!

20 minute tick-tock

i just took at sip of water.
I burped.
Twice. Second one was better.
My nose was irritated, so I itched it.
I am chewing gum.
I gave someone a thumbs-up.
10 minutes left.
Scratched the other side of my nose.
then both together, kinda. hard to explain.
Adjusted my glasses.
Tugged at my earlobe a few times.
Scratched my wrist.
Licked my lips.
Chugged some water.
Rubbed my upperlip and stroked my beard.
Resisted the urge to scratch the end of my nose.
Scratched my leg a couple times.
ah, 19 minutes is good enough.
bye.

Aw man!!

I thought my throat was sore because the air was dry. But now I am not so
sure. I have a headache now too. And, it wouldn't make sense for a "dry air
sore throat" to be accompanied by a phlegm-y cough. Of course, I left my
Advil and my Cepacol in my other backpack. Which is at home. I won't be
home for another 3.5 hours. Just pretend like you feel sorry for me?
Thanks.

I can't wait to get new work boots. I really hate the ones I have.

I wanted to get up around 1 and piss around on the internet for before I
got Grace off the bus this afternoon, but I think I will sleep right til 3.
I am so bloody tired.

"How can I be lost, when I've got nowhere to goooooooo? Search for seas of
gold, How come it's got so coooold? How can I be lost, in these memories I
relive? How can I blame you, when it's me I can't forgiiiiiiiiiiiiive?"
-Metallica

Napanee Santa Claus Parade of Lights

Apparently the parade was good. I wouldn't know because I wasn't there.
Becky was very emotional because Grace was so excited and it was snowing
and it was beautiful. But that is just what she told me, cuz I wasn't
there. I heard it, and saw some lights down Belleville Road way, as I was
leaving for work. I wish I had been there to see Grace. She told Becky she
could feel Christmas in her belly. What a sweet kid!
Christmas is going to be so exciting this year! But not without a few
"sharing discussions"!!!!

NEW BLOG

For all my metalhead readers (and new potential readers) I have started my new blog.

KINGDOM OF NOISE!!!

www.kingdomofnoise.blogspot.com

Not much there yet. But there will be.

The Grace Dilemna

We're really struggling with behaviour issues with Grace. We're running out
of ideas. Positive discipline doesn't work and neither does timeouts or
taking away priveledges. Punishment is lost on her. It has no effect. She
does feel remorse because she apologizes genuinely. But most of the time
it's only if she has done something by accident. For example, if she knocks
Amelia over by accident she apologizes profusely and is almost in tears if
Amelia doesn't calm down. But if Amelia has something Grace wants, she'll
push her down and snatch it without batting an eyelash. The snatching thing
has not extended to daycare and possibly school too.
She doesn't listen to anyone. Not me, not Becky, not her teacher, not
anyone. Trying to get her to do anything not of her own initiative is like
pulling teeth. Counting to three usually works but I have to do it for
everything. (Grace-Anne , you need to get out of the tub..1. Grace-anne you
need to get out of the tub...2) Her hearing is fine, we've had it tested.
And through our own observation we know she can hear just fine, she just
chooses not to.
At school, she had become "that kid". No one wants to sit near her, or play
with her because she doesn't play nice or sit still or listen to the
teacher or leave other kids alone or do her work or follow intructions etc
etc. AHHHHH!!! It is just frustrating knowing that there is a good kid in
there somewhere. Good Grace is in there somewhere, I know she is, but how
do we get her out?!
Attention is a big thing with her. In two ways. 1) she craves it. No matter
how much we give, she always wants more. Especially from me. 2) She has no
attention span. She can't sit and do anything for more than 5 minutes. She
says she is full after taking 2 bites. Meanwhile she whined for 20 minutes
that she was so hungry. Why? She's bored with it. No matter what we eat,
she takes a few bites. "I'm full!" Bullshit. We can usually get her to eat
a sufficient amount but it's a long painstaking process that only fouls our
mood. We have to play endless games to trick her into eating more or (much
to my shagrin) feed it to her. I hate having to do that but she has to eat,
right? yes, she does have to eat then. If we just let her go without
eating. otherwise she is keeps getting up saying she is hungry and then she
doesn't get enough sleep which makes the next day very rough indeed.
She is defiantly independant. Like if you try to help her with her boots or
coat, "NO! I can do it!!" And it's not like we are trying to rush her or
anything. Just trying to help! And if she does let you put her boots on
it's just because she is being lazy. I know this because it is accompanied
by " You do it".
She has great attention when it comes to TV. But that is not attention,
that's zoning out. All in favour of a total TV ban? "AYE!!" We need to make
TV a serious treat. She needs to EARN it.
What really frustrates me is her complete lack of focus. examples: "Grace,
I am going to go your water, I'd like you to have your jammies on when I
get back" and return to her jumping on her bed or something. No focus, no
respect. I have to tell her 15 times to get on the toilet, to brush her
teeth, to put her coat away. everything and anything. i just don't know
what to do.
With her lack of focus and zero attention span it makes me think ADD. No
hyper activity though. I don't want to give her drugs though. I am at a
loss. If we can't turn her behaviour around me may have to pull her out of
school. it's not fair to the teacher, or the other kids. But I don't want
to do that either. I just want to scream sometimes. Scream at myself
because I feel like I am failing as a parent. I've tried to hard to be a
good Dad and it's not working. At all. Not in my eyes anyway. I dunno.
I have a couple theories. Like things she doesn't express that don't allow
her to focus or remain clearheaded. 1) headaches. we've had her eyes tested
and she is a bit farsighted but she has another appointment to dilate her
eyes so they can get an accurate prescription. Maybe the eye strain is
giving her headaches so she can't think straight and she isn't or can't
express it. 2) conspitation. She is far from regular. She has had bowel
issues for years. Maybe the whole pooping thing causes enough anxiety that
is always on here mind and she loses track of what she is doing? YOU try
giving her a suppository! or forcing down Colase. I dare ya. Been down that
road.
Grace has told Becky before that her head was all jumbly. Maybe that means
something.
Any advice is greatly appreciated but please keep in mind that physical
discipline is NOT an option.

What a day!

I woke up on the wrong side today. Right from the get-go I have been crabby. (hold on, need to add Gojira to my winamp. ahhh there we go) I was not very nice to Grace this morning and I think that messed up her day. She wouldn't follow instructions at school today and actually refused to so some things and got timeouts. Very distressing. She is having some issues right now with authority, telling the truth, and defiance. We have some stuff to try.

I bought some Hemp Beer today. Made by Cool Beer Brewery in Toronto. It doesn't taste bad at all. Or like marijuana. And it's HEMP not marijuana so I am not getting high on it. lol. They use hemp instead of barley. German hops. Good stuff. At the LCBO. It's a red lager in case you want to know.

I made pancakes from scratch tonight. cornmeal pancakes with butternut squash to be exact. From some cookbook. God damn tasty, I'll tell ya that!!! Whole wheat flour too. Oh yum!! I have tons left over. Breakfast!!

I didn't end of watchin either movie from my last post. I watched Some Kind of Monster. The Metallica documentary. Loved it. I love metal docs. I might start watching Black Metal: A documentary tonight. That or Get Thrashed.

88 Minutes

Becky and I watched the movie 88 Minutes the other night. Very good movie.
Al Pacino and lots of suspense, keep you guessing, all that good stuff. One
major flaw: Leelee Sobieski.
She sucks.
Like she's really bad at acting. I'm serious. I don't how she lands roles!
(I have some ideas....) She's not even hot! (She REALLY reminds me of my
sister, so that makes it kinda a creepy)?
So basically, yeah, Leelee Sobieski is a terrible actress.

While she is a better actor, I find Kirsten Dunst nauseating. It's her
teeth. They are all messed up. I don't know how to spell the sound I just
made.

Who else sucks? Martin Lawrence. I can't stand that guy.

Should I watch Star Wars: The Clone Wars or Pineapple Express tonight? I
can't decide.

To-do list for the next week or so

Just in case I lose my list....

Measure living rooms and get numbers to Dave
Call Purolator to arrange a pickup
Mail books back
Help TL with internet
Get the scooter inside
Strip down the van for parts
Scrap van
Make dentist appt.
Make appt with eye doctor
Make appt with Dr. Kenny for orthotics prescription
Give myself a haircut
Give the backrooms a good tidy up/organize/pitch shit out
Call StarChoice to activate second receiver
Burn movies off the MyBook
Download missed Heroes episodes
Download missed Clone Wars episodes
Make wedges for doorways
Lobby solar system to slow the rotation of the earth so there is more
daytime to get everything done and more nighttime to sleep, without
altering the gravitational pull.

You used a paint scraper to clean out your eavesthroughs??

yes. yes I did.
I needed to get in done yesterday and it was all frozen in there.
So, I hacked at it for a bit until I was able to pull a chunk of ice-leaves
out. Then it was simply a matter of sliding the scraper under the ice and
popping a chunk up. It worked pretty good! My hands didn't get cold because
they didn't get wet.
I also got all my brush broken up and piled for the town to take away
(which they did).
Now, there is still alot of leaves in the flower beds but I am going to
leave (no pun intented) them til Spring. Little compost and insulation.
My grass could actually stand to be cut. I could do it just to use up the
gas still in the lawnmower. But it's November and below zero, so maybe I'll
pass.

So I'm 30 now.

I turned 30 years old on Saturday. No big deal, it's just 30. Maybe it is a
big deal. 30 years is a long time!! that's like half a lifetime!! But by
the time I am 60, technology will have advances to a point where, if they
can't cure it, they can at least put my brain into like a machine that I
can manipulate with my thoughts. Frank Herbert called them cymeks. They
could live forever and for a time, they ruled the galaxy. Until they were
overthrown by thinking machines. But I digress.
I got a new shirt from Becky and the girls, and I had pizza for supper.
Chad and Kelly came over and we watched a dumb, pointless yet funny movie
(Smiley Face).
The real fun was a few weeks ago at my surprise party. Did I blog about
that?
I think I did.
Enough of that crap, now to the raunchy sex!! Oh wait, that's my other
blog. JUST KIDDING!!!! haha not really. check it out at
www.theadventuresoflittlematty.com
You clicked on it, didn't you! Perverts!! Just kidding, perverts.

you know, every time I blog I get that Bonnie Raite (that doesn' look right
but you know who it is) song "Let's give 'em something to talk about" in my
head. But instead it's "Let's think of something to blog about". Try it,
it's fun.

Becky picked me up a sleeping mask a few weeks ago. Man, do I ever sleep
good with that on. Like a log! Best $3 we ever spent!

Well, I'm out of ideas at the moment.
Bye!,

Sorry it's been so long

Sorry it's been so long since last I blogged, loyal readers!!
It's not really that nothing has happened, but rather, that alot has
happened!! Life happened.
Amelia's vocab is exploding. My fave new word is poop. hahahaha
" I poop?"
I was driving with Amelia in the car the other day listening to Cavalera
Conspiracy and I can see her banging her fist and nodding her head in the
back. Awesome! She does let out the occasional "rah, rah rah!!" too which
is really cool. I'll warp her mind yet. Grace was the same way at that age
but now "Daddy's music is scary". Meh.

I did a bunch of leaf raking this week. I don't have much yard but I
managed to get 16 leaf bags full so far. Probably another 2 in the gardens
around the driveway. Monday? Tuesday?

I still need to sell my van. Scrap yard will ony give me $125. sucks ASS!!
the tires are worth more than that. I hope the only dude left interested
comes to get it soon. I'll relist it on Kijiji tomorrow.

The time has come for me to get musical. I forsee some time ahead where I
may be able to plug in the amp and give'r. I need to find some scream time
too. I am way out of practice and that's not good. Conditioning is key.

I got a Blackhawks toque in my case of beer. Good times.

I'll be 30 years old in about 40 minutes. I will start the celebration by
eating some leftovers.

I hope I have time to clean out the car tomorrow. That would make me happy.
and then wash the car and the van. That would make me happy too. Like a
good washing. i really want to wipe down inside the doors of the car. not
the door itself but where the door overlaps the body. It's all dusty and
dirty and I want to clean it. Maybe when I stop for dogfood in the morning
I can get some sponges or something to wash the car. cleaning clothes or
some special thinger. one sponge is not enough. whatever. As long as it
gets cleaned out and shop-vacced it will be a happy birthday.

later dudes!

That was a little close

There was a vicious little storm Sunday night. It didn't last long but it
caused enough damage in that short time.
Around 8:30pm, watching the tv, whatever normal night. I could tell it was
windy out but I wasn't concerned. This isn't hurricane area or anything.
Now, I can't remember exactly if I was already standing or if i jumped up
when I heard the crack. I went to the window to see what the hell was going
on and I look out and see a tree (well most of it) fall into the street.
The top of said giant branch lands in my front yard! Inches from the
porch!! I didn't know at the time what tree it came from.
I went to the door and looked out to see debris flying down the street.
Leaves, branches, everything. Horizontal.
We quickly turned off and unplugged the tv and computers. Then we grabbed
the camera and video camera. Pictures are on my Facebook and I haven't
ripped the video off the disc yet.
It ended up being 3 big branches off the tree across the street. Most of it
went down the street blocking driveways and taking out power and one came
across towards our house. Branches actually made it over the fence into our
side yard. Branches were stuck in the power lines and all over the street.
The police came and blocked the street off until they got the power lines
fixed away and the town showed up to get rid of the branches. They cut the
bog logs up a bit and used a loader to make piles on the neighbour's lawn.
They came back in the morning to chip up all the brush and take away the
logs.
They came back today and took the whole tree down. I got video of that too.
It's through the screen door because I was stuck behind the new couch which
was wedged in the door frame to the living room.

Overall, it was pretty exciting. About as exciting as our 'hood gets.
Needless to say, the people who JUST bought the house across the street
(haven't moved in yet) came over in the morning to find most of their tree
in piles on the yard.

Because I am bored

A single bead of sweat rolled across his temple as he say huddled in the
darkness. His nerves were getting the best of him, for there was no reason
to sweat in the cold dampness. He took little solice in the fact that since
he was still shivering, hypothermia hadn't set in. Yet.
He knew it was only a matter of time before he would have to move. If they
didn't find him, he'd soon succumb to the cold or starve. Cautiously, he
stood. His ears perked up,scanning for any sounds that his movement has
been detectd. But all he could hear was the beating of his own heart and
the distance echo of water dripping into a pool. Not even the scurrying of
rats to tell him he wasn't alone. Maybe they had fled too. To somewhere
deeper. Somewhere safer.
He weighed his options. Back the way he came,in hopes they had moved on?
Too risky. He had heard the screams and had no intentions of joining that
chorus. With only one choice left, he slowly and silently moved further
into the tunnel.

Correction Notice

I believe I made an error when explaining the name choice for my new (as
yet un-started) metal blog, Kingdom of Noise.
I had said that I took it from a short story by Neil Gaiman (incredible
author, check him out). I read the story again and it didn't see that
phrase anywhere.
I thunk.
The day before I read that particular story, or possibly even the same day,
I finished reading The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. Both stories are
based in Hell (The Kingdom of Noise. screams of agony torn from the souls
of sinners (country and rap artists))
You can see where I got confused. Pretty easy for me.

Fun with words

Butterface: a word used to describe a woman with an attractive body but a
not so attractive face. i.e. Everything looks good, but 'er face!
(I don't use this term, just for the record)

Generock: a combination of "generic" and "rock". Used to describe a
multitude of generic rock bands I have a hard time differentiating. Most
notably Nickleback, Theory of a Deadman and Seether.

Instru-metal: a sub-genre of metal music. Instrumental metal. Sadly, this
sub-genre is falling into a state similar to generock. It's getting harder
and harder to tell the difference between bands. If you are interested,
check out Pelican or Ottawa's Electro Quarterstaff.

Bored: my usual state during working hours. outside of breaks.

And now, because I have nothing better to do, I will attempt to remember
all the different ways I can, of referring to the act of pooping.
WARNING: this is kinda gross.
Go poo(p)
Take a shit
Take a dump
Number 2
void my bowels
pinch a loaf
drop a deuce
pop a squat
drop the kids off at the pool

TV Shopping

I'm going TV shopping Wednesday. THanks to the generous donations of my
family and friends on my birthday I don't have to buy a cheap one!
I'm pretty sure I want a 42" but I will settle for a 37".
The debate is LCD vs. Plasma.
Plasma gets me a better picture and better viewing angle, but does it last
as long?
I know when they first came out it was said that they only lasted like 5
years. But I saw a flyer that listed the life at 60,000hrs/35 years. At an
average of 6hrs a day, that's over 27 years. So even at an average of 12
hrs a day (so help me if we watch that much tv) that's over 13 years. If a
TV lasts that long, great!!
So basically I just have to confirm that a plasma will last oh, at least 10
years, and I'm good. AND that the price isn't out of this world. We saw
some at Walmart that were not bad price-wise.
Just gotta keep the kiddies' hands away from it either way!!!

Ya got me!!

So Becky threw me a surprise 30th birthday party on Saturday night. And
what a surprise it was! I had no clue. I knew she was up to something but I
didn't know it was a party and I didn't think it would be this early if it
was!
Much of my family was there and most of my best friends were there.
my cake looked just like one of my Guitar Hero guitars.
Becky put alot of planning into it and she did a great job.
She had many co-conspirators!!
I had a great time chatting with friends, stuffing face and staying up til
430 playing Guitar Hero, Rock Band and Sing Star.
I only had 7 beer. I know, that's gotta be a new record for me. But I guess
it's a testament to the fact that I am getting old. I sure can't party like
I used. My liver says thanks.

Again, I had a great time, I was totally shocked, and I hope I can do it
again in another 30 years. Thanks to everyone who came and BOOOOO!!!! to
everyone who didn't. Just kidding, I understand.

Chicago Blackhawks - News: Blackhawks Announce Head Coaching Change - 10/16/2008

Chicago Blackhawks - News: Blackhawks Announce Head Coaching Change - 10/16/2008

I did NOT see this coming!!! I hope it works out! Good luck Denis!!

It's your lucky day, kids!

I am yet again bored out of my GD mind, so we are going to play another rousing game of "Whatever the hell pops in my head!"

Ready? GO!

Mike shaved off his beard last week. It looks funny. 5:07

"Hello, Operator?" "yes" "Can you put me through to Someone Who Cares?" "i'm sorry, sir, i can't" "Why not" " there is no such person. The only one I have by that surname is a Nobody"

I haven't heard the Scars On Broadway album yet. I heard it sucks.

I still have paint on my cuticle from Wednesday. I have washed my hands literally dozens of times, but still it remains. 5:17

One day last week I decided to check out a band called Rammer (from Toronto). Monday I listed to one of their albums. Tuesday I listen to it again. Thursday, again. It's really good! Friday, "what!? They broke up!! SHIT!" Maybe I should have checked them out earlier.

HAHAA The guys in The Red Chord called Five Finger Death Punch, Five Finger Fruit Punch on the Rockstar Mayhem Tour. That's brilliant!!

I bet you Duseldorf Hammerstein could play a mean fiddle if he were a real person.5:32

Brad Pitt's character in 12 Monkeys gives the best middle finger.

My belly sticks out further than my pectoral muscles. damn! my ass stinks.5:45

6:22 yup mind pretty much blank

In maybe 15 minutes or so, I will shower, brush my teeth and maybe shave.

Well! THat's it for this morning losers and germs! return next time when you might actually read something interesting!!

Kyuss in the Hall of Fame!!!!

Decibel Magazine has FINALLY inducted the Kyuss album Kyuss into it's Hall of Fame. While it's a self-titled album, it's more affectionately known as Welcome To Sky Valley or just Sky Valley. You see, there is a sign on the album cover that reads Welcome to Sky Valley.

This album is one of my ALL TIME faves. It's creditted with starting the whole "stoner-rock" genre. Holy hell, it's a great album. They put out 4 albums. Wretch, Blues For The Red Sun, Kyuss and The Circus Leaves Town. All awesome. This album featured and all-star lineup for sure. Vocals: John Garcia (Hermano, ex-Unida) Guitar: (yes, there was only 1) Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age, ex-Eagles of Death Metal, mastermind behind the multi-album series The Desert Sessions) Bass: Scott Reeder (ex-The Obsessed, having a brain-fart on all the other bands he's been a part of. Legendary bass player) Drums: Brant Bjork (no relation) (Brany Bjork and The Bros, ex-Fu Manchu, another brain-fart)

Scott and Brant might have been in Unida and/or Slo Burn as well.

This album changed my life. I mean it. I asked my buddy Spencer if he could recommend anything similar to Clutch by Clutch. And Welcome to Sky Valley is what he told me. Instantly hooked. It tripped off a whole obsession with that vein of music. I could sit here and go into detail about the whole album but frankly, just to get it. Download or buy, you WON'T be disappointed. It's an album best listened to by itself. not while you read the paper, or drive to the store, or have a conversation. Just listen to it. In fact, I believe on the back cover it stated Listen Without Distraction.

It pulls you in and doesn't let go. It takes you away with it. It's an album that you don't need to be stoned to listen to (although that is a good way to listen to it) but rather it's an album that will make you feeled stoned just hearing it. It affects you.

Just go listen to it and gimme a holler back and I can tell you what else to blow your mind with.

When was the last time I listened to this? Shit, too long! Guess what I am doing tomorrow (well, later today)!!

New metal blog coming soon

I will be starting a new blog soon. I will still have this one. I'll just
have 2.
It will be about Metal. Not iron, aluminum or bronze, but the musical
genre.
Music in general sometimes but mostly extreme music. Not the kind of stuff
my parents approve of. Or can believe I listen to. (I'll be 30 in a few
weeks, so won't need their approval anymore. hahah)

I'll be writing album reviews, live show reviews, interesting news I steal
from other websites, what I'm listening to, and just really anything I feel
like talking about that relates to music in some way.

As long as the name hasn't been taken, it's gonna be called Kingdom of
Noise. I got the name from a line in a short story written by Neil Gaiman.

I hope to start it this week. Probably by copying some entries from this
blog over to it.

Stay tuned.

Just making a list for myself

Things to reasearch:

Fall lawn prep for wicked grass in spring.
dehumidifiers
geothermal energy
solar panels
windmills
diesel-fryer oil conversion
places in town to get the dog bathed
the psychopath Cradel of Filth wrote their new album about
how to use Guitar Pro 5 and Ableton Live
M1 License
local bylaws about front yard gardens.

That should keep me busy for a while..

Bored = me right now

It's 4:20!!!!
right now. but by the time i am done typing the entry, it won't be.
I am REALLY bored right now.
so for the next 40 minutes i am just going to type what ever i am thinking.
most of it without capital letters. that key is messed.

i just farted. I farted because I ate a bag ofpopcorn earlier. the spacebar
is messed too. i always fart after popcorn. not popcorn farts though. just
as wet as other farts.

(told ya, WHATEVER I am thinking)

don't drink McDonald's coffee. I did about 9 hours ago and I still have
abitof a pain in my chest. i know it was the coffee. don't question me.

I have slept a total of 5, maybe 5.5-6 hours since Thursday morning around
8. so that's....5 out of the last 44.5 hours. You can just hazard a guess
as to the bloodshottedness (new word, I made it up) of my eyes.

At the end of the articel I read about the new Burst album, Lazarus Bird,
the guitarist states that he wished people would listen to it with out any
preconceptions. I did and I love it. Sometimes the vocals sound like Rob
Fusco from Most Precious Blood, but that's cool because Rob Fusco kicks
ass.
The last Burst album came out in 2005 and I have probably listened to about
1000 different albums since then so while I know i enjoyed the last Burst
album I can't remember it enough to make a valid comparison between the
two.
4:41

I have No Sugar Tonight by The Guess Who stuck in my head.

Better than Underneath Your Clothes by Shakira from earlier. Ah CRAP, what
have I done! Think metal thoughts. think metal thoughts. Peel the flesh
from your bones! Break your skull upon the stones!! ok, we're back.

Chicago lost 4-2 by the way. There goes the undefeated season!!

1 hour from now I will be enjoying pizza pockets.
4:47

I bet my feet smell right now.

Why do they call the NPD The Nippers?

It's peanut butter jelly time! peanut butter jelly time! peanut butter
jelly. peanut butter jelly. peanut butter jelly with a baseball bat.

ok, i'm done. 4:57

The Road to the Cup starts tonight For the Blackhawks

The Road to Lord Stanley's Cup starts tonight in NY for the Chicago Blackhawks. By the this point, I am sure the game is over but I don't know what happened yet.
The Blackhawks have made quite a few changes from last season. Most notably bringing in goaltender Cristobel Huet and defensemen Brian Campbell.
Gone are such names as Jason Williams and Robert Lang.
Chicago has one of the (if not, the) youngest teams in the league. The youth movement in Chicago has reinvigorated hockey fans in the Windy City. Season ticket sales boomed this year. Also, Chicago is hosting this year's Winter Classic against the rival Detroit Red Wings at Wrigley Field.
This year's team is lead by Captain Jonathan Toews who competed against teammate Patrick Kane for rookie of the year. Kane brought home the Calder Trophy but had Toews not missed some time due to injury, he may have won instead. Chicago announced that winger Patrick Sharp and D-man Duncan Keith will be the assistant captains for the Blackhawks.
Chicago should make a serious push for the postseason due to the improved situation in net, a bolstered defence and powerplay and the continued development of their young forwards.

As of this morning, the Blackhawks website had their depth chart as follows: (if i remember correctly. and nevermind the spelling)

Forwards:

Andrew Ladd-Jonathan Toews-Martin Havlat

Dustin Byfuglien-Patrick Sharp-Patrick Kane

Kris Versteeg-David Bolland-Jack Skille

Adam Burish-Ben Eager-Craig Adams

Defence:

Duncan Keith-Brain Campbell

Brent Seabrook-Brent Sopel

Matt Walker-James Wisnewski

Jordan Hendry-Niklas Hjarmellson (way wrong spelling)

( I have a feeling the D is wrong but I am too tired to think)

Goaltenders:

Cristobel Huet-Nikolai Khabiblin

 

 

 

 

My New Favourite Word (at least today)

Asshat.

Use it in a sentence: "what the hell did you do that for, asshat!!"

hee hee hee

Former NHL goalie recovering after shooting

MINDEN, Nev. (AP)—Clint Malarchuk, the former NHL goalie best known for having his jugular vein slashed by a skate in a 1989 game with Buffalo, is recovering after accidentally shooting himself in the chin with a rifle.

Wife Christy told sheriff’s deputies that the .22-caliber rifle discharged after her husband placed the butt on the ground between his legs. He had been shooting rabbits.

The 47-year-old former player, now a goalie coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets, was flown by helicopter to a Reno hospital for treatment Tuesday.

“Our concern is with Clint and his well being,” the Blue Jackets said Thursday. “We are optimistic that he will have a full recovery very soon.”

Ok, Clint. You, uh, almost died playing hockey. Do you really think GUNS are a good idea? Where is your sense of self-preservation?

Get well soon. and stick to something else, whatever is not life endangering.

Chaaaa......ya know what?!

This year I have already actually purchased more CDs than I have in probably 4 or 5 years.

A whopping 5.

Inflikted by Cavalera Conspiracy

Death is This Communion by High On Fire

Both versions of Conquer by Soulfly

and Death Magnetic by Metallica

It's quite amazing considering that I bought my first cd (Pantera's Far Beyond Driven) in 1995 ( I had cassettes before that) and by 2002-2003 I had aquired over 600. Plus, at least a hundred that I sold to used cd stores. so that's over 700 in 7-8 years. That's almost 100 per year!! Wow, I like music.

Why don't I buy that many cds anymore?

a) Money. I don't have that kind of money anymore. I didn't then either but anyone with a Student ID card can get as many credit cards as they want. I am still paying for them.

b) Mp3. I can just download any music I want! I wouldn't be buying it anyway (see a)) so why should I be denied the pleasure of hearing it? I would say I download an average 1 full album every day. If I didn't I would never have heard many of the bands I go and see in concert. So I am supporting the artists by going to the concerts and maybe buying a shirt or a button or a sticker. Maybe even the album if they impress me enough live. You can't download a t-shirt.

I'll leave you with a couple albums that bored me this weekend.

Intronaut - Prehistoricisms: Not bad really but I think I expected too much. Not as heavy as Void or Challenger. I think I'd have to be in a real jazzy post-metalcore mood (read: stoned) to really get into this one. In 3 attempts I haven't been able to listen to the whole thing yet.

Dragonforce - Ultra Beatdown: Yup, you can play really fast. Yup, you are influenced by and are featured in video games. But when it gets right down to it, Dragonforce is just a power-metal band writing pop-metal songs at speed-metal speeds for kids with ADHD and Carpel Tunnel Syndrome.

PRETTY MUCH THE BEST THING EVER

PRETTY MUCH THE BEST THING EVER

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Here's a question for ya!

You're all familiar with the toungue twister:
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, how many pickled peppers
did Peter Piper pick?

i'm not so much concerned with the amount of pickeled peppers but rather
how they got pickled BEFORE they were picked!!

On that note, why have rubber baby buggy bumpers? Hows about we don't bump
the buggy against anything. I'd much rather that.

The weekend that was (I know it's Wednesday)

Friday I went with Uncle Steve to put tires on his car, then Amelia and I
went shopping. Walmart: Death Magnetic (review posted later), Metallica,
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix DVD, and some cdrs.
XS-Cargo: new hair clippers. That store has no carts. Why not? So I had to
put Amelia down and let her run around the store. She was laughing to beat
all hell and the empolyees were laughing at her too.
I was going to go the golf liquidators at the Cat 4-pad, but....
Saturday Dad and I went to the 10th Annual United Way Warehouse Sale in
Belleville. There was some pretty sweet deals. The wait was so long to pick
up our order that we left without getting it. But I did get some stuff at
the Wilson Sports cash and carry tent. I got 2 hats for $2 each, a lefty
ball glove for Grace (smallest one they had, still way too big)$7, and a
putter, a sand wedge and a driver for $10 each.
SUnday we went to the farm and then went and got Grace a new bedding set.
comforter, 2 sets of sheets, shams, 2 valances, and 2 decorative pillows
and a bed skirt all together.
Sunday night we watched The Happening. Weird.

Things I Have Realized Today

Today I Realized:

That I am out of shampoo. (For all that hair I have)
Why I stopped using bar soap. (I'm hairy)
My reflection in the mirror wearing a sweater and boxers looks funny.
My reflection in the mirror makes me look really buff. (Then I put my glasses back on)

And everyone with kids is tired. Almost, I never see Gerry saying he is tired. Jenn must take of all that.

Son of a BITCH!!

How do the Eagles manage to score 37 points and still not win? Oh right,
they were playing the Cowboys.
Shittay!!

What's with the socks??

I'm gonna get a little personal here.
If I am wearing pants, I like my socks pulled up high. And I like them to
stay there.
But if I am wearing shorts, I hate socks. I like them as low as possible.
And if it wasn't for smelly feet, I wouldn't wear socks with shorts at all.

With that being said, why is it that so many people (at least at work)
insist on pulling their socks up to the highest possible altitude when
wearing shorts?? I don't get it! Are your legs cold? That doesn't make
sense. If it was cold you wouldn't be wearing shorts! Do they think it
looks good? I hope not! Is it a generational thing?
Ya know, if you don't like the feeling of your socks bunched up at your
ankle, they do make short socks. I have several pair myself.
I don't know why it bothers me so much when I see people with their socks
hiked up. But it does. God forbid (awesome band, new album early next year)
they should get a tan!! white below the knee!! There would be this band of
tan from the bottom of their shorts to like halfway up the lower leg ( or
higher). Insult: Hey did you sign up for Brown-knees again this year?

Whatever, just me being me again. Judging others. No offense to any high
rise sock wearing people. haha

Why J.P. Ricciardi should be fired

I'm basically only going to base this on the 2008 season because my memory
is crap. And really, there are enough examples in this one year.

Not hiring Cito back early enough. John Gibbons was just as his name
indicates, a gibbon. A trained monkey could have done better.

I will admit the Rolen trade was good but bringing in Eckstein was stupid
when you have John McDonald and Marco Scutaro.

Trading away Reed Johnson. Dumbest idea ever. Okay, maybe not ever, but it
was pretty dumb. They could have platooned Johnson with Lind and had a very
strong Left Field, but instead they had a crazy concoction of Matt Stairs,
Brad Wilkerson and Kevin Mench with the eventual winner, OH!! Adam Lind!!

Seriously mishandled the Frank Thomas thing. yeah, let's piss off our
leading RBI producer from last year. great idea!

Why did he trade Matt Stairs away?
Oh look at that, Eckstein is gone. What a waste of money.

and that is just this year. I know I missed something here too.

Do you think Burnett would stick around if the club was better managed at
the GM level and up? Or will the late season turn around be enough to keep
him in Toronto?

Personnel in who didn't make a lick of difference : Eckstein, Mench,
Wilkerson.
Personnel out that could have made a difference: Johnson, Thomas, Stairs.
Personnel from within the organization who did make a difference, once they
were given a chance: McDonald, Inglett, Lind, Purcey.

just get rid of Ricciardi!! Could you imagine if they had brought Cito back
before the season started?? it would have been a whole different ball
game!! (pun intended)

Well, that occupied my mind for about 45 minutes or so. That was the whole
point!!

Words Amelia Can Say

Amelia is about 17 months old and I think her vocabulary is pretty good.
Here is what I can remember, in some case I will write what she says
followed by what she is trying to say:

mine
no
dad
mum
hi
hello
bye
okay (but sometimes it's sounds like oooooooooo.....KAY)
hat
kikki (kitty, she gets it sometimes)
yay-a (Leia),
puppy (with panting)
uh-oh
nigh nigh (night night)
tyler
pitty (pretty)

I know there is more but I can't think right now....

Thank you
Yummmmm
High five
Ta-da
Whas dat
Grampa
Grayy (Grace) Thanks Hun

I'm an Uncle again!!

My brother-in-law and his wife had their baby this week....2.5weeks early....a Boy....Zekariah James....Zeke was 6 lbs 2oz and only 15inches...I guess he is just a wee little one...I can't wait to see him when we are all well. I guess all their kids wanted a girl. The girls wanted another girl to play with and Aaron wanted to be the only boy. Oh well!!! I think Zeke is an awesome name. So that means on Becky's side there is 3 boys now to the 5 girls. So IF, IF, IF Becky and I decide have another one LATER LATER LATER, it could push the ration to a healthy 4/5, or the girls could double up on the boys. BIG IF AND BIG LATER. On my side, it's all girls. I'm cool with that. They are all healthy and you can't ask for more than that!!

Amelia's Been Sick

We have had the sickies invade our house...it hasn't been good. Amelia has been back and forth to the hospital and doctors...they thought she had meningitis! She couldn't move her head..it was so scary. She had been battling a fever for a week at that point but we figured it was teething. She came back negative for meningitis but positive for a UTI with white and red blood cells in her urine. He thought it was strep as well so off we went on antibiotics with a follow up on Monday. She was up ALL weekend....no sleeping for anyone. She had her Doctor appointment and he said she has an ear infection as well. So off we went with a follow up on the 15th. She screamed and screamed and I called Wednesday to the pharmacy to see if she was having a reaction as she seemed to be in so much pain! They said to call the doc...we got in right away and he said her ear was in fact worse. And that sometimes the pain in the middle ear can be so intense so he gave her codeine syrup....she has been sleeping great!!!!!! So she is on the mend and I am sure that Monday will bring great results.
Both Becky and I ended up with bad colds because we are so rundown. When I dont' work, I stayed up, when I had to work Becky got up with her. She would get up at the same time everynight (1130ish) and be up til 3 or 4. Once we got the codeine, and the cold meds (ya ya I know)into her the other night, she slept for 7 solid hours. However, it was on my chest, on the couch. But at least she slept! Last night i gave her all her medicine before I put her to bed about 745 and she laid right down and slept til about 9 this morning!! Oh, WOW!! Thank you!!
Here's hoping the infections are clearing up and she isn't in any more pain. Poor girl. I especially hope the sleeping keeps up because I am going in on nights and can't spell Becky off at all!
Wish us luck.

Grace's First Day of School

First of all, Becky emailed this to a friend and I just changed the I's to She's and stuff like that. She's a better writer than me and I didn't want to type that much today anyway. But I did add some details. Besides, I have a couple other posts for today so I'll be typing plenty. Here goes:

Becky had sensed Grace was nervous so before she went to bed she made an affirmation board for her with her magnetic affirmation kit. It said "Grace is...." and she listed everything she could fit. Sure enough at 7am she was crying at the door saying she didn't want to go to school. She said she already liked the friends she had and that she would miss Fiona. Peanut thought that she couldn't keep the friends she already has! So once she explained that things weren't going to change with her friends she already has and that she could still see Fiona she was fine.
She ate a good breakfast. We all walked her to the bus stop where there was other kids waiting. 2 of them were fellow Hinches. Different family. They are both in her class. Poor teacher. I think there was 6 kids all together including Grace. When the bus was coming up the street she was so excited. She was spinning around yelling "bus-y, bus-y!!" She hopped on the bus no problem, turned and said "Bye!" and found one the few seats left on the bus. It went really smooth! Then we hopped in the car to follow her as we promised we would. We were there when she got off the bus and Becky helped her in the classroom. She did GREAT. She went right over to the carpet and settled in...waved BYE MOM...we had forgotten her shoes so we went to get them and came back and she was sitting so nicely on the carpet beside a little boy who was doing everything he could to bother her...and she was looking the other way ignoring him. This was the exact thing that she was worried about...so I was really glad to see her doing what I suggested and ignoring him. So Becky helped her get her shoes on and on her way out the door there is a wee boy crying...the teacher said maybe if he joined his friends that he would feel better and Becky looks over and Grace's hand is up..."Yes Grace"...."I cried in my bed this morning".....Becky ran out crying herself...sweet girl was trying to make him feel better!!!!!!!!! We were so proud of her. We then took Amelia to her first day of daycare alone. They both did wonderful.
Becky had to take Amelia to the doctor (you'll hear all about that in a different post) at the same time Grace was to get off the bus so she missed that part. I took the dog up the street to get her. As I was waiting for the bus to come I was talking to this little girl that was also waiting (I don't know if she lived there or that was her sitter's) but she was talking about her old dog and how it used to bite. It bit her and scratched her and nipped when she went close to it's food. I said how that was terrible and she said that her parents took it to the wild cuz sometimes doggies just need their freedom (she didn't say freedom but that's what she wanted to say. it was free-something). Could you imagine if I was such an ass that I told her that her parents probably had it put down? haha. I am not that kind of person. Anyway, Grace was the last one off her bus and she didn't even notice me standing there. There was about 10 kids either waiting or getting off the bus, but I was way taller than any of them. She said she had a good day and she met a new friend named Samantha. That's the only one she could remember. Becky took a picture of them sitting in circle and Grace pointed Samantha out.
This morning Grace was very excited to go back to school but unfortunately, she doesn't go this Friday. She was upset but got over it quickly once we explained that she will be going on Monday. I am very happy that she is excited to go. My little girl is growing up!!!
I guess I ended up typing more than I thought. It's okay. I don't have CTS yet!

LIve Review: Terror/The Warriors and guests

What to do on Labour day? How about a hardcore show? Let's see, Terror, The Warriors, Death Before Dishonor, CDC and Trapped Under Ice? HELL YEAH!!
I had been amped for this show since it was announced and theses hardcore dudes from across the U.S. of Obama did not disappoint.
I missed Trapped Under Ice completely and showed up sometime during CDC's set. Just after the apparent human pyramid on stage. Damn! (It's ok, they did it again during Terror's set)
CDC laid down some pretty solid tunes. Dual vocals between the vocalist and guitar. Not all the time though so it wasn't shitty. I wasn't familiar with CDC going into the night so I can't really comment on the quality of their setlist in comparison to their catalogue.
Next up was Death Before Dishonor. Boston hardcore. oh yeah. At this point, I was still sitting at the back tables, takin it all in. Chatting with Marc and the security guy. I was coiling like a spring, cocked like the hammer of a gun. Waiting to unleash self inflicted bodily punishment. And DBD was good at pumpin' out the vibe I was looking for to get amped up and jump into the fray. The thing with hardcore is, as long as it's done right, by competent musicians, it's good. I didn't really find anything overly special with DBD but they were great in the support slot. No bad haircuts, n o girls pants. No whining. REAL harcore dancing.
I know I had heard The Warriors before. I downloaded an album of theirs a couple years ago. So, I knew to expect a certain level of quality. I got it. I am not the kind of guy that knows all the words and wants to sing along. I want to get into it with my body. Headbanging, throwin' fists, stompin the ground. So the fact that I didn't know any of their songs well didn't really hinder the fact that I had a wicked time during their set. I was in a fair amount of pain at point. My neck didn't really hurt yet but I got a couple flying feet to the back and my knees were all banged up from smashing up against the stage. The Warriors played a very entertaining set. I was really able to get into the music and enjoy myself. Again, not overly familiar with their recorded works to make a valid comparison but they impressed me enough to consider checking more of their stuff out.
Terror. LAHC. These guys now how to do it right. The new album is pretty incredible and so was their set. As what happens when I have an extended "stoner-rock" listening session, I was not in a normal state of mind by this point. I was part of the music, part of the atmosphere. I realized that the next day I was gonna be some kinda sore. It made me really wonder about friends of mine that go to shows ALL the time and don't just stand there. How long did it take to get used to it? Or do they just hurt all the time? I have tried to stretch before shows and it doesn't work. Terror came out with guns blazing and never let up the whole time. The crowd (by which I mean the other bands, less than a dozen of us, and the rest of the people just standing there) was really into it. Maybe they felt the way I did. There was a chick beside me that was REALLY into it. screaming and everything. Like the Beatles. Terror hit hard, and I hit harder. Man, I was throwin' myself around, bangin' like there was no tomorrow. I got a few more elbows, feet, body checks. at one point my glasses got knocked by a flying foot (leg? I dunno) but they didn't fall off. I had to bend them back into shape but it was all good.
I guess I didn't give much of a review of the actual performances,did I?
I don't care!! All you need to know is, if you like hardcore, or heavy music in general, you missed a hell of a show. I didn't know anyone there so I know you missed it. I hadn't had that much fun at a show in forever. (Biohazard? '02?) I had lots of fun at IHS shows (RIP: I Hate Sally) but only during their sets. I had a fun during all the sets this time. I was sweaty, sore and weak in the knees at the end of the night. Too tired to scream along with my tunes on the way home. Too tired to even play air guitar on the steering wheel. Yesterday I hurt all day. and all night. (work) and today is not much better. my back not so much but my neck is still killing me. Is this what whiplash feels like?
Great show. Great time. Totally worth the pain. Probably the best show I will go to this year.

Busy today/tonight

We are taking the girls to the plant picnic today. They should have alot of fun. At least Grace. It's gonna be a hot one though. Better make sure they have sunblock on. It's over at 6 but I doubt we'll make it that long.
Sometime after that, I'll be going to see Terror/The Warriors/Death Before Dishonor/CDC/Trapped Under Ice at Time to Laugh in Kingston. It's gonna be a wicked show. I have no doubt someone will have a broken nose by the end of the night. Hardcore man. Plenty of moshing. Maybe a circle pit or two. I'll have a sore neck, sore back (from elbows) and a distinct ringing in my ears.
It's gonna be awesome.
I'll post a review tomorrow maybe.