August Sucked, and October Isn't Much Better

October was supposed to be a good month - Jenn's 25th birthday, a few days off work (yay Thanksgiving), an extra hour of sleep when the clocks reset...you know, good things. And as good as the month has been, it came screeching to a halt on Friday when I found out that a friend and ex-co-worker had passed away.

Jerome was a pretty good guy, and definitely from a different generation. Repeating some of the jokes he would tell landed me in some hot water at work as they were usually on the "colourful" side. Honest to god, he walked up and started a story with "I was in the washroom with my dick in my hand...". He was just that kind of guy. But even though there was 30 years between us, he still treated me with respect and as a friend. He was also one of the first non-family member to congratulate Jenn and I on our wedding (the slow cooker he got us is awesome).

While we may have had our differences at work (I swear Maps were going to drive me to drink), he was still a great person to be around. I'm going to miss him. Weird thing is, just like with Ray, I was thinking on Friday "hey, I should email Jerome and see how things are going". Ray and Jerome were diagnosed in the same week a couple of years ago, and it's sad to think that they passed away so close to one another. Guess I really need to take that lesson to heart this time.

Weight Loss Progress

Yep, it's less than stellar. Still haven't even dusted off the treadmill, still eating a bunch of junk food, and still getting fat(ter). Good news is that my in-laws gave me a bunch of new shirts, so at least I have fat clothes that fit now, and one less motivator to get my ass going. Wait, maybe that's a not so good thing.

What else to chime in with...the cats are doing fine and actually seem to like each other. Most days, that is, there is still the occasional hissing match. Work is going pretty good, getting into the busy install season, just in time for the not-so-awesome weather. Snow the last few days, although at least it's had the decency to melt before hitting the ground. Oh, and I bought a new to me Jeep...maybe I'll actually get around to posting some pictures this time. I'll have to get Jenn to take them, just to give a perspective to the size. It's a little on the big side.

And that's pretty much it for October so far.

Fall is Nigh

So I have to get my September post in.

Not much to report, although I did manage to go a month without someone dying, which I guess is a plus. Also have some resolve to start eating better and exercising, just need to get rid of (okay, eat) the last of the junk food in the house first. After all, waste not, want not, right? Then it's on the treadmill every night. Or most every night. Or one night a week. Or month. Yay motivation!

Anywho, that's all the excitement from my little corner of the world. Maybe October will be more fun.

August Isn't My Month

Seems like just yesterday I was posting about Ray passing, and yet there is more news about someone who has died far too young. Last weekend I was at home, unwinding from a day at work, ready to head out and pick up dinner for Jenn when my cell phone rang. "Crap, they better not be loading another job for me" I thought. Hmmm, 807 number, this can't be good (area code for Thunder Bay, and my grandfather had been in and out of the hospital lately with breathing problems). GJ is on the other end, asking if I've heard any bad new from TBay. My first thought was "how the hell would he know about my grandfather dying before I did?", but instead I just said "no, what happened?". It turns out that the uncle of a mutual friend had passed away suddenly. I can honestly say that I've never been more surprised than I was at that moment.

Uncle Dave was a great guy...teacher, entrepreneur, and a genuinely caring person who would take the time to help anyone. Hell, he even opened his doors to us for Grey Cup in Vancouver, and it takes a special person to welcome 4 loud, drunk guys into his home for 3 days. He was also in great shape and always health conscious. Non-smoker, social drinker (if that), triathlete, etc, etc. I never would have expected the news, and I still can't believe he's gone.

Again, the news hit me pretty hard, and again, I'm asking anyone who does read this to get in touch with loved ones. I finally had a chance to sit down and talk with my grandfather this past week, and it's something I am happy I could finally do. There wasn't much to say between us, but it made me feel much better about myself, and about our relationship.

It also made me think about my life and where I'm at. I work 7 days a week, pretty much every week. I've lost touch with friends, given up hobbies and basically stopped doing anything. Since Ray's passing, I've done my best to get back in touch with some friends and family, and I'm seriously looking to get back into some of my hobbies. I may live to 100, I may drop dead tomorrow, but I want to make each day count either way, and I hope everyone out there reading this will too.

I'll miss you Dave, and give Blue a big belly rub for me too.

New Family Member

So we added a new member to the family last month, Scratch. And like the last cat we got from the humane society, it came to us sick. The first few days, she seemed to be healthy and happy, not to mention a little psychotic. After 3-4 days, though, it was just like Ella - puss coming out of her eyes, wheezy, and sneezy. She still had good energy and was eating and drinking regularly, but obviously she wasn't doing well. And here we sit, 4 weeks later, and she's still doing crap, and now Ella is sick too (eyes are goopy). The joys of pet ownership. Anywho, hopefully I'll update this with some new pictures that show a little more than her head, and how she's healthy again, but for now, this is it.

Scratch
AKA Scratch Fury Destroyer of Worlds (and socks)

Things to Make Time For

Recently I've been a bit down about work and life in general, and in talking to a friend, he suggested that I take a more active role in bettering myself and preparing for advancement at work. At my old job, I had a boss who was always trying to better himself by attending seminars, reading books, etc, etc, so I immediately thought to myself "you should email Ray to get some ideas on what to read and where to start". And I kept saying, I'll do it later. Ray passed away last Wednesday night (diagnosed with cancer 2 years ago), and now I'll never get that chance.

I really didn't think it would hit me as hard as it did...I almost started crying at my desk as I read the news, and felt the same way talking to his widow at the funeral. I don't know if it's me not grieving properly for my dad, or my fear of losing my grandfather without being there, or if it's something else, but it really shook me up. It also made me realize that I do need to make time in my life to keep in touch with those that I care about.

I also challenge anyone who reads this to get in contact with an old friend or relative who they haven't talked to in a while, and just say hi, how's it going. Not that anyone reads this thing anymore, but what the hell, at least it will serve as a reminder to me.

I'll miss you Ray, and say hi to my dad for me.

Made it!

June post, check! Not much going on here...seems to be a fair number of staffing changes at work (reminds me of my last job), installer work is going okay when the customer's have a positive IQ, and live is good in general. Still don't have enough free time, still have a huge list of things to get done around the house, but hey, who doesn't?

Hopefully I'll have some more exciting news in July, but since I'm a pretty boring guy, I'm not too hopeful.

One Year

So last Sunday was our first anniversary, and what a year it's been. Lots of changes around the house, additions and subtractions from the driveway, a finished and running daycare, and a happy couple that are glad each day that they found each other. Kinda amazing how fast it's flown by though. Makes me wonder how fast the next 40+ years are going to go.

Why Did I Go Back To Facebook?

I've been bored at work lately as my customers have gone pretty quiet, thanks in part to a big hit in the auto sector I guess, but it's given me a lot of time to get caught up on work, get a bit organized and understand different packages we sell a lot better. It also gave me some time to check out Facebook every day.

Now let me start by saying I'm not a huge Facebook fan, but it does give me a quick and easy way to catch up on what friends are doing. If, of course, they update their status and the like, which a lot (like me) don't. However, I wasn't expecting everyone to act like they are in highschool again, throwing up crap about personal relationships in their status, going on about how they are sad, or depressed, or whatever. I'm all for getting help when you're down and you need it, but don't throw such a public pity party.

I went through a similar issue with depression and heartache and all the crap years ago, and the best advice a friend gave me was to "stop whining and get over it". Nothing good will come of bringing it up again and again, refreshing everything in your mind and putting yourself back down. And I certainly don't want to see new status messages saying how you're hurting every couple of hours.

That's my personal rant about Facebook...I won't even bother with the layout issues, the random "you were just bit/punched/whatevered, would you like to join?" crap that floats around, stupid petitions and groups, etc, etc, etc. Maybe I should just deactivate the old account again, and disappear into the good night.

Mini Update

Not that there is much to update, of course, I still live a boring ass life, but I figured I'd give the highlights:

• Jenn's lined up some new families for the daycare starting this summer so when the teachers pull their kids, she'll still be busy
• Weekend work is going okay...still has it's busy weekends and dead weekends, but it's fun
• Day job is undergoing some restructuring...nothing bad, but we have to move our office to the other building. No more quiet cube, and no chance of a window seat :(
• My old company was bought out for $3.5M. I wonder how much my shares would have been worth if I had stuck around....

And that's about it. Like I said, life is boring. Until...well...June at this rate.

Happy New Year

Wanted to wish anyone who is still reading this a Happy 2009. Not much else to report otherwise...my sister finally got married over Christmas, installation work was slow all December but has picked up again in January, and my big pain in the butt customer at my day job suspended their support plan (no more calls, no more issues, nothing) due to the economic climate in the US. All in all, January is shaping up pretty nicely so far.