A busy and productive Saturday…

Posted on August 18, 2019 by

Yesterday was a long and productive day.  I wanted to leave the house at around 6:30 and although I woke up (and I don’t know why this damn early) at 4:30, I was late leaving.  So, I got out of the house at around 7am and headed towards Calgary.

First stop was a friends place, his complex was having a yard sale.  I didn’t really plan on buying anything, well, that was the plan anyway.  As soon as I arrived, I saw he had a bike for sale.  I have been looking for a bike and new, they pretty much start at the $800 mark or so and I didn’t really want to spend that much.  I bought a few other things and we negotiated a deal that we were both happy with.  So, I now have a 27 speed mountain bike with front shocks and disc brakes, a wheelie cooler, a baking dish, a weather station (you put the sensor outside and it transmits to the console inside), a fishing pole and tackle box and a big glass – I don’t think I missed anything…  I originally intended on being there and chatting for 30 minutes or so.  Well, pretty soon it was 11:30 and I had to leave for lunch.

Brazilian Steakhouse was on yesterday and it was pretty damn good.  Neither of us went into meat coma, so that’s a good thing.  I had intended to head to Crossiron Mills mall before lunch but that didn’t work out so I heading north of Calgary after lunch.  I picked up bear spray at Bass Pro Shops, it was half the price of the same bear spray in the Pass.  I understand that we are remote here and whatnot, but a 100% markup is a little ridiculous.  Most things are marked up here but not by that much.  I will continue to do most of my shopping outside of the Pass, other than groceries.  Maybe the owners of the stores and whatnot will discover that they can’t rip us off…

I stopped at the Levi outlet and Bed, Bath and Beyond – wow, you can drop a lot in little time in both of those places.  The salespeople that helped me in both stores were incredibly helpful.  The management in both places should be proud of their employees.  I got 2 pairs of jeans, both on sale and a mattress cover and new pillows for my new queen size bed.  The long trek home began.

I didn’t stop at Costco on the way due to lack of funds for anything I wanted there – the garage sale sidetracked those plans.  Oh well.  It was an uneventful and pretty quick ride home, other than some construction on one of the side-highways, gotta love that in summer.

The dogs were happy to see me and I them – I had been gone for 12 hours.  Thanks to Crowsnest Pet Care for taking care of the dogs for me while I was gone and letting them out twice and trying to feed them, they didn’t eat, but I am sure they won’t starve – they did eat this morning though, I am sure they were hungry.

I still have to unload the car of all of my purchases.  I also still have some stuff in there from when I moved, I know, that’s pretty bad.  It will all get put away today, I promise.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

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The weekend is here. Well, just about…

Posted on August 16, 2019 by

Another week is nearly over.  This week, like the past few weeks has absolutely flown by.  I like it when weeks zoom by, unfortunately, so do the weekends.

I am heading to Calgary for the day tomorrow and am quite looking forward to it actually.  I am leaving early, likely around 6:30am or so.  Going to stop at a friends place on my way in, the complex he’s living in is having a large garage sale.  I don’t need any crap, but who knows.  After that I am heading to Cross Iron Mills, a large mall north-east of Calgary, past the airport.  It’s a huge small with some great stores.  I need to stop into Bass Pro Shop, I want to look at fishing gear, I am going to do some of that I think.  I also need to buy some bear spray.  I was looking at it here and the cheapest I could find it was $79.99 and it ranged to $99.99.  Bass Pro Shop has it for HALF of that price, $39.99.  The markup down here is ridiculous.  I think moving forward, I will buy most of my stuff, other than regular groceries out of town.  I can understand “some” markup since we are remote, but some stuff down here is insane.  I need the bear spray since I joined the Crowsnest Outdoor Society.  They do organized hikes, snowshoeing in the winter, cross country skiing as well.  It will be good to get outside more, meet some people and dogs are welcome as well.  I can’t bring all three, but I can bring one so I will rotate through who gets to go.  The other two will object, I am sure, but I can deal with that.

I need to do a couple of other stops at Cross Iron Mills as well and then I am going to one of the Brazilian Steakhouses for lunch with another friend – all you can eat meat.  We call it Meat Coma Lunch and it will be good.  The only downside is driving home while trying to digest all that meat, may be tough.

I’ll be stopping in at Costco as well on the way home.  I don’t expect to get back to the Pass until almost dinner time.  There goes half the weekend.

I’ve decided I am going to apply for a job at our National office in Toronto.  I am not completely convinced that I want to move back to Ontario, in fact, I am not convinced at all.  There are pros and cons for sure.  The job is a Managers job, currently who I report to.  It would be more money, but I wouldn’t be able to work from home.  Well, I would, but only a day or two a week, which isn’t so bad actually.  It would be a good change, it would also be a challenge.  Moving back would not be fun, the logistics would be something else.  I will see what happens.  I am a pessimist by nature though, so my expectations are low.  If it works out, great, if not, it won’t bother me and it really won’t.  I love living in Alberta and I love working from home.  My job is a bit boring, that’s about it.  Moving back would reunite me with some old friends which would be good and I would be closer to some family as well.  If it does happen, it’s going to happen pretty quickly.  Time will tell.

Anyway, enjoy your weekend, I know I will enjoy mine.

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Busy day to start the work-week…

Posted on August 12, 2019 by

Another Monday, and start to the work-week.  It was a pretty busy day and it zoomed on by.  I didn’t even take a lunch break today and it still went by in the blink of an eye.  I like days like that.

Nothing was out of the ordinary today, same old really.  I had to do some documentation for my job, as others have to cover what I do.  We will be going over it next week when all of the team leads are back from vacation and what not.

Didn’t do much else, outside of work today I mean.  I made an exciting trip to the post office to check my PO Box and the cell phone case that I ordered at the end of July arrived (finally).  Now the new phone has some level of protection.  I am not even sure if I mentioned that I bought a new cell phone or not.  I had a Pixel XL that I had for almost 3 years and loved the phone.  I typically replace my phone every 12-18 month or so, this one lasted almost double that time.  The only reason I wanted to replace it is because the battery life wasn’t what it used to be.  I would have to charge it during the day, now, that’s not the end of the world of course, but when I found the Pixel 3a XL on sale for $250, I jumped at it.  Great phone for sure.  The Pixel XL is 5.9″ in height, the Pixel 3a XL is 6″ in height, so of course, I had to but a new case.  Figures eh?  I will be in Calgary this coming weekend and plan on having a protective screen put on the phone, same as I did with the Pixel XL.  I had no scratches or anything on it after almost 3 years so not bad at all.

I am also going for lunch with a friend in Calgary, we are heading to one of the Brazilian steakhouses for all you can eat meat – we call it Meat Coma.  I have some other running around to do as well so it will be a busy and productive day on Saturday.

Nothing else going on this week, not that I am aware of anyway.  Should have some relaxing evenings watching some baseball.  I recently re-subscribed to Amazon Prime which includes Prime Video.  An older show from the early 2000’s is on it, The Shield.  I watched it a bit back in the day and am now catching up on the series, great show.  If you haven’t caught it, I’d suggest trying to.  It’s a violent LA cop show but very well done.

Well, that’s it for now, enjoy your week.

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Rainy weekends…

Posted on August 11, 2019 by

Yesterday, I slept in until after 7:30am.  It was nice, I must have been tired as I rarely sleep in, but it really messed with my day.  I am used to getting up at around 5am, pretty much 5 days a week.  The day seemed to go by even faster than a normal weekend day will go by.

Well, I am back on track this morning, woke at 5am.  I have some stuff to do around the house today, I will get to it, as soon as I’ve finished this entry and zipped to the 7/11 for a latte, honestly, I will.

I purchased a bread maker yesterday, used, off of Facebook Marketplace.  I have wanted to buy one for a while, new they are pretty pricy, nearly $200.  I got this one for $20 and it’s a good model, Black and Decker, makes a few different sized loaves so I will have to experiment.  I rarely buy bread at the grocery store.  For one person, they are too big and it goes stale or bad before I finish it unless I eat a vast number of sandwiches in a short period of time.  People have suggested I freeze it, that doesn’t work for me, it changes the bread.  I suppose if I was using it for grilled cheeses or something it might work.  So, I will see how it is making my own bread.  I plan on getting ingredients today and will try it out.  I doubt I can resist hot fresh bread.

Nothing else really planned for today, it’s supposed to be a rainy day so it’s more than likely an inside type of day.  I will likely catch some baseball on TV and get the stuff around the house done.  Not a bad plan for the day.

I hope you enjoyed your weekend.

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Another year around the sun…

Posted on August 9, 2019 by

Yesterday was my birthday.  I hit the 48 mark.  I don’t necessarily feel 48, I am unsure how someone is supposed to feel at 48.  Some days, I physically feel 71 and almost all days, I act 17.

On my birthday, my usually argumentative co-worker and friend has agreed that she will not argue with me, all day.  I am sure it almost kills her, but it is quite fun.  The day at work zoomed by, as most days have lately.

I ordered a black forest cake from a local bakery, The Cherry on Top Bakery in Blairmore Alberta.  The cake was amazing.  I shared with the neighbour.  It is always fun having dessert before dinner.  I had butter chicken pizza and it was great.

I had a ton of posts from friends wishing me a happy birthday on Facebook which is always nice and had a few calls and texts as well.  Thanks for all of the birthday love.

My dogs, Blondie, Hera and Twix bought me an Xbox One for my birthday.  It was quite nice of them, thanks girls.

Another year has come and gone.  I think 48 will be good.

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Happy birthday, to me…

Posted on August 7, 2019 by

Today marks the end of my 47th year on this planet, well, presuming that I was actually born on this planet, I can only presume I was.

Yes, tomorrow, August 8, I turn 48. It’s just a number, doesn’t mean much to me. Another day to work. Another day to hang out with the dogs.

I am getting a birthday cake tomorrow. I ordered a black forest cake from Cherry on Top Bakery in Blairmore. I’ve read nothing but good reviews on their baked goods. I’ve only been in once, for coffee and it was good, so I’m hoping the cake will be too.

No plans tomorrow, work, share my cake with the neighbours. On Friday, I’m heading to Lethbridge after work and going for dinner with a co-worker. Should be good.

Forty-seven wasn’t a bad year, all in all, but could have been better. I moved to the mountains, I umpired in the World Series, I nearly froze this past winter, in my house, almost went broke trying to not freeze. We didn’t freeze though, not quite. I found a new place, still in the mountains, but in town. Had a loss in the family…

Life goes on. It’s not a bad life either. I’m pretty content, even happy most of the time. Anyway, since this is my blog, I can say, “here’s to me, happy 48th”.

To another year.

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The Food and Booze Trip

Posted on August 7, 2019 by

I will be visiting Ontario in October, second trip this year.  The best part of this upcoming trip is that my company, BDO, is paying for the flight.  We have our every third year conference coming up.

I was going to take a few extra days in Ontario, the conference starts on a Monday afternoon and I was going to come in on the Thursday before.  I then looked at a calendar and saw that Monday was Thanksgiving, so that means I would have only had to work 2 days that week, no sense in that, right?  So, I booked the Tuesday and Wednesday off as well and decided I would fly back to Ontario on Saturday, October 12, giving me a full week plus two weekends prior to the conference.

I will be spending Thanksgiving with my brother in law.  I have not had a full turkey dinner in some time, well, since before I left Ontario, so that will be great.  I have had turkey since moving to Alberta, but not with stuffing cooked in the bird, it’s one of my favourite meals.

I will spend a couple of days in Toronto as well, mid-week likely.  Lots of food is planned and I tend to drink when I am in Ontario, hence the title of this blog entry and the theme for my upcoming trip, “The Food and Booze Trip”.  I like it, it fits.

I will also be hitting up a Buffalo Bills game while I am back.  I used to go to anywhere between 1 and 3 games a year.  I have been a Bills fan since the late 80’s.  Prices have certainly shot through the roof since the last time I was at a game (likely 9 or 10 years now).  We are sitting in the upper bowl, near the 35 line and those two tickets were over $140 Canadian.  Doesn’t help that the exchange rate sucks right now, but, I am sure it will be a great day.  After the game, we will stop at Red Lobster and have Endless Shrimp.  The Bills are hosting the Dolphins so that will be a great game I am sure.  #GoBills

Anyway, much more to come on the trip I am sure.  Back to work for now.

 

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The long weekend…

Posted on August 6, 2019 by

That was a good and pretty productive long weekend.  I got everything set up and organized in my new place.  Now, that is great, of course, BUT, it also took me almost a month to do which is not good.

I was very lazy during the month of July.  Typically, when I move, everything is set up and unpacked within a day or two.  This time, it took me a month, I only moved the big stuff in one month ago today on July 6.

I am glad it’s done.  Now I can start using my new bed, it’s a sleigh bed and it is a Queen as opposed to the double I’ve used for years.  I do need to buy sheets though, and a new duvet cover.  I think I can get sheets in town, the duvet cover, doubt it, but I am going to Calgary later this month and I don’t really have a need for a duvet right now, it’s a bit warm.

I bought myself an Xbox One on the weekend.  A friend of mine back in Ontario wants to do some gaming, so I was game.  It will give me something to do in our long, cold, winter as well.  It’s used but in great shape and it was a good price.  I’ve set up my account and will set up the Xbox today.

So, back to work today.  I did not sleep well last night at all.  Didn’t actually go to bed until 1am and was awake until after 2.  I was drifting off at some point and Hera decided it was a good time to come into the room and give me a kiss – I was not expecting that, not at all, thanks Hera.  Anyway, I made sure she didn’t need to go out or anything and went back to bed.  So, I am working on about 3 hours sleep, that’s it.  Today may be a long day.

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Another day off…

Posted on August 5, 2019 by

It’s the end of the long weekend.  In Alberta, it’s Heritage Day, most of the rest of the country, it’s Civic Holiday.  I am glad I am not working today.

I have gotten most of the house set-up and everything organized, that is good.  Everything will be done by this evening, that is even better.

The weather has been great, temperatures in the mid 20’s, nothing but sunshine.  Can’t ask for much better than that.

Back to work tomorrow for a shortened work-week.  Hopefully, it will zoom on by.

I do plan on taking the dogs down to the lake today so they can splash around and be idgits.  It’s a good hike and a good time.  Hope you have a good Monday.

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On-call…

Posted on August 3, 2019 by

In my new job as Incident Management Coordinator, I knew that eventually I’d have some on-call time. Well, the Senior Manager is on vacation and he asked me if I’d mind taking his on-call time, I said sure, no worries.

I was sort of hoping that there would be no offices outages and no major issues. Well, what are the odds of that happening, especially on a long weekend. So, sure enough, last evening an alert came in for an office that was down.

It’s still down this morning. We need someone onsite to verify power to the networking equipment and if there is power, to power cycle the hardware. Seeing as it’s a long weekend, we’re having issues getting someone to go onsite. Not a huge issue, no one should be working and if it needs to, it can wait until Tuesday.

I don’t have any definite plans for the weekend. I do need to get stuff done around the house, that’s for sure. I’ve had a very lazy month of July. The dogs will also want to go for a hike. Otherwise, I’m sticking around home.

Have a good weekend, wherever you are.

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