Making money the easy way

Forget the stock market. Forget mutual funds. I have found a way to make a 50% profit on your money in one night. Here is what you do....

First, go to the Estevan Bruins' hockey game with your daughter Katelyn (if you do not have a daughter Katelyn, you may be able to use any other daughter... or son I suppose... though I have not tried that so there are no guarantees. Optionally, I can rent you my daughter Katelyn - that way I make even more money)

Second, wait until she gets cold and wants something warm to drink (this may happen within the first three minutes, but it is best to wait until about the 2nd intermission)

Third, stand in line at the concession with said daughter until she orders. Take out a twenty dollar bill, hand it to her and say, "I'll be over here" and then move to the side.

Fourth, when the little girl comes back with your daughter's change and places it in front of her, reach over and take it. Place the $10 bill in your wallet and put the loonie in your pocket.

Fifth, stand a greater distance away from the concession until said daughter comes, hands you your coffee and says, "Here is your change" while dumping $17 in the pocket of your coat.

Review:
Initial investment: $20
Change received: $11 (the change I took from the counter) and $17 (the money Katelyn came back with) for a total of $28

That is a profit of almost a 50% in four minutes and thirty-five seconds!!!! (and you have a hot chocolate, a coffee and a very yummy Caramilk bar)

Now - the rest of the procedure is recommended only if your conscience is a problem for you (but be warned... it is going to hurt your profit margin greatly)

Six, look back at the concession and identify the rather large man with the very disgusted/annoyed/confused look on his face... hint: he is likely the one arguing with the concession girl who is saying, "But I gave you your change already"

Seven, go up to the man, tap him on the shoulder and ask him if he is missing his change. When he says "Yes" - as if to say "What business is it of yours" - confess what happened and EMPHASIZE (this part is important... it may determine whether further legal action is required or, possibly, whether or not you get punched in the face) the MISTAKE part of your explanation.

Eight, offer to give the money back. Ask the man how much it was while pulling the $10 bill out of your wallet. When he says, "Close enough" insist on giving back the full amount (the entire $11). This will be important later in the night when you discover that this man is a cousin of a couple who have been coming to church lately and to whom he tells this story.... and how honest you were in the end.

Either you make $11 or you make a reputation as a good good guy... And "all's well that ends well". Either way, you are ahead in the end. :)

An Apology to Can Trash

I, like most Canadians, make fun of Canadian Tire. We call it "Can Trash" or "Canadian Junk" or other names not suitable to be recorded on a family blog.

Now, I will admit that one of my favorite events of the week is looking through the new Canadian Tire flyer, but even that has not stopped me from making fun of the place... until now.

You see, I made a mistake (Hard to believe, I know, but go with me on this one for a minute). My truck needed a new radiator and Canadian Tire happened to have them on sale this week (20% off), so I thought, "I will get one Friday morning". The "mistake" part = the sale ended Thursday night.

I was mad! That was going to cost me an extra $60! Sixty bucks because I did not get there before Thursday night??? Seriously???? Surely someone with a half a brain could figure out that I should not be penalized just because I did not happen to show up for my "sale item" while it was actually "on sale".... I mean - come on!!! (Yes I do realize too that someone with half a brain could have read the flyer properly and got there when the sale was on... but that is not the point of this story).

Fortunately, the nice man at the parts counter looked it up the rad I needed, brought it out and said, "I think we can give it to you for the sale price".

Therefore, I will not call it "Can Tra.." again (at least for a week anyway). :)


PS. The rad is in, the truck has been test driven and it looks like it is good to go. Yaaaayyyy!!!

PPS. Here is a video that I saw the other day... it has nothing to do with anything that I have been saying, it is just worth seeing.

Just for a Laugh

I saw Steve Martin on "Just for Laughs" a few months ago and he was playing a banjo (quite well I may add). He actually is putting out a bluegrass record with a group called "Steep Canyon Rangers" (seriously).

On the show, he and the SCR did this song.... I just ran across it again and thought I had to post it. Enjoy and have a laugh (it is good for you).

PS. If you don't appreciate the song at least appreciate the harmonies.... these guys are amazing!

A good "first day back"

I know that I went back to the office one Wednesday, but in some ways today was my first real day back from holidays.

Yes - I have heard all the "Preachers only work one day per week - and only 1/2 of that" jokes.... but in some ways there is some truth to the fact that Sunday is "the big day". Much of what I do all week long focuses on the things that will happen on Sunday - lessons, classes, etc. So - while weekdays are busy.... nothing matches the adrenaline rush (or lack thereof if I am tired and worn out) of Sunday.

And guess what.... I enjoyed it!

I was nice to be back. It was nice to see everyone (it seemed that many felt the same way as we had lunch at the building and at 2 pm there was still a approximately 40 people hanging around and visiting). Class was fun to teach and the discussion was very good. The sermon went well. A service and visiting at one of the nursing homes was nice.... topped off by a hockey game with a buddy.... it was a nice day.

Many times it is hard to come back after being away.... it is easy to be selfish on holidays and think only about yourself and it is tempting to stay like that.... but today was a good reminder that I like being here.... I like the people here.... I like what I do..... it was a good first day back.

Penny.... Penny..... Penny

I think my eyes are turning the most majestic shade of red from watching too much TV. In fact, I have watched more "non-sports related" TV in the last 5 days than I have in the last 8768457687685 years.

But it has been worth it..... we are on a "The Big Bang Theory" marathon..... I was given the three season DVD set for Christmas (Thanks Jen and Justin) and now we are officially addicted... and Sara calls me "Sheldon" most of the time now. I am not sure if I should be insulted or proud. I am not good at reading these things (To quote Sheldon) :)

Oh well - it is time well wasted.

Well - that was interesting

I PVRed the World Junior game last night (spoiler alert: For anyone who has been living under a rock and has not heard the score or the details yet, but still wants to be surprised - stop reading now!)...... and I am glad that I did.

In fact, I am glad that I did not shut it off after two periods like I thought I should (It was in control - and sort of a snoozer at that point).

I can't believe all the people whining on Facebook (Yes I was lurking or "creeping" on Sari's page again) about how terrible it was for Canada to lose...... boo hoo!

Come on! The Russians just completed the BIGGEST COMEBACK in tournament history!!! That was amazing!!!! I don't care if it was against Canada. I don't get a gold medal either way - I don't even get the silver one - so what do I really care??? It doesn't affect me one way or another - with the one exception of whether it was entertaining to watch or not..... and it certainly ended up being entertaining (if you really like hockey and are not just a "homer" - the Russians played an incredible period).

Good for you Russia! Great game! You fought back hard and took it to the Canadians and deserved to win! Way to go!!!! You will hear no complaining from me.

Happy New Year

Hey everyone.... just a short note to recap the last week or so and to say "Happy 2011".

We have been away from home for the last 10 days or so (got home last night). In that time we went to Dauphin, built a big snow fort (the kids liked that), went on a horse drawn sleigh ride, went skating and a bunch of other fun things.... then we went to Moose Jaw and hung out for a few days, went bowling, skating at the outdoor skating oval, shopping.... then we went to Regina and hung out with the Mooney clan, went to a wedding, watched a couple of movies, went to a Pats game, played with the kids...... and now we are home.

I all honesty, I am not really ready to go back to the office tomorrow, but it will be good (right? Please say "right"!!!!!)

I was nice to be away..... nice to spend so much time with Sari and the kids.... nice to be with people that we love..... but (honestly) it was nice to arrive in Estevan last night (seriously - I know it is Estevan but it is still home).

I know that it will be ok once I get back into the routine..... but I have one more day to enjoy doing nothing - so I am.

So - "thanks" to everyone who made our time away nice. And - by the way - please keep coming back to the blog. I may not write every day, but I will try. And write back if you like - I like the conversation.

Happy 2011 from us! :)

That is all folks (30 of 30)

Hey - that is it. 30 of 30..... we are done for now. I still have some good stories to tell like this one....

A guy came to the church building in Sept.... he needed some help. Said he had a job up by S'toon but no money to get there, etc. I never ever give money to people who come by (the church has a fund but I have no access to it - I have to call other guys, we have to meet - it is not wise to just hand out cash right?)..... but for some reason I liked and believed this guy - so I gave him $40 for gas. He promised he would come back and repay me. I told him that it did not matter, but he insisted that he would be back.

A week ago - four months after first hearing from him and never seeing him or my money again - he called saying he wanted to come over and talk to me. He had a proposition.... someone at a trucking company had given him 1000 pounds worth of batteries and if he could get them to Regina he could sell them for 28 cents/pound - or something. The problem: he needed gas money to get to Regina.

One of our elders happened to be in the building at the time and he overheard this so he said, "I will give you $20 to put in your tank - but here is the deal.... when you sell those batteries you have to pay Tim back his $40. Don't worry about my $20 but make sure you pay Tim back". The guy thanked us up and down and headed out.

Saturday I am sitting at home when the doorbell rings.... it is one of the ladies from church. She cleaning the building when this man came in looking for me. When he heard I was not there he gave her some money to give to me.... $60 (my original $40 and Ron's $20 on top of that).

I tell this story only because too often I think we get "taken" around here. People come to churches all the time with sob stories about how they need help and how they will pay us back or start coming to church or whatever - and then you never see them again. But here is one guy who kept his word - and even went one better by returning money that he did not have to give back. It was just what I needed - not the money - but the thought and the action. I liked this guy - he just needed a little help and instead of taking advantage of us he took some help and then said "thanks" by giving it back as he said he would.

So I am hoping I see him soon..... if you know Cliff from Midale - tell him to stop by and see me. I have $60 for him. :)

The "Big hat - no cattle" weekend (29 of 30)

On Thursday night, I had my weekend all planned.... I was going to work on Katie's bedroom most of Friday - maybe do a little shopping that evening with the kids... Saturday I was going to help my Brother in law change the brakes on his car in my garage (that was going to be fun - I like working on stuff when it is not my money or really my problem - seriously) - Sunday was going to be church and maybe have some friends drop by......

Well Friday morning Sari had some things she needed me to do, so since I was out anyway I did the recycling - went and picked up the turkey I won on the radio - then came home and did dishes b/c Sari was taking the afternoon off to bake (that shot most of the morning). Then when she got home we decided to spend the afternoon doing some last minute Christmas shopping.... then we went to the holiday train and I sort of forget what happened the rest of the night - nothing got done on the room I know that much.

Saturday morning I went shopping for a Sari present or two... while I was out she called and sent me on 094869869886 other errands to get baking supplies and things - so the morning was shot. Then my bro in law could not get parts for his car, so no garage stuff (though we did play every PS2 sports game known to man for most of the afternoon - he was here anyway so that was fun - but not that productive). That night we watched "Its a Wonderful life" - so no room work and no car work.

Today the girls and I spent most of the afternoon wrapping presents for Sari... but then unfortunately our friends could not come over - so we went "twinkle touring" and delivering presents to people instead.

So long story even longer... lots of plans.... nothing accomplished (thus the title of the post). The things we did get to do were fun and worth doing (it was a nice weekend) but I did not go the way I planned at all.

Oh well - some weekend I will not plan to work on the room and then I will suddenly end up finishing it in one day.... right? Right? (Well - maybe it will be done sometime before she is grown up and moved away at least - I hope)

It's a Wonderful life (28 of 30)

I am not a big "movie guy" - normally I can't be bothered - but at Christmastime I make two exceptions.

First, every year for as long as I can remember I have watched "A Christmas Carol" (the old black and white one with Alastair Sim as Scrooge) on Christmas eve.

I have also started making a habit of watching "It's a Wonderful Life"... which we did with the kids tonight. If you have never seen this movie, or if you simply have not seen it in a long time, do yourself a favor and find a copy of it. It has a message that we all still need to hear.

PS. And it reminded me that I too have a wonderful life! :)

A second bonus post

This is the third post of the day (no extra charge)... just mentioning that we went and saw the CPR Holiday Train tonight - in the -25 degree wind chill.

Maybe you don't get to see the trains... one crosses Canada on the mainline roughly along the Trans-Canada highway through these parts and another one crosses the Eastern/Mid United States - that is the one we get to see it crosses into Canada after going through North Dakota.

Here is what it looks like (first the train itself and then the open box car from which various musicians perform)Melanie Doane was the big act on this year's train (not sure how she plays a fiddle when it is is -25 but she does). It was fun.

The first two times we saw the train are some of my favorite memories ever. It didn't come to Estevan (that actually is part of the "good part" of the story), so we had to drive to North Portal to see it. To make it even better, it came in (or was supposed to) at 11pm, so it was a late night road trip. The kids were little (maybe 3 and 1) and had a great time singing and celebrating with them. The next year we went down to North Portal again - but this time it was super cold and the train was really late... so they opened the loading dock of the station - put some coffee and hot chocolate on in there - and invited everyone in until the train showed up. Again, good concert, good memories (like the super long line of cars all the way home at 1 am) and the kids were excited to see Santa.

Not the same "Santa Excitement" tonight - but still nice and it brought back good memories. :)

A bonus post

Teddy bear tosses are fun (when the home team scores you throw a Teddy bear on the ice, they are collected and given to the needy kids). Apparently this is from the Calgary Flames game last night... the note I saw said 23 000 Teddy bears... the may be an exaggeration but there are a lot. If you know more about the specifics of this video (Debbie? Justin?) please comment.

Hockey Teddy Bear Toss @ Yahoo! Video

Well that only took 20 years (27 of 30)

Ever since I moved here in 1990, people have asked me, "Are you related to Harold?" and my standard answer has been, "I think so... I think we are some sort of cousins, but I have never met him". Well - that changed today.

To back up: Many years ago, apparently, my Grandpa Pippus had a big fight with his family, moved away from here and never really saw them again. Then, oddly enough, my Dad had a problem with his dad, so even though my Grandpa Pippus lived in Moose Jaw for several years, I never knew him. I vaguely remember seeing him - once. Then, even more oddly possibly, my dad left and I rarely talk to him. All that to say - our "Pippus family ties" are mostly undone.

Harold Pippus worked in the parts department at "Dinsmore Dodge" in town here for years, but somehow (though I often feel like I know everyone in town) I never met him. His brother, Walter stopped by the church building one time (he saw my name on the church sign an wanted to try to figure out who I was... oddly enough he lived in Calgary at the time and had a son Tim Pippus who worked with a church there). Anyway, through Walter we sort of figured out that we were "First cousins once removed" (he is my dad's cousin). Harold, though, was still like Snuffleupagus - people said he existed but I never saw him.

Well the other day Bob Goud told me that he saw Harold working at the Co-op gas station. Apparently he had retired from the Dodge dealership and needed something to fill in his days. That got me thinking that an older man that I had never met before filled my truck the last time I was there, so I started to wonder if that was him.

Today, I found out. This older man filled my tank and when he came in I asked him if his name was Harold and he said "yes". "Harold Pippus?" He said "yes". I introduced myself and he said, "I know who you are... I think I curled against you one time" (Makes me wonder why he did not say anything... Pippus is not a common name.... however - if you know my Pippus family maybe it is understandable that he would not throw his last name around - it could get a guy in trouble in some places).

Anyway - he went on to say that people always ask him about how he is related to me too. Then he mentioned that he used to work at the Ford dealership in town with Bob Goud's brother Emerson. I told him that Emerson was the preacher at my church in Moose Jaw when I was a kid. He said he knew that Emerson preached there because he left the Ford dealership to move there. Then I told him that I lived with Emerson's widow, Marion, when I first moved to town and he said that he knew where they lived. Then he had to go - and so did I - and that is where we left it for now.

It was a little surreal though. I never think much about extended family, at least on that side, because I don't know many of them. My brother Lenny says that the Pippus name is on the court docket in Moose Jaw all the time - either because one of his kids (he works with young offenders) is up or because one of our cousins is in trouble. My standard joke is that we only have family reunions on the Pippus side when there is a bail hearing. :)

So - all that to say that it I was really glad to meet him, finally. It was a little like having a conversation with a Sasquatch after years of looking for him (Except for the fact that Harold spoke English and not Sasquatchese - or whatever it is called).... but it was nice!

And odd to have so many little connections with someone I had not met (another one... my cousin on the other side of the family is in charge of all the C-stores in the southeast and therefore is Harold's boss).

I plan to have more conversations with him in the future... maybe I can finally learn something about our family history..... or at least find out if there is any stolen bank money buried in an old cold mine somewhere nearby.... you never know right? :)

A new line of work (26 of 30)

I am going to become a stalker!

I found out today that it is fun, easy and profitable.

That is it.

Oh - you want details.... ok - so I am driving to the office this morning when I see the Sun 102.3 SUV in front of me and I think to myself, "Those sales girls are not just driving around town at 8:27 for nothing"... so I followed them. Soon they parked at the Civic auditorium - so I parked on the street near-by... then they moved over to the Leisure Centre parking lot - so I turned around and kept an eye on them.

The first stop at the Civic made me suspicious but the move to the far end of the leisure centre confirmed it..... they were "The Turkey Trotter"!!!!

You don't know what that means... well - our local radio station is holding this contest... "The Sun 102.3 Turkey Trotter". What you have to do is listen for the location of the "Turkey Trotter" (otherwise known as the Radio station SUV with the sales girls in it) and if you are the first one to show up you win a free turkey

So - what with me stalking them I was easily the first one there and I won a turkey.

As I said... fun, easy and profitable.

However, since I have already won, I cannot win for another month - so I am going to have some time on my hands. If you would like to be stalked (just so I keep in practice in case I get another opportunity to win frozen poultry) - please comment below

Apparently I was wrong (25 of 30)

So you know when I said below that my comment on a comment posting was not my post for the day?

Well it is almost 11:30 at night and I really have nothing to write about, so the comment about the comment is the post.

What? You don't like that???? What are you gonna do about it... huh punk???? Huh?

Ya! That is what I thought! :)

A comment on a comment

This is not my posting for the day but rather a response to a comment found in my post about Christmas gifts and having a "spending disorder" (see below). I am posting this here because I think it deserves a response and it may not be seen if I bury it in the comments below.... something to think about......
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Blogger Davis Family said...

I will be of no help here. I have the same affliction. I have been pleased lately, since we are in a recession being "thrifty" is far more popular than it used to be. No advice - just a high five!

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(Me) I am glad to hear a "consenting voice". Seriously!

What would it look like if we did not think we had to lavish big expensive presents on our kids and on one another - not b/c we are too cheap to do it - but b/c we are too caring?

What I mean is - if the extent of our love is measured in how much we spent on our kids or our family at Christmas - what does that say and what does it lead to?

I certainly remember some lavish gifts from my mom.... waking up to Atari video games... or a game called "Electronic quarterback" (which I still have by the way)... and I am not sure how she did that. We did not have the money to buy those things and they were extravagant to us... and appreciated because that was not the normal thing.

But what happens when that is the normal? What happens when every year you have to spend more because the "wow factor" has worn off of gifts that cost less than $100?

I am not saying that we are doing everything right with our girls (I am certain that they will grow up with some regrets like - "I wish I had been given....." or "I wish we had gone to....."), but I am glad that they are still happy with simple things. They still find joy in little things.

For example, we have never had a Christmas morning at home - by ourselves - for our entire married life.... ever! The one year that we did stay home everyone came to our house (and it was great - from my point of view). So this year we said, "You are getting older. You do not have many years to be at home on Christmas morning... do you want to just stay home this year so that you can say that you got to do it?" Their answer: "No! We want to go to Dauphin and Moose Jaw. We want to be with our family - who cares about sitting at home by ourselves?"

Now I know that is not about "gifts" per se, but I think it says something about what they think Christmas is about - they are focused on family and not on stuff.

So - as I said - I appreciated all the "big gifts" that I got as a kid - but I also remember all the little "stocking stuffer" stuff.... I remember the year that I got a $10 goalie stick (I had wanted one forever).... I remember getting a book of Lifesavers every year (it was tradition). I also remember several things (a remote control blue and yellow airplane and a remote control front end loader to be specific) that I stared at in the "Wish book" for weeks and never got - but it really does not matter.

My mom was there.... we went to Grandma's for supper most Christmas days.... I got to share whatever I got with my brother and sister and they did with me too (I really liked the year Debbie got the "Barbie swimming pool" - that was fun!) :)

My mom did a great job of giving us great gifts... but they weren't all big (though some were). I guess - as tacky as it sounds - while the gifts were great it was the giver that made them special..... and I am just not convinced that you have to be in debt for the next 4 months for that to work.

I am not just being cheap here - I just think that the gift is about people (the giver and the recipient and their relationship) more than it is about the bottom line on the receipt (or at least it should be).

Thanks Roberta for backing me up on that! :)

Ps. If any of you comment on this blog... please check back in the comments section as I will likely respond to what you said - so please go and look.... I like the "conversation" part of this as much as anything (and two way conversation is way better than one way).

Finally (24 of 30)

Every year I complain about the old Christmas songs. I mean - seriously - with all the song writers out there we can't come up with anything better than Michael Buble singing his redition (the 8296738497684396 version) of "The Christmas Song" - from 1944 - seriously?

Anyway - while not completely new (the Glee one is a remix but at least it is creative) - at least here are two "festive" songs that I actually like this year.... give them a listen and tell me what you think (and please - PLEASE - NEVER MAKE ME LISTEN TO "THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY" AGAIN!!!!!)

A confession and a realization (23 of 30)

For years I have been a bad Christmas gift buyer. I always thought that it was mostly because I don't listen well enough when people talk about what they like (and that may be part of it), or that I hate shopping (and that may be part of it) or that I am cheap (that may be part of it).... but after some soul searching while watching the hockey game tonight - I have come to a discovery.

It is not my fault..... I have a money spending disability.

Now - that is different than just being cheap. In fact, truth be told, I like giving gifts to people (I gave a working Toro Snow blower to a buddy of mine the other day... a real honest to goodness real snow blower - for nothing!!!). I have a problem and you should not judge me..... let me describe it.

All year long, I buy virtually nothing for myself. Ok - while that sentence is true in the fact that I am mostly a kept man and Sari does all the household shopping etc - that is not what I mean. What I do mean is that whenever I go to buy something, it has to pass the "Do I need it?" test... and if it doesn't I usually don't buy it. This applies to big things (like new motorcycles) and even down to little things (Do I NEED a coke? Likely not - so I just drink water).

So here is the issue.... after doing that for 355 days of the year, how am I supposed to start spending money in the 10 days that I may go Christmas shopping?

I look at stuff and think, "Well, I could buy that... it is nice.. but do they need it? NO!" and that is where it ends. Then I look at something else and think, "But will they use it or will it sit in the drawer forever until it goes to the garage sale box..... probably 'garage sale' so NO!"

If I had a guarantee that every gift would be perfect and useful I would spend like crazy.... but just to buy something so that I can say that I bought someone something goes against everything that I do all year long (I was going to say "goes against every fiber of my being" but that was likely a little to "Oprah melodramatic" so I didn't say it). I don't even treat myself so I am I supposed to do that for others?

So rather than feel badly about myself for my lack of gift buying enthusiasm.... I think I am going to start ranting - to everyone I see - about how commercialized and stupid Christmas has become..... and if that doesn't help them maybe I will seek therapy.

So does anyone out there know how to spend money frivolously? I may need to take a course.

Apply in the comments section of this post.... Sari tells me the credit card is clear and ready and waiting. :)

Heads up! (22 of 30)

Did you know that there is going to be a meteor shower tomorrow (Monday) night? Check out the information here, here or here - check it out (if it is not too cold - or too cloudy - and if you can stay up that late).
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Otherwise - we had a good day. Church was nice - lunch and visiting at church was nice - and (for the first time in 3 days) nothing broke on our vehicles....

Have a good week.

Another Party (21 of 30)

We had another Christmas party tonight. This time at the church building. It was our annual church Christmas supper. We ate, did a little "year in review" and then the elders said some nice things about the importance of the kids and gave them some presents.

It was a nice night and a good reminder that we have family here - even when our "real family" lives many miles away.
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Another truck update: So today the kids and I are driving around Christmas shopping for Sari and the heater fan quits... so at -21 we had to ride around town with the window down so that we did not fog up the windows. When I got it home I tore the whole dash apart and found that the connector that goes to the fan switch was melted. I repaired it as best I could and got it working again but it is sort of ridiculous... how many of you have to tear your dashboard apart in the parking lot of the mall just so that you can drive home with heat? I am thinking that a new vehicle is getting closer for us (Have I ever mentioned how much I hate debt? Maybe not as much as I hate repairing the truck all the time... but it is close - so we will see)

Hillcrest Christmas (20 of 30)

It was Sari's Christmas party tonight... well not just a party for Sari, but for the staff at the school. To be honest... I diiiidddd nnoooottttt waaaaannnaaa goooooo (Please read that in the whiniest voice ever) - but it turned out to be fun.

We ate... we visited... we did a "garage sale gift exchange" (stuff that you may not really ever want as a gift - and some nicer stuff b/c some people broke the rules... you get to steal from one another, etc) and that was fun... and Sari and I closed the party down (or at least we stayed till the end - that is a little unusual). Overall it was a good time.
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A truck update: Upon further inspection the rad on my truck is cracked. Not sure whether I will try to repair it or just replace it... likely replace as I would always be thinking about the repair and wondering if it was going to hold. So I will have to deal with that someday. The good news is that it seems (for now) to not be too bad - so I will likely just keep driving it anyway.

Don't you hate it when.... (19 of 30)

Today, I wrote a sermon about suffering. One of the points that I tried to make was that - if seen properly - suffering is not all bad. In fact, it can be instructive and part of the maturing process.

The tonight our van began to make some very "un-van-like" noises on the passenger's side of the engine... a grinding, high pitched whine. Now the only things that are on that side of the engine are the steering pump, the alternator, the idler pulley and the water pump... all squeezed into a space that is smaller than a mini-doughnut (I am not sure why I picked that other than the fact that it is past midnight and I am hungry), so I am sure that will be easy to diagnose and fix! :(

Then I noticed that there is a big puddle under the truck... anti-freeze.... I think the radiator is shot!

So next week I am going to write about the virtue of something other than suffering.... something like "The virtue of winning the lottery". If I quit blogging and pretend not to know you any more - you will know that it worked (It is nothing personal... I just know that if I won the lottery most of you would expect a cut - so I have predetermined that it is better not to have friends if I have more than $13 to my name) :)

PS. If "vehicle suffering" is the worst thing I have to deal with - I guess I am not doing too badly right?

PPS. My motorcycle needs work too... just thought I would throw that in too

PPPS. I did fix a snow blower tonight... a drive chain was wrecked so a buddy and I repaired it... then I loaded it up and took it to his place.... maybe - with any luck - it will avoid the "breakdown epidemic" that is happening here.

A Full Body Search Please (18 of 30)

You may not have had the best week so far.... but at least you are not the guy in this video.

Maybe he was trying to take citrus fruits into the States and was trying to create a distraction (I bet they did not ask him about oranges after this). :)


<br/><a href="http://video.ca.msn.com/watch/video/guy-fails-to-stop-at-border-patrol/1gly5wn24?fg=sharenoembed" target="_new" title="Guy Fails to Stop at Border Patrol">Video: Guy Fails to Stop at Border Patrol</a>

A Public Service Announcement (17 of 30)

For all you women out there.... this video may be "required watching" for your guy - just trying to make Christmas a little happier for everyone.

PS. And,no, I am not in the doghouse myself.

A slow Monday (16 of 30)

Mondays are always sort of slow - especially after the adrenaline of Sunday... but in light of the past week this was a particularly slow/down day. Not much to report... so you get a test, a news update and a joke.
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The test....

Name the only man in the Hockey Hall of Fame who never played coached, refereed, managed or owned a hockey club. He never broadcast a game or wrote about one in the newspapers or online. In fact, he never even witnessed a Stanley Cup game (answer at the bottom of the post)
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The news...

We put the tree up tonight. Sari always does such a good job of making this a special event for us - even though I am usually a Grinch about the whole thing most of the time. Thanks!
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The joke.... (from a guy on the internet)

"The snow and the cold seems to be really getting to my wife. All she does now is stand and stare at the window all day. If this keeps up, I may have to let her in". :)
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The answer....

Lord Stanley of Preston. He was the Governor General of Canada when he donated the Cup in 1893. He was called back to England by Queen Victoria before he got the chance to see the Cup played for or handed out.

(If you knew the answer, please sign in the comments section and indicate whether you knew it, or guessed it..... I am just curious)

Some serious - some not (15 of 30)

First, the serious....

Thanks to everyone for your kind works, calls, cards, etc re. my Grandma. We went to Moose Jaw Friday morning and stayed until last night. It was nice to get together with everyone - to visit and reminisce... Strangely, as close to her as I was, I have not had a big "break down moment" yet. Maybe that has to do with the fact that I have been preparing myself for this time for the past several years... knowing every time that every time we said good-bye to her that it may be the last time. It may also have to do with the fact that I called her lots, sent her cards and sort of said what I wanted to say to her. I don't know - maybe the the big crash has yet to hit me - but at this point I am sad but not like I thought I would be... I am still very peaceful about the whole thing... just grateful for the time we had together

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Now the not serious....

1. I have a new favorite TV show.... it is called "Princess". I stumbled across it today while looking for NFL games. It is sort of like "The Nanny" only, instead of telling useless parents how to raise their kids, this lady grabs women who have spent themselves into oblivion and straightens them out... makes them do budgets, tells them that they are stupid if they think that they need 834758934758734 pairs of shoes, tells them to stop shopping for frivolous junk - buy only what you need, etc. I PVRed two of them.... I am going to make the girls (all three of them) watch it with me. :)

2. I drove by the "broken spoiler car" today (see post below) and it has been reattached somehow.... I am not sure how, but I did not pay for it - so that is the good part.

Ok - it has been a long week and I need to go. Hope this coming one is better than the last.

A Tribute to my Grandma (14 of 30)

My mom called me about an hour ago to say that my Grandma, Annie Hannan, passed away this morning.

Many times I have wondered how I would feel getting that call (she has been in and out of the hospital a lot in recent years) and it used to make me cry just thinking about it.... but somehow today I am not sad. In fact, right now, I am very peaceful about it.

Unlike some families, we were fortunate enough to know Grandma well. She lived a couple of blocks away from us when we were growing up. We went camping at Buffalo Pound every summer with mom and Grandpa and Grandma. We saw her often in those days.

When I was in Grade 12 the preacher in our church offered to teach me how to write sermons, etc and so we got together every Saturday morning. My Grandma lived in an apartment building across from the church building so every Friday after school for over a year, I would walk to Grandma's... spend the night playing Crokinole and visiting, sleep over and go to the class the next morning.

We were fortunate enough too that my girls and Sari got to know and love "Granny" (as they called her). She was always interested in what they were doing - how things were in their lives - and the girls liked visting with her too. None of us will ever be able to have "Orange Floats" again without thinking about her - and that is a good thing.

I am sure that the next few days will be tearfilled, but for now I am happy. Happy to have had a good Grandma who loved us so much and happy to have been able to love her back.

Goodbye Grandma. I am going to miss you.

I may need to borrow some cash (13 of 30)

So I am driving back to work after lunch... come around the corner and here is this car sitting cross-ways on the road - stuck in the snow.

A young girl was driving this rear wheel drive car and she had dug a hole with her back tires and she was not going anywhere - so being the nice guy I am I decided to get out and help.

I went to the window and told her that I would try to push her out. I started to rock the car - but I don't think she quite had the concept figured out.... as I pushed the car forward - she let off the gas.... when the car rocked backwards - she gunned it... thus digging the hole deeper and ensuring that I was not going to push her out alone.

Just then one of the guys who lives across the street came out and said, "Here, let me give you a hand". Then he commented on how slippery it was and how there really was not any good place to put his hands on the back of the car.

So - new guy in tow - we start rocking the car again. Again - the young lady does not have the idea of what we are doing.... one big push - she is almost out - then she lets off the gas - the car stops and..... POP!

The plastic spoiler on the rear of the car goes flying into the snowbank beside the road!

The other and I look at each other... "Doh!" we said (or something like that). The plastic clips that keep this thing in place are busted... the girl gets out... the guy hands the spoiler to her... she smiles and says "Thanks!". He apologizes and she says, "Oh no problem - I will just get it put back on". Then she tosses it in the back seat - gets in and starts spinning the tires again.... one more big push (while she let off the gas - again) and we got her out. She pops out one more time to thank us for the help and merrily goes on her way.

Now - I don't know if she just has so much cash that a broken spoiler is not going to worry her, or if she does not like the car in the first place, or whether she is just clueless and thinks $20 will get that thing stuck back on the car... but I know this: I spent the rest of the day half expecting her dad to show up in my office asking how on earth that happened and wondering who was going to pay for it.

Now that did not happen, but I would not have been too surprised if it had. I don't know for sure, but I am guessing that it is going to cost a couple of hundred bucks to get a new spoiler put on there (at least). I don't want to pay for that - in fact - honestly I don't even know how it happened (was the other guy leaning on it - did we hit it when she stopped the car at the end of our last big push... I am not really sure) - but if it was my kid's car I think I would be mad at someone.

What about you? What would you do? Would you blame the kid for getting stuck? Would you blame the nice guys who tried to get her out? Would you just swallow the cost and say it was "just one of those things"?

I am not sure how this is going to turn out yet - but here are two thoughts so far...

1. Being a nice guy may be over-rated... if I had just driven past her and left her there - none of this would have happened.

2. I may need some cash.... please send cheques or money-orders to our home address (any gift over $150 will be acknowledged with a thank you note!) :)

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PS. Actually - my two thoughts are just for comedic effect... I don't really mean it. Even if I end up being chased down and made to pay (which will never happen - likely) I would still do it again. Ya gotta help one another even if it has negative effects for you, right?

PPS. Oh - and even though there is likely no need to fix this guys car for him... you can still send the cash! There is a "thank you" note in it for you. :)

Funny (12 out of 30)

I was reading a article today about how good it is for the CFL to have a strong Saskatchewan Roughriders franchise... good for ticket sales, good for TV ratings, good for merchandise sales (3rd highest in Canada behind only the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens).

In the comments section below the article was this......

"Did you hear? The Riders have come out with their own bra. Its got tons of support but no cups" (ba dump bump) :)

We are Idiots! (11 of 30)

Is it just me or does life seem to be going backwards? I mean, I think that we are losing quality of life and don't even know it.

I was thinking this the other day as I stood in the Co-op waiting for my water jugs to fill. My Grandpa grew up on a farm not that far from Estevan and I bet he dreamed of the day that he would be rich enough to live in a house with hot and cold running water, so that he would not have to haul water any more. Guess what? I live in a house with hot and cold running water.... AND I STILL HAUL WATER!!!! I PAY FOR IT TO COME RIGHT TO MY HOUSE - TREATED AND READY TO DRINK... AND YET I STILL GO OUT, PAY WAY MORE THAN I WOULD FOR ANY OTHER LIQUID ON THE PLANET AND HAUL HOME THE "SPECIAL WATER" FROM THE "SPECIAL MACHINE" IN THE GROCERY STORE!!! THE MACHINE THAT IS PROBABLY JUST A STRAIGHT PIPE INTO THE MUNICIPAL WATER THAT I GET AT MY TAP AT HOME!!!! THAT IS STUPID!!!!

Then there is the recycling thing. I like recycling. I think it is a fine thing to do (especially when I get my coke bottle deposit back). We have always recycled cardboard and newspapers, but lately we have started recycling plastics and tin cans as well. The problem: No one picks up any of these items in our town. We have a drop off centre - so we have to haul them over there ourselves. I PAY $20 A MONTH TO HAVE MY GARBAGE PICKED UP.... RIGHT BEHIND MY OWN HOUSE - BUT STILL I DRIVE AROUND TOWN WITH A LOAD OF JUNK IN THE BACK OF MY TRUCK LIKE I AM SOME HOBO (I guess hobos typically don't drive trucks - but that word was more politically correct than the other one I was going to use).

And texting... does anything make less sense than that? See that device in your hand.... YOU CAN ACTUALLY USE IT TO TALK TO PEOPLE!!! YOU DON'T HAVE TO IGNORE THE REAL PEOPLE AROUND YOU FOR TWENTY MINUTES TO FIND OUT HOW YOUR BUDDY'S DAY WENT... CALL HIM AND GET IT OVER WITH!!!! WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE MAY NOT BE THERE???? HE IS TEXTING YOU BACK!!!! ONE CALL AND IT WOULD BE DONE IN 20 SECONDS. SCIENTISTS WORKED FOR 30 YEARS PERFECTING THE TECHNOLOGY - IT ACTUALLY WORKS!!!! I could see it if it was invented the other way around.... Some jerk is standing there with his "texting machine" spending twenty minutes trying to get a message to his girlfriend thinking, "Man, if only I could hear her voice". Guess what... YOU CAN!!!!

I don't get it. I think we are regressing.

Rider Recap (10 of 30)

In the immortal words of Homer Simpson... "Trying (or in Darian's case 'over - trying') is the first step to failure".

I am not blaming Darian... he was just trying his hardest - maybe just a little too hard on that last play. He had a good year. The Riders had a good year. They just (for the second Grey Cup in a row) fell asleep offensively in the 2nd half.

Can't complain too much about playing on the last day of the season 3 of the last 4 years - whether you win or not.
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On the good news front: Sari is home safe and sound and had a great weekend.

Have a good week (in spite of the loss) all. :)

Real or fake: A Survey... and the joy of having a dumb dog (9 of 30)

Sari is in Manitoba this weekend, so in an effort to get the girls out of the house (and away from the TV), I announced that we were going on a "Trek" (these used to be called "walks" until it was pointed out that there are "truth in advertising" rules - so I had to pick a name that more appropriately described the activity).

We took Murphy (otherwise known as "Muffy" - because he is sort of girly) and went down to Woodlawn park. We spent a couple of hours wandering around the campground - pounding through the snow - making snow angels.... it was great! At the end, we walked past one of the ball diamonds and I told Katelyn, "Go into the outfield and call the dog. See if he can jump the fence".

Now the fence was not that tall - 3 or 4 feet at the best (a little hard to tell with the snowbanks around it). Katie went into the diamond and called Muffy. He took off running as hard as he could... he got close.... looked up.... jumped as high as he could..... AND SLAMMED HEAD FIRST RIGHT INTO THE TOP BAR ON THE FENCE!!!!!! :)

Now - I don't mean that he sort of tapped it.... he hit it so hard that I am sure Sari could have heard it all the way over in Manitoba. You could not have hit him harder if you took the bar off the fence and swung it at his head. It was like a Wylie Coyote cartoon... when he gets hit in the head with an anvil - or when he is running and suddenly slams into a brick wall or something.... it was so funny I laughed for 5 minutes straight!!!!

Needless to say - he did not get over the fence..... but (fortunately) he did not seem to hurt himself either..... one advantage of smaller brains.... lots of room for protective fluid in the head.

Ah - I love that dog - just because of stuff like that! :)
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Here is the survey part.... have you seen this video? Is it real or faked? What do you think?

How do you know when you are having a heart attack? (8 of 30)

I went to noon hockey today. I have not played in almost a year, so I thought that I would just go out, take it easy and have some fun.

Eight other guys showed up: One who is maybe 10 years old than me, but he is a very good player. He played a high level of hockey when he was young (so he has very good hockey sense) and he is in good shape yet. The other seven guys were not even born when I graduated from high school (ok - maybe just barely). That is not a good thing.

When we got on the ice, I noticed something else that was very disturbing.... the color "burgundy" (or what I think burgundy is anyway.... being a boy I really know only about 5 or 6 colours... red, yellow, blue, pink. green, etc). Anyway - burgundy (or its reasonable facsimile) is a bad sign because that is the team colour of the Bienfait Coalers senior hockey team. So now I am not only playing my first game in a year, but I am playing it against seven 21-23 year olds who played either Triple A, Junior B or SJHL hockey. It was not a promising start.

As we started playing, I was sort of impressed with myself.... I checked the youngans a few times... I made a pass or two.... but best of all, it was the young guys taking the breaks and I was still going. After about an hour, I decided that it was time to go, so I left a little early.... and that was a mistake.

If one is going to have a heart attack, one should not be alone in a cinder block dressing room 100 feet from the sign in desk!! (No one can hear you scream for help.... or hear you hit the floor for that matter).

Seriously - I felt so bad that I actually went through what I thought was the heart attack checklist.... burning in chest (yes),,,, trouble breathing (yes).... pain (not really).... shooting pain down the arms (no)... overall weakness (yes)..... blurry vision (sort of)....... too many meals at fast food restaurants (no).... arteries that are hardened like pottery in a kiln (not sure - I have not seem them lately).

In the end (after I caught my breath - had a shower - and.. sort of.... got over feeling like I was going to throw up), I decided it was not a heart attack... just old age.

But I checked those Coaler kids! :)

An Estevan Drive-by??? (7 of 30)

So I am sitting in my office today and outside the window I hear, "Bbbbbbuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrr". I look out and there is snow flying everywhere.

So I think to myself... "Huh - one of the guys from church must have loaded his snow blower and brought it down here", but as I get a glimpse of the guy I think, "Who on earth is that?"

The mystery snow blower dude is working in the parking lot behind the building and so I think, "Well, maybe he is from across the alley (we have several new neighbours back here and I don't know what they all look like yet) and he is clearing our lot to make it easier to turn into his garage" - but then he turns and heads down the sidewalk beside our building. Then he starts clearing our driveway out front.

At that point, I go out and introduce myself. "I'm Larry", he says. I ask, "Where do you live Larry?" and he says, "Oh I live down at the end of the other block".

Now - this guy has to be 70 years old... but apparently he was out blowing the snow off of his sidewalk and thought, "I should drive this thing down the street and clean up around that church building" - so that is what he did. After a while, the sound became a little quieter and I looked out and Larry was following the thing back home. Not a word of explanation... no demand for money.... no request of any kind... just a kind gesture done from the goodness of his heart.

And that is one reason I like small town prairie people.

Listen to the voices (6 of 30)

I have determined today (and I have the research data to back it up) that one should listen to that little voice that you hear in your head once in a while. No - I do not mean those "voices".... (If I listened to those other voices, things would be very different - but enough about that), I mean that little voice that tells you to do good things

As I was driving back to the office today, I thought, "I should run up to the hospital and see Don" - an 88 year old man that I sort of know. I did not really want to go, but thinking that "I should", I decided to run over there, stay for 15 minutes or so and leave.

An hour and forty five minutes later I only got out because I faked a heart attack and they wheeled me out on a stretcher (ok - maybe that did not happen - but it was really close). Don is fun to visit with - very sharp for an 88 year old - and he loves to tell stories (in fact, I think he was in the middle of one as I was leaving... but what could I do? If I waited until he was done I would have still been there).

Anyway - the point - I am not bragging about myself. Rather I am reminding myself (and you by extension) to do the "good" even if I/you do not feel like it. I went to visit Don and brighten his day and I was the one who came away feeling good and smiling.

Sometimes it is good to listen to the voices.

Grey Cup thinking (5 of 30)

So with the Grey Cup just around the corner, I have a question.....

Who was the pinhead who thought that giving rings to the champs was a good idea?

Has anyone thought this through? How is that an appropriate prize for a football player??? You make your living basically ripping the heads of other guys while running as fast as you can... and your reward for surviving training camp, two exhibition games, all the practices, an 18 game regular schedule and a minimum of two playoff games (likely played in conditions that would make many people stay home from their office jobs)..... is a ring? Seriously?

Why not a pickup truck full of power tools(something useful and manly), or a diamond encrusted sword(something warrior-like), or maybe a gift card for a grocery store (they don't make that much money right - so at least that would be useful)?

Now I get the "bling" thing about showing off and I realize that it is hard to take a power saw with you when you go clubbing - of course you could put it on a chain around your neck - but then how do you get your jacket on?

I can see giving a ring to winner of "Dancing with the stars" (maybe something that would match his new dress and high heels), but come on!

I guess one of the Riders felt that way too..... the ring above was auctioned off by 2007 Cup winner Jovon Johnson (I found the auction while looking for a picture for this post). He got $15 307 for it last month. Check out the link......

Maybe could have used that grocery card.

Airband (Bonus post)

Hey - a while ago I mentioned that Megan was in an airband (or is it "air band" - I am not sure) competition at school. The local paper did a report and posted it to "Youtube" and I thought you might like to see it - so here it is (there is no charge for the extra blog post today - it is free).

PS. Megan is playing guitar on the far left side of the screen in the band named "The Skool Girlz" (around 1:12 into the video)

PPS. Megan and her band won the competition and got to "play" for the whole school at an assembly today.

PPPS. I am still keeping her away from that Beiber kid.

Monday (4 of 30)

Just a little something that my brother sent me today - it may be Monday - but at least you are not this guy.....
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Zeke just bought a new boat and decided to take her for the maiden voyage. This was his first boat and he wasn't quite sure of the exact Standard Operating Procedures for launching it off a ramp, but figured it couldn't be too hard.

He consulted his local boat dealer for advice, but they just said "Don't let the trailer get too deep when you are trying to launch the boat."

Well, he didn't know what they meant by that as he could barely get the trailer in the water at all!


Obviously, the "Zeke story" is a fake (the truck likely got away from someone and rolled down the ramp).... but this is a bad day regardless of how it happened.

Is that wrong? (3 of 30)

So it looks like Christmas exploded at our house this weekend.

I mean that in a good way... the house looks really nice. We re-arranged the furniture in the living room... took down all the decorations and replaced them with Christmas ones. All this while Christmas music filled the air.

Now my question: Is that wrong? I mean, it isn't even Dec 1st yet! Is this too early or are you on Sari's side (the side that says one should start thinking about Christmas in.... say - August)?

I know one thing: I should have thought about Christmas in like Oct or Nov and got the lights up on the house when it was +10 rather than -27. EVERY YEAR!!!! EVERY YEAR I END UP FREEZING TO DEATH TO PUT UP THE LIGHTS BECAUSE IT SEEMS STUPID TO PUT THEM UP WHEN IT IS NICE OUT (who wants to put Christmas lights up when it is nice out?)

I did hold out on the tree though - no tree until December for sure.

Sari did a beautiful job and the house looks great, but it seems a little early to me. What do you think?

Maybe we should just leave them up all year long and save the trouble of changing them. Nothing says, "Summer vacation" like drinking and ice cold coke out on the deck - especially if it come out of a cup that looks like Santa's head.

(PS. Yay Riders! Who woulda thunk? Thinking over the game, it still does not seem like we won - I mean, it certainly was not a dominate win... other than that long drive in the third quarter. Oh well, they don't count how it felt - they count the score, so we will take it. Special thanks to Calgary for continuing to be "pinheads" and giving us some much needed yards due to "taunting" and "unsportsmanlike conduct/roughing" penalties... that attitude came back to bite them and that was nice to see. Cup predictions????????)

The end of an Era (2 of 30)

Something happened today that has not happened in 18 + years.... the board of Clearview Christian Camp met without me.

I had tons of fun on the board and I have a lot of really good memories (like the time Justin and I got the bobcat stuck in the mud down by the beach... on my birthday... on a long weekend... when no one would come and rescue us... and the guy needed the bobcat first thing Monday morning to start putting in the cement pads for the new cabins. Or the time that Sari threw a 2x4 through the back window of our truck and cost us $300!!! Oh wait a minute... I think that may be the wrong list).

Anyway - I still plan to be involved with the camp (going to work days etc) but I thought it was time to take a break.... that and the fact that the public opinion polls were indicating that my popularity was dropping like a rock and I may have to bribe people if I was going to say on as Chairman... and you know how cheap I am - I am not bribing anyone.

So it is over (for now)! It is hard to walk away... but it is a good thing that I have all those good memories (not to mention all those years of cash donations that people gave me... "Sure I will pass that on". Not sure how that got through on the audit but........) :)

Good luck to the new board! I am sure you will do great (and - if not - it isn't my problem) :)

Here we go.... 30 blogs in 30 days (more or less)

Ok... so it is beginning.... 30 blogs in 30 days. Why have I not been writing on the blog lately? Well - I have been busy. "Doing what?" you ask. Well.... rather than type it all out - let me just give you this video montage (of course I did each event using a different persona.... just so people would not catch on that it was all me). Enjoy!


Everything is possible
Uploaded by Tixald. - Discover the latest sports and extreme videos.


And that was just last week!!! :)

(OK - so maybe the most exciting thing I have done all week is watch TV... but I could have done all that stuff.... it said so right at the end of the video)

R U Still Here????

Ok - it is that time again.... winter is coming.... I am getting cabin fevery..... I have 83967398476894376984376987689436 things to write about and so I am thinking about starting another "30 blogs in 30 days" thing.

Bbbbuuuuuuuutttttttt...... before I waste my time writing a bunch of stuff - I need to know if anyone is checking this thing anymore. If you come by even once in a while, would you please comment on this post - even just leave your name (I know that I can get blog counters that will keep track of this for me - but most of them are lousy - and they track every accidental hit too. What I want to know is "Does anyone who really knows us come by here looking for info?").

I don't need much encouragement..... even 4 or 5 people and I will launch into stories about what we are up to...... so please sign in. I will make a decision as to whether it is worth doing or not next week.

The best news: It is free - so you can't lose.

The bester news: If you sign in, leave and never come back you would force me to waste hours of my life writing stuff that no one will read - that in itself is pretty funny when you think about it. :)

Valerie is gone!

Well, that is it.... two months after she arrived and a month after her big race - Valerie has taken up residence at Dennis' in the back forty. I am going to miss her. I hope she does not get too many mice in her over the winter. I also hope that she does not get too cold out there. Maybe I should have knit her a blanket.... but I don't know how to knit - and if I did I would have to beat myself up. Oh well - happy winter, Valerie - rest up - Enduro 2011 is coming. :)

Air band

Megan and her friends... "The School Girls"... won the Hillcrest air band competition tonight. No word about possible tour dates yet, but I do plan to keep her away from that Justin Bieber kid. :)

A quick update

So I am sitting at home - sick on a Tuesday afternoon - and you know what? It is boring!

I think I have used like 5 or 6 sick days (at the most) in 20 years here, but Sunday night and yesterday I was done.... high fever, all achy.... I am getting better but I am still in that "I am recovering but I am really grouchy about being sick and sitting around doing nothing" part yet.... so I stayed home again today. I figured that the first person who came in and complained about something was going to get their head taken off... and that likely was not a good plan... so here I am.

My latest discovery.... daytime TV is a wasteland!!!! Well - in fact - I have not even turned on the TV in the last two days. I doubt that there are any hockey or football games on in the middle of the day and - since there is nothing else worth watching on TV - what is the point?

In girl news: All three ladies in my house went and got their hair done last night and they look really good (I did not even ask what it cost..... see I am learning). Maybe they will post pictures sometime soon.

School continues to go well for all... Katie still doing V-ball.... Megan and some friends are doing an air band competition.... Sari is reffing v-ball and keeping the world together.

Me... I helped sheet a garage roof last week... I put the repaired tranny pan back on my Enduro car and it runs and moves again so now I can haul it away until next year's race.

So that is the quick update. Thanks for dropping by... I promise I will post more regularly when the cold hits and I am stuck inside more often.

Funny! :)

Sari on the news

Hey all - did you see Sari on the 6 o'clock news last night. CTV sent a crew down here to talk about cougars, so they interviewed Sari (insert joke here.... ba dump bump)

Seriously though - a cougar with two "kittens" (whatever you call baby cougars) was spotted in our area (a couple of times). The school where Sari works is just two blocks from there so they had to make sure the kids all had rides home, got home safely etc. In the process of doing the story, the reporters heard about that so they came to interview the principal, but she was busy - the vice principal did not want to do it, so they sent Sari.

It was a good choice. She did a really good job! It was cool. People from all over the province have been writing saying "Hey we saw you on the news".

I said it is one of the only times that a Pippus has been on the news without handcuffs being involved! :)

Good job Sari!

Enduro (video 3)

Enduro 2010 (Video 2)

Enduro 2010 (video number 1)

Here is just a taste of what it was like - I will post more later. Muddy track + 60 mph + turns = fun (or something like that)......

Enduro race 2010

Some pictures from my adventure yesterday. Video and more pics in the days to come....

Race results

A quick update on my race today..... I completed about 71 laps of the 103 or so that the eventual winner got done before the 1 1/2 time limit. I was doing well until I t-boned a guy that got spun out by another guy.... that punched a hole in my radiator, but that was not the end of my race. In the end it was the transmission that quit - so my day was done a little early.

Once we got it home we assessed the damage.... Valerie is a little worse for wear - the steering is a little off due to the frame being bent some.... but at least I did not roll my car like the one guy who did and had to be taken to hospital on a stretcher.

I got hit so hard that the gear shift does not move any more (something is bent... stuck in drive mostly)..... I banged my left elbow, left knee (somehow) and my neck is sore from my head hitting the steering wheel when I t-boned that other guy. I was off the track a couple of times (over the top of the corner b/c I went in too fast and could not get it turned).... I only spun out once and that is when someone hit me from behind (almost every corner someone was spinning out so I felt good about the fact that I kept it going straight the whole day).... my visor was so covered with mud that I could barely see - the inside of the car is caked with mud.... it was bizarre!

You would be going through a corner at 40 or 50 mph between two cars - one high and one low - so you are trying hard not to slide into one of them.... wrenching the steering wheel back and forth to keep going straight - then, as you get on the straightaway you look up and there are three cars spinning out and blocking the road..... dodge them - almost lose control - someone hits you from behind - mud gets shot off the tire of the guy in front of you and hits you in the head covering your visor so you can see even less - then you are in the next corner with a guy on your left and right - bounce through the corner - etc, etc.....

So - would I do it again? Maybe. If my brother so some one else I know puts a car in - maybe (I think I can resurrect Valerie). On the the other hand, it was a lot of work (like 40+ hours getting ready) for an hour of fun (and a wrecked car in my garage now). So we will see. Definitely not tomorrow though.

So all in all - living my dream was fun! My car was as fast as anyone at times (once the track was dry) and best of all I had a lot of help and a lot of family and friends hanging around. A bunch of people from church came to watch. A bunch of people from the speedway gave me things, hauled the car out there, made exceptions so that I could show up late (I had to be in church until just a 1/2 hour before the race started - they wanted us out there 2 hours ahead of time at least)..... nice to have so many family members helping out..... it was just great! Thanks to anyone who helped in any way to make this happened. An experience that I am glad I had - a dream come true. Pictures and video to follow later in the week.

Freezing at the football game and other things

At noon yesterday my buddy Matt called and asked if I wanted to go to the Rider game with him (he had free tickets from the radio station), so I went. What a good game.... made even better b/c we were in the old "University section" (for those who don't know - section 28 used to be cheap tickets for university kids - but they got too rowdy in there - drinking, swearing, drugs, etc - so they split it up). Well, the official title is gone, but it is still the "Uni section" (That sounds like a medical procedure doesn't it?)

I have been to three other game this year and have sat in sections where the fan cheering ranged from some yelling to simply polite "golf clapping". There was no golf clapping in the Uni section..... they were cheering and high-fiving when the Jumbo-tron first lit up..... they cheered for TSN reporter Sara Orleski..... they about killed one another jumping for those sponge footballs that they shoot into the crowd... not to mention when the security guards started throwing bags of Old Dutch chips into the crowd (I have never seen that done in any other section - maybe they feed them in hopes that it will soak up some of the alcohol that is in the before they drive home... I am not sure - but we had a feast..... "Duuuuuuddddeeeee.... have some chips, man!!!!!") :)

We never even got close to our seats. When we got to our row there were 23 people standing in an area of 10 seats.... not sure where they should have been but they all were there.... we could see our seats but never got there... we just crowded in with the rest of them. That ended up being good though b/c it was "0" degrees last night (seriously - with a wind that made it like -10), so needless to say the body heat sharing that was going on was welcome. We did not sit down for 3 1/2 hours..... first, we had no seats (as noted above), secondly everyone else was standing and there would be no hope of seeing and thirdly the seats that were behind us were filled with girls standing on them (One of whom kept grabbing my head and shoulders and shaking me every time something good happened.... she apologized profusely for it each time but.........).

Every time something good happened you had to high five everyone within 2 sections and 20 rows of you...... there was a guy in a "Gumby" suit in front of me (don't ask) who snuck a bottle of whiskey in..... it was crazy! People coming and going all through the section all game long (It was like being in a kennel with a bunch a puppies..... jumping and crawling all over each other).... it was bizarre!

I am not endorsing all that went on in there, but in a game that went back and forth (and where everyone was "cheering" at Henry Burris), it was a fun place to be.

Good thing I am still 23 years old.... I would have been out of place otherwise! :)


In other news, we are doing the last few things on "Valerie" today (a little more painting, filling gas tanks, etc). My mom, step dad and brother are coming down today for the race tomorrow. I will post "before" and "after" pictures of the car and give an update when I can.....

Valerie's Transformation

So Valerie (my Enduro car) continues to improve in many ways. For example....

- She does not have mice in her any more (that is always nice)

- Her gas tank is not all clogged up with disintegrating foam any more

- The gas lines are all cleaned out

- The carburetor is on

- Best of all, she runs (I even took her for a little test spin)

- And now the paint job has begun (thanks to the help of Sari, the girls, Joel and Shane)

More pics to come as we put the second coat on her, put lettering on etc.

Shady and me cleaning out the fuel tank on Tuesday night

Old decals off

Family stuff

So everyone is doing well.... not too much to report. School is going well for all - everyone is starting to get settled into a routine, etc. We had a really nice day in Minot on Labour Day Monday. The girls shopped and I wandered around with them - but it was nice anyway! :)

Just a short note to say "Things are good!"

Every Dream Starts Somewhere...

These are definitely the "Before" pictures... (well - they are the "before" pictures for MY project - they are obviously the "after" pictures of a couple of really rough previous races).... I think her name is "Valerie"..... (she seems like a Valerie to me.... but I will get back to you on that)



Now I know that she may not look like much, but she has everything you want in a good Enduro car (An Eduro race is just what it sounds like - an "Endurance race"... 150 laps or an hour and a half whichever comes first. Bumping and running into others is not just something that happens - it is encouraged)

1. She was cheap (Actually free - a lady that I know from the race track just gave it to me - can you imagine???)

2. She is a big heavy boat (Something very desirable in an Enduro car because they wet the track down a lot to keep speeds down - so you need a good "mudder")

3. She has really good tires - almost new - and two brand new ones to come.

4. A rebuilt carb

5. The rear end is welded so you have both back wheels pushing equally (posi-traction)

6. Did I mention it was free?????

I just hauled her out of patch of weeds about six miles out of town today (thanks Dennis for your help).... so the project begins. Step 1: Get it to run. Step 2: Pound out some of the dents. Step three: Cool paint job (any suggestions?). Step 4: Kick butt in the race (actually my big goal is just to be able to drive it back onto the trailer at the end of the race).

Progress reports and pictures to follow in coming days.