Oops

Sorry... some have written to me to say that they could not view the video below... I have changed the settings and it should work now (I think). Someone watch it and then comment to tell me that it works. Thanks! :)

It seemed like a good idea at the time

When Paul Quilliams says, "Come here... I have and idea" it may be time to run. Just saying.... my neck still hurts and this was a week ago (mind you, I did try it two more times... it was fun) :)

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......
____
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!

____

(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. :)