Xiolo's Place

Moved For the Final Time

2010-05-19T19:30:00.000-05:00

Since folks still stop by here, I wanted to direct y'all to my latest, and final, digs. :)

I switched to wordpress.com a few months back, but the whole Mr. Storage didn’t pan out the way I was thinking it would, but that’s okay. It pushed me to clarify my vision, so I’ve launched a new blog, with my own domain!

I've also split my blog into two. You can now find posts centering around my life as a dad over at A Twisted Christian Dad and my posts on Christian Theology at Twisted Christian Theology. Both these blogs are hosted on my twistedchristian.ca domain. I'm really excited to have them setup and running.

Here is my intro post with a brief overview of my new site, Welcome to a Twisted Christian Dad. I have multiple RSS feeds setup, so feel free to subscribe to either or both sites. You can also sign up for email updates.

So those of you with links to this site in your blogroll, please update to my new sites and update your RSS feeds and unsubscribe from this one, as I will no longer be updating here. This new blog will be the 4th incarnation of my blog, and should be the last. I thank you for reading what I have to say, and hope you will join me in my new digs. I am very excited about them.

I would like to find a way to link them, so it lets the other blog know when there's an update, so we'll see how that pans out.

And while you're checking out my new blog, stop by and check out my wife's blog at mamabean.ca

New Beginnings

2009-12-03T11:45:00.004-06:00

So following my previous post on privacy and such, I have started a new one. Mr. Storage's Closet. I've moved over to the Wordpress host as I'm hoping to move my Twisted Christian blog to my own hosting and run it off a self hosted Wordpress platform.

At the school I worked in, the server room is in a room labeled Storage. And while, it's not a huge deal, it is kind of demoralizing to go to work everyday and have my office labeled "Storage."
When I asked if they could change it, I was told no, because it was a security risk. That they didn't want everyone to know that it was our central computer hub. I can understand that, though every kid in the school knows what is in this "Storage" room. All I wanted was my name on it. It didn't have to say Computer Tech or Server Room or anything.

On the first day of the year, when the grade 12's were giving groups of new grade 9's the tour of the school, they would pass my door and say "this is the server room" or "this is where the computer guy lives." It made me laugh. The "Storage" sign isn't fooling anyone.

The secretaries also thought it dumb that I didn't get my name on the door, and so they started calling my Mr. Storage. They'd use that when paging me, or calling me, and I even started introducing myself to some students as that. Though the first time some kid came up to me and called me Mr. Storage it took everything I had not to burst out laughing.

Please update your links (for those of you that link to me), as you will find me over in my storage closet. I will also be starting to bring all my archives over so it isn't as bare as it is now. I'm also playing around with the theme, so there'll be some changes over the coming days. And I know all the popular blogs write on a specific theme to draw in a particular crowd, but that's never been my way. I'd have a bunch of different blogs then, one for hunting, one for gardening, one for being a dad, one for bass playing, one for religion (well, I have that one, but it's more of a theological type one, which doesn't interest many, so I keep it seperate), etc.. So I'll just keep blogging about life, and if nobody new starts reading, no biggy, that's not why I started blogging in the first place. Though if I do pick up new followers, that's always fun as I like meeting new people and forging new relationships. :)

So come on over to Mr. Storage's Closet and see what I've been up to...

Day One

2009-11-30T22:18:00.003-06:00

I successfully made it through day one of my life as a SAHD.

I was a little nervous last night about how feedings will go, and I still am abit about tomorrow's, but things went okay today. He fed at 4:30 and then I woke him up at 9 for his next feeding. I probably could have let him go longer, but then I wasn't sure if he'd get enough feedings in today. For my effort, we drank all of half an ounce in the hour we sat in the chair "feeding." He did decide at 11 that he was hungry and ate the ounce and a half I put in the bottle and probably would have eaten more. I figured since Mama Bean was getting home around noon today I wouldn't worry about it. And as a great way to follow up that feeding, he went straight to sleep. :)

I do like the fact that Mama Bean doesn't work full time, and while that might take some credibility away from me as a straight-up SAHD, I think it is pretty awesome. It means we get to spend quite a bit of time together, and Bean gets lots of bonding time with the both of us.

Tomorrow will be day two where I take care of him for the afternoon/evening instead of morning, so I'm interested to see how feedings go.

Privacy in the Blogosphere

2009-11-29T17:38:00.002-06:00

Since the arrival of my son, I've been doing a lot of thinking about privacy and the internet, especially as it relates to blogging and social networking. How much is too much? What sort of information is safe to share? What isn't?

When I started blogging, it was a way to keep in contact with friends back home while I was away at bible college. It was a way to keep in contact with friends who had moved away. I'd write about things that were going on, rant about things pissing me off, and pretty much write whatever I wanted. As time has gone on, it has remained pretty much the same. I write about what's going on, how things are going, and bitch about shit that pisses me off. Standard personal blog fare right?

So now that I'm a little older, a little wiser, a little more paranoid? I wonder how much is too much. I've never taken care to disguise names of myself, or family or friends. I've never worried about writing about where I'm living, where I'm working etc... I even post pictures of family and friends and my house. Maybe that's too much?

I'm thinking it might be. At least the mix of real names and pictures, along with the finer details of places and such that aren't really required in the grand scheme of things. Especially to readers of a blog. It's nice to know that I'm on leave to be a stay-at-home-dad and used to be an IT guy. It doesn't really matter where I worked. My wife is a Chiropractor and works in a small town practice. Does it matter exactly where that is? I have a son that's almost 6 weeks old, and a beautiful wife. Does it matter what their real names are? For the most part, the little things don't matter. People like stories, experiences, pictures. The finer details aren't required. Those are best kept to things like emails and personal messages. If someone was wondering where my wife works because they are interested in going to see her, send me an email and I'd be happy to tell you.

We live in an age of over-sharing. Now this isn't necessarily a bad thing, we just need to keep in mind that not everyone is interested in your latest recipies, or that little Isaac just learned to walk. They are rooting through your archives and looking for names, addresses, places of employment, and so on.

Identity theft is still a growing problem. It was huge news a few years back, but it seems to have quieted down in the news, and it isn't because it is any less prevalent. So just becareful what you post.

Now I have a lot of stuff online. I have stuff on facebook, linkedin, myspace, 3 seperate blogs, an old blog, a flickr and picasa account and more. But I figure it isn't too late to go through and make some changes. I'm going to go the route of changing names and removing extraneous details that aren't really required. I'm not sure how I'm going to do all that, but I think it is important. People that have been reading for a while will still know who I'm talking about, and new folks won't care.

I'm also going to start an offline journal. I am delving into the world of wordpress and am going to install it on my local computer. I've been journaling off and on for the past 8 years (since receiving my first journal from my wife, then girlfriend), though after I started my blog I wrote in it less, and online more. I miss having a record of things though. The personal stuff that I don't write online and don't get around to writing on paper. I figure WordPress is a nice universal product so I won't have everything I write locked into some weird program that I'll never be able to access when it goes extinct, as the purpose of my journal is to keep track of things so I can go back to it.

Now to come up with some fun names to use for folks. And me. :D

Trips to Greyhound

2009-11-29T09:38:00.005-06:00

Anytime we take a trip to the Greyhound station, I leave with a great story. My trip there on Tuesday was no different...

Checking the phone messages when we arrived home after church this past Sunday, I listen to a message from Greyhound informing us that they have a package for Bean waiting to be picked up. We are heading to the airport on Tuesday to drop my parents off after a great 4 day visit, so I figure we'll stop in then and pick up the package.

So we head to the airport, drop my parents off, and get to the Greyhound depot 20 minutes before they close. Mama Bean figured she'd wait in the car with Bean while I ran in and picked up the package, since we figured it would be pretty quick.

Walking in, there is one person in line in front of me, and one person at each of the two open tills. It was the couple at the till to my right that caught my attention. They wanted to ship a large suitcase and something wrapped in a plastic shopping bag, neither labeled, tagged or anything.

When the attendant said they couldn't ship something just sitting in a plastic bag, they removed the contents and put it on the counter. 2 packages of 12" square tiles. Okay, kind of a weird thing to ship, until they say there are 14 more packages in the suitcase! I don't think the attendant thought much of it, and taped the two packages from the bag together, put a shipping label on it and asked for the suitcase.

Now, this suitcase has 14 packages of tiles in it. Each package of tiles weighs about 25lbs (when he was weighing the package he'd made of 2 he said as much). So I'm not quite sure what he expected when he asked them to lift the suitcase and put it on the counter. That thing weighed around 350lbs! He explains to them that they can't ship packages over 100lbs, and that they'd have to take some out.

So the couple takes out 4 packages, and the attendant tapes them into packages of 2, and asks for the suitcase. Again, the couple tries to lift this thing, but as it still weighs about 250lbs (Was I the only one paying attention to the math here?) they were unable to lift it. So they take out 2 more packages, he tapes them together and they try to lift it again. This time they are able to lift it, but it is still 200lbs, which is double the shipping limit...

At this point the other attendant is free, and I head over to pick up my package while this couple, and the attendant proceed to pull all of the packages out, tape them together in packs of two, and create shipping labels.

Now they are shipping these tiles to a small reservation up in the boonies. Collect. That's about $450 in shipping for these friggin tiles. Not to mention, THEY ARE TILES! Tiles are fragile. I would NOT be shipping something fragile like that via greyhound up to the boonies. I've worked in Greyhound's depots, I used to do all the work on their conveyor systems in Calgary. Guaranteed a bunch of those tiles would have been broken before they even made it onto the bus.

When I finally made it to the attendant I told him who the package was for, and which unit it was it. He goes and gets it and when he returns he asks me for ID. Now this package is for Bean, not me. Bean is 5 weeks old and doesn't have ID yet. I tell him as much and he gives me a funny look. So I show him my ID, and that the addresses match, and with reluctance he gives me the package. Though I had to fill out a little form saying I was authorized to pick up this package for Bean, and put down all my contact info and everything in case there was a problem. Kinda weird, but it made me laugh.

As I left the other attendant was still taping packages of tiles together, looking very unimpressed.

Why'd I move here again?

2009-11-28T22:28:00.002-06:00

What's going on in this city? What the hell is wrong with this place?

Recent News Stories for Winnipeg:

1. Woman arrested in fundraising scam:

2. Teen cut with machete in home invasion

3. Cops seek purse-snatchers

4. Two injured in early-morning assualts

5. Shotgun toting thug menaces family

6. Suspects wanted in carjacking attempts (thwarted because they couldn't drive standard...lol!)

7. High-speed car chase

8. 16 year-old boy stabbed

And this doesn't include the kid arrested at school for having a taser, some kid that was arrested the next day for assault, and then another kid arrested a few days later for assault.

This city is nuts. Nobody seems to use guns though. Everyone just stabs each other around here.

New Books!

2009-11-26T14:10:00.003-06:00

Okay, I'm going to dork it up here for a minute, but not with computers, with books. :)

I was directed to this amazing sale currently taking place at christianbook.com where there is a "Red Hot Deals" section with some awesome deals! And by awesome I mean some things are more than 90% off!

I picked up a 22 volume set of Calvin's Commentaries with a bonus copy of Calvin's Institutes for $99. This set is regularly $1200! That is a 92% savings!

I also picked up The Complete Sermons of Martin Luther in a 7 volume set for $45, and they regularly sell for $350. Yup, that's an 87% savings! How awesome right?

I'm so excited to get them. I also picked up Zondervan's Handbook to the Bible for $8 instead of $40. It has some scathing reviews on the site, but
that's because it was reviews by a bunch of ignorant Christians who can't see outside the box, and probably also think Rob Bell is a heretic. ;) lol The book was used by my bible college as the text book for their Intro to the Bible class, so I figure there must be some decent info in it, and for 80% off, I can't go wrong.

So yeah, $1600 of books for $200 including shipping. It is my Christmas present to myself, and I'm so excited. There is a bunch of Luther's sermons that I'm pretty excited to read, especially the couple on The Sermon on the Mount.

So if you, or anyone you know, is looking for some amazing deals on Christian books, check out the Red Hot Deals at ChristianBook.com. (whom i'm not affiliated with, nor did they give me anything in return for this glowing endorsement, lol it's just an awesome sale)

Failure is not an option

2009-11-24T23:08:00.002-06:00

It's amazing how this 9lb, 5 week old humanoid can make me feel so defeated.

Our foray into the world of bottle feeding has been a tumultuous journey. One filled with peaks and valleys. And it's only been a week.

He'll typically take at least an ounce from me, but after that, it can all go out the window real quick. It took us 2 hours to drink 2 oz. last week, but the next night he drank 4.5 oz when Mama Beanand I fed him together. Over the weekend Mama Beanfed him in public, at the baby shower with no problem, as he gobbled it down. Yesterday, he ate nicely from my mom, a good 3 oz. But today... today was back to the shitshow. In an hour he drank just over an ounce. Now we think that it might be that we overheated it and it broke down/got gross. But that can't be confirmed. All I know is that he is hungry because he'll suck on my finger, but the moment I give him the bottle, he'll suck 2 or 3 times, and spit it out and start crying.
It's been about 45 minutes since we gave it up, and Jo's going to breast feed him, which'll probably go fine.

Monday I start my new life as a stay-at-home-dad (sahd), and the only thing that scares me is feeding. People say he will eventually eat if he gets hungry enough, but I've read stories of kids that don't and have to go to the ER b/c they are dehydrated. Now I can't see that happening as Mama Beanis never away for more than 8 hours, but it still worries me. I'm so excited about being a sahd, but feedings like these just make me a little nervous.

I used to hate the saying "failure is not an option." Yes, it is an option. I can choose to pass, or I can choose to fail, it is my choice, and always an option. Until you have a kid. Then it isn't an option anymore. This little guy is totally dependent on me. I cannot give up. I cannot give him back and go home. I cannot hide in my closet when things go shitty. Now things have, for the most part, been pretty damn easy. We have a great kid who is friggin awesome. But when things do get tough, I can't give up. Failure isn't an option this time.

Disrespect

2009-11-17T20:23:00.003-06:00

I have a problem with the way some guys talk about their wives. Wives deserve a certain amount of respect, namely a lot of it.
Calling your wife, "the old lady" or "the wife," is not respectful. It is "your wife." Your friggin wife!
Why is it suddenly okay for a guy to talk about his wife like this when he's with his buddies?

I just don't think it's cool. And that wives deserve more respect than that.

Adam and Eve: Metaphor or Historically Accurate?

2009-11-17T12:26:00.005-06:00

I came across an interesting forum topic yesterday where someone was asking whether the word "them" in Gen 1:25.
"So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."
Does the word "them" mean just Adam and Eve, or does it mean many people. I figured there was a question that superseded this one: Is the story of Adam and Eve merely a metaphor for the fall of humanity, or is it an actual historic recounting of events?

It isn't something I know a lot about, but it is something that interests me (all Christian Theology does to some extent). So I started reading through Genesis to see what I could find.

As I was reading, I found it interesting that there are two separate stories of creation, that of Genesis 1 and that told in Gen 2-3. And there are so many holes in the story if one were to take it literally. Something just didn't sit right with me thinking that this story was to be read literally.

Who did Cain, Able, and Seth marry? Their sisters? If others were created alongside Adam and Eve, wouldn't the others still be perfect and in the Garden?

To me, it seems like the story is more of a metaphor, and less of a historical recounting of events. Though I think the Bible is full of metaphorical stories, and not always to be read literally.

I asked the question on my Facebook status whether people thought the story of Adam and Eve was a metaphor, or if it actually happened.

So a friend of mine chimed in with an answer that provided some great insight and knowledge. (And it was cool to have someone with education and knowledge on the subject far superior to mine, validate and support my position. :) )

The following is from my friend Tim who has a Ph.D in Biblical/Theological Studies.

"It is a mythological account intended to represent the universal human condition. There are several textual indicators to point the reader (both ancient and modern in this direction). For example, 'adam is the Hebrew word for "human" (not even "man" ... there is a separate word for gendered human distinctions) and is derivative from the Hebrew word for "ground/dirt" ('adamah). These are meant to be universal persons so that we can each see ourselves in them. Moreover, the Adam/Eve story is a part of the second creation account (Gen. 2-3) which differs significantly from the first account (Gen. 1). In the first account, the humans are the last creation (after plants/animals) whereas in the second account they are created before the plants/animals. The first account begins creation in a wet, chaotic environment (hovering above the waters) while the second account begins in a dry, barren, desert-like environment. Also, the words used for God (Gen. 1: 'el and Gen 2: yhwh)are different in the two stories. These stories are intended to communicate different truths about God and creation. Neither is intended to be "historical" in the sense we think of it (a renaissance and enlightenment imposition upon the biblical text). My use of the word "mythological" to describe the Genesis 2 narrative is not intended to say "false" but rather indicate the literary genre through which its truths may be communicated (who is God? and who are we?). By far the majority of both Protestant and Catholic biblical scholars would agree to the basic outlines of what I've described above."

bottle feeding

2009-11-16T22:39:00.002-06:00

Today I fed Bean from a bottle! Only 1 oz, but it was so cool!

With Mama Beangoing back to work in a couple of weeks, we want to get him used to taking a bottle, and with all the horror stories I've been hearing/reading about kids that refused a bottle, I was more than a little apprehensive about the whole ordeal. Excited, but a little nervous that I'd sit here for an hour with a crying baby that would refuse to eat.

I took him about 30 minutes before his next feeding would typically take place, and changed his diaper to wake him up a bit from his sleeping. We sat down in a room he doesn't normally equate with breastfeeding and with Mama Beandownstairs we gave it a try. He was a little hesitant at first, but once he got the taste of that sweet breastmilk, he was all over it.

It was pretty awesome feeding him. It is an amazing feeling giving hims something tangible, not just my love and hugs and kisses. :) He just sat there staring into the distance... it was so cute.

Tomorrow I'll do 2 oz., and we'll work up to three, so that we can cut out one of Jo's feedings. This will get him comfortable with the idea of how much a bottle feeding is for when she's back at work. this could also allow me to do say a midnight feeding letting Mama Bean sleep for more than 2-3 hours at a time. Imagine that! I think she'd appreciate that.

Not such a big deal

2009-11-11T22:44:00.002-06:00

It's amazing how everything is such a big deal right now. The frustration when he doesn't eat properly, when he doesn't sleep at night, when he cries, and when he's just generally uncooperative. And joys of having no idea what he wants when he fusses/cries/makes noise.
BUt in a few months, even weeks, everything will change. 3 months from now we'll have a whole new set of challenges before us, and these feeding issues will be put into perspective. Not that the next challenge will be that much more difficult, but we'll look back and see that it really wasn't such a big deal. It felt like forever that we were using that syringe system to feed him, but it was actually only about a week. And these sleepless nights, and fighting to feed him at night, while I don't know how long they will go on for is going to be put in perspective.

Though, I'll be the first to admit that it's tough to keep things in perspective when the lack of sleep amplifies every little problem. Everything seems so much worse with a lack of sleep.

I'm learning that it isn't just the sleep deprivation that is the real killer. It's the added emotional draining that his crying and fussing brings on.

There's so much to learn and experience with a new baby. I'm loving this being a parent thing, and as I type this (and wish I had a sling or something for him as typing with one hand is a pain) I'm noticing how much his face has changed. He is 4 weeks old tomorrow. It's kinda crazy. It seems like just yesterday I was freaking out because I had no idea what I was doing the day he joined us.

Being a parent is awesome. I'd highly recommend it. :)

No promotion for me

2009-11-04T12:23:00.003-06:00

So I didn't get the job I applied for with the division. Didn't even get an interview. My boss had been talking up this position for months now, saying how she was leaning heavily towards hiring from within (something I'm a huge proponent of). But I received a call this morning letting me know that none of the internal candidates even made it as far as a first interview. Why? Because we don't have the certifications. Now no certifications were required, though they were considered favourable assets.

I'm not a fan of certifications. I think they are a scam. They do nothing but demonstrate someone's basic proficiency in a subject, and not always even then. They demonstrate someone's proficiency in regurgitating some shit they memorized in a book.

So we didn't get considered because we didn't have the certifications. No matter that we have experience of how shit works within the division already, we know the software we use, how our networks are setup, how we deploy images, and the list goes on. Of course there will be some stuff that we don't know, but there wouldn't be any more to teach me than will have to be taught to whomever they hire externally. I've never understood hiring externally over promoting from within. Especially when there are promising talent that are looking to move up.
It isn't just that I didn't get considered it's the fact that none of us did. And while I think I'm the most ideal candidate of the internal applicants (all 3 of us), any of us could do this job. The people I work with have been doing the same job for the past 5, 10, 15 years. We get yearly raises for the first 4 years, and after that there's nothing but the yearly 2-3% the union gets us which covers inflation. So these guys (and gals) have been working at the same job with no advancement opportunities, and when one finally opens up, for the first time in 5 years, they hire someone from outside the division. It makes me sad.

So while I'm really happy my boss but in a good word for me, she doesn't have the decision-making power, and someone higher up decided certifications were more important. I'm also really thankful she told me because I was willing to make a sacrifice on my parental leave if I was an ideal candidate for this job.

It's disappointing is all. And I shouldn't be surprised, but rejection is never fun right? Especially when it isn't from total strangers.

It’s funny how applying for that job made me change the way I did my job. I worked a lot harder to do things myself. If I came across a problem that I didn’t know how to do, or couldn’t easily find the answer to, I would dedicate myself to figuring it out. In the past I would have just called someone else, to see if they knew, and if not, sending the problem higher up the food chain to those that probably know. Now I don’t have that incentive. Why? Because I don’t need to. This isn’t a job that makes you strive to be better. That job was the carrot that was dangling in front of me that spurred me on and pushed me.

3.5 more weeks of work and I'm off for almost 9 months as a stay-at-home-dad, which is exciting. I'm loving being a dad, and Bean is just so awesome. I have a lot to get done at work, and I don't know if they are hiring someone to start before I leave of if their start date will be after I'm gone...hopefully not the latter.

Sleeping Habits

2009-11-03T22:54:00.002-06:00

Changing my sleeping habits/schedule is taking a little getting used to. We used to go to bed around 11, and I'd be up at 7 for work. That was plenty of sleep, and I could function great. Now it's get up randomly as he fusses and help Mama Bean out as she breastfeeds, or hold him in the times that he isn't feeding, but doesn't want to sleep. And of course in those times he doesn't want to be laying down, or at least I can't be laying down and holding him, even though he's in the EXACT SAME POSITION as if I am sitting or standing. But he's the boss, or at least won't shut up until I'm doing what he wants. And since we want to sleep, that means he's the boss. lol

here i sit at 3 am

2009-11-02T02:56:00.006-06:00

it's 2:30 am and here i sit, under the rule of a 7.5lb dictator that rules with an iron baby fist. see he doesn't want to sleep. i don't know why, it's the middle of the night, it's quiet, he has a clean diaper, was just fed, and is sleepy. but he has decided he won't rest unless i am holding him, rocking him, in one arm while i remain in a seated position. yes, i can't lie down, nor even recline without him starting to fuss.

so here i sit at 3 am. tired. frustrated. i have to be up in 4 hours for work, but jo also needs the sleep as we have house guests for the next two weeks. this means an additional two people to look after during an already tiring time. it will get better, but after sitting here for the past hour with this grumpy dictator in my arms, i just want to sleep.

and i think i need one of those speech-to-typing programs as this blogging with one hand is really slow.

he really is a blessing, don't get me wrong. i love him dearly and he has increased the joy in my life by more than i know. everyday is new and exciting as he grows and changes and shows us something new,

Support is Important

2009-10-29T22:57:00.003-05:00

Having a baby is challenging. It's hard work, but it's not the physical work that's tough (at least not yet), but it's the emotional side of things. The frustration of not knowing if you are doing something right, of not being able to tell what he wants when he fusses or cries. My respect for single parents has increased one hundred fold since becoming a dad. It's a tough job, and going at it alone is just unfathomable to me.

Our biggest challenge has been not having much in the way of a support network around us. At least not in the immediate vicinity. Both of our immediate families live multiple provinces away, and while we do have extended family in the city, I find it really difficult to ask for help.

I thought we were developing a decent support network here. Going to church, having a small group, making friends... but it has all seemed so distant these past two weeks. Bean was born two weeks ago today, and we've haven't had much in the way of visitors. I mean my parents surprised us with a visit the weekend after he was born, and what a HUGE blessing that was, and a couple of friends from out of town who just happened to be in town that weekend dropped in, but other than that, we've had no one.

I dunno, I guess I just expected more, which maybe I shouldn't, but I thought at times when there's a birth or death that the community comes together and helps those people out. I mean we've missed the last two Sundays at church and haven't heard a peep from anyone. That's not true, one person gave us a phone call and congratulated us which was really nice.

Maybe technology is getting in the way? When Bean was born I let everyone know on facebook, and posted a couple of pictures, and the messages and comments on my status poured in. It was really nice, but that's where it stopped. Other than from a couple of really close friends, nobody even called. Nobody offered to drop by with dinner or to visit (things i thought just happened, especially in churches). Maybe I'm being a little old fashioned, but commenting on someone's status is nowhere near the same as calling them on the phone, or dropping in to see them. But I think people have gotten comfortable sending greetings and congratulations from afar and the personal interaction has been left behind. It's so much easier to type "Congrats!" than to pick up the phone and call, or drop by and see how things are going.

Now, I know I'm just having a little pity party for myself over here, I just expected more. And maybe I shouldn't have. Maybe the relationships that we have cultivated just aren't at that point yet. Or maybe I just need to learn to ask...There was just so much love and support prior to the birth, I thought it would continue. I think it's the fact that the extent of most people's comments were a reply to a status update. That's not enough.

It'll get better though. Hopefully we'll make it to church on Sunday and reconnect with people there, and Jo's parents are coming in Sunday afternoon for a couple of weeks. It'll be a good thing, though I'm sure trying at times. ;) I love my inlaws, they just drive me nuts sometimes. But then most people do, and living with them for a couple of weeks just amplifies things. lol It'll be great for the love and support though, just what we need right now.

Using the command line to unpause/enable printers in Leopard

2009-10-29T09:57:00.002-05:00

~~Nerd Content Ahead~~

With a recent upgrade to Leopard from Tiger, we're having a lot of issues where the computers are constantly pausing the printers locally on each machine. In Tiger, the user could resume the printer, but in Leopard the user requires admin rights to resume them. This is causing problems because student and teacher accounts in our division don't have admin rights. This means I have to go around to each computer and enter admin credentials to unpause them. This is a giant waste of time, so I want to use the command line or a script to unpause/enable them.

So after much research and fiddling, I finally figured it out!

I use three commands that I've put into a script, and send out via ARD with the UNIX command option. They will unpause/enable the printer so that users can resume printing.

Here are the commands:

#finds printers that are currently disabled and clears the queue on them
cancel -a `lpstat -t | grep disabled | awk '{print $2}'`
#re-enable stopped print queues
cupsenable `lpstat -t | grep disabled | awk '{print $2}'`
#checks to see that all printers are re-enabled. should return nothing
lpstat -t | grep disabled | awk '{print $2}'

The only issue I've come across is that if the printer is being unpaused immediately following it being paused, then remove the top command which clears the queue, and just run the second two. This won't clear the queue, and unpause the printer so that the job goes through immediately.

I know there is a larger problem with the way our queues and printers are setup, so this is just a quick fix in the meantime, but I'm pretty proud of myself for figuring out this much as it is saving me a ton of work and headaches.

My New Bass!

2009-10-26T18:52:00.007-05:00

Friday was an exciting day. On Friday I bought myself a new bass. :D
It'll look a little something like this (actually exactly like this one):

It is an Fender American Vintage 1962 Reissue Precision Bass in olympic white. It's absolutely gorgeous and I'm going to keep the pickup and bridge covers (the chrome pieces) on. I played one at the store the other day and it's such a beautiful instrument. I bought it from Bass Central down in Florida, and they shipped it via UPS this morning. So exciting! Hopefully be Friday!

I was looking at this one:
It's an Ernie Ball Dargie Delight Stingray. It's absolutely beautiful. The green is mesmerizing, and check out the martini glass inlays in the fretboard. It's one of only 25 made, and the guy only wants $1500. It's a sweet-ass deal, but I'm really looking for that vintage sound of a quality p bass. This stingray is such a quality instrument and so beautiful, but I guess I can't buy a bass strictly on looks, when the p bass has looks AND tone going for it. I like the looks of the Stingray more, but you can't beat a full package. :)

Oh, I can't wait! So exciting...

It's been just over a week...

2009-10-25T18:34:00.004-05:00

So it's been an interesting past week and a half following the birth of Bean last Thursday. It's been a bit of a rollercoaster ride as we adapt to this thing called parenting. I spent the first couple of days on the verge of tears every time I looked at him. It was overwhelming to be responsible for this little creature, that I created, and having no clue how to do it. I mean, I know I have this innate knowledge about what to do, but it's all the other stuff that worries me. It's trusting that I can make the best choices for him and his future to maximize his potential in life.

It's fucking scary.

Things have gotten a lot better as time has gone by. I'm feeling a lot better about my role as a dad, and I'm becoming a lot more comfortable with Bean.

We had quite a bit of trouble feeding him, though that has also gotten a lot better. He wasn't breast feeding at first, so we were using this fake nipple thing and a supplemental nutrition system (SNS), which is a syringe that you fill with milk (forumla or breast milk) and feed it to him through the fake nipple. It was a royal pain in the ass, and it took both of us to feed him. This meant that every 3 hours we'd both get up and feed him, then go back to sleep. Since then, we've weaned him off of the SNS, and he is feeding exclusivly off breast milk. :D This means that it only takes one of us to feed him at each feeding, which makes life a whole lot easier. Well, for me anyway, Mama Bean still has to get up an feed him.

So while it is nice that I don't have to get up, I have been feeling guilty that she has to get up all night, while I just sleep. I'm going back to work this week, so it'll be a definite advantage to be able to sleep through the night, but it doesn't alleviate the guilt. I'm working hard to make her life as easy as possible, by cooking, cleaning and trying to do what I can to make her life easier while she does all of the feedings.

I go back to work tomorrow after being home since the birth. I sure Mama Bean will be okay by herself all day, and it's nice to know I'm just a phone call and 5 minute drive away in case there's a problem.

5 more weeks of work and then I'm a SAHD for the next 9 months. :)

Oh, and we posted more pics over at Bean's Picasa Album

Day 6

2009-10-20T11:11:00.002-05:00

Over the past couple of years, I've read countless posts on how great babies are; about how much they love them, and how much they enrich the lives of their parents.

None of these posts come close to expressing the love and elation that I feel when I look down at my baby boy. And I'm sure the same is for the writers of those posts. They tried to capture what they were feeling, but there aren't words to describe the love.

Bean is in his 6th day of life, and already so much has changed. His eyes are starting to focus, and they move to look when he hears sound. The shape of his head is changing and widening a bit as the skull plates start to move into place.

Granted the lack of sleep is tough to take, but it's all part of parenting right? We take it one day at a time, and each day brings its own unique qualities. Each day different than the last, and all exciting.

I've always been told that your wedding day is the biggest day of your life. I disagree, I don't think anything can top the day I first became a dad.

Pics of Bean

2009-10-19T19:37:00.004-05:00

Here are some pictures!!

Jasper Rainn Pictures

Enjoy!

I'm a dad!!

2009-10-16T17:14:00.002-05:00

Ummm...so I'm a dad. :)

Mama Bean woke me up shortly after 3 this morning saying she was having contractions and asking if she should be calling the midwife. She went back downstairs (i'm not sure what else was said as I was half-asleep) but I didn't fall back asleep. I didn't think they were actual contractions, but maybe something like braxton-hicks as she hadn't actually had much in the way of them yet. Though despite my doubts, I still didn't sleep. I lay there thinking about all the things we still had to get ready.

As we were planning a home birth, there was lots to prepare. Mama Bean had gotten almost everything together, but as we'd had company the past 4 days, some things still weren't setup. Music wasn't on the ipod, the matress wasn't upstairs, there were no sheets on the mattress, the plastic to protect the floor and stuff hadn't been laid out, and the list went on. All of this was running through my head as I tried to fall back asleep.

Mama Bean came back in just before 4 and said that we should probably bring the mattress upstairs and set things up, and the contractions were getting stronger and closer together. I still thought she was overreacting, but part of me was worried, so we setup the futon mattress on the living room floor and put down our dollar store shower curtain to protect things. By this time it was shortly after 4 and Mama Bean was having what looked like serious contractions. So since they fit the criteria of 511 (5 min apart, 1 min each, for 1 hour) we called the midwife and let her know. Our normal midwife has received a call shortly before ours so she was just heading out to another birth so she sent over Lisa, another midwife whom we hadn't met yet.

Lisa showed up about 4:30 and looked to have a mini-freakout session in her head when she realized just how far along Mama Bean actually was. Mama Bean was fully dialated and trying hard not to push. So Lisa quickly called another midwife to come over and help (as there always needs to be two for a delivery) and Kara showed up shortly thereafter.

By about 5:30 Mama Bean was pushing and her water broke around 6ish. At 7:17 we welcomed Bean into this world. Mama Bean is such a trooper doing this all at home, drug free. I'm so proud of her, and so thankful we had such awesome midwives.

The midwives were gone around 11:30 and we spent the rest of the day relaxing and recuperating.

More to come later... :)

Quick Post

2009-10-15T12:00:00.003-05:00

So I had a couple of other posts in the works about goose hunting, and thanksgiving, and how Mama Bean is doing and my visit with relatives until this morning...

Umm...I'm a dad.

After just 3.5 hours of labor my wife gave birth to a darling baby boy. His name is Bean and is 7lbs 4oz and 20" long. My wife is friggin amazing and I can't believe it went so quick.

I need one

2009-10-07T22:33:00.002-05:00

I've been wanting one of these for a few years now, and if someone wanted to get me one for my birthday or Christmas, I totally wouldn't mind. I have an awesome Last Supper one that I received for Christmas the year I started playing bass, and still use it. I'd like to add another awesome one to my collection. :)
Get'm Get'm.com has them. :)

Totally Awesome Site!

2009-10-07T22:24:00.005-05:00

The Spoon Sisters is totally awesome!

Check out some of these awesome things we've been looking at on this site.

Butter Boy

Thumb Things (how genius is this?)

Calf and a half creamer

And so many other cool things. Check out the site.

Oh, and I'm looking for recommendations on a diaper bag. Something manly. :)

My Deliver is Coming

2009-10-05T07:29:00.003-05:00

This song gives me goosebumps every time I listen to it. It makes me sad that Rich Mullins died before I even discovered his music. The man wrote amazing music.

GodTube.com - My Deliverer (Is Coming) - Rich Mullins - Watch more Videos at Vodpod.

Learning in the Kitchen

2009-10-04T19:53:00.005-05:00

Normally I do pretty well in the kitchen, but yesterday I made a little oops with my beans.

I bought a package of dry lima beans the other day in hopes of cooking them myself and enjoying lima beans for much less than it costs to buy by the can. I read the directions, and left my beans to soak for 8 hours.

Somewhere around 24 hours later I decide to cook them. For some reason most of them had split open and the shell had come off of them, which they don't look like in the can, but I decided they'd probably be okay anyway. So I throw them in a pot and bring it to a boil. You are then supposed to turn it to low and let them simmer for 1.5-2 hours. And in the last 30 minutes add salt if you'd like.

Well I figured since I was already there, I may as well add the salt now and then let them cook for the next 2 hours. Boy, was that a mistake. :( 2 hours of boiling in salt water turned them into an inedible batch of beans. They came out totally infused with salt, it was like pouring salt straight into your mouth with each bite.

So, lesson learned. Add the salt near the end (or at the table) and avoid spoiling your beans.

Though now I understand how salt pork works. :D And I'm excited to make some one of these days.

Computer Joke

2009-10-03T18:33:00.002-05:00

One of the teachers posted this the other day on a staff bulletin board. It's the same joke my prof taught me the first day of college. :)

I was having trouble with my computer. So I called Jaden, the 9 year Old next door, whose bedroom looks like Mission Control, and asked him to Come over.

Jaden clicked a couple of buttons and solved the problem.

As he was walking away, I called after him, 'So, what was wrong?

He replied, 'It was an ID ten T error.'

I didn't want to appear stupid, but nonetheless inquired, 'An, ID
Ten T error? What's that? In case I need to fix it again.'

Jaden grinned. 'Haven't you ever heard of an ID ten T error
Before?''

No,' I replied.

'Write it down,' he said, 'and I think you'll figure it Out.'

So I wrote down: I D 1 0 T

I used to like the little shit.

Detox

2009-09-30T21:23:00.005-05:00

On Monday I started a 4 week nutritional/physical detox. It's a mix of dietary changes and physical activity/stimulation.

I can't eat dairy, eggs, meat, wheat, or anything refined. So I'm eating a ton of veggies (lots of stuff we grew in our garden), fish, nuts and such. It is kind of cool, but I think I'm going to start to miss my sugar and meat and bread and such. It'll be especially tough with Thanksgiving right in the middle, but.../shrug

I think it'll be good for me. Maybe it'll help me get sick less often. I'm tired of getting sick all the time, and apparently something like this will help my immune system. I think it will also help me make some changes with the way I eat, though with a baby coming in 3 weeks things are about to get topsy turvy.

What I've noticed so far is an increase in bathroom visits, and a weird feeling in my stomach. I'm full, but my head doesn't think that a stomach full of veggies constitutes "full". We'll see how it goes though, I'm excited to see some changes, and the thought of cleaning out my system makes me happy.

Being a Dad

2009-09-26T18:49:00.003-05:00

I'm ready to be a dad.

Current parents like to tell me that I have no idea what I'm getting into. Other prospective parents bemoan the fact that they have no idea what they are getting into. I feel like I'm ready.

The only thing that is scaring me/making me nervous is a selfish fear about how it is going to affect my "me" time. But I figure it'll totally be worth it. ;) The change in lifestyle will be huge, but it is a sacrifice that I'm more than willing to make. That's the only thing that worries me though.

Bring on the baby, I'm ready to be a dad. :)

Disturbing

2009-09-24T09:45:00.004-05:00

Does anyone find this image as disturbing as I do? It took me a minute to realize just what was going on. And it's kinda creepy. I mean the circle of what they are eating... There's something totally wrong about it.

I found it on the Suicide Food blog.

Furnace confusion

2009-09-24T08:25:00.006-05:00

So yesterday we received a second quote for a furnace replacement.

And there was a HUGE difference in price. He quoted us $4100, as opposed to around $6000. Now, it's for a Ruud furnace as opposed to a Lennox (i have do idea of the quality difference) but I can't see it being a big quality difference since it is another big name furnace company. There is also a difference between the size of the furnace, the first guys said 70,000 BTU, and the second said 60,000 BTU.

So I don't know the difference in the service levels between the companies, and any of that kind of stuff, but seriously, a $2000 difference between quotes is insane. The second company is a small local company, as opposed to the big multi-national corporation that the first quote came from.

I have one more quote on Oct 5, which I'm looking forward to. It's a larger local company, and he seems to do a little more in-depth initial inspection to figure out what would be ideal for our house. He says he takes about an hour and a half, as opposed to the 20-30 min that the last two took.

So we'll see what happens. And hopefully bean comes early. :)

Furnace Woes

2009-09-22T19:52:00.001-05:00

So we need to get a new furnace. Well, we don't NEED to, but ours is not the best. It was put in around 1970/80 and it has about a 65% efficiency rating, meaning for every dollar we pay for natural gas, 35 cents go up the chimney. Not to mention the electric motor that circulates the air and costs about $500/year to operate.

A new furnace would save us about 30-40% on our monthly heating bills, and the new electric motors in them run for about $50 a year instead of $500. And considering our winter heating bills hover around $300, a 30-40% savings would be significant.

I had no idea what a furnace would cost us. Some people said they paid less than $3000, while others have paid over $8000. That's quite the spread, so I was a little worried when Winnipeg Supply came today to give us our first estimate. The sales lady gave me two options, both 96% efficiency ones, one was $6138, the other was $5799. Ummm...WHAT!? When I talked to Mama Bean before she left for work this morning, we figured we could go up to $3000. *jaw drop* Then she showed me all the rebates, which softened the blow quite a bit. $200 Lennox rebate, $245 Manitoba Hydro Rebate, $790 ecoRebate, and the Canadian Home Renovation Tax credit which knocks off another $800 or so. In the end it brought the prices down to $4075 and $3831. Still quite a bit more than we expected to pay, but a whole lot nicer than the pre-rebate prices. Though in order to qualify for the $790 hydro rebate we have to pay $250 for an eco inspection, so it's only like $500 off. But since we also want to get our attic re-insulated, it will be worth it, because if we get our attic re-insulated we could potentially get 100% of the cost back in rebates.

I have 2 more guys coming out to give us quotes so we'll see what the differences are. The lady that came out today said they wouldn't be the cheapest, but they also won't be the most expensive. I've heard lots of good stories about their service and install, so that's part of why I called them. I don't want to just pick the cheapest because I don't want to deal with the headaches of a shoddy install.

So we'll see how the next couple of quotes go. There's another first thing in the morning, so that'll give me a better idea of how reasonable today's was.

Oh, the best part? The eco inspection is Oct 16th. Yup, 4 days before Jo's due date. Which means the furnace install and insulation work can't be done until after that. And the furnace has to be installed prior to Nov 1st to qualify for the Hydro rebate, and we aren't going to want guys putting in insulation much into November as there will be snow by the end of October. :p So yeah. This should be interesting. Maybe bean comes early? *fingers crossed*

Have I mentioned that I want to go to school in January? Too bad I don't go to a church that can afford to help students that are going into ministry. lol

Josh and Keira

2009-09-22T15:24:00.001-05:00

Last night I had the pleasure of chatting with my little niece and nephew in Calgary. We left Calgary a little over a year ago, a Josh was 3 and Keira was just about to turn 1.

I've talked to Josh once since leaving and it was so cute. I couldn't believe how much more he could talk and that he still remembered and missed me. Tonight I got to talk to them again, and I got to talk to Keira! She just turned 2 this weekend and I can't believe she can talk! She said "Hi, Uncle Chris," and "I love you." It was so cute!

I miss them. They are a big part of what I miss in Calgary. We got to watch the first years of their lives, and now I feel like I'm going to miss out on watching them grow up, which makes me sad. (mostly i'm just selfishly afraid that they will forget me and i'll cease to be josh's favorite uncle)

My brief conversation with them really made my evening. I'd been feeling pretty shitty all day, so it was a really nice high-point. They'll be here in 3 weekends, as Josh pointed out to me, which I'm pretty excited about. Josh even asked me where the baby was, and why I didn't have it yet. :) Seriously... so cute!

The Amazing Preggo Wife!

2009-09-22T08:19:00.002-05:00

My wife amazes me with her patience when it comes to things pregnancy/childbirth/parenting related. And not just the physical act of being pregnant, but all the mental abuse from others.

She is constantly bombarded with parenting advice, and stories of other peoples experiences, whether we cares or not. She does an amazing job of taking it all in stride and remaining rather non-judgmental.

We aren't following the norm when it comes to bean. We are doing it at home with a midwife. We aren't sure yet about vaccinations. She's hoping to breastfeed and pump while I stay home and she goes to work. I'm going to be a stay-at-home dad. We have made educated choices about our upcoming child, that we think are right for us, but she doesn't use any of them to make herself superior to people that don't make similar choices. As I browse the internet reading about parenting and childbirth stuff, everyone is a nazi for their side of the argument. And it's really easy to get that way. It is natural to want to defend your choices. But Mama Bean does such an amazing job of staying above that.

We try to stay away from the conflict, the judging, and all that good stuff that comes with contentious issues. I'm not always good at that. I'm a bit of a shit-disturber at times, and not always great with keeping my mouth shut. Mama Bean is much better at this than I am, and she's doing such an awesome job of keeping the peace.

School Sticker Shock!

2009-09-21T14:13:00.001-05:00

So I got a bit of a shock yesterday when I looked into going back to school. I just want to go back part-time, 2 or 3 classes per semester, and finish my Theology degree so that I can go on to become a Pastor. Seeing as how September is quickly drawing to a close, I figured I'd start getting the details on applying for school and getting the ball rolling. Then I saw tuition costs. I'd looked at the University of Winnipeg (UofW), and Manitoba (UofM) in the past and tuition for a 3 credit course (standard) was just under $300 which was fine and I figured we could afford for me to take 2 classes come January.

Then I look at Canadian Mennonite University's tuition, $590 for a 3 credit hour course! That's double what it costs to do a degree at either of the other universities in town. So then I look a little closer at the other schools to see if I'm missing something. It turns out that while a 3 credit hour course in the Faculty of Arts is only $285, a 3 credt hour course in the Faculty of Theology is $585. Umm... what?!?! How does that work? The only people going into the Faculty of Theology are potential ministry candidates; people that aren't looking to make a lot of money. So why does it cost double to get a degree to go into ministry as it does to get a normal Arts or Science degree. And then seminary ends up being $900-1300 per class.

It was a bit of a kick in the nuts. So I'm figuring when it's all said and done, we'll be shelling out about $1500 for me to go back to school in January. Which is a good $500 more than we had planned on spending. I know we can make it work, and we'll just make some cuts in other areas. We, like most people, aren't always the greatest with our spending habits, but I like to think that we've really improved over the past couple of years.

So, I guess we'll make it work, it just really sucks. It'll cost me just as much to become a pastor as it would to become a doctor, and I'll make less than a third. Now I know people don't become pastors for the money, but that's a HUGE debtload to take on for a career path that pays a mere pittance in comparison to an equally costly education. No wonder there is a pastor shortage, not many people are going to accept a debtload like this for such little monetary pay off. It's not like it is buying me a ticket to Heaven; that's free and available to anyone.

Prayers would be greatly appreciated as we make some pretty big transitions in the next few months. Mama Bean is due in about 4 weeks, I'll be off work for 9 months starting December 1st, and I'm hoping to be taking a couple of classes starting in January. It's going to be a busy time, but I'm really looking forward to it all.

Innate Parenting

2009-09-20T21:48:00.003-05:00

Are we born ready to be parents? Do we have this innate knowledge, from birth, that prepares us for being good parents?

Part of me thinks so. Part of me thinks we are all born with the innate knowledge of how to be parents, of how to raise a child. I think it is then up to us to make the choice whether we want to be good parents or not. I think it's innate to all creatures, not just humans. Animals in the wild know how to take care of and raise their young, so why is it such a stretch to think that we, these intellectually superior creatures, aren't born knowing how to raise children?

Don't you love those people that ask you a question just so they can tell you a story? Mama Bean and I are finding this happening more and more when it comes to expecting a baby. They ask how the pregnancy is going, and don't really pay attention to, nor care about, the response. All they want is to tell their story. All parents have stories, it's part of having kids, but not everyone wants to hear your story every time you have an opportunity to tell it.

My Schools

2009-09-20T20:01:00.002-05:00

So, I'm an IT guy for a local school division. There are 8 of us for 25 schools, and we are each assigned 2-6 schools. I'm one of those with 2 schools, though one of them is the biggest school in the division by over double the size of the next closest school.

My other school is an alternative school. It's a high school for kids who can't cut it in normal school. This could be due to emotional issues, psychological issues, and behavior issues; it has a very 'Dangerous Minds' feel sometimes. They only have about 100 kids, with another 40 on a waiting list, but it's a pretty cool setup and it's really awesome that they give kids a second chance who otherwise wouldn't get an education.

The one school I have is a total princess school. It is the "flagship school" of our division. They get the most money, all the cool new things, and all the prestige. I'm pretty much there full time, even though I'm also assigned to another school, and they are used to getting almost an almost-instant response when they submit tech requests. Last year, this resulted in me neglecting my other school and doing quick in-and-out jobs there and never really giving them a fair share of my time.

So this year I am determined to give everyone their fair share. So I am taking the time to visit my smaller school on a regular basis. Even if they don't have a super-urgent tech request, I'm still going to take the time to go over and give them some face time, which I'm learning is important. Schools only been back for 2 weeks now, but already I'm noticing a difference. People like being made to feel important, and I like making people happy and feeling special. It's good times.

My First Hunting Trip

2009-09-18T21:14:00.004-05:00

So yesterday, out of the blue, my cousin sends me an email saying he's talked to his wife's best-friends husband and got me permission to hunt on his farm land near Morden. It's only 1.5 hours away as opposed to 2.5 where the other land is. He tells me it is "very good deer hunting property" and that there are guys that hunt it during rifle season that already have tree stands up and stuff. This is great because it is a step ahead for me because they'll have them strategically placed along existing game trails.

I'm kind of excited to get out and scout the land and get a couple of weekends of hunting in before the baby shows up.

My first hunting trip a few weeks back was more of a 4 day camping trip as opposed to a hunting trip. It was a great experience being out in the bush for a couple of days. The guys I went with are pretty awesome and they showed me a lot of stuff. It was amazing sitting 15-20 feet up in a tree and watch the sunrise and set. We'd be in our treestands by 6am and sat there until 9:30-10ish and then again in the evenings from 6-8:45ish.

It's so cool to watch the change in the woods from night to day and then from day to night. We didn't see any deer, because it was just too hot out, but the birds were so much fun to watch. I was doing particularly well one evening as I sat there in my tree stand, perfectly still, and a little chipmunk stopped on a branch not 3 feet from my head. I slowly turned my head toward him and whispered, "boo!" She started chattering at me and then ran up the tree and then started dropping things down at me. It was hilarious and a pretty cool feeling. I mean I was sitting way out in the bush, and was so still, that a wild animal was unaware that I was there.

It was a little disheartening that we didn't see any deer though. Well, one of the guys saw 2 deer the first morning that were about 100 yards away, but since we are just bow hunting our max range is 30-40 yards. Part of me wonders if they were closer and he let them walk because it was first thing in the morning on opening day. The guys I went with were more out there to be in nature and away from it all for a few days. They made it very clear that hunting wasn't their priority and that being out there was. Which was a little annoying because I was out there to hunt. I was out there to be one with nature and snag me a deer to fill my freezer.

But it was all good. It was my first time hunting, my first time bow hunting, and my first time multi-day camping with no showers, running water, etc, for 4 days. It was 25-30 everyday, which was way to hot. And the mosquitoes were out in full Manitoba fashion. I must have gotten 100's of mosquito bites over the few days we were out there and I was literally bathing in repellent. It did eventually get to the point that I just started to ignore them and as long as you didn't scratch them, they weren't that itchy.

All in all, it was a decent enough trip, but more camping than hunting. I'm hoping to get out a few more weekends, and hope to go out after work on a Friday, sit in a tree until sundown, sleep for the night, get back into my tree first thing in the morning, and then either hang out all day and go back into my treestand that night and Sunday morning, or else head home Saturday morning after sitting in the tree.

There is one thing that worries me about hunting alone. Gutting and skinning the deer if I get one. I'm more than comfortable with my archery skills, but when it comes to gutting it, and most likely quartering and skinning it to take home, I'm not so familiar. I've been watching videos on it, and reading about it, but I still think I need to buy an actual instructional book and video. And take the book into the field with me. This way I'd have a reference guide to help me. :) lol

I found this great site, Heartland Bowhunters, that does a great job of getting me excited to be back in the bush looking for deer.

Looking for a Book

2009-09-18T20:31:00.004-05:00

Growing up there was this book in the library that we used to love, but I have no idea what the book's name is.

It was about some kids, brothers I think, that were on a farm and they decide to build an airplane. They build it out of parts they find around the farm. An old car for the body and engine, a big old prop from something and wings out of boards.

I think the cover was blue. There were no words, it was just pictures. Has anyone seen this book, or have any idea of what I'm talking about?

End of the Week Music

2009-09-17T21:34:00.002-05:00

I've been liking these songs lately:

So Beautiful by Jarvis Church - from the Philosopher Kings and is way to old to be in a video like this. catchy though.

Say Hey by Michael Franti - the kind of song that makes you want to chill out with a little ganja.

Unconditional by Simon Collins -Son of Phil Collins, Canadian, and video was filmed in Vancouver.

Her Diamonds by Rob Thomas -This dude continues to put out quality tunes.

Summer Girl by Stereos -So cheesy. So lame. But one of my current favorite songs. Fav. Lyrics: "check it, check it boouow (probably bounce, but it is more of a noise" The dudes are so creepy fug, but it's so awesome. We listened to some other stuff by them and it all sounds the same. Which is awesome. Because if I like one song, it means I'll like them all. :D Oh, and the use of auto-tune is unbelieveable(ly awesome).

Work Frustrations

2009-09-15T21:26:00.002-05:00

My job isn't so much stressful as it is frustrating. All summer it has been 3 steps forward and 2 steps back; slowly gaining ground while simultaneously wasting a whole shit-load of time. I'm not sure if it is like this every summer/fall, but it's pretty bad this year.

Typically we sit at about 100-120 open tickets between all 25 schools in our division. Right now we are just over 400, with over 25% of them being from my school. My school does NOT make up 25% of the population of the division, but it does include about 25% of the princesses.

There are a lot of things that can be improved on, and should have been done years ago, but for some reason we run around in circles with our thumbs up our collective asses. I mean, at the very least we should have a test environment. We are a large organization, how can we not run changes through a test environment before going live? No large organization roles out huge server, system, and software upgrades without thoroughly testing it. I mean seriously... It is so frustrating some times.

Today, just as I thought I was starting to get ahead, someone makes a change and sets me back hours of work. I had already been there almost two hours longer than I was supposed to be there when it happens. I've been going in an hour early everyday to try and get caught up, but I keep getting kicked back.

My goal is to have less than 50 tickets by the end of the week, so we'll see. I'll keep working hard, and get shit done and that's about all I can do.

Football

2009-09-13T19:32:00.003-05:00

I can officially say I'm not much of a football fan.

I went to my second-ever CFL game today, and I must say that it was a bit of a snoozefest. Seriously, 5-10 seconds of action followed by minutes of boring inaction, during which the clock is stopped, so it isn't even like time is still counting down so that the game will end already.

Sure the action is kind of interesting, and mildly exciting, but it just doesn't balance out.

That and it doesn't help when the home team loses 55-10. lol

It amazes me at the number of people in my life that love football. NFL or CFL, there's this love for the game that I just don't understand. Maybe someone can explain to me what I'm missing.

Then again, I don't tend to get into most sporting events. I laugh at those people that sit in the bleachers, and in their armchairs, saying how dumb the coach is for calling such-and-such a play, and what a shitty throw that was and how so-and-so could do better, or heck, even they could do better. I've never understood that attitude.

The Naked Gospel Comments

2009-09-10T16:29:00.003-05:00

So I'm taking part in another group blogging project. This time it is on the book, "The Naked Gospel" by Andrew Farley. It's a pretty cool book, and I'll write more about it later.

Today was my part, where I reviewed/summarized/commented on Part 3 in the book. I'm not super impressed with my writing this time, but it works and I got the general gist of my ideas out.

And you know what is super cool? The author responded! Now I know just because they wrote a book it doesn't make them super special or anything, but to me having the author of a book that I just reviewed comment on my review is pretty friggin sweet.

I tried my best to be respectfully critical with what I wrote as I really like his book and everything it has made me think about, but some of the ideas he has are a little far fetched, even for me, so I tried to express that, while maintaining that I like other parts. And he responded and actually cleared some things up for me. It is just so cool.

It's pretty awesome when someone you look up to, or who's writing you read and admire, takes the time to talk to you. I'm finding this more and more on Twitter. I follow some pretty influential people in the Christian world, big-name pastors, authors, etc... and when they comment on something I say, or respond to a comment I make about something they've said, it's a pretty cool feeling.

Oh, and if you are interested, you can pick up a free copy of The Naked Gospel in ebook format from his website thenakedgospel.com. It's an interesting read, and while I'm not on board with everything he says, it gives a lot of great things to think about.

Flin Flon

2009-09-05T23:20:00.004-05:00

Mama Bean and I are currently hanging out in Flin Flon, MB.

It's pretty much in the middle of butt-fuck nowhere, but it is out vacation for the weekend. It is a long weekend, so we decided to drive up here today, and will be driving back on Monday. It's a 10 hour(ish) drive with breaks for meals and pregnant-wife-stretching, and actually pretty decent. We didn't get to leave until around noon today because Mama Bean had an acupuncture appt, so we didn't get up here until 10pm.

It was mostly my idea to come up here, as it isn't some place Mama Bean would just decide to come up to. But I grew up here, and wanted to come back and check it out. We lived here for the latter half of grade 1 and grades 2 and 3, before moving to Yellowknife for grade 4 in 1991 so it's been almost 20 years since I left here.. We lived in Flin Flon for the part of grade one before moving to Denare Beach (a little cottage sort-of town 20 minutes from Flin Flon).

I have so many memories of this place, and I've been wanting to come up here for some time now and check it out again. I'm really excited to look around and check things out and take a lot of pictures. My parents will remember more than me, so they'll really appreciate the pictures, but there are some things I really want to see. My old school, our old house, the route I used to walk to school from our apartment in Flin Flon, our beach in Denare Beach, etc... It's going to be awesome.

Hunting!

2009-08-29T18:58:00.004-05:00

Tomorrow I leave to go hunting for 4 days. I'll be totally off the radar until Wednesday night, being a "bambi killer" as the ladies at work now call me. Though I like to think of it as doing my part for wildlife management (but that's for another post).

Well, no matter, I'm going to be enjoying myself out in the woods for the next few days and hopefully I'll come home with a doe to fill our freezer. :D

So until Wednesday night...

Daddy Blog - What's in a name?

2009-08-23T08:44:00.007-05:00

What's in a name?

Choosing a name for a baby is a daunting task. A name is a powerful thing. It is your identity. Everyone has an opinion, and everyone wants to know if we've chosen a name yet.

No, we haven't chosen a name yet. We know we are having a boy, and that's narrowed things down greatly (though I have a million more girls names that I like, and a paltry few boys names), but we are still a very long way from making a decision. Mama Bean would like to name him after he's born, an idea that I at first found preposterous, but is now growing on me, but we definitely need to get it down to 3 or 4 name sets (first and middle).

There are so many things to consider:

How many ways can it be misspelled?
How many ways can it be twisted into something that can be made fun of? Are those possibilities acceptable?
Is it too heavy or formal?
Does the first, second, and last name flow well? Is the cadence nice?
Is the name difficult to pronounce?
Do we like the shortened version of the name? (I'm a big fan of Tobias, but not so much of Toby)

I don't want a name that my child is going to have to constantly spell out for people, though with everyone wanting their baby to have a "unique" name, they are twisting even the simplest names into some monstrosity. For example, the name Madison. It is a really cute, simple name. But those who loved the name, yet wanted their child to be unique came around. Madison/Madysyn/Madisyn/Madyson/Madesen
Madesin...seriously? That poor child is going to be correcting people for her entire life. Why would you want to do that to your child?

I am a fan of older names, but you have to be careful of the weight that name carries, and the history behind it. For example, the name Moses. Moses is a pretty heavy name; it carries a lot of weights, especially in the Judeo-Christian culture that is North America.

Many names also carry some serious history. Names like Adolf, Jesus, etc... are not really names you want to give your child.

Names of popular TV and movie characters are also things you need to take into account when choosing a name.

We've started writing names on our bathroom mirror that we like. And linking them to those that work well together as first and second names. It gives us time to try them on for size and see what we think without forgetting. :)

I'm really excited about our little bean, and am confident we will choose a name that suits him and that he'll be proud to wear.

It's my birthday!

2009-08-23T07:41:00.007-05:00

I enjoy my birthday. Today, I turn 27. Now that may not seem very old to some, but it kind of scares me. Well, it doesn't really scare me as much as it makes me a little more aware of my place in life. Where am I? What am I doing? Am I where I thought I'd be 10 years ago? 10 years ago I'd be just about to enter grade 12. There were big plans and grand ideas floating around in my head of where I'd be by now. Plans and ideas that often changed with the direction of the wind, but plans and ideas nonetheless.

I woke up early this morning so that I could sit and watch the sun rise.

Last night, as I was showering, I decided that I wanted to wake up and watch the sunrise on my birthday. It'll by my last one before I become a dad and want to start recording things.
Some things that I learned this morning before 7:
- A large French Vanilla Cappuccino and a toasted everything bagel with herb and garlic cream cheese is $3.81 at Tim Hortons.
- Though it says sunrise is at 6:30am, the sun is above the horizon by that point. It is already starting to get light out at 5:50am.
- Christy Fabbri of CHVN (the local Christian radio station) is having a baby girl, and is due Sept 12th. Today will be her last time hosting Power Praise.

I'm not sure what today'll bring. Probably some weeding in the garden, maybe a trip to the beach, dinner at Montana's (mmm...ribs!), and church this morning.

It felt really good to get up early and head out for a little drive. Watching the sun rise is such an amazing thing. It's too bad my wife isn't much of a morning person, or I'd drag her out of bed to enjoy it with me. All-the-same, it's nice to have those moments to sit there, totally alone, lost in my thoughts, watching the world unfold before me.

Almost my birthday

2009-08-22T22:26:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow is my birthday.

Is 27 the end of the mid-20's or is it the beginning of the late 20's? Either way, that's what I'll be tomorrow. It feels kinda weird. It feels more grown up. Not as much as 28, but certainly more than 26. 26 is definitely mid-20's. 27 is a little more ambiguous. More is expected of you. But that's okay, I give enough to take me through into my 30's. ;)

A lot is going to happen during my 27th year. Big things. I'm going to become a father not far into it. I'm going to go on parental leave and become a stay-at-home dad, breaking lose from the societal norm. Though I don't often fit in there anyway. I'm hoping to get back into school and get things rolling on my Theology degree. I will celebrate my third wedding anniversary with my wife, and our 9th together as a couple. It will mark my 7th year blogging, read: airing my dirty laundry for the world. It will be a good year. I'm really looking forward to all the planned, and unplanned, events that will happen.

It's nice to have people to share them with as I go. :)

Movie Review: Shortbus

2009-08-19T08:36:00.001-05:00

So right now we are watching Shortbus.

It's a little strange, but there's something very real about it.
But a disclaimer about this movie. There is a lot of sex in it. Real sex. Not the kind of sex typically seen in movies. It's porn sex. But not even porn sex, it seems realer than that. But it's not just straight sex. There's gay sex. And lesbian sex. And masturbation. And group sex. And fat naked people. And cross dressers.
There's A LOT of cock. And vagina.

But it's so WEIRD. Like beyond weird. But maybe that's just because I'm unaccustomed to this sort of stuff. Maybe this shit's normal, but... not in my realm of comfort.

It's not porn, it's artistic. But seriously. It's porn. But porn, interspersed with indie film. But it's not porn like porn you'd watch to masturbate too or anything, but porn like artistic porn.

Artistic, not erotic. One of the reviews I read sums it up nicely, "Porn tries to titillate, this movie only tries to stimulate your thoughts and feelings, not your libido."

I'm a monogamous kinda guy, so I'm not a big proponent of promiscuity, but that's just me.

Oh, and the "couples counselor' is Sook-Yin Lee, a Canadian actress and host of CBC's Definitely Not the Opera.

Baby Blessing

2009-08-18T18:26:00.017-05:00

Ever since Mama Bean and I first found out that we are expecting a little one, we've been overjoyed. A little overwhelmed at some points, but mostly just full of joy.

One thing I am learning, is how blessed we are. From the moment we started telling people that we were expecting the love that has been flowing our way has been amazing and unceasing.

We have been blessed with amazing friends, an amazing church family, and amazing family. We've been given so much, and offered so much more.

Danny and Des (Jo's brother and sister-in-law) gave us a ton of clothing that our little nephew Josh grew out of. There's a good 2 dozen onesies from newborn to 12 months. Almost as many sleepers, some hats, booties, socks, pants and shirts. There's also another box full of clothing 12 mo and up. Jo's parents will also be bringing out a few more boxes when they come out when bean is born.

(yes, we've been labeling the drawers with sizes)

Deb and George from church supplied us with a matching crib, change table and dresser, that also happen to match the existing decor in the room. They also gave us an exersaucer, high chair, swing, and more.

This is our new nursery. :)

Dan and Des also gave us an infant car seat (below, left), some toys, a jolly jumper and more.

Jeff and Char (also from church) gave us another car seat (above right) and stroller. It just so happens that the two car seats have matching bases so that we can put a base in each car and that seats can cycle between them. They also both fit on the stroller, which is so awesome.

And finally, here is the stuff that we bought. We picked up a crib set from Sears which happened to be 20% off. It's a pretty cute set, and I can't wait to see bean in it.

Tomorrow will mark the beginning of Jo's 32nd week of pregnancy. In about 8 weeks we will be blessed with a great little boy who will become the center of our lives. Jo's doing really well and planning on working until October 16th, 5 days before the estimated due date. She's planning on taking approximately 6 weeks off of work in hopes of putting in a few weeks of work before we head back to Calgary for a couple of weeks for Christmas with family and friends.

Effective December 1st, I will be taking advantage of this wonderful program that our government offers and turn in my laptop bag for a diaper bag. I will be on paternity leave for 37 weeks, and take on the responsibilities of a stay-at-home dad while Mama Bean continues to grow her chiropractic practice. I'm really looking forward to it, though I'll miss my job. Taking paternity leave is a bit of a bittersweet sort-of thing, as there's talk of an opening that is taking place in the central IT staff with the division. I'm one of the school-based techs and they'll be hiring from our group for this central position. It's a huge step up, and would be an almost $20k/yr raise. It would be an Apple Specialist position, where I'd get some amazing training, and could easily move on to bigger and better things in the Mac world. It's an opportunity that I'm pretty sure I could get if I worked for it over the next few months, but I'm passing it up to raise my family; a sacrifice I'm more than happy to make.

OneSmarmyMama's Parenting 101 Advice

2009-08-16T09:01:00.005-05:00

Becoming a parent for the first time can be more than a little overwhelming. What do I need to buy before the baby comes? What can I live without for a while? Money is a little tight, I don't want to end up buying a bunch of crap that I don't need, but what if there's something I'm missing that'll make life a million times easier? There are a million options when it comes to strollers and car seats, how do I know which is best for me? I want to minimize my impact on the planet, how can I do that while bringing another one into this world? Are cloth diapers worth the hassle for the savings?

Everyone likes to think they have it together, but secretly (or not), all first-time parents are a little nervous. Here are 4 amazing posts that I would (and do) recommend to all my friends that are having babies, or have recently had one.

Last month, my friend over at onesmarmymama.com wrote a series of posts labeled, Parenting 101 about things you'll need to know (or will find quite handy) following the birth of your child. They are super informative and helpful, especially for first-time parents.

1. Car Seats: She gives a great rundown on the different types from travel systems up to booster seats. She gives pros and cons of each, as well as her opinions as a mom who has done this before.

2. What you NEED, What you DON'T need, and What you WANT: A very informative post on the various items you'll need when you have a baby.

3. Going Green (and staying green) with Baby: How to do your part while raising your child to minimize your impact. Great stuff for those that don't live much of a crunchy granola life, and those that do.

4. Cloth Diapering and SLEEPING!: All about cloth diapers, and how you will not be sleeping much once that little one comes. :)

Healthcare discussion/debate

2009-08-13T18:14:00.005-05:00

What happened to the days of being able to have a decent debate or discussion with those whose views don't align with our own? Why does ignorance have to get in the way?

America is currently in the throes of unrest due to a bill on the table to create a government controlled healthcare, socialized healthcare. There are a lot of people that aren't too thrilled with this idea, mostly those well off enough to afford health insurance and Christian's who get hung up on the idea that socialized healthcare will pay for abortions, and that means the world is going to end. :p

I took part in a group blogging project a couple of months ago and it was hosted by a great guy, Dan King (aka: bibledude). He recently did a post on why Christian's shouldn't be surprised that socialized health-care is happening because there is a void, Christian's should have filled it, we didn't, so the government stepped it. You can read it here.

I commented on this post in the comments section, as well as on his facebook status promoting it, as there had been a couple of other comments there as well. I was hoping to start a decent discussion, but all I got was defensiveness and what I will call ignorance. Now I've been learning a lot about diplomacy over the past little while, and am learning to exercise it when possible to allow things to flow smoothly. I don't always do so well, but I like to think that I'm getting better. Here's the conversation: (i've included extra comments in italicized brackets)

H: I completely agree with the article...If we want to be
Christ-like...we should be feeding the poor, caring for the sick, and taking in the orphans. The basic principlwe is that if we all contribute we can accomplish more. Also, Christians can't just be Pro-Life without addressing the needs of the lives of children that are saved, but still need care. If anything this a call to the church to be more self-less. How about being more concernend about others than ourselves for a change! (great points, it's nice that someone else is acknowledging that if you choose to be pro-life, you need to address the needs of those you are "saving")

A: Interesting & great thoughts! The problem is, if the government gets its way, it won't matter how much money a church raises for a person's illness. The socialistic turn of the US will cause people to be denied healthcare depending on their heath situation. Just downright scary. The church does need to be concerned about these issues and proactive. Pray! (why do so many american's automatically think the word "socialized" is so evil?)

Me: I do not understand all the controversy and fear-mongering that is taking place in the US surrounding socialized health care. The would "socialist" is thrown around like it is a bad thing. Everything about socialized health care is Christian, heck Christianity is more like Communism then Democracy.
I don't think the church has the scope, nor the ... Read Moreability (at least not in it's current or past state) to do what the government is able to by creating socialized healthcare. Sure it would be great, and in theory it would work perfectly. I just don't think the structure is in place, nor could it be in the foreseeable future.
I don't understand why people figure that turning to a socialized system will result in denial of care for those who need it. Right now the system results in the denial of care for all that can't pay. I don't see how this can make it worse, it is going to change so that anyone who needs it has access to it, not just those with the money.

S: I couldn't disagree with Christopher more! As Christians we, should be adamantly against what is going on in Congress right now. If you read the bill, you will see that this will allow the government - our tax dollars - to pay for abortions! Not to mention that EVERY country that has a plan that looks like this one in failing in all aspects. I live in Michigan and can tell you that Canadians come here when they need the critical care their government denies them. (Think about that, your government saying you can't get that pace maker - or whatever. How Christian and loving is that?!?!?) Contrary to what the president is saying, you will not be able to keep your own insurance plan! As soon as anything changes, like your premium or any detail of your coverage, you will be forced to take the government plan. I don't know about yours, but my plan changes a little every year! This is not fear-mongering... this is all STRAIGHT from the bill. I encourage you to read it!

Me: I live in Canada, I know what socialized healthcare is like. I've read what the bill is about, and what they are going to do. People don't cross the border because the government denies them adequate care, they cross because they can afford to pay out of pocket for speedier service. For those that can't, healthcare is more than adequate.
The negative side-effect to socialized healthcare that I regularly experience is that of longer wait times to get in to see specialists and for things like MRI's. But I would take this over having a huge chunk of population that doesn't have access to adequate healthcare just because they can't afford it.
And yes, it will pay for abortions, but the world isn't going to end because your tax payer dollars pay for that.
The only people complaining about socialized healthcare are those that can afford privatized. The big thing here, that everyone seems to be forgetting, is that EVERYONE will have access to healthcare.
(trying to keep things lighthearted)But the nice thing about living in a Democratic society is that both sides get a say. People get a vote. And everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and each opinion is valid. :) I appreciate that.

S: Well in the REPUBLIC in which we live, I have the right to say where I want MY money going and I do NOT support nor will I PAY for someone to take the life of an unborn child. IT IS WRONG! As wrong as someone not being cared for who needs it! Which is why NO ONE in our country is denied healthcare - that is the fear mongering LIE that our government is spreading! The majority of the people who do not have health care insurance are choosing to not have coverage. Those who cannot afford it are covered by Mediaid. We are taking care of our sick and poor! I agree that insurance needs to be reformed, but this is NOT the way to do it.
The other difference is that your system in Canada is not being headed up by a man who during his short political career voted FOUR times to deny care to babies who were aborted in the third trimester. These are babies who, if given care, were viable human beings. But instead, they were left to die in a janitor's closet a slow and agonizing death. That is not the Christian love and compassion that I want making decisions about my health care and who deserves to receive it!

Me: (quoting S)"The majority of the people who do not have health care insurance are choosing to not have coverage. Those who cannot afford it are covered by Mediaid. We are taking care of our sick and poor!"
I'm not sure where you are getting this info, but my research would show otherwise. Approx. 60 percent of poor Americans are not covered by Medicaid(1), and "According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 46 million Americans, or 18 percent of the population under the age of 65, were without health insurance in 2007."(2)
45 million people aren't "choosing to not have coverage," they can't afford it.
While abortion is a hot-button topic, and a contentious issue at best, I don't think it outweighs the fact that millions of people are without adequate healthcare. And yes, while you live in a republic, it is still a democratic nation, so while you get your vote, the majority still says where your money goes.
I'd love if there was a way Christians could supplement the healthcare system, in every country, not just the US; there sure are enough of us. As Dan mentioned, Relational Tithe is a great idea. So is no longer paying pastors 3 figure salaries.
While I don't think the Church is in a place to do much in the healthcare realm, I think it could be done with a lot of hardwork, dedication, and heavenly help.

(1)http://www.nchc.org/facts/coverage.shtml
(2)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicaid
(I worked my butt off to stay diplomatic here, and not use the word ignorant. I thought I was laying things out nicely and was hoping for a decent rebuttal.)

S: Show me in the constitution that it is the GOVERNMENT'S job to provide health care. I agree that we need to look at healthcare and reform to take care of those who cannot afford it. But that is NOT what the government is supposed to do. With the bill the way it is written, not only will the poor not receive care - NO ONE will!

And this is where is ends. I'm not going to reply to that, as she's just getting worked up, and this discussion can't go anywhere productive. I was hoping for more, but sadly, am leaving disappointed. I was initially a little annoyed that it ended this way, but such is life, and I will continue to engage folks in discussion other places. :)

Can someone please tell me why people don't seem to think that "it's not the government's job" to take care of the sick and needy? In my books that's the perfect thing for the government to do, but what do I know, I live in a "socialist" country. :p

What do you guys think? Yes or No to socialized healthcare?

Thunder Storms

2009-08-13T15:19:00.003-05:00

I love the power of a good thunder storm.
I love the violence of it.
I love the sharp crack of thunder that accompanies a particularly bright fork of lightening.
I love the low rumbling thunder that rolls across the sky and shakes my house following those big cloud-to-cloud lightening bursts.
I love the crackling of the sky as the lighting sucks the oxygen from the atmosphere.
I love sitting in my house watching the majesty of it all as these forces fight for power in the sky; watching the lightening flicker across the sky, followed by the ominous sounds of thunder.

Last night we had an amazing thunder storm. It lasted for hours as there was little-to-no wind. For the longest time there was no rain either, and I was able to watch the skies, my vision unimpeded by the torrents of rain that were to follow.

It was pretty much awesome. :)

Acoustic Bass

2009-08-09T20:41:00.004-05:00

Last weekend I went to one of the music stores in town and rented an acoustic bass for the month. It's only $18 for the month which is pretty awesome, though it's been a bit of a challenge to learn to play.

It plays quite a bit differently from my electric, and is taking some getting used to, but I'm really enjoying it. It has a totally different tone from my electrics, but I'm really enjoying it. It doesn't quite have the same deep end, and it isn't quite as smooth, but it has a richness about it that I find intoxicating. And it feels really cool to play a set with a couple of acoustic guitars and fit right in. :)

I am realizing the importance of a properly setup instrument though. The intonation is so far off so that by the 12th fret I'm a 1/4 tone off. It also vibrates off the frets pretty bad if I play too hard. But since I only have it for a month, I'm not really going to spend any money on getting it setup. I will make sure I let them know when I bring it back though. What does suck though, is after playing today the jack fell out of the end so I'm going to have to bring it in for them to put it back together. It's only the 3rd time I picked it up, so that was annoying.

I can't afford a new guitar, but it is fun to play around with for awhile. :)

More land!

2009-08-09T18:54:00.003-05:00

So I have been offered more land to hunt on! :)

My dad has a cousin who owns some land (1/4 section) down around Pilot Mound, about 2 hours south west of here. It's mostly farm land, but there are some trees and such for the deer to bed down in. I'm not sure what they have in the way of deer, but.../shrug. As long as there is something. :D Apparently there are a bunch of guys that hunt the land during rifle season, but during archery season, it's just me. :D

That gives me from August 31st until October 18 before the guns come out. Well, muzzleloader season starts sometime around the beginning October, but come that point bean will be almost here, and I probably shouldn't be heading out for the weekend in the middle of nowhere.

I'm kinda nervous about going hunting for the first time, though. There's a lot that I don't know, and I'm not so good at taking it slow. I mean, I only took up archery in May and I'm so into it. I have all the gear [well, not all, I still have more to buy ;)] and go to the range a couple of times a week. I've fully immersed myself in the sport.

It'll be good though. I'm heading out in 3 weeks for 4 days and it's going to be a blast, whether I get a deer or not. It'd be better if I did, because I love me some deer, but I'm still going to love the experience.

Defies explanation

2009-08-08T23:22:00.004-05:00

Now, I'm an advocate for the right to own guns. This issue alone can affect who I vote for in an election. But then I watch a bunch of IMMATURE FUCKING MORONS pull this kind of shit.

Video of said morons

Now, what these guys are doing is illegal on so many levels, and let me remind you, this is not in the US, these are a bunch of inbred, redneck Canadians.
Here is just a start of what is wrong with these fucking retards:

1. Discharging a firearm from a vehicle is illegal.
2. Shooting migratory birds out of season (which it currently is) is illegal.
3. Shooting ducklings is illegal.
3. Shooting migratory birds with a rimfire rifle (which they are using) is illegal.
4. Shooting at a body of water is dangerous to yourself and others due to ricocheting bullets/fragments.
5. Wounding an animal and leaving it to flop around and suffer while you laugh with your buddies is cruel and unethical and morally reprehensible.
6. Posting a video on the internet of your fucking stupidity, complete with shots of your face and voices is fucking stupid.

They were arrested and I hope they get thrown against the wall and made an example of. Their actions are unacceptable and just give more ammo to those who would take our guns away.

I think there needs to be some sort of gun legislation, and I know that the only thing that will stop these types of events from happening is to take them all away, but I really wish we could find some middle ground. I write this on the heels of a post by my friend C Lo at One Smarmy Mama.

Idiots like this need to be hung out to dry.

Daddy Blog - 08/08/09 - He Moves!

2009-08-08T10:05:00.003-05:00

One of the coolest experiences in my life was (and is) feeling my unborn baby move inside of Jo. I've been able to for a couple of weeks now, but only recently has it started to become very real to me.

I can feel him rolling around, I can feel his little kicks and punches. We don't know what position he's in, so we just make stuff up and go with it. He's really active between 9-11 at night (give or take), and I'll often catch Mama Bean just sitting there watching her belly as it moves.

She hit the 30 week mark this week which seems like a whole lot further along than 29. At 29 she was still in her 20's, but 30! Now 30 has a whole other number in front. It is the home stretch; 10 weeks give or take a couple.

10 weeks...

10 weeks isn't very long at all. It's rather short. 2 and a half months. That's nothing. We've been in Winnipeg 1 year (celebrated our 1 year Pegiversary last week) and that has flown by. 10 weeks is less than 20% of that! Crazyness...

But I'm so friggin excited. I talked to my boss and let her know that I will be taking parental leave starting December 1st. Jo's official due date is Oct 21st, and she wants to be back at work for he beginning of December. This will give her a few weeks to start seeing patients before we take off for a couple of weeks to visit family and friends in Calgary.

So as of December 1st I am going to be a stay-at-home Dad for 37 weeks on the government's dime, which is kinda nice of them. It's a paltry 55% of my wage, but hey, I'm not complaining. They could give me nothing.

My boss took it quite well, though she was sad that I'll be gone. I'm friggin awesome, and she knows it. ;)

My Lunchkit

2009-08-03T21:13:00.008-05:00

Last year I posted pictures when I got my new lunchbox in a post entitled, Shaving, where I also shared my awesome shaving kit, which I'm still loving, btw.

So yeah, I've pimped it out a bit, and this is what it is looking like now. :)

This is the front.

This is the back.

Twitter

2009-07-30T22:11:00.003-05:00

So I've been using Twitter for some time now, but have used two different accounts. @twistedxtian was my "christian" account. I used it mostly for following christian folk and stirring up shit.
@xiolo was my other account where I followed people that fit with all the other aspects of my life, bass playing, gardening, bowhunting, fishing, etc...

I decided that it was a pain having two accounts and today combined them all into my @twistedxtian account. I've also put a feed on my blog.

Oh, and please pardon the blog template. I'm having some issues.

Loss

2009-07-29T19:18:00.004-05:00

I woke up this morning to an email letting me know that a family friend had died.

Death is a strange thing, and something that is leaving its impression upon my life more and more as life goes on. A year doesn't go by when I am not touched by the affects of someone's death.

Last night Kate, mother of Brett and Phil, and husband of Dan died of breast cancer. She'd been fighting it for the past 51 months, and succumbed to it last night a the age of 54.

Brett and Phil were brothers that I grew up swimming with. I swam competitively from grade 4 through 10, and met Brett and Phil through it. They also went to the same school as us, where their mom was a occasional substitute teacher.

Dan worked for the City, as did my dad, but Dan was one of the city engineers, while my dad ran the bailing facility at the dump. They were friends outside of work, and we'd go over to their house for dinner and out to their cabin for weekend boating/fishing trips.

To me, they were rich. They lived in a huge house, owned a Super Nintendo with lots of games, and had a cabin with a boat. They were no better than us, they just had more money. Dan and Kate were just normal folks that made more money than my parents, but it never seemed like that made any difference. We all got along great.

Sometime in junior high they moved away to Florida or somewhere and we lost touch. I think I saw them one other time in Yellowknife during high school when they were in town for a visit, but other than that, I haven't seen them since junior high.

Facebook reintroduced us, but other than cursory messages, there hasn't been much conversation.

It really sucks that Kate died. She was an awesome lady, far too young to die. It's a shitty deal.

My thoughts and prayers are with Dan and the boys while they go through this horrible time.

Daddy Blog - 27/07/09

2009-07-27T22:11:00.004-05:00

Mama Bean and I went to our first prenatal class tonight. We've chosen to take a 4 session hypnobirthing class and then see if we can find some sort of parenting type of class to go over some other things.

The class was absolutely amazing, and something I would recommend to any expecting couple (or single). It's this process of visualization, or self-hypnosis that helps put you in tune with your body and relax.

One Smarmy Mama got me on this hippy thing when it comes to pregnancy/childbirth/parenting long before we ever got pregnant, and now that we're expecting Mama Bean has jumped right on board. It's been pretty awesome, actually.

The class got me pretty fired up for having this little guy. I'm all excited about being a dad. About holding him for the first time. About looking into his eyes, feeling his little fingers and toes.

I'm excited about showing him things for the very first time. About watching him discover all so many new things in this world.

I'm just excited about so many things. I can't wait to be a dad. These 3 months can't go by fast enough.

My Wife

2009-07-26T20:01:00.004-05:00

I love my wife.

Sometimes I look over at her when she's doing something, or watch her working in the yard, and it blows my mind that we're married. It just seems weird to me sometimes that we are married. Sometimes it is just the fact that I'm married, never mind to whom.

It just catches me unawares sometimes. I mean, we've been married for 2 years now, but for some reason the thought of being married is an oddity. But what an amazing oddity it is. :)

ABC's to describe me

2009-07-22T21:12:00.003-05:00

This is the second month during which I've participated in ICLW and an ABC's intro seems to be quite popular so I thought I'd do one. And it also gives those of you that are regular readers a little more insight into my life. :)

A - Archery, my current obsession which I spend a lot of time doing in training for my first year bowhunting this fall. I purchased a bow in May, and have been hitting the range regularly since then in order to get my bowhunting skills up (a very important skill according to Napoleon Dynamite)
B - Bean, the little boy that is currently growing inside of my wife and will join us in October. He is currently unnamed, and due round about October 21st, meaning my wife is just now entering her third trimester.
C - Chiropractor, what my wife does for a living. It is more than a job, it is a healthcare philosophy.
D - Dog, my favorite pet and which I'm hoping to one day get again. We've had a dog since grade 2 when Nikki (a mutt) followed me home and I asked to keep her. We had to give her away when we moved, but she was my very first dog.
E - Emotional, a perfect descriptor for me. I cry during movies, and even during TV shows (Grey's Anatomy, I mean c'mon, who doesn't cry during this show)
F - Family, something that is very important to me, and something that I'm quickly learning how much it means to me and how much I miss mine back home.
G - Gardening, my wife and I started gardening this year. We have a 4'x12' garden in our backyard as well as a 1500sq.ft community garden plot. It is a lot of fun, though very discouraging at times.
H - Happy, my usual emotional state. I'm a happy guy by default. More often than not you'll find me smiling and giggling about something.
I - IT Guy, my current job with a local school division. I love my job.
J - Jo, the name of my beautiful wife whom I love dearly. (my baby-momma)
K - Kind-hearted, I'm a nice guy to the core. I play up being an asshole sometimes, and can be blunt and tactless, but it kills me when I'm not a nice guy.
L - Learning, something I'm always doing. Be it at work about some new software we are using, at home about being a dad pretty soon here, or at church about theology and the like.
M - Meat Loaf, my favorite singer/band. I've been a fan since I first heard Bat out of Hell on a tape my dad recorded from the radio when I was a kid. I own every album, import or otherwise. I get made fun of a lot for it, but I don't care. I saw him in concert in 2007, row 7 on the floor!!
N - Nose, the thing about me that annoys my wife. In high school I worked as a life-guard at a pool. Part of my duties were to keep the pH balance in check which we did using powdered hydrochloric acid. Well, one day I was moving bags of it and was flopping a big 20lb(ish) bag down when it pulled my dust mask off and I got a nose-full of powdered hydrochloric acid which promptly burned off a good bit of nose-hairs from back inside my nose. This means that my nose is quickly affected when I have allergies or am sick and constantly drips. My wife isn't a fan. But loves me anyway.
O - October, when bean (the little boy that is currently growing inside of my wife) will be born.
P - Pastor, the job that I eventually want after I finish my schooling which I'm hoping to start in January.
Q - Quiet, a term that describes me quite well in situations where I don't know many people.
R - Religion, a topic that I'm very interested in, be it mine, or someone else's. I'm not judgmental about it, and love learning about different religions. Just because I think I'm right, doesn't mean I think you are wrong, a thought process that isn't quite logical, but something I try to live out.
S - Strawberry Crisp, the dessert I just made tonight with the fresh strawberries we picked on the weekend. It probably could have been cooked a little longer, but is very yummy.
T - twistedchristian.ca, my blog where I write about living a Twisted Christian life, and the things that irk me about Christianity.
U - Ubuntu, the Linux operating system that I recently installed on a computer that I'm using to learn how to setup and run a webserver on. (yes, i'm a big geek)
V - Violet, my favorite color. (Actually, purple is my favorite color, but that letter was already taken, and I couldn't think of anything for V) :)
W - Winnipeg, the city in which I currently reside. Everyone seems to think we are crazy for moving here, but it is a wonderful city and I'm quite happy we moved here.
X - Xiolo, the screen name I tend to use in most games, forums, etc.. It is a word that I made up when I was tired of the name I wanted in online games was always taken.
Y - Yellowknife, where I grew up, and where I find myself homesick for every once-in-a-while.
Z - Zebras at Zoos, the animal I find least attractive in a place I'm torn about liking. From a conservation point-of-view they have huge benefits, but the number of them that are absolutely horrible is astounding.

Jam

2009-07-20T21:01:00.004-05:00

So Mama Bean and I made jam yesterday and today. 6 liters in total. It's awesome.

Yesterday we went strawberry picking, and picked 3 4L baskets that held a little over 5lbs each. It cost us $27 for almost 17lbs of strawberries plus the 3 or so pounds that we ate while picking. That's pretty amazing, and cheaper than we get them in the store. It took us about an hour to pick it all, and we had a lot of fun.

Yesterday we made 2 liters of no-cook freezer jam. It's nice because it doesn't use much sugar and you don't have to worry about sterilizing jars. We put them in 8 250ml jars.

Since we don't have a lot of freezer space, we decided to make cooked jam today. Mama Bean read about sterilizing jars in the oven instead of boiling them, which we chose to do and it worked quite well. We hulled the rest of the strawberries and cooked most of them and bottled them in 500ml jars, getting 4 liters of jam.

So now we have 6L of jam and it's so awesome. I'm excited about baking some bread and eating it with our fresh jam. :)

School

2009-07-13T22:06:00.006-05:00

So I'm looking at going back to school in January 2010. Just to take a couple of courses to start with as bean will still be fresh in our lives, but I really want to get back into it.

About 5 years ago I went to bible college for a semester before dropping out. At the time, I wasn't ready to be there, so it was good that I left. I am now ready to go back, and really looking forward to it.

There are so many questions though. What school to go to, what program to take, which churches will allow me to be a pastor with just an undergrad. I want to eventually get my Masters of Divinity, but I'd prefer to get a pastor job with my undergrad and work through a M.Div. If that doesn't work then I'll just have to work through my undergrad and M.Div with IT work, and then get a pastor job. I'd rather not go that route though. :)

I'm currently looking at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU). It's a liberal arts university that offers both Biblical and Theological programs along with your normal everyday university programs. It's a small school of about 500, but seems to have some pretty decent programs.

The main ones of interest to me are:
# Bachelor of Arts (Major in Biblical and Theological Studies, Four or Three year)
# Bachelor of Church Ministries (Four or Three year)
# Bachelor of Theology (Three year)

Now this is where I get confused. What is the difference between a 3 and 4 year degree? If I can get a job with a 3 year degree, why spend the money on an extra year? If I can get into a Masters program with a 3 year degree, why take a fourth? I'll have to meet with the admissions people and find out, but right now I'm leaning towards a BA with a Major in Biblical and Theological Studies and a minor in Church Ministries, but we'll see.

So yeah. That's what I'm looking at. I sent out a bunch of emails to various pastor's that I know to get some ideas/advice to which I have received a number of great replies.

It's exciting, and I can't wait to see where things go.

Movie Recommendations

2009-07-13T21:09:00.006-05:00

Alright, so I have a few movie recommendations to NOT see.

#1: Knowing, starring Nicolas Cage. Well, starring is a little bit strong. He plays the main role; there is no starring in this movie. It is horrible. No, that's not quite right. Horrible doesn't quite sum it up. FUCKING SHIT-TASTIC HORRIBLENESS is more like it. What an absolute waste of our time. Like totally and completely.

It started out alright, but quickly went downhill. And to finish with aliens? ALIENS?!? And a new planet and a new Eden? Yeah no. That's so not cool. So bad. Please don't watch it.

#2: Year of the Dog, starring Molly Shannon. Billed as a comedy, it really doesn't live up to that billing. It is a drama through and through. And sad at that. Sure it has its occasional funny moments, but it is a sad movie. So if you want to watch a depressing drama (with no happy ending), then feel free to watch it. But it is NOT a comedy.

#3: Miss March, starring a couple of nobodies. And what a nobody movie it is. It's a movie with some nice boobies made for 13 year olds to get their rocks off. It's full of poop humour and stupid jokes. The plot is nothing new, though the story is dumb as shit. We turned it off half-an-hour in and don't really care how it ends.

So those are my movie reviews for this past weekend. Please don't waste your time with them. And if you ever want to know about other shitty movies, feel free to let me know. Chances are I've seen it (or part of it).

Song Recommendation

2009-07-11T22:53:00.004-05:00

I've been really digging this song by Carly Rae Jepson recently. Carly didn't win Canadian Idol, but is doing far better than the dude that did win that year. It's a fun, catchy song called, Bucket.

2 weeks

2009-07-11T21:58:00.005-05:00

I'm still around, do not fret. Mama Bean and I have had a great couple of weeks with house-guests galore. And what an awesome 2 weeks these last couple have been!

Last week Kari and Heather were here (and James for 12 hours), along with Kari and James' awesome little boy, Bruce. Bruce is 9 months old and quickly reminded me what it's like to have a baby around; they never stop. Bruce and I had lots of fun playing together, and I am now even more excited about our coming son in October.

We took a tour of the Legislative building last Friday which was a lot of fun. We didn't take the guided tour, but some random politician dude found us walking the halls and gave us a little impromptu tour of things he found particularly interesting. It was kinda neat, and he was super enthusiastic about it all.

It was a great week with them here and Mama Bean really enjoyed having her best friends around to spend time with as we haven't seen folks from back home since moving.

This past week my family was in town for a visit, and it was so great to see them. They were in town for my cousin Jenelle's wedding, and stayed to hang out with Mama Bean and I. It was so awesome to see them and hang out for a few days. I got to spend some time with my brothers as well as my brother's girlfriend whom I didn't really know as they only started going out shortly before we moved.

My parents aren't the kind to sit around while on vacation, so I took Mon, Tues, and Wed. off and we got a ton of stuff done. We built a bedframe for out bed, as we only had one of those cheap metal ones. We also built a box to cover our A/C unit during the winter. Tuesday night my dad discovered the frame of one of our basement windows was completely rotted out so we spent all day on Wednesday ripping out the old frame, deciding to use the old window, building and installing a new frame and being done. :) We just need to paint it and it'll be perfect.

Mama Bean and my mom ripped up the remaining carpet on our main floor, so we now have hardwood floor everywhere on the main floor with the exception of the kitchen which is lino and the bathroom which is cork. The floors look a million times better than they did when we moved in and everything was carpeted.

So now everyone is gone. My parents drove home yesterday (14 hours in a day instead of 2 like they had originally intended) and our house is quiet. It seems a little weird, but nice. I started getting sick midway through the week (too much excitement) and needed a rest day today to recover. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be all good again and wrap up the last few odds and ends on our projects.

And now I need to catch up on two weeks of blogs that I've been missing. :)

Servolution Blog Project

2009-07-02T16:24:00.005-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned I was taking part in this group blogging project about the book, Servolution by Dino Rizzo. First off, I want to say, what an amazing book! It's exactly what I need right now. It's easy to read, clear, concise and to the point, but it's the content that really got my attention. Oh, and today was my day, where I wrote a bit about chapter 14 and the importance of community and serving with others.

For the past few months I've been looking for a way to get more involved in my church, but I've been unsure of the path to take. I expressed an interest in joining the board (elders), but they are in a sort of transition in the way the board is doing things and the way membership works so that will have to wait awhile. I play bass twice a month, but that isn't enough. They are also putting together a building team to do work on the church building as they are hoping to get some building maintenance done this summer.

I feel the need something more.

Then along comes this amazing book, and instantly I know what I need to do, serve. So now that I know what I need to do, I need to figure out how I'm going to go about doing it.

I'm going to read through the book again and see if I can glean some more information from it and figure out what I want to do. I'm really excited to get out there and start a servolution. And if you haven't read it yet, please hit up your local Christian bookstore and get a copy and read it. Then let me know what you think. :)

Family!

2009-07-02T06:45:00.004-05:00

It's summertime! School is out and work is supremely busy. It is nice that I'm on a 7-3 shift now instead of 8-4, but getting up that hour early is going to take some getting used to. I will enjoy getting off at 3 though.

AND...My parents get here tonight! It's very exciting! I haven't seen them since we moved last August, and I've never lived in another city from them for any length of time, so it's been a bit of an adjustment. Especially with not going home for Christmas. So I'm pretty excited. They are coming out for a cousin's wedding on Saturday and staying until next Tuesday.

My parents aren't fans of sitting around on vacation either, so we have a bunch of projects planned for around the house and I have the first half of next week off so we'll get lots done.

Poetry

2009-06-28T08:00:00.001-05:00

My mom got this poem at some point and it hung on our fridge for a long time. I'm not sure why, but it was there. I am not a big fan of most poetry, but it always resonated strongly with me for some reason, and it is one of my favorite poems. It is a shortened version of the original, which I didn't find out until years later.

To Santa Claus and Little Sisters

Once ... he wrote a poem.
And called it "Chops",
Because it was the name of his dog, and that's what it was all about.
And the teacher gave him an "A"
And a gold star,
And his mother hung it on the kitchen door, and read it to all his aunts ...

Once ... he wrote another poem.
And he called it "Question Marked Innocence".
Because that was the name of his grief and that's what it was all about.
And the professor gave him an "A"
And a strange and steady look.
And his mother never hung it on the kitchen door,
Because he never let her see it ...

Once, at 3 a.m. ... he tried another poem ...
And he called it absolutely nothing, because that's what it was all about.
And he gave himself an "A"
And a slash on each damp wrist,
And hung it on the bathroom door because he couldn't reach the kitchen.

This poem was written by a 15-year old boy, 2 years before he committed suicide, most likely in the late-60's.

Here's the original:

To Santa Claus and Little Sisters

Once,
On yellow paper, with green lines, he wrote a poem,
And called it "Chops",
Because that was the name of his dog,
And that’s what it was all about.
And the teacher gave him an "A"
And a gold star,
And his mother hung it on the kitchen door,
And read it to all his aunts.
That was the year his sister was born,
With tiny toenails and no hair,
And Father Tracy took them to the zoo
And let them sing on the bus.
And his mother and father kissed a lot
And the girl around the corner sent him a Christmas card
Signed with a row of x's.
And his father always tucked him in at night,
And he was always there to do it.

Once,
On white paper, with blue lines, he wrote another poem.
And he called it "Autumn"
Because that was the name of a season,
And that’s what it was all about.
And the teacher gave him an "A"
And told him to write more clearly.
And his mother didn’t hang it on the kitchen door
Because the door
Had just been painted.
That was the year his sister got glasses,
With black frames and thick lenses.
And the kids told him why father and mother
Kissed a lot,
And that Father Tracy smoked cigars
And left butts on the pews,
And the girl around the block laughed
When he went to see Santa Claus at Macy’s.
And his father stopped tucking him in bed at night,
And got mad when he cried for him to.

Once,
On paper torn from his notebook, he wrote another poem,
And he called it "Question Marked Innocence",
Because that was the name of his grief
And that’s what it was all about.
And the professor gave him an "A"
And a strange and steady look.
And his mother never hung it on the door
Because he never let her see it.
That year he found his sister necking on the back porch
And his parents never kissed, or even smiled.
And he forgot how the end of the "Apostle’s Creed" went,
And Father Tracy died.
And the girl around the block wore too much make-up
That made him cough when he kissed her,
But he kissed her anyway.

Once,
At 3 a.m., he tucked himself in bed,
His father snoring soundly.
He tried another poem, on the back of a pack of matches,
And he called it "absolutely nothing"
Because that’s what it was all about.
And he gave himself an "A"
And a slash on each damp wrist,
And hung it on the bathroom door,
Because he couldn’t reach the kitchen.

Sunshine Cleaning

2009-06-27T20:31:00.004-05:00

This is a quality movie, you should watch it.

There's no big conflict (which I hate anyway), Amy Adams stars (who's my new celebrity crush, bumping nicole kidman from that spot), and it's just a great movie. Really likable characters, fun storyline and good ending.

Quote of the Day

2009-06-27T15:44:00.002-05:00

This quote is from the beginning of a Conan novel I read in high school. I wrote it out on a cue card and hung it on my bulletin board for a very long time. It's quality.

"Barbarism is the natural state of mankind. Civilization is unnatural. It is a whim of circumstance. And barbarism must always ultimately triumph."
-Border guard on the Pictish border (of Cimmeria)

Hunting

2009-06-26T10:44:00.005-05:00

A couple of days ago I found out that our quirky drama teacher is quite into hunting; everything from bow to rifle to muzzleloader. I was talking to him about it this morning, saying that I'm just getting into it, and he invited me out on a 4-day whitetail deer hunt the week before the long weekend. Apparently he has permission to hunt on some land about an hour north of the city and him and some guys go out there every year in the first week of bow hunting season and get some deer. And he invited me! Sweet!
Hunting is a tough thing to get into alone. It's so much easier when you have other people to show you the ropes and get into it, so this would be the perfect time for me. That and he has extra gear like tree stands and blinds, which I don't own yet.
So it's pretty exciting. I'm not sure how I'm going to swing time off for then as it's the week before school starts, but I'm going to see what I can do. It's too good of an opportunity to pass up.

8 years

2009-06-25T11:15:00.005-05:00

On Tuesday Mama Bean and I celebrated 8 years together. Well, maybe not so much celebrated, but we realized that it was on that day 8 years previous that we became a couple and have been together ever since.
8 years. 96 months. 3 years of which were long distance with her in the states. That's a long freakin' time. Most marriages don't last that long.
When we first started dating we celebrated every 'monthiversary.' We did it for years; right up until the wedding actually. Since then we haven't done it so much any more, but on the 23rd of each month I still usually think about it.

Back in May it felt weird to tell people that it was our second anniversary as we've been together hella longer than that. And while May 5th, 2007 will always be the official start to our life together, June 23, 2001 will always be the actual day we started spending our life together.

Sometime in the last 8 years Mama Bean and I came up with 1+1=11, two uniquely individual numbers, yet together they make a single number. We were never a fan of 1+1=1 or 1+1=2 as they always seem to lose the fact that we are both still individuals. I wonder what it is when we have our little bean in the fall? :)

I couldn't have met a better woman to marry than Jo. Every morning I wake up, roll over and smile because this wonderful person is in bed next to me. Nothing could make me happier. And to think that by the time our next anniversary rolls around we'll be a family of three. Life doesn't get any better than when you are surrounded with great people that love you.

Group Blogging Project

2009-06-19T15:03:00.003-05:00

So I'm taking part in this group blogging project on Servolution. Servolution is the new(ish) book by Dino Rizzo that's all about getting out there and serving people. It's a pretty awesome book so far (i'm on chapter 2), and it's cool to see what other people have to say about it.

I wrote more about it on my Twisted Christian blog. You should check it out. :)

Peni

2009-06-18T11:44:00.003-05:00

You know what are weird? Penises. (Peni?) Penises and their sidekick the testes.
There's no way male genitalia is the product of evolution. We went from little organisms that mated by touching surfaces to having these dangly things between our legs that we stick into the hole of our mate? Nope, I call bullshit. Nobody but a God with a sense of humor created these wrinkly little pieces of skin and flesh that hang between a mans legs.

Seriously, they are so weird. Dangly little bits of of skin and flesh that facilitate in urination and baby-making? For 90% of your life they do nothing but get in the way. When you are young they pick the most inopportune time to make their presence known, and when you are old they pick and choose when they want to make their presence known, if at all. And why does it just hang there? Why didn't we get a pouch or something where we could tuck it up out or harms way? Why is something that is so vitally important the weakest link? Everything else has hard bones or even cartilage. Peni is spongy tissue that fills with blood to get hard. There is nothing in terms of self preservation. Thank you Lorainna Bobbit for teaching us this.

I've never understood the appeal of them, probably because I'm straight, but seriously... I just don't get it. I'm glad women do, but I think it will always remain a mystery to me.

And then there is the penis' best buddy and faithful companion, the testes. The testes are, without question, the most important part of the male sexual reproductive system, and they are protected by a hairy (usually), wrinkly (always), sack of skin. I'm mean, "C'MON!" A wrinkly, hairy sack of thin skin to protect these most important (and pain sensitive) or organs? What about some armor-plating, or even better, why aren't they inside of our bodies with the other vital organs? Why are they dangling out in the breeze, without a care in the world? Don't they understand how important they are? And how much it HURTS when they get injured? It doesn't even take much to injure them, they are friggin delicate! Why are they outside of my body cavity?!?

But it is here to stay, and we've grown quite attached so I think I'll keep it. I just think they could have been better designed in the first place. And while I'll never understand the appeal of them, I'm glad my wife does. :)

It's hard to work with people...

2009-06-18T10:49:00.002-05:00

It's hard to work with people who are ignorant and/or inconsiderate. People who think that they are the center of the universe and everything has to revolve around their wants and needs, perceived or otherwise. People who say shit like, "Well, it's not part of my job description," or "I have kids, that isn't going to work for me, I don't care if it screws everyone else over," or "well you're a guy, of course you would think that way."

It's hard to work with people who always expect you to be there to help them when they need it, and while their thankfulness may be sincere, it's the fact that they just expect you to help them at the drop of a hat and are annoyed when you don't/can't.

It's hard to work with people...

Weight Loss Update

2009-06-16T21:43:00.003-05:00

So a little weight loss update.

At the end of March I broke 230, which was 20lbs lost since January. Well I haven't done much since then, and have been hovering between 227 and 232. Well I've decided I want to be 220 by my cousin's wedding on July 4th, and yesterday morning I weighed in at 226. This means I have 6lbs to lose by the end of the month. Last week I lost .4 lbs, so I figure if I kick it up a notch I should be able to drop these 6 lbs in the next three weeks.

I started running a few weeks back, and it's been a little rough, but it is slowly getting better. I've had bad knees since my swimming days growing up, but I find as long as I wear my neoprene knee brace and ice it when I get home I do alright.

I also got the P90X DVD workout program but it is a little too extreme for me still, so I need to continue my fitness plan and then I can start it. It's pretty intense and I'm looking forward to trying it out.

So here goes, 6lbs. I can do that. :)

Pregnant vs. Expecting

2009-06-16T16:01:00.003-05:00

Mama Bean is pregnant.

We are expecting.

We are not pregnant. Mama Bean is.

There is a difference. Guys cannot be pregnant, nor do I think they can be expecting. Couples can be expecting, the mom-to-be can be expecting, the dad-to-be cannot.

One of God's creatures my ass

2009-06-16T15:58:00.001-05:00

So almost every morning round about 5am I am awoken by one of God's wonderful creatures that sits in a tree in my neighbors yard and starts whistling. Now it isn't pretty, or musical, or lovely. It is a two-tone whistle that is repeated every 2 seconds for usually over 30 minutes.

Now the first morning this happened I got so pissed off that I went and slept in the basement until it was time to get up at 7 (when my lovely wife came down and woke me up).

The next morning I dragged a fan into our bedroom hoping the white noise would be enough to drown it out. I was wrong, and laid in bed fuming until it shut up.
The following morning I went to find ear plugs, which I couldn't, then went outside to find it and yell at it, throw rocks and sticks at it, whatever, but couldn't find it. I was so tired I fell back asleep anyway. That night I dug through my stuff until I found some earplugs and put them beside my bed.

I now use those earplugs almost every morning, and have gotten quite adept at putting them in. I hear that fucking bird, I roll over, get them in in about 5 seconds, and am back to sleep in under 10 seconds. But still...having to wake up every morning because of that fucking bird? I'm going to shoot it one of these days...if I can find it.

God might make all the creatures of this earth, and they might all be special, but I want to fucking kill this bird.

Garden Update

2009-06-12T13:00:00.003-05:00

So last Friday we got a bit of a cold snap (and of course we decided to make that weekend our first camping trip of the year). It went down to just below zero and wreaked havoc on our beautiful garden.

In April or May, we decided we should get started on planting inside so that come planting time in our garden we'd have a nice crop of seedlings ready to go out. So we planted cauliflower, broccoli, watermelon, pumpkin, corn, peppers and tomatoes. Almost everything germinated on schedule, but they sort of stalled out. They grew on long spindly stalks and seemed to stretch for the sun coming in the windows. Most of the plants got some sort of secondary "real" leaves but they never reached the point of the seedlings you buy in the store.

Last week we decided that it was safe to put the seedlings into the ground, along with a row of geraniums and marigolds. We figured since June was underway and we were seeing average nighttime temps above 10 degrees that it would be safe to plant our delicate seedlings. I guess not.

We planted on Wednesday evening before small group, and they were looking nice in their new homes. I watered them and we left them to flourish. Well Friday comes around and so does the dreaded freezing temps.

We stopped by to check on our plot Sunday morning after returning from camping to find rows of death. Our plot is in the middle of the community garden, so we had to walk by a number of plots before reaching ours; all full of dead plants. Even those whose tomatoes were covered suffered. Some people had some pretty established plants and they were all withered and dying. I'm curious to go out tonight and see if some people's stuff has recovered, but I'm not holding out hope for our tiny, fragile plants.

So tonight we are going out to plant our tomatoes and peppers. We'll also turn in all the dead plants and see about using up the remaining seeds for the other crops we've already planted. It will mean a whole bunch of extras of some stuff, but that's alright. I'd rather have a nice full garden, and it also means less weeding.

It's just sad is all.

Hands Off?

2009-06-09T15:35:00.003-05:00

While this image might address something that is important (i really don't know, ask me in 5 months) but right now it makes me laugh, and I hope I'm never that kind of parent.

Wedding Ceremony required?

2009-06-05T14:15:00.003-05:00

For a Christian, is the wedding ceremony required to be considered married?

I don't think so.

Random Music Stuff

2009-06-04T10:58:00.002-05:00

Celine Dion first released "It's all coming back to me now" in the summer of 1996. We were on a family vacation through the Okanogan in BC and driving through the orchards and such when it came on the radio. When it first started I swore it was a Meat Loaf song that I'd never heard (which is rare), or a new one, so I was pretty excited to say the least. But then this woman's voice starts singing, and I remember thinking to myself, "Oh, it's a duet." But it wasn't. I was just that whiny ass Celine Dion. *blech* Now I was only 13 at the time, but I was pretty pissed off that she was doing an obvious Meat Loaf song.

Years later I found it was originally intended for Meat Loaf's Bat out of Hell 2, but "I'd do anything for love (But I won't do that)", which I think was a better choice, but then "It's all coming back to me now" was slated for Bat out of Hell 3.
The problem arose when Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman had a bit of a falling out in the mid 90's and he gave it to Celine. :p But they patched things up and it ended up being recorded for Bat out of Hell 3, on which he performs it with Marion Raven (previously of M2M fame) and a version that I find about 7 million times better than Celine Dion's, and I feel that things are a little more right in the world.
(Bat out of Hell 3 came out a few years ago, but I thought it is important enough that I can still bring it up)

A few years back Mama Bean and I went to see a bunch of concerts, and I figured I'd buy stuff from the opening bands in case they ever got popular. Opening for The Weakthan's or The Watchmen (I can't remember which) was this little band called The Longest Run. I quite enjoyed them, so I bought a t-shirt. The next weekend we saw Tegan and Sara, and opening for them was this little band called Metric. I wasn't a huge fan as their music was much less refined than it is now, and a little rockier. Not really my style, so I didn't buy any merch. Now who's the bigger band? lol At least I can say I saw Metric before they made it big.

I'm getting tired of music snobs. Everyone has an opinion, and they are flocking to the internet to tell everyone exactly what they think. For some reason I've been coming across a lot of pretentious people writing about music lately. I don't understand the attitude of going around saying so-and-so's music sucks and if you listen to it, then you have bad taste in music. Musical tastes, like religious beliefs, are personal beliefs, and when you insult them, you are insulting the person. When did it become acceptable to make personal attacks on people? Why is this an acceptable practice? Sure, you don't have to like something, but just because someone else does, it doesn't make them wrong, or a lesser person because of it. We all have our own preferences, so why does it have to be such an issue? Music snobs are assholes.

Home

2009-06-01T12:31:00.001-05:00

I read a post from C Lo over at One Smarmy Mama that got me thinking about the concept of “home” and what it really is. Is it the place where you grew up? Is it the place you live now? Is it the place your parents or rest of your family live? Is it the place that all of those cliché sayings say it is? E.g. where the heart is. What is home?

While I used to think home and hometown were the same thing, the older I get, the more that changes. Is that just how it works, or does hometown always equal home, whether they live there or not?

Growing up, home was wherever I was living. We moved a lot for the first 9 years of my life when I lived in 6 different towns in various parts of the country from northern Manitoba, to southern Manitoba to the Yukon, to southern Alberta, back to northern Manitoba/Saskatchewan, and then finally up to the Northwest Territories where I spent almost 10 years of my life before moving back to Alberta and now I’m back in Manitoba.

For the first 9 years we were never in one place for more than 2 years, though why that changed when we moved to Yellowknife, I am not sure. I spent my formative years growing up in Yellowknife, grades 4-12. When someone asks, I say I grew up in Yellowknife. When I lived in Calgary, and someone asked me where I was from, I’d say Yellowknife. Yellowknife was my hometown, and even after 8 years of living in Calgary, I didn’t feel like I was from Calgary. Yellowknife was still where I was from, even though I hadn’t been there since graduating 8 years previous.

Now that I live in Winnipeg, I hate telling people that I’m from Calgary, it just feels wrong. It wouldn’t make sense to say I’m from Yellowknife, but I’m not from Calgary. I often say, “We moved here from Calgary, but I grew up in Yellowknife.” Now there’s nothing wrong with Calgary, but I’m not a Calgarian. It isn’t who I am, and I don’t want that label. I’m from a small town; I’m not a city boy.

So what is “home”? My hometown is Yellowknife, and after being away for almost 10 years I still miss it, but it is the place that I miss; the memories of the good times. I don’t miss the people. Is home defined by people or can it be defined by a place?

When I lived in Calgary, I called it home. It was where I lived, and where my family did also. Now I’m married and living in Winnipeg with my wife while the rest of my family is still in Calgary. Is home here, or back there?

For me, the concept of home has changed a lot over the years. It started with where my family lived, as I was a part of that unit. Then, when I moved out but still lived in the same city, home was my parents’ house. Even when I bought my own place, theirs was still home. Once I got married and we lived in a new place that we bought together, it still didn’t seem like home; more just a place we lived in. Home was still my parents’ house. Since moving to a new city, I feel that we are finally starting our own home. Our house is turning into our home, and I think that will be further cemented when bean is born in October. I know the house that we are living in now will not be our forever house, or even a house we are in for much more than another 4 years, but while we are there, it will be our home. Home is where I live with my wife, with my family. Home is a place that I live with people that I love.

The Meeting Place

2009-06-01T07:51:00.003-05:00

Mama Bean and I went and checked out another church yesterday morning, and had a lot of fun. We went to the early service so that we could also hit up our normal church afterwards, which I'm really glad we did.
I posted some thoughts on The Meeting place over on Twisted Christian.

It's going to be...

2009-05-28T15:37:00.004-05:00

We're having a Boy! Well, we are pretty sure anyway. We had an ultrasound yesterday morning, and it was the coolest thing in the entire world. Seriously. It was so awesome. He's just floating around in there, spinning around, moving his little arms and legs, just hanging out. And you know what? I did that. Him. Because of me. Seriously, how cool is that?!? It's awesome. I'm excited.

So yeah, we are having a little bean. Some people choose not to share, but screw that, I'm having a little boy! I don't think we'll share the name though(when we eventually choose one). Skippymom and C Lo had some good advice in a comment a couple of posts back about that. It is really easy to judge a name when it isn't attached to anything but the concept of a child. It might not be a concept to me, but it is to everyone else. People are less likely to judge a name when it is attached to an actual baby and they have a point of reference for it.

So there you have it. We're having a cute little baby boy, and I couldn't be happier.

Ultrasound!

2009-05-26T20:28:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow morning is our ultrasound where we find out if it is bean or beanette. I'm pretty excited! It'll be the first time I've seen our little bean, and it's gonna be awesome.

I'm not sure what I want more, a boy or a girl. I've always wanted a girl, but since the beginning of the pregnancy I've been torn. Meh, it's gonna be awesome no matter what. :)

I love gardening

2009-05-26T20:23:00.002-05:00

I can see why people say gardening is therapeutic. After spending all day Saturday and all afternoon on Sunday at our garden plot, I understand; you just get into this trance and totally zone out.

Saturday morning I started around 10:30 and decided I was going to till the entire plot with a hoe and a rake, instead of using a rototiller. Two and a half hours later I was finished and the plot was looking great. The time just flew by. When I first started I was wishing I had some tunes, but that thought quickly subsided. The birds were chirping, the sun was shining, and I'm working in the dirt with my hands. It was beautiful.

I also love all the old people out there. Our community garden has a little over 100 plots, and I'm sure the average age is about 70. We have this cool 85 year old Yugoslavian guy across from us. When I was working alone Saturday morning he came over to talk with me, well, talk at me, for over an hour. He told me about the war (WWII), and how he was in the Yugoslavian army, and fighting the Nazis, and moving to England after the war, and marrying an English girl, and how his brother-in-law, who also lives in Winnipeg used to be a Nazi and hates him because he is Yugoslavian. I also learned that he is 85, and worked until he was 73 in construction because of his arthritis and how keeping moving and working kept the arthritis away. He also told me how Canadians can't get pissed when people speak languages other than English and French because Canada is built on multiculturalism and we need to own that, not fight it. So after all of that, I still have no idea what his name is. :) It makes me laugh. He's such a nice guy, and we now call him Mr. Slav.

All the old people out there are glad we are there. They always make comments about how they are so happy young people are getting involved in gardening.and they also are quick to offer advice. TONS of advice. About every aspect of gardening. It makes me laugh.

I love gardening.

Some Gardening Updates

2009-05-25T10:00:00.003-05:00

Here's a little update on our gardening adventures so far.

Chris and Mama Bean in Winnipeg

We'll have some more pictures in the coming days. It is pouring rain today, so hopefully when it is done, we'll go out and take some pics (providing it isn't too muddy)

Lessons from Our Garden

2009-05-23T22:26:00.003-05:00

Alright, things I learned today.

A 1500 sq.ft garden (which we thought was 1800, but it's actually 25x60, not 30x60) is much more manageable when it is split into 10 mini gardens. We now have 10 150sq.ft gardens and it seems much more manageable.

It is much easier to till a 1500 sq.ft garden with a roto-tiller, than by hand. I knew this going in, yet I did it by hand anyway. It would have taken 20 min and cost $25 to have the dude roto-till it, but instead I did it with a rake and a hoe. A hoe that I proceeded to break in the process.

When working outside for an extended period of time, one should wear sunscreen, preferably SPF30 or maybe even 45. Just because it is windy, and doesn't feel very warm, doesn't mean you aren't getting burned, just ask my epidermis. You can call me Lobster Boy for the next couple of days.

There are a lot of politics when it comes to community gardens. This morning I saw a dude yelling that he'd been screwed over as I received a lot that is totally covered in weeds. It had something to do with people he pissed off last year, and he wasn't happy about it.

Tomorrow I will post some pictures of our garden. Mama Bean has a list of everything we are growing and a map that she has drawn up of it. She said she will post it tomorrow, so I'll be linking to it when she does.

ICLW

2009-05-22T12:00:00.002-05:00

It is ICLW (I come; [but] leave [as a] we, International Comment Leaving Week) and I thought it would be a great way to come across more blogs out there in the wide world of the internetz. (see graphic to the right)

So here's a run down on ICLW. Mel has a list on her blog where people sign up, and for one week the people on the list go around visiting other people on the list and leave comments on their blogs. Commenting week runs from the 21st to the 28th and everyday you are supposed to comment on 5 blogs and return 1 comment for a total of 6 comments per day. It is open to anyone, and has been running since sometime in 2008.

The lady (Mel) that started this whole thing is a big IF (infertility) blogger (and even has a book), so naturally that is the community that she has surrounded herself in, and that flock to her. Now I know nothing about IF, adoption, pregnancy loss, and all of the things that surround that. I started finding more and more of these types of blogs when looking for other parenting-type blogs and pregnancy blogs in preparation for the birth of bean.

So ICLW has grown through this community and of 130 blogs, 95% are about infertility, adoption, loss, adoption, and related topics. It's really cool to see this type of community and the benefits it brings; another benefit of this great thing known as the internet.

I have a small problem though, I feel out of place. I feel like an interloper. I feel like I'm visiting all of these blogs that are about topics that I know absolutely nothing about (though after a couple days of reading, I feel like I could hold my own in a conversation about infertility and the treatments surrounding it), and I feel like I'm intruding on these people's lives. It is a weird feeling, and something I've never come across in all my years of trolling blogs. I leave comments, but they feel weak and pithy. Why would this community care about the words of some random dude who has no idea what they are going through? Some guy that while he is going to be a dad, it was a surprise and hasn't spent thousands of dollars on it.

Now I don't know where these insecurities are coming from as these blogs are written by absolutely wonderful people; wonderful, kind, patient, loving people. I just feel like an outsider. But I guess that is okay, I can't always fit in right? I'm learning a ton about people with perseverance and patience and love and heart. I've come across a number of blogs that I'm really enjoying reading, and will definitely be adding to my list.

My new MacBook Pro

2009-05-21T19:01:00.001-05:00

Some days I really enjoy my job. I never wake up dreading going to work, though some days I just want a day off, but that is just in general, not because of my job. And then there are all the perks. Like working with awesome people, and having a steady weekday 8-4 schedule with no OT or weekends.

Today I received my new MacBook Pro (courtesy of my employer), and I'm loving it! The keys are so smooth, it has a sleek aluminum exterior, and a bright, glossy screen. It's beautiful, and so much fun to use. Being a PC user for so many years, I'm loving using Macs as well. It's like a whole new world to learn and discover. It is a pretty slick interface that is quite intuitive built on top of this amazing linux core. When I run into a situation where the GUI is failing me, I just open the hood and delve into the depths (and power) that is the terminal. I LOVE it!
I don't really do anything at home to warrant the extra money it would cost to buy one, (that and I have 3 other more than capable computers) but I'll get as much as possible out of it even though it is from work. We have tons of home-use licenses so I'll be able to use the full Adobe CS3 suite as well as Aperture 2. We even have the new Office for Mac 2008 on it which is fun and new. So much fun!!

So yeah, my job rocks and so do the perks. I don't know what I'm going to do when bean (or beanette) shows up, and I do the whole stay-at-home dad thing. I think I'm going to miss it. Though I think the perks of being a dad are going to far outweigh those of any job.

Sisterhood Award

2009-05-19T15:20:00.003-05:00

Now Mama Bean is just going to add this to the list, but I thought it was totally sweet.

Last week, one of my blogosphere friends was nominated for a blog award called the "Sisterhood Award." You basically nominate 10 people on your blog who's blogs you follow and are written "with great attitude and/or gratitude." It's pretty cool, she writes a great little blog and I've been following here for quite a few years (since she had one kid, and she now has 3) and we've developed this sort of blogosphere friendship which is kinda neat. Blog friendships aren't like real friendships, they take much longer to establish as you are only really reading what they have to say on their blog, commenting and vice versa.

So when she made her list of blogs that she reads and nominates for this "Sisterhood Award" she cheats and adds me. I was a little embarrassed at first, a little surprised, but mostly it was just this warm, fuzzy feeling that made me happy. I write my blog, I update regularity, but I don't tend to put a lot of thought into it. I write from the heart about things in my life, thoughts that go through my head, and whatever else. It is a really cool feeling to think what I write might affect the way someone thinks about something or makes any impact whatsoever in their lives.

So while Mama Bean might consider this another thing to add to the 'list', I think it is an honor.

I'm going to refrain from sending it out to others, as it just seems kind of weird for a guy to be passing on the Sisterhood Award, but there are many others out there that are spreading the love to great bloggers.

A Clean House = A Happy Christopher

2009-05-19T09:32:00.004-05:00

I love when my house is clean. It makes me happy. It reduces anxiety and tension. It is just plain wonderful.

Once I get into cleaning mode, I just get going and things start getting clean, it is great. The problem is that it takes a lot of effort to get into cleaning mode, as I generally don't enjoy it (though for some reason once I start cleaning, I enjoy it).

Yesterday we did laundry, cleaned up the kitchen and did dishes, swept all of the floors, vacuumed (why does that word have a double-u?) all of the rugs (including the stairs with our super awesome stair attachment for our super awesome Dyson Animal vacuum cleaner), cleaned the bathroom, and washed the kitchen floor (on hands and knees with a brush and rag NOT with a mop. a floor will never get as clean with a mop or sponge on the end of a stick as it will if you get down there and scrub). It was great. I love looking around and shit is in it's place, there isn't some dried grossness stuck to the floor, there are no dirty dishes sitting on the counter, and no dust in the corners. There is no fuzz stuck in the rug, no pee splatter in the bathroom, no smudges on the mirrors, and no water marks on the taps.

I don't know why I don't clean more often. It doesn't make any sense.

Daddy Blog 18/05/09

2009-05-18T21:49:00.004-05:00

Names

Naming a child can become a quite the point of contention between soon-to-be parents. Mama Bean and I discussed it a bit prior to having kids, and thought we had one if it was a girl (Sophia Claire), but were at odds over a boys name (I LOVE Arthur, Mama Bean really does not). When we first found out that she is pregnant with bean we spent time throwing names back and forth. There are a lot of really great names out there, though I find I like far more girl names than boys. Lately I've been really liking the name Ezra if it is a boy. It is pretty Jewish, but I kinda like it. It isn't super common, and easy to spell. We also like Tobias (Toby). We are also not even halfway through the pregnancy and my mind will change a million more times. :)

My biggest problem when it comes to naming kids is people that want their little bundle of joy to be "unique" and they figure the easiest way to do this is by giving them some wacked out name, or a name with a "unique" spelling. Seriously, there doesn't need to be 7 BILLION different spellings for every name out there. Those poor kids. You think you are being unique, but that kid is going to be stuck with a constantly misspelled name, or having to continually correct people. That's not cool. I had to do that enough and my name is Christopher! Do your child a favor and don't fuck them up for life by trying to make them "unique." They'll be unique enough, they don't need the additional pain in the ass of a uniquely spelled name.

In 2 weeks (May 27) Mama Bean will be going for her 20 week ultrasound, at which point we have the option of finding out if bean is a boy or a girl. Mama Bean really wants to find out as it will make things much easier for her. Mama Bean is all about planning, and it would make things MUCH easier. On the other hand, I'm sitting on the fence. Part of me really wants to know, as it makes things that much more real, but part of me wants the surprise. Since it is important to Jo, I think we will head down the route where we find out.

Then there is the decision, do we tell others, or keep it a secret? And if we decide on a name, do we tell people, or keep it a secret also? I like the idea of not telling people the sex of bean, or the name we choose. Though slipping up on the gender would be so easy. So maybe we tell people the sex, but not the name. :) ("if we decide on a name by the time the birth happens," jo says) She's so cute.

Daddy Blog 15/05/09

2009-05-16T22:48:00.001-05:00

Mama Bean is at almost 18 weeks and today it finally hit me that we don’t really have to worry about a miscarriage any more. Sure the possibility is still there, but for the first 3 months it was a very real possibility and a little fear that was always sitting just under the surface.

Today that fear left me. It flew away like a little bird, and it is really nice to not have that anxiety and stress.

A couple of weeks ago, Mama Bean went in for some blood work that tests for spina bifida and downs. Having a child with physical or mental disabilities is something that has always scared me, and I was never really sure how I would deal with it were that to happen. (We have since received results saying the chances of both are 1/18,000 and 1/32,000)

I’m not unfamiliar with kids and mental disabilities. Growing up in Yellowknife, there seemed to be an inordinate amount of kids with FAS, and I knew a number of families with autistic kids, along with the standard array of students in school with various mental disabilities. These kids always made me uncomfortable, and I never really knew how to act around them. I don’t think there was any particular reason for this attitude, I think it was because I never really associated with them or had friends/family friends with people with disabilities. Lately though, my attitudes about having a child with a disability are slowly starting to change.

There is a couple at our church that have an autistic son in his late teens and watching them has really started to eat away at those previously held fears. When I watch them with him, I see this unwavering love and patience. They love him in a way that I have never understood, and didn’t see very often growing up. Maybe it is because being a dad is in my very near future, or maybe that I am finally old enough to understand that kind of love, but my attitudes are really starting to change. Watching how they love him, how they treat him, just everything about the way they raise him. It just blows my mind, and makes me realize that it wouldn’t be the end of the world to have that happen. There are a lot of people out there that love and raise children with disabilities, and I can imagine that it must be really difficult, but from watching these two, I realize that your world doesn’t end; it goes in a different direction.

I think my spiritual growth is also having a big impact on this attitude change. Accepting that I can’t control absolutely everything, and having faith that I will be able to handle anything that life throws my way because He will never allow us to be tested beyond what we can handle. Now that might sound really cliché, but those words bring me peace. And it’s easy to say things like that when I’m not in a time of tribulation, but I like to think that I’ll be able to keep this faith through the tough times that inevitably come in life.

It is nice to have this improving attitude as it definitely lowers some of the stress and anxiety of having a child.

Random thoughts for a Friday

2009-05-15T15:49:00.003-05:00

Working in a high school scares me. Well, not so much the working in a high school part, more the seeing what kids in high school are like and thinking that I'm going to have one of them. See I was a pretty good kid growing up. Sure I got in trouble occasionally, but not really. I didn't drink, didn't do drugs, didn't go out partying, and hung around with decent people. I had rules, and I followed them for the most part. My parents took an interest in my life, but weren't the meddling type. I see such a wide range of kids everyday and since I see the delinquint kids the most (as they are always in the halls during class), they stand out the most and make the biggest impression on me of what kids are like. I know it isn't a good representation, but it shows me what could be. And that scares me. I had absolutely amazing parents, and I'm going to do my best to live up to the example they set.

I'm in the mood for some epic movies. I don't want to be at work, I want to be at home watching movies like Gladiator, Braveheart, The Patriot, Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk Down. Movies where the entire thing is awesome, not just the fight scenes (*cough* Lord of the Rings *cough*). Since I can't sit at home and watch movies, I will sit here and do my work to the soundtracks of Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, Braveheart and Jurassic Park. I like doing my work to great soundtracks, it makes me feel like I'm doing more important work than I actually am. :)

I just has some amazing chocolate cake. And to make it even more amazing, it was cooked in a crock pot. One of the teachers borrowed a secretaries crock pot, and when he returned it to her today, he returned it full of the ingredients to make a chocolate cake. So they turned it on this morning, and 4 hours later, tada! See when you bake a cake at home, you get that nice baking smell for about 45 minutes. When you cook it in the crock pot, you get HOURS of that smell. Amazing!

Today after work is the beginning of the long weekend. A weekend during which I wanted to get our garden prepped and planted. But it doesn't seem to be looking like that is going to work. It's -2 out there and it has been raining for most of the week. Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE the rain. Just not rain accompanied by FREEZING COLD. Just north of us there was a winter storm warning, and it looked like this this morning. Seriously...it's May long, not Christmas Eve. So while we don't have the snow, we have the wet and cold. This means the dirt isn't going to be in any shape to work with, expect to maybe have fun playing in the mud.

I love scrolling through people's blogrolls on the side of their blogs and checking out all the other bloggers out there. It's amazing all the cool people out there and the things that they write about. Lately I've been finding lots of gardening blogs, and I'm learning a lot from people that have been doing this for years. It makes me even more excited to go out there and get my own going.

I think I'm going to start wearing a shirt and tie when I play at church. I'm not really sure why. Growing up we always had to wear a button up shirt (or even a polo shirt) or sweater, and look "presentable" on Sundays. I quickly grew out of that. Even at work I wear khakis with cargo pockets and hoodies (usually with a button up short sleeve shirt underneath), so I'm not really big on dressing up, at least not all the time. I love putting on a shirt and tie and slacks and looking all spiffy. So I figure I'll start doing that on Sunday's when I'm up front. We'll see about the other Sunday's, but for now I'll be doing it the Sunday's that I play. I'm still not sure of my reasoning, but I'm sure it'll come to me. :)

This weekend should be a cool worship music set at church. Instead of the normal 8 or 9 people on stage (drums, bass, guitar or 3, 4 vocalists), it will just be guitar/vocals, viola/vocals, and me on bass. I'm excited about it. It's a lot more bare then I'm used to playing, and definitely a change of pace from what we normally play, but I think it is something we should do regularly. I think it is important to bring it down sometimes. We'll see how Sunday goes. I'm excited about it though.