Safe and Sound

While the airline was a bit confused about the time zone changes, the fact that the plane was an hour late ended up evening things out. Who knew?

Safe and sound and it's a beautiful day. So what is she planning for me today?

Hmmm.....

Issued!

I'm still in shock that the nightmare is finally over, but thrilled that she can finally travel and relieved that I don't have to fight the bureaucracy after all.

What a mix of emotions after such a long, strange trip. Now if I can just start breathing again, we'll all be just fine.

TE ADORO!!!!

Cup Mania

The pool is over, and yet still I check the stats. The first day of the playoffs would have been enough for me to win third place! Should make for an interesting pool next year though...

Explorer vs. Firefox

For reasons unknown to me, I was unable to post for parts of last week through Explorer. I could see the text I wrote in front of me, but blogspot would insist there was no text there, so I'd have to re-write in Firefox, and there it worked like a charm.

Anyone else having issues like this or is it just *really* time for me to get a new computer?

It works fine now.

Le malade imaginaire

So I went to see a play this month and the story centers around a man who is convinced he has all kinds of illnesses, and the doctors who, through their mumbo-jumbo and big words, reap large profits from telling the man he is correct. As you can imagine, the play involves the main character feigning various illnesses during the play (with a surprisingly large number of flatulence references, oddly enough). So it was quite confusing when, towards the end of the first act, the actor declared that he was in extreme pain and was unable to continue the play, and scurried off the stage. The actress he was in dialogue with for that scene exited stage right, and people were laughing nervously trying to figure what was going on. Then one of the other actors returned on stage and said that the actor (not the character) was in fact quite ill, and that this was not part of the scene, and that someone from the theatre would be in the lobby to explain about refunds/exchanges, etc... A couple of other actors scurried across the stage and then then the houselights came up, leading people to wonder what the hell was going on. Then the actor who made the announcement about the illness came back and said the show would go on in five minutes, with a smile, leading people to conclude that this was a clever way of leading into the intermission.

So much chattering as people went to the bathroom, walked around, etc...with most people believing the play was stopped in mid-scene as an original way to start an intermission. The play centers on a man who imagines illnesses, so why not have the actor "imagine" an illness that leads to an intermission, right? How clever?

So the play started up again and then, after less than 20 minutes, an intermission again. A quick chat with the ushers revealed that, in fact, the actor really was sick, and this was totally unplanned. She said that the ushers are usually informed ahead of time of such shenanigans so that they can open doors, raise the lights, etc...but they had no warning of this and they got word that the actor was very ill, but some quick medication and he was ok to carry on (which explains why they restarted the scene over again).

I am not a big fan of theatre, but that was a memorable night (and the play itself was quite fun regardless).

So, how about those politicians, eh?

Ummmm....yeah, kind of boring, isn't it? Harper et. al said they would do five things and are pretty much doing just that. No drama, no hyperbole. Well, maybe from journalists who feel slighted that they aren't asked their opinion about everything the government does anymore. They'll get over it and the government will realize it can't control everything, nor should it.

Thankfully, NHL playoffs are on now, so people will have something to talk about. Myself? I finished fourth in my hockey pool, missing third place by three points. The manager I picked for way back in October finished eighth (by two points on the last day!!), so I think my job is safe for a while longer. Not bad for my first pool since 1986. Larry Robinson is the man!

I can't see how I wouldn't participate in one next year though, I've looked at more hockey stats in the last six months than I have in the last six years. To be fair, I wasn't even in the country for large swathes of those six years, but still....

Ric Jackman is a tool!

To Travel or not To Travel

I'm still a little miffed that I even have to make this decision but, at the end of the day, it's out of my hands. If the bureaucrats down south don't do something this week, I'll be travelling before the end of the month. I always have a good time when I go, and I don't doubt I will again this time, but I just wish that they would let her come here finally.

I got the politicos involved today, so we'll see what good that does, if anything.

I have to admit, however, that I am looking forward to my next fax, which may read soemthing like this.

Dear sirs, please be advised that I will be in your country next week and I look forward to meeting with you to discuss this file.

Assuming they care (or even read the fax!).

Ah bureaucrats....

*suspiro*

Unheralded, but...

...noteworthy, this blog now has more than 200 posts. Not all of them are original, or epic tales for the times, but the number is there.

I did more gardening today, I'll find out in August/September if they turn out like the tulips or not. At least, that's what the package says...

I can't say I like gardening per se, but it's something new and interesting, and a great excuse to be outside on a sunny spring day. The temperatures are still a bit cool to have windows open, but very nice when standing in the sun. Winter is obviously not missed.

Rolling Thunder

Another treat that comes with the end of winter, though I haven't seen it yet, is the gathering of dark clouds in the sky, with the familiar drop in temperature as the sticky heat breaks into something much cooler. The thunder rolls in the distance and the first arc of light streaks across the sky. A few drops at first, but then the deluge as a wall of water crashes into the trees, the earth, life everywhere.

Behold, the thunder storm, best observed outdoors, but not as a target for lightning.

Forgiveness

As difficult as the past few weeks have been, it does not excuse nor make acceptable the behaviour I've exhibited. There are pressures and stresses that everyone goes through in life, but it is unacceptable that I should have been openly and not-so-openly hostile to people who a) were trying to help or b) had nothing to do with the situation.

I am truly sorry and I hope that you will be able to forgive me for this.

Tiptoeing through...

So last fall I decided to make a surprise for my better half in the garden, but having no previous experience in gardening, opted not to tell anyone, so I wouldn't have to deny my failures in the spring.

Happily, some of the tulip bulbs have sprouted and are growing quite fast now. I'm amazed at how they sprout though. I put some leaves over the garden bed last fall to protect them from the winter, and before I could clear the leaves out, the tulips had impaled the leaves! I guess just pushing them out of the way is not enough.

Still, I have no idea how many I planted last fall (I probably should have written that down), but so far, I have seen eight sprouts, including two of them that came up just in the last couple of days. It should be interesting to see what colours I have (I bought a bag of mixed bulbs).

Too bad she won't be here to see them....

Ever wonder...

...if the same people who complain about iPods isolating people from each other are the same people who complained about boom boxes in public places 20 years ago?

Just asking....

Quotable

Abdul Rahman is a former aidworker in Afghanistan who converted from Islam to Christianity, which is punishable by death under Shari'a law. He is now living in Italy, which granted him asylum. The judge in Afghanistan who was in charge of Rahman's fate, Ansarullah Mawlavezada, defended the independence of the Afghan judiciary.

"In the West you allow two women to get married beause that is the law, and I respect that. In Afghanistan we have Shari'a law, and the people respect and accept this. Shari'a law is very clear."

Brrr...

When the temperature plunges 25 degrees between Friday afternoon and Tuesday afternoon, you know it's April. Minus 5 degrees never felt so cold!

Taking the edge off

So Friday was a tough day at the office, not because anything bad happened, but more because I was working on something that is freakishly complicated, which was causing brain spasms by the end of it. I was rather discombobulated when I got home and did two things:

1) I poured myself a finger of scotch, and;
2) Spent a half-hour enjoying the warm spring air on my deck.

When I did sit down for dinner, I was feeling much calmer and relaxed and able to clearly think things through. Basically, the crisis was over, I had achieved a sense of calm and tranquility and the rest of the week-end has been delightful.

So the question becomes, what calmed me down, the booze or the quiet time contemplating nature? A combination of both? My feeling is that the time outside was probably the bigger help because a) it was a definitive end to winter and b) it was a quiet night listening to the wind in the trees, and stepping back inside just as the rain started to fall. Also, it was time to clear my mind, to put things in perspective, to re-focus and recharge.

Perhaps the booze had a physical effect that facilitated the mental relaxation, but I can't help but wonder how much different the world would be if we spent a quiet half-hour to relax instead of alcohol. That said, some scotch is a nice treat at the end of the week, regardless of how tough that week was.

Is moderation in everything the answer?

Lies, Damned Lies and...

Webstats, apparently. This is an actual quote from the forecasting tool on my stats guide:

"Forecast for today

On average 0 percent of the daily visits are made before 0:06. Based on the number of visitors of 1 today so far, today your site may have 211 page views (+/- 210)."

211 pages views, plus or minus 210? The plus would be *very* interesting to see!

Also, don't forget to change your clocks this week-end in North America (and possibly elsewhere)!