Further preparing for my move to Peace River, I bought a new computer today - a Compaq laptop. It's awesome. I got a huge discount on it because a friend of mine, Neil, is the assistant manager at Staples, where I bought it. It's even got this built in wireless internet connection thing in it so if I'm within 300 feet or so of any wireless internet connection, I'll connect to the 'net sans cords, wires or actually paying to connect. It's kinda cool.

Anyways, on a far less nerdish topic, this weekend is going to be one big party, with a short interval to go to church on saturday afternoon. And no, I won't be going to church on Saturday to repent for anything I may or may not do on Friday ;), although depending on how drunk I get, that may not be a bad idea. No, in fact, the church visit is for my cousin Tracy's wedding. Everyone in my family is pretty excited about it and happy for her, as they should be.

But before this whole wedding business there is birthday business. More specifically, Melissa's birthday. I'm going to Kamloops tomorrow, and I expect that Friday will be a shit show filled with drinking, partying and all forms of debauchery.

It's gonna be great.

Jeremy, determined to see what boobs look like in 51'' high defination...

Jeremy: Know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna go home, turn on the giant 51" T.V and see if I can find any naked boobs. They'll look huge!
Me: Dude, it's Sunday night, you aren't going to find any porn.
Jeremy: Hey, I might find some. There's a good chance.
Me: What, you think there might be some leftover porn from Saturday night T.V that they just couldn't fit into the schedule so they just try and sneak it in on Sunday?
Jeremy: Yeah, it'll be on those TLC learning type channels and they'll try and disguise it as some kind of educational show.
Nick: Oh yeah, like "Trading Spaces.....and sex!!"
Jeremy: (laughing uncontrollably) Yeah, exactly!

Well now that I have a job I decided to spend a bunch of my money. In the last few days I've bought Melissa's birthday present, a bunch of warmer clothes for up north, some beer, and a new video game for my PS2 - ESPN Hockey. It is absolutely sweet, once I got the hang of it. The best part of the game? There are classic teams, including...the 1994 Vancouver Canucks!!! It's one of the main reasons I bought the game, because in my opinion the '94 Canucks are the greatest team ever. Or at least the greatest Canucks' team ever.

So if anyone's looking for me I'll probably be parked in front of my playstation, scoring goals with Greg Adams, Geoff Courtnall and Murray Craven.

:: Peace Out ::

"Well, welcome to Bowes, anything goes here.....you'll see." - Dustin, after I told him about the job.

After two days of thinking, I've decided to take the sports reporter job in Peace River, because, as my former j-school classmate and Omega editor Neal Pobran told me yesterday, "Just take the fucker. You aren't that talented so it's the best you're gonna get." Such heartfelt advice Neal, thanks.

News travels fast in the j-school program, which I suppose makes sense, and I've had many friends offer their advice, which I appreciated. There were people who told me to think hard about it and do what I feel is best for me (Melissa, Meghan), there were those who made fun of how far north, and in turn how cold, Peace River will be (Jeremy), there were those people who just told me to take the damn job (Silv, Shaun) and then there were certain people who threatened me with "merciless beatings and excessive gnomings" (Mike).

And judging by his silence on the matter, I can sort of tell there are those people who don't particularly want to see me go anywhere (Chris). And to be honest, I don't want to move either, but I'm not really in a position right now to be turning away jobs.

Also, as I was in the decision process I was reading this book called Moneyball. It's a book about professional baseball, but there was one paragraph I read last night that I applied to me:

"No matter how successful you are, change is always good. There can never be a status quo. When you have no money you can't afford long term solutions, only short term ones. You have to always be upgrading. Otherwise you're fucked."

I don't know that change is always good, but I have no money and no experience so I suppose I can classify this as a short-term solution. It sure as hell will not be a long term one. After all, I can't afford to be fucked.

But still, I can't shake the feeling that I shouldn't be going. I don't know why that is because I need a job. But when I had to make the call this morning, it took me like 20 minutes to pick up the phone. I guess time will tell. I start on Sept. 29.

"If I curled my entire body into a ball it still wouldn't be as big as that guy's ass." - Doug.

It's been an eventful last couple of days and I don't really even know where to start. Saturday was Kyle's stag party, which was great - golfing, BBQ, then drinking. I had a killer headache and left by midnight, but it was fun nonetheless. Then I spent the rest of the weekend, plus today, at Doug's place watching football, playing video games and playing with his new dog, Jade.

So I've been busy this weekend. However, it hasn't all been good news. There were certain conflicts between people that I heard about which made me feel bad because I never like seeing people sad, angry, hurt or all three at once. It's just not cool. But I'm not there and it's really none of my business so I'll say no more on the subject except to say I hope eventually everything works itself out. But anyways....

This morning I got a job offer - In Peace River writing sports for the Record-Gazette. As happy as I am to finally have a job opportunity, it means moving away, so I'm still on the fence about it. I'll decide by thursday. It would be nice to finally have some money again, although in Peace River I can't imagine what I'd spend it on.

So that has been the last few days. Filled with ups, downs and indecision for a lot of people, not just myself. Here's hoping everyone makes the right choices.

"It's a meat shoppe during the day and a bar at night." - Mike, talking in his sleep while on the phone with Melissa.

I just got home from Kamloops, where I went for the long weekend. It was really great to see everyone again, which was the entire point of going in the first place. I slept at Mike's house for the most part, although we spent most of the time during the day at Meghan and Melissa's new place, which is considerably nicer than their last. Everyone was busy getting into school-mode - buying books, organizing schedules, building desks, but despite all that busy-ness we still had plenty of time to hang out.

I'll admit it, it felt a little strange to be around all my friends as they got prepared for another year at UCC and I didn't need to. At times, especially at the Omega office, it really felt like I was still in school. And while I admit it would be nice to be in the same town as Mike, Melissa, Meghan and the rest of 'em, I won't miss the assignments. Or the homework. Or the general chaos caused by too many assignments at once.

Things also seemed a bit odd because there were quite a few changes around town. For starters of course, Meghan and Melissa are in a different apartment, and since I made about 10,000 trips to their old place last year, it's sometimes tough to remember that I've got to drive a different direction now - I only made the mistake once, but I cleverly disquised my mistake as "the scenic route." Clever indeed. Also, at UCC there are all kinds of new things - a lot of new places to eat, new (stupid) parking lots, and a door on the second floor of the AE building that now leads to certain death and/or unrecognizable maiming.

But then again, no matter how many trees burn down, or how many new parking spots they add at the college, some things in Kamloops never change. Meghan and Melissa's hair might be a bit shorter, but for the most part everyone looked and acted the same as ever - Mike, Shaun and I were up until all hours of the night recording the radio show, Melissa regaled us with gross ("funny") email forwards she'd recieved from Sharon, Silv was worrying about...well, the things that Silv usuallly worries about, and Meghan was her usual awesome self except for a new dedication to school (I give it til Friday :P ) And Al was just Al. Like Melissa said, we're all just a bunch of goons. Always have been, probably always will be.

It may have only been a few days, but it was good to be back.

"I have the I.Q of chicken."

"A bowl of mayonaise is probably smarter than me."

- Bucholtz finally realizes what we all had suspected for years.

Tonight we had a going away party for Ian. It was excellent. Now that we all said our goodbyes we realized what an absolutely killer summer this was. I don't think I've ever drank so much.

This week is going to be a bittersweet one for me. First of all, everyone is back in Kamloops now and getting settled in, except for Mike, who was already settled in from having lived there for the last 20 years. And now that everyone is back in one place I'm going up there to hang out for the weekend, which rocks. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone.

Also I did some more freelance work this week and found out that BC Hockey Now will soon owe me $340 bucks, which is very good.

However, this week is also sort of a downer because Ian leaves again for UNBC on Friday morning. Last year it didn't suck quite as much because I was leaving too, but now that I'm not I'm kinda bummed that I won't see him again until Christmas. I don't totally know what I'll do to keep busy once he leaves, because Ian is the one friend of mine in Langley who I can consistently call and end up do nothing with but still having a decent time. Our conversations typicallly go like this:

Ian: What's up?
Me: absolutely fuckin' nothing.
Ian: same here.
Me: wanna come over?
Ian: what are we gonna do?
Me: probably nothing.
Ian: Okay.

Inevitably, this "doing nothing" usually leads to drinking, which we've been doing a lot of the last few weeks. It's quite ridiculous actually, and this week will be no different. Which is the one good thing about Ian leaving - it gives us a reason to drink excessively and party all week long. Not that we ever needed an excuse before.

So it'll be week of up-and-downs. But mostly ups, because it'll be a fun few days until Ian leaves, and then after that, a fun few days in the 'loops. It'll just be the short time in between that will kind of suck, but that's okay, to be honest I'm getting sick of that punk Ian anyways. He's kind of a dick.

Adios Forbesy, have a good time in PG.

I'm having one of those days.

One of those days where I'm stressed and angry and all I feel like doing is getting into my car and driving far far away to somewhere like Mexico or California or somewhere. Far away from classified ads, job posting websites, worrying parents and instructions cleverly disquising themselves as advice. I just can't take the constant pressure and the conversations I've already had a million times before. It's just constantly hanging over me and any attempt to get it to go away is quickly thwarted.

The only problem with driving far far away is that gas has reached the staggering price of 88.9. Gas costs money, and in order to have money I need a job. But if I had a job I'd have no reason to drive angrily to Mexico. It's a vicious circle. It just keeps going and going without stopping, which is what makes it vicious. And a circle.

Since driving away to parts unknown isn't really a viable option, here is my contigency plan. I call it "Plan B". Clever eh?

In order to keep my fucking sanity I will no longer talk about jobs or any employment topic with anyone. Well, maybe some people. But my mind needs a break from it. People (who know who you are), don't even send me jobs anymore unless it is absolutely the best job possible. (also, mike, this message isnt for you. you can keep sending me whatever weird and/or relevent jobs you'd like)

Thank you for listening to my meandering and angry rant. That is all.

Just a quick note: The Tragically Hip's most recent music video for "The Darkest One" is their best video they've ever done, and quite likely, the best video ever in the history of music.

It's stars Don Cherry as a fried chicken delivery guy; the trailer park boys, Gord Downie from the band, and cats. Lots of hungry cats.

So sit your ass in front of MuchMoreMusic all damn day until it comes on. Or if you don't have as much free-time as me, just download it of Kazaa or something.

Best video ever.

This post brought to you by the word plab, which, according to Meghan Low, is the "new, hip word."

Well I spent the majority of my time this weekend drinking. Jeremy has his house to himself for a few weeks so we went drinking there on friday, then again on saturday. Oh, and me and Ian also stopped by on thursday for a few beers. Okay, a case of beer. But who's counting?

Friday was pretty fun - not a whole lot of people, just the usual crew plus the girls from Delta. I didn't get that drunk, because we started late (11:00) but still drunk enough to not remember talking to Mike on MSN at 4 o'clock in the morning.

Al stopped by on saturday afternoon, on his long trip from Port Alberni to his eventual destination - Prince George. We went out for a beer before he had to continue on his way. It was nice seeing him again, even if it was brief. The rest of the night was basically a blur, but drinking a 26 of rye will do that to ya.

And I spent the majority of my Sunday recovering from Saturday. On Sunday morning around 6 I woke up and got sick. Then I drove home at 9:30, and was basically sick non-stop until 6 oclock at night. with occasional breaks to sleep. I'm feeling a bit better now, but not much. I think my liver needs a break.

Which figures, since Nick is always wrong, a fact I try to remind him of continually every day.

by the way Nick, your archives work now. So any verbal retaliation on your behalf is instantly forfeited out of gratitude to me.

referring to my "That time again" post......

My body must think it's time for school again too. It's 1:30 AM and I'm nowhere near tired, it's just like I'm back in the 'loops. Mike and I have spent the last while re-reading old blogs and laughing our asses off about moments from the last year. It's been hilarious, and kind of gets us pumped for another year of good times, whether I'm there all the time or not.

The whole re-reading blogs started when I mentioned to Mike that I didn't think I had as many interesting stories to tell as some people do. But after reading the blog archives, I think I was wrong.

Stealing an idea from Mike, who in turn stole it from two of his friends...a survey.

:: That Time Again ::

I got the first taste of one of my favourite times of year last night. It was kind of cold and damp out, the kind of weather you can expect in October, right before it really starts getting wintery. It was sort of foggy out, and you could smell the rain on the grass. It reminded me of the Fall, and I don't know why I like that feeling so much, but I do. It also reminded me that it was the end of summer, which for years meant time to go back to school.

But not this year.

My mind is mistakenly in the back to school mode. The other day I found myself thinking "Alright, soon everyone will be back in Kamloops." Then I realized that it really makes no difference for me because I won't be. I'm not complaining, I like being here and it'll be even better once I get a job (hopefully Sept. 1st working for the city) But it's a very unusual feeling not to have to go back to school. And for the first time ever I realized I might actually might miss school.*shudder*
And I've been so busy this summer just hanging out with Chris, Ian, Jeremy and Sean that I haven't had time to realize how much I missed all the j-school posse. I guess I'll have to make a few trips to the 'loops. At least I'll get to see everyone all at once.

As much fun as I've had these last 4 months, I've had just about enough of my unemployed summer. Bring on the Fall- full of employment, bad weather, and lots of friends only three hours away.

Marcus: Hey, those girls are pretty hot.
Me: They're a little bit young dude.
Marcus: Yeah but I'm American, with the exchange rate it all works out.

I've been spending the majority of this week hanging out with my good buddy Marcus, who flew in from Ohio for a hockey camp. It's been pretty cool having him around since I don't get to see him very often, although he was here in May. Usually it's about once a year, and now that he's relocated from California to Ohio to play hockey, he's even farther away. it's been a fun but somewhat low key week. Since it's now officially hockey season for him, he doesn't drink or do a lot of partying so we watched a lot of good movies this week instead. On Tuesday we saw American Wedding, which was funny, as expected. Although I didn't like it as much as the first two I still thought it was really good. I had a few problems with it, but I won't speak of them now, as I know most of this blog's regular readers haven't seen the movie yet.

Then yesterday we went and saw Pirates of the Caribbean, WHICH WAS WICKED!!! I had heard it was good, but it was even better than I thought it would be. I don't know, maybe I just like pirates. Tonight, having significantly less cash than the previous days, we just sat around the house and watched Gangs of New York on DVD. I'd seen it once before and it just gets better every time.

Also, on an unrelated topic, I still get to write for BC Hockey Now despite my move from Kamloops back to the Lower Mainland. While the Blazer's beat will be taken over by fellow UCC'er Matt Silver, it looks like I'll be on the BCHL scene this year, at least a little bit. Right now I'm working on season previews for 4 teams, and some of my articles, notes and quotes will probably by in the 2003/04 BCHL Guidebook as well, which I'm excited about.

:: BEER, BREAKDOWNS, AND CREDIT CARD THEFT ::

or

How I spent my August long weekend

Let me bring everyone up to speed regarding the good, the bad, and the ugly of the last few days. First of all, the good:

This weekend I went with Chris and Sean on a rafting/camping trip near Princeton. The rafting and the camping and the drinking was all wicked. Lots of good food, lots of beer. It was a rowdy, drunken couple of days and we all had a great time. However, the great time notwithstanding, it was a hell of an ordeal just to get to the campsite.

Originally we wanted to leave by 9:00 AM so we'd get there by noon at the latest. However, we were all hungover and tired from a party at Sean's place the night before, so we were a little late. We finally left at about 10:30. Then, by Chilliwack Sean, who was driving, was starting to fall asleep. A quick trip to a gas station to buy Jolt cola and sandwiches and we were on our way again.....for awhile. Just a few miles inside Manning Park Sean's car lost all power and we quickly went from cruising at 110 km/h to stalled on the side of the Hope/Princeton Highway. Now, what's frustrating about this, is that Sean's car is almost brand new with only 8,000 Km's on it.

To top it all off, none of our cell phones were within service range. So there we sat, stranded, and nobody would stop and help us out, despite the signs/pleas-for-help we had stuck on the back of Sean's car. In 2.5 hours, only 2 people stopped. Then finally a cop came and got us a tow truck. Sean has a Honda roadside assistance package so the tow truck was free - but he would only tow to a Honda Dealer....in chilliwack. So he took the car to chilliwack while the 3 of us sat, with all our camping stuff, at a gas station waiting for help to arrive. Help came about 45 minutes later when my dad and Grandpa came and brought us a car. Luckily for us, my parents were a short distance away in Harrison, visiting my Grandparents. So we were finally on our way, turning a 3 hour trip into a 7 hour one. But it was worth it because it was a fun weekend.

Then today happened. My brother lost his wallet, including his credit card. Somebody found the card and proceeded to use it 11 times at places like Petro-Canada, Pizza Hut, and 7-Eleven. I would've bought more expensive stuff, but apparently this guy's a moron. Soon though, he'll be a moron with a black eye and no bike to ride. Let me explain....

After finding out where he used the card, my mom and brother did some detective work, and after talking with people at many of the places the card was used, they now have a description of the thief. And the people at the Shell gas station near my house mentioned he rides his bike there every morning to get a coffee. So that's where me and Chris will be tomorrow. Now, we aren't going to beat the hell out of him, as much as we'd love to, because this isn't worth getting arrested for or anything stupid. We just want to get a look at the guy and maybe scare him a bit. I also want to steal the thief's bike, just for fun. Stealing from a thief....Ah, the irony. I'll keep you posted if anything happens.

:: BREAKING NEWS ::

My former place of residence, the wonderful town of Kamloops, is on fire. Well, not the whole town, but certain parts of it. Thankfully, Mike is right on top of the situation, and has sacrificed sleep in order to get pictures and video. Go to his dailydeco page for more information.

It's hot here. And not just regular hot. Or even fuckin' hot. It's fry-an-egg-on-my-goddamn-forehead hot.

Now, I'm not necessarily complaining, because it's very nice out, but I don't really handle the heat all that well. And as much as I like the beautiful weather, I've come to the conclusion that miserable, cold winters aren't all that bad. I know that may be hard for some people to believe, especially sun-lovers like Melissa, but I like winter. (note: I like Vancouver winters, not necessarily winters north of the Vancouver region)

Anyways, usually when it's this hot I just lie around and don't really take advantage of the summer. It's too hot to do anything is my usual response to anything. But not this year. Nope, by accident or design, I've been doing a lot more summer-ish things than normal. And it's been sweet.

I've been camping in the sun at the Merritt Music Fest and this weekend I'm going rafting. Also, I've done my fair share of beer-drinking on sunny patios. And the other day me and Ian took his dad's air-conditioned car down to Stanley Park for the day and then we went for some beers (Come to think of it, most of my cool summer experiences have involved beer. Oh well, it's probably just a coincedence.) And tommorrow I'm going to a Vancouver Canadians baseball game and I'm going pay seven dollars for three bucks worth of beer while heckling minor league ballplayers from the cheap seats.

Not a bad way to beat the heat if you ask me (and most people do).

Maybe I like summer more than I thought.

Jeremy on beer...

Jeremy: This is how I look at it. In the wild, if there's a herd of buffalo, the weaker, slower buffalo get killed off. And if the herd losses all the slow, weak ones, it makes itself stronger as a whole. Now, everyone knows that beer kills brain cells. But I think that beer only kills the slow, weak brain cells, which then makes my brain stronger, just like all the buffalo.

Nick: Then how do you explain the battery shoved up your nose.