:: The weekend, a baseball legend, and a crab attack ::

"People over 50 will eat feces if they have to." - Sean

"I can't stand women. If they didn't have cunts we'd hunt 'em. And then I'd mount them on the wall and face-fuck them." - Jeremy, just mangled on Friday night.

"Grab my balls just don't hold my hand." - Dicastri, to another guy at Lambies. (can't remember who).

"I felt dirty after the crack whore smelled me." - Kels

Then tonight, at the Boathouse, courtesy of Kels again....

"I injured myelf eating."

"Gimme all your insides!" - talking to her crab.

"That's the best thing I've had in my mouth in a long time." (No I will not be putting that into context. Not a chance. I'll leave it to your imagination.)

This weekend was again a decent one, pretty much par for the course.

Friday night there was a Canucks game against Chicago (For the record, it was one of the most entertaining games I've seen all year). Like I alluded to in a previous post, we had no Slapshots to go to. Not wanting to kick a dead horse, I won't go on and on about that problem.

But on a similar tangent, we used Friday to try and find a new place to go.

It's pretty clear that Shark's Club is not that place.

Now, during the day Shark's a nice sports bar - it's only Friday and Saturday nights it turns stupid. And they've got real good food (ask Kels and Panda about the Mediterranean wrap), and they've got pretty good seating if you get the right table - which we did.

But our usual routine don't fly there.

I won't go into detail, but to say that crazy, literally psycho people threatening your life in the parking lot is a pretty obvious sign from the Drinking Gods that maybe, just maybe, it's time to mosey on down the path to another establishment.

Besides, it was too expensive for an every day place.

So, that being settled, we grabbed some booze and went over to our place, where we just sort of chilled out - we even had a fire in the backyard fire pit for the first time this year, so that was pretty rad.

Things got weird, however, when somebody noticed Kelsey's car was missing from in front of my house. Yup, stolen - or so we thought.

Kels called the cops, told her all the required info, and as she was pacing my front yard on the phone, she saw her car - three houses down, across the street, parked nicely in the opposite direction it was originally in. The cops hung up on her, and when they did come by about an hour later, immediately asked two questions:

"Is Kelsey here?"
"Is she drunk?"

Seriously though - her car was down the road, with no damage - no forced entry, no ignition damage, nothing stolen. Just there.

Somehow. (I have two theories on what happened, but I won't get into that now.)

The only spare set of keys are in my room - for those times when Kelsey the Genius gets out here and locks her keys in her car. And they were still there when I went to bed at 2:30.

Just a strange, strange event.

Tonight turned out to be pretty fun too. Rather than actually buy Kelsey something for her birthday, we went to the Boathouse in White Rock for dinner - which we've really been meaning to do since about last June.

So we ate quite a feast, which was highlighted by my inability to subtlely break a lobster shell, and Kelsey actually getting cut (twice!) by a crab leg. She had a deathgrip on one of the legs, and in her attempt to pull it apart, ending up squeezing too hard and cutting herself on the sharp little points.

It was still Kelsey 2 Crab 1 since he was on her plate, dead, but the guy still got one on the way out.

And I laughed and laughed (not at the injury so much as the fact that not many people hurt themselves eating).

And finally, I hate to end this post on a sad note, but I must.

Kirby Puckett, the rolly-polly former Minnesota Twins outfielder, died today at 44, after complications from a stroke.

While I've always been a Blue Jays fan - and a Mariners fan in my last handful of years once I began to re-love baseball again in my late teens and 20s' - I always liked the Minnesota Twins.

I don't know why really, perhaps because two of their biggest stars during the 1980's and early 90's were two guys who didn't quite fit the 'athlete mold' - Puckett, and first baseman Kent Hrbek. They were both as wide as they were tall - kind of like I was (And still am, to a certain extent.)

There were other Twins I liked too - Dan Gladden, Jack Morris, Chuck Knoblauch, but I liked Puckett most of all. His biography is on my bookshelf right now.

In his later years, Puckett suffered from glaucoma, causing him to retire due to blindness in one of his eyes. So he had a few medical problems.

But I never expected this, and now I'm just kinda sad.

I never really openly cheered for the Twins or even really for Puckett - in the early 90s they were chief competition for the Mighty Joe Carter-led Jays, of course. But they were always my "closet" faves - kind of like the guy who says his favourite movie is Goodfellas when really it's The Goonies.

Oh wait, that's me too.

Adios Mr. Puckett.

There's a Canucks' game on TV in T-minus 1 hour. Just now, the reality has hit us...

"Where are we going tonight?" - Amanda

"This sucks not having a good reliable place anymore!" - Sean

"Last night Amanda called me during the game and I heard noise in the background and figured she was at Slaps, then realized there is not a slaps anymore." - Tara

"Let's go to Slaps..haha, oh." - Buchs.

This sucks.

Say it ain't so.

I wanted to let the Slapshots: Last Call post sit at the top of this site for a day or so, but I figured I'd let you know about a couple changes to the ol' Classic Times. For one - as you can already see - I switched up the header/title graphic at the top of the page.

Secondly, if you scroll down a bit and look at the left-hand sidebar, you'll notice a Hall of Fame section - where links to the top posts, quotes, and stories can be found, dating back to the blog's beginnings, back when it wasn't called Classic Times at all - but In the Loops.

:: Last Call ::

With everyone else writing farewell's to Slapshots on their respective blogs, I figured I should do the same, since Slaps is certainly worthy, considering how many hours, days, and pints were spent there over the past handful of years.

Tonight was the final night for Slapshots as we knew it. It will eventually just fade into the ajoining restaurant, and while it will still serve alcohol, it won't be the same but for the name on the door.

Tonight's Canucks' game was the last hurrah - although it could be argued we really went out proper on Friday night.

Although it was just a little watering hole that never made much money (and had been know to close down for months at a time due to lack of funds) it was still our home base, and it wasn't uncommon for us to be there three or four times in a given week, depending what games were on the tube.

We'll miss it, no question.

It was the place we went on boring Fridays, the place we went after ball games, the place we went to when any sporting event required a large T.V.

And the place we'd go to just 'cuz.

The food wasn't always very good, and they went through managers and owners like they changed a keg, but in the end, the bartenders knew our names, always had our table ready for us, and had our drinks on the table before we even ordered them. It was ours.

I think Amanda said it very nicely yesterday on her blog, when she said of Slaps:

"Slapshots was the place that welcomed you in before you were legal and kept you comfy when you were."

And with that I present to you... my Five Favourite Slapshots' Moments, in no particular order:

5. Bucholtz' 19th Birthday
Buch's 19th - Dec. 23, 2003 - was a killer night. I didn't live here at the time, being in Peace River. I flew home for Christmas the night of his birthday. My parents picked me up from the airport, I went home to drop off my bags, picked up Mike and went straight to Slaps. The guys were already sloshed - Buchs especially, of course. On last call, a hammered Chris demanded mine and Mike's remaining cash (which we drunkenly handed over), and he came back with something like 13 highballs for us to pound back. All I remember of Buchs is that he spilled two full pitchers of beer in Ian's lap, and ended up passed out in the parking lot by midnight. After four months in solitude in Alberta, it was good to be home.

4. Super Bowl 39
January 2005. A whole team of us were there to see the Pats' win another Lombardi Trophy as the best team in football, but I ended up winning a trophy of my own - a Sleeman's mini-fridge fully stocked with beer. For every Sleeman's beer you bought, you put an entry form into the bucket for the fridge draw. Having gone pretty hard the night before (read: Hammered) I didn't figure that downing beers at noon the next day was wise. I'd just have one, I figured. Well, one soon escalated into one bucket (3 beers), and one bucket soon turned into...well, you get it. Then the draw came and lo and behold, Lisa the bartender announced my name. So me, Chris, Ian, Sean and Dave the manager hauled it off to Chris' truck, and it was mine. It's been in my room since.

3. Canucks playoffs (2003-04 season)
I wasn't even in the bar, or the province for that matter, for this one, but I still remember it. It was Vancouver's first round series against Calgary. Yes, that series. I know the Canucks lost it on Martin Gelinas Game 7 overtime goal, but before that, I remember many, many phonecalls from my Peace River apartment to the guys - Chris, Ian, and Jer mostly - as they watched from Slaps. There was a ton of noise - and thanks to cheap drinks when the 'Nucks scored - a lot of boisterous activity. Even though I was miles away, it was still fun to hear what was going on. In a province where everyone was cheering for the Flames, it was nice to still know what it felt like to be shitfaced in a bar, cheering on the good guys.

2. New Year's Eve 2004
Oh boy, was this one ugly. I remember this one for the sheer number of people we were there with. It was one of the rare times the place was actually packed - and over 30 of us were there. Close friends. Acquintances. Hockey buddies. Friends of friends. We started drinking real early, and to be honest, I don't remember the details. One of the highlights for me was when Dani (waitress) was coming around with complimentary tiny shot-glass size plastic cups of champagne on a tray, and Me and Garski took the whole tray and did about 15 shots each of champagne. Incidentally, it was also the one-and-only time I've ever puked at Slaps. There were a pair of other solid moments - from a tanked Bucholtz getting physically shot down (pushed away) by one of Bre's friends; and Jeremy and Katie disappearing for awhile to a roller hockey dressing room...I'm sure they were only talking.

1. The last Friday
This night has already been mentioned on the blog this week, but it was still a good one. Cheap/free drinks. Brian giving us all kinds of free shots, and us leaving hammered with half the bar in our pockets. Glasses, candles, pitchers, chairs. Didn't matter - if it wasn't nailed down, we scooped it. And in Jer's case, even if it was anchored somehow, we took it anyway. Was it blatant theft? Yep. But I prefer to think of them simply as parting gifts - a way to reward the best customers that place ever saw, so we can remember the joint long after it's gone.

Sure, they can take our bar, but we'll take a bit of it too thank-you very much.

So goodbye sweet, wonderful bar. May your taps never run dry.

:: Bad haircuts, 4x4's, and fights ::

"There's nothing like a four-way man kiss." - Lambie (actually from last weekend).

"If it had been about a llama and a tranvestite It'd be a different story." - Buchs, after saying he wouldn't watch Brokeback Mountain.

"Curry's the new ketchup." - Jer

"All they know how to fucking cook is mashed potatoes. They gave me potatoes with spaghetti for fuck's sake." - Brad

"When I push the button, they come running. They're like my bitches." - Brad, on the nurses.

"You and I are gonna have words tomorrow." - Kels, to her beer.

"Don't you ever get ashamed by the things that you say?" - Sean, to Buchs.

It was, by most accounts, a quality weekend all-around. We actually had a good Friday for a change - usually they're boring because it's many people doing many different things. This time, though, we were all pretty much in the same place, except for Buchs, who just didn't show up and told us he went to a Clan Rally. Really, he went downtown to hit on coug's with his work buddies.

He insists that he had a 100% success rate, but with his new haircut, I really find that hard to believe. Just a word of advice: Nobody, and I mean nobody, can pull off the sidewalk.

Not Shawn Desman. Definitely not Kyle Bucholtz.

But I digress...

With our longtime watering hole closing its doors forever as of Tuesday, we took the opportunity to have one last blowout there Friday night. We drank for basically free, since the bartender, Brian, is a buddy of ours and no longer cares about his job. I ate dinner, drank about 8 double rye-and-sevens, two martinis, and we also had about 4 or 5 rounds of shots.

I paid $16 bucks.

Also, we took some souvenirs - but Brian said we could.

I now have a beer pitcher, martini glass, a high-ball glass, and a candle-holder thing. Panda has a freakin' bar stool, somebody else has a number of glasses and a chair, and Jeremy just ripped some Coor's light paraphernalia off the wall.

Yep, we all got our money's worth, although it is fairly sad to no longer have a home-base bar. Nobody to get us drinks before we even order them, no more preferred seating and 'preferred customer discounts."

"I think I actually might cry. This is sad." - Amanda, moments before we left.

We then proceeded to go back to Sean and Rachel's, where we got just plastered - or I did anyway. I hadn't really got drunk in awhile and I felt like I needed to get just fucked..so I did. And so did Ian, and Brett. And Jer.

The four of us, especially, were a show. Or so I was told - I don't really remember. I don't even remember how I got home. Apparently Kels gave me a ride.

It was a doozie of a night.

Saturday was similar, but a little more low-key. Me and Ian went and checked out a townhouse (it sucked), went to visit B-Rad, and then went for chicken wings. Then it was back to my house where everyone just sat around, had some drinks - the usual.

And it ended in a very familar way - with me, Chris and Jenna cleaning up the bottles, Buch's fast asleep/passed out in his truck out front, and Jeremy and Lambie beating up guys in the Mcdonald's parking lot.

Okay, maybe not everything was the usual.

Weekend Awards

Worst idea...
Bucholtz, for his duct-tape assisted haircut.

Best fight scene...
Jeremy and Lambo.

Best disappearing act...
Lambie, who we found sleeping under my stairs on the floor.

Best impulse purchase..
Kelsey, for buying Tank.

The weekly drunken argument award...
Sean and Rachel, of course.

:: The Weekend ::

This weekend was a bit of an odd one - both eventful and uneventful at the same time..sorta.

Yes, I'm aware that's not actually possible, but that's how this weekend felt for me. Friday got started a bit later than usual, but at least I squeezed in a decent-length nap. We all went to White Spot for dinner, then just chilled at Lambo's house. I packed it in around midnight though - I wasn't drinking and was just tired.

Things picked up a little bit after I left, apparently - but it continued the streak of subdued Friday nights - Sean and Rach were downtown, Jer and Katie called it a night early, and Kelsey was somewhere else entirely. Not sure where, she just wasn't there.

Saturday, I put an offer on a townhouse - so that would count as eventful. But it's only a backup offer because somebody else beat me to the punch, so chances are very, very slim I'll actually get the place, hence the uneventfulness. Went and looked at a couple new condos after that, but they sucked - way too small and overpriced.

Saturday night, while most people went downtown to Shark's Club for a hockey fundraiser, I went out with Doug, Steve, and some other people for Doug's birthday. We went out for dinner, then back to Doug's place and had some drinks.

Even if it wasn't quite on par with the craziness of a usual Saturday night with the usual crowd, it was still pretty rad. Nice to see some different faces I hadn't seen in a long time - especially Steve-O, who I hadn't seen in maybe 10 months or more.

There was less drama too, which was also a nice switch.

Sounds like Shark's Club was pretty fun too - Bobby had to call me in the morning and ask if he talked to me the night before, just to give you an example of how drunk he was.

All in all, I guess it was just a nice change to have some space for a night. Not that I don't have that already, but expect more.

And now, without further adieu, the Weekend Awards...

Best idea...
Jeremy/Nick, for 'borrowing' White Spot's "Tastes of the West Coast 2002" training video.

Best idea II...
Whoever turned the watching of the video into a drinking game.

Worst Movie...
Tastes of the West Coast 2002 training video.

The 'Shoulda seen that coming' Award...
Me, when Jer snagged my hat and locked it into a newspaper box. (That's twice now, for those scoring at home).

Best attempt to foil a theft...
Sean, at the beer store.

Oddest/funniest compliment...
Steve, who said I looked "like a fuckin pimp," last night when I met him at the restaurant. Like I said, I hadn't seen him in a long time and I'm a little different now.

Happy Fucking Valentine's Day

I hate Valentine's Day. For many reasons I don't feel like listing - maybe if I had a girlfriend, or even some easy lay on the side, I'd feel different, but I do not.

Ah well, that's life.

I'll leave you romantics with this V-Day quote from Ian...

"I got Bre flowers and all that shit. Stupid girls - flowers die anyway. I should get her a fence, that'd last a lot longer."

I don't even know what else to say to that, other than I laughed pretty hard.

"This is the first time I've ever showered while staring at Jeremy." - Ian, after hockey on Tuesday.

Pretty bland weekend, not a whole lot of good stories, or anything. Friday was lame, and I was home by 10:45.

Saturday was alright though - it was nice out for a change, so we went down to the park and threw a baseball around, then went out for dinner and over to the Scramstad residence. Certainly didn't suck, but seemed to lack our usual energy, that's all. I'm not even gonna do weekend awards because, well, I don't know that there were any. Nothing I can think of, anyhow.

And, as a side note guys, don't steal other people's shots...God that was an over-the-top episode.

As an unrelated aside, I heard the best band name on the weekend - some bar band in Vancouver is called Pepper Sprayed by Hookers.

Awesome.

:: Traffic Jam ::

Well, that was fun wasn't it kids?

While I appreciate all the blog traffic - and especially the comments - you may have noticed the over-abundance of commenting lately. Back in the day, each post was lucky to get 4 or 5 replies. Now though, each one gets close to 15-20.

It's pretty awesome, especially when everybody else's blogs still only gets a few.

That means I'm winning, bitches.

But while big numbers are great, can we all please just take a second to realize what the fuck we're commenting about before we do it? We all saw what happened on the last post - I had to delete at least 12 messages.

If you're mad, take a breath. Hell, take a breather even if you aren't mad. All I ask is this: If something looks bad -whether it appears racist, sexist, gross, or just mean - it probably isn't meant that way IN THE LEAST.

You have to consider our group of friends and how we operate. If you don't quite know, err on the side of caution because we're not bad people.

Or just give'r shit I guess, if you still want to. But just don't get angry when you lose the comment battle, like you inevitably will.

Because I run the show here, and I always win.

That, and I'm the only one who can edit or delete messages.

Carry on children.

"Do brown people go to Merritt?" - Kelsey

One of life's eternal questions.

"What you do is dip Rach in KY and say 'C'mon Sean, all the orifices are lubed." - Kels

"My mohawk is better than Jesus." - Jer

"He's brown. That's definitely below the food chain." - Kels, immediately regretting it.

"You know, you're the only guy here who I haven't seen naked." - Ian

:: Weekend Awards ::

Best Idea...
Jeremy, for "Hey Ian, want a mohawk?"

Best Answer/Biggest mistake...
Ian, for saying "Yes."

Best impersonation of a homeless person...
Bucholtz, for sleeping in his truck at 3 a.m. with a tallie on the dashboard.

Best nipple-related story
Rachel

Best dare...
Bobby, for drinking a glass of Creamy Poppyseed salad dressing.

Best addition to the dare...
Bobby again, for downing mustard and hot sauce after the salad dressing to "get the poppyseed taste outta my mouth."

Best baseball analogy...
Ian and me, for "hitting for the cycle."

:: Super Bowl XL ::

With tomorrow being the Super Bowl, I figured I'd make a prediction. In the past, my predictions have actually been fairly accurate - I've been right the last two or three years, and in 2004 I even predicted that the game would be won on a last-second Adam Vinitieri field goal.

But I'm having a tough time this year not only with a prediction, but deciding who to cheer for. I know, I'm supposed to cheer for Seattle because there "technicaly" the local team, being just a few hours south, but to be honest, I've never really been a Seahawks fan. I'm a Chargers fan, and over the last couple years, I've kind of taken a liking to the Steelers.

Chris and Ian are both gonna go hard for the Hawks on Sunday, and Bobby's cheering for Pittsburgh, but I just don't know.

One on hand, there's the locals... One the other, I wanna cheer for the Steelers because of stories like this.

Right now though, I'm leaning slightly to the Seattle side of things - in predictions and cheering.

Seahawks by six.

Well forget Vegas, everybody's got a reason to say no it seems.

That's fine though, really. I just thought I'd try and spice things up a bit.

Anyways, my birthday's a long way away still to be worrying about it now.

With other people doing Jokes of the Day and Odd Facts of the Day, I decided I needed to come up with some catchy new feature. So, with that in mind, I give you, the Weekend Awards, or the Drunkies....

Best case of pretending to be a lesbian in order to get rid of a guy...
Kelsey

Best drunken performance by a duo or group...
Jenna and Kelsey

Best case of pissing off Randy by doing something stupid...
Jeremy

Meanest Burn award...
Rachel

"Smartest" decision after a night of drinking...
(tie) Getting up early to go snowboarding - Chris, Jenna, Derrick
Driving home at like 7 a.m. with limited sleep - Kelsey

Actual smartest decision...
Sleeping in then waking other people up for fun - Nick

Angriest person after being woken up by Nick...
Kelsey

Ugliest purchase...
Kyle

Best Disappearing Act...
Ian

Funniest Moments with Cars...
(tie) Nick - No E-Brake
Kyle - running out of gas after purchasing "The Bitch"

playing a tough game of Chaser...
Me: Fuck this, I quit!
Amanda: Fine, you can't play anymore then!

At my grandparents 50th anniversary, when Chris went downstairs to crash a wedding...
Me: I've never been prouder to be a member of this family.
Dave: Wow, that's saying a lot.

"I love watching dogs back up." - Bucholtz

"Why you gotta be all up in my grill?" - Ian, to Amanda, who was sitting too close apparently.

"I like goats and they like me." - Buchs on msn, for absolutely no reason.

Last night was a pretty good night - went to Tara's house and drank there. Drank a lot actually.

Two highlights of the evening - Chris winning a lot of money at the casino; and me forgetting to pull the E-brake on my car and having to chase it down the road, unlock it, get in, and stop it before it hit a car parked on the street. It was a tough maneuver, but I did it of course.

Cuz even when I'm tanked I got skills.

Funny website info:

I checked my website stats for the first time in ages. There were some funny ways people found this site over the past few months. The following web searches brought people to Classic Times...

"how to use a coat hanger to unlock car without keys"
"whats the difference between yams and sweet potatoes"
"Aaron Pritchett gay"
"evil alien conquerors"
"drunken girl pictures"
"Bo Jackson sweet potato pie"

and my personal favourite search referral...

"fuck off"

Who searches for that?

Vegas Update:

The idea is gaining some steam. On the probably/maybe list: Me, Kels, Buchs, Lambie. The only definite No's are Jer, Amanda, Sean and Rach. I don't think its quite gonna be a 20 person shaker, but if a few people come, it'll still be rad.

:: Vegas, Baby! ::

I've come up with a brilliant idea. So brilliant it may just make your head explode.

As many of you already know, Kels is planning on a trip to the Giggle Dam for her birthday, which is March 9. (Everyone should come, by the way).

The Dam is a wicked idea, judging from the one-and-only time I went, which was just before Christmas.

Anyway, what I liked best about the idea was that it wasn't one of the following things: Roosters, Shark's Club, or going out for dinner and then getting plastered at Fort Pub and/or someone's house.

Since we all turned 19, we've done those ideas to death. This is something different while still combining our two true loves - fun, and alcohol.

So, with Kelsey's plan as an inspiration, I started thinking about something I often think about:

How can I one-up Kelsey?

Vegas, baby. That's how.

(Just kidding, I'm not trying to one-up anyone, but her birthday was what got me thinkin'.)

I'll be turning 25 which, in my mind, makes me officially old. That's a quarter-century for Christ's sake.

And I'd like to go out with a bang.

And I haven't been on a vacation in a long, long time. (No Mike, Vulcan, AB does not count). Also, within the next five months I'll most likely being dropping my entire savings account on a townhouse, and from that point on I'll be a poor schmuck with limited funds for social activities such as drinking my face off and making a fool of myself.

So before that happens, I'd like to see what kind of trouble I can get into.

It's single-handedly about the greatest birthday party idea ever. There are already a handful of people on the "Maybe" list - Kels and Ian. And Lambie said he'd be in if we get hookers (Consider it done my friend).

Unlike my thousands of other "brilliant ideas" I come up with but never follow through on, I'm quite serious about this one, and will begin organizing it quick-like. We don't necessarily have to go in April near my birthday, but I don't want to interrupt slo-pitch season.

So, who else is in? Speak now.

And answer Yes.

"GF Strong is gonna look GF Weak after Brad kicks the shit out of it" - Seaner's MSN name tonight.

And he's off!

Brad's finally off to GF Strong tomorrow - the best head injury rehab place in BC for anyone who doesn't know.

He'll be there for awhile probably, it'll be an intense amount of work for him, and we can't visit much, but it's the last stop before he gets to come home.

Give 'em hell buddy. See ya real soon.

:: Gym Theory ::

Went to the gym tonight after watchin' the Canucks game at Slapshots, and heard this interesting idea being discussed by two 20-something guys lifting weights next to where I was riding the bike.

They were discussing the merits of picking up girls at the gym, and decided that the best idea was to try and meet an average-to-relatively hot girl with "potential", who was maybe not in absolutely peak shape - but not, as one guy put it "without hope."

I'm pretty sure the subject came up because of one girl on the eliptical machine who was pretty attractive - not exactly 105 lbs, but she had some serious guns and was certainly not a "butter face".

Basically, it was these guys' theory that they should go after girls with potential because once they "got real hot" the girl would be out of their league, and the average guy wouldn't have a chance.

And, one guy pointed out, you know they'll get hotter. After all, they're at the gym.

I guess it's called buying low and selling high.

It sounds like the typical thing some guys at the gym (or Kyle and Derrick) would come up with, although I guess it doesn't have be just a slimy guy idea - could work both ways I guess, although I don't know if chicks think like that.

Matter of fact, I rarely know what girls think about anything.

I'm not saying I really agree or disagree with their philosophy, but I thought it was mildly amusing at least and worth a post (especially since I'd gone awhile without one).

Whadda ya think?

"You should beat up Jesus, I'll give you five bucks." - Amanda

"I wanna meet a girlfriend when I get to G.F. Strong so I can have some handicapped sex." - Gorski

Yeah, he's back.

Last night, there were some of you who complained about my lack of uploaded pictures. Well whiners, complain no more, the My Pictures link on the left now contains three new sections:

Christmas 2005, Dinner Party, and Random Drunk - a combo platter of photos from some parties - including the 'lil shaker here last night.

So don't say I never did nothin' for ya.

"If I get married it'll be to a stripper I get knocked up." - Buchs

"I'm choking on my own delight." - Buchs again, smashed.

When I told Buchs about Jenna's dog sleeping in my room when he was here over Christmas...
Me: Well where the hell do you want him to sleep?
Buchs: I dunno, wolverine exchange?

(I don't even know what to say about that..)

"I just juiced myself." - Kels

"Yeah, well at least I don't need tampons!!" - Sean's comeback to one of the girls.

"This week was a big ball of stupid." - Ian

"Me and Rach are queens of gracefullness." - Kels

"We have to love a lot of people in my family but we don't like any of them." - Kels, on importance of family.

Then this morning, hungover, these two gems from Kels, not even a minute apart...

"I'm just going to stop putting things in my mouth."

"Note to self: Don't bend over."

Seriously folks, not even I can make this stuff up. Well I could I guess, but I'm not.

This weekend was a good one - my first of the New Year sans beer. I wasn't planning on drinking at all really, but then decided to down a bottle or two of wine, which was actually a really good idea. It's not as bad for you as beer, and it doesn't result in the crushing defeat/blackout that occurs when one drinks Nick Nolte-levels of hard liquor.

All in a all, a good incident-free weekend - nice switch from the "high intensity" New Year's bash.

Now, for the next week or so, I'll be spending a lot of time putting together the video/slide show for my grand parents 50th anniversary party on the 21st. It's a time consuming endeavour, so I guess I should finally get crackin' with it.

:: Day 1 ::

Today it was back to the gym - beginning Phase 2 of what I previously dubbed The Nick Rebuilding Plan. I'm already down 41 lbs. with, I figure, 40 more to go.

Gimme six or seven months and every dick from high school who mocked me, and every drunken jackass I ever had to punch for calling me fat (ahem, Bucholtz) will be eating their words.

And every chick who ever said 'No' will be wishing they hadn't.

Too late now bitches*.

*Editor's note: I don't actually think you're bitches. I just like acting tough.

"What did you do to him while I was gone?!" - Kels, to Buchs, after I made some Bucholtz-like comparison regarding her smooth, newly waxed arm and my "jut-sack" as Kels called it. There was also an offer put forth to test the comparison if I remember correctly.

Fuck I'm sweet. Get used to it (maybe).

Tomorrow is New Years of course, so that'll be disgusting. Posts will come sometime after, once I've fully recovered from what I expect will be one helluva hangover.

Happy '06 homies.

:: Year In Review ::

A year ago at about this time, I said, unlike some people, I wasn't necessarily looking forward to 2005 because 2004 had been awfully good to me.

Fast forward 12 months, and I don't feel the same way again. Far as I'm concerned, this year can't be over quick enough. It started out well enough, with life rolling along according to plan - I even started going to the gym in hopes of losing some weight. Turns out that would be one of the few steady, positive things about this year. The rest was a rollercoaster...

A quick rundown...

- got drunk a lot.
- There was some ugliness.
- Recovered.
- fell down a driveway.
- Recovered.
- Brad got hurt.
- my dog died.
- Currently recovering.

And now my grandma (not the grandma many of you have met, my other grandma - my dad's mom) is in the hospital. She's diabetic, and has leukemia (another wonderful thing brought to light this year), and just today my dad had to take her to the hospital after she had some kind of stroke or diabetic shock. She was this close to being in a diabetic coma, apparently.

Just one more log thrown onto the fire of shittiness.

Chris summed it up nicely today on the phone: "This is the worst year of my entire life."

Yes, there were good points - camping trips, parties, ball games, trips to Seattle and Alberta, but overall, it just feels like I've constantly had something on my mind - almost always bad. I've had a very hard time just relaxing, and I've lost my ability to just go out and enjoy myself without thinking, worrying, wondering, etc. I don't know when that'll change.

I don't know what exactly I've learned this year, what 'life lessons' I'm supposed to take from all this bullshit. Maybe for one, I learned not to take my friends for granted, because tomorrow they might be gone - in a coma, moved away, or just moved on to other things and other people.

And I guess I also figured out that, sometimes no matter what you do, and what you say, some things are just the way they are, and won't ever change. No matter what.

Fuck off '05. Don't let the door hit cha on the way out.

And as for 2006, I don't expect it will be the greatest year for me either. Now, don't get me wrong - I'm not being pessimistic, just hear me out. I know (hope) that '06 will be better than this year, and I'm sure it will be (it can't be worse).

But let me use a sports analogy, if I can.

After lots of success, every winning team eventually has to go into rebuilding mode to get back to where they want to be. Hell, even the New York Yankees sucked in the '80s. And 2004 was my World Series. This year, I guess my life played with guys called up from Triple-A who weren't quite ready for The Show. And it'll be another year of "rebuilding" before I get myself where I want to be. There's a number of things I need to do, but I won't get into that here. So 2006 is simply Year 2 of the Nick Rebuilding Plan.

Things will be a lot different in 2007 - I'll be a lot different. And that's gonna be my year I think.

And as for a resolution for the next 12 months?

Move forward. In every sense.

*EDIT: Me and Chris went for Chinese food tonight. At the end of dinner, we got the usual fortune cookies. My fortune said "Your fantasy will come true."

I couldn't do anything but laugh, since the chance of that happening are..well there is no chance, let's put it that way.

Nice to see even the Chinese are mocking me now, along with God and whomever else is pulling the strings. What a day this has been. One thing, then another - if my house catches fire tonight I don't know I'd even be too surprised.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Happy Festivus everyone!

In keeping with the Festivus traditions, we will now proceed with the airing of grievances...

On second thought, that would take far too long.

And as for the feats of strength, I only try to fight when I'm drunk, and I never find any takers.

Catching up...

I promised you when I began posting again that we had some catchup to do, so I'll try and finish that off today, and then we can get back to the current biznass and ridiculousness.

Back in November, Tara decided to throw a dinner party for everyone, except Chris and Jenna because they're ugly and weren't invited. Actually, they were out of town, in Kamloops. Anyway, it was a pretty fun night - the food was excellent, and we all ate too much - and we also got drunk off wine, which is new for us. (See? We're expanding our horizons!).

Unfortunately, I don't have any funny quotes from that night - but one of the highlights was definitely Tara's brother Paulo. He was HAMMERED, and entertaining us all - especially Bobby, Buchs and me when he did a little 'routine' at the top of the stairs. It was aimed at a certain someone, but we'll leave that you your imagination. Fuck was it funny, but that's all I'll say aboot that. I also had a wicked burn on Kelsey, and doubled its effectiveness by not telling her what I said after we all laughed.

I'd tell ya right here and now but I forget what it was.

Between the dinner party and now, there were a lot of the usual parties - my house, Sean and Rachel's house, Lambie's, and Jer's too. They all kind of blend together, but some quotes...

"I wish I wore makeup." - Buchs

"A nosebleed is like a period from your nose." - Kels

"I had to febreze my room once after a chick left." - Buchs, on classy broads.

"I hate how no matter what I do you always find a way to make fun of me!" - Kels, to Chris after he made fun of her dinner selection at Jimy Mac's. Yep, that's vintage Chris for you. He's a douchebag.

"I do all my own stunts." - Kels

Rachel: I used to be like an elephant in the memory department.
Bucholtz: I'm like an elephant in the penis department.

"I'm the perfect example of a guy who's not good at anything." - my buddy Steve from work, drunk at the staff Christmas party.

Kels: Craft fair?! Let's go!
Me: Uhhh...no
Kels: Do you think they sell Kraft Dinner?

After Buchs had a blue mouth from eating a Push Pop...
"Yeah, I was eating out Smurfette."

Kels: I love People magazine, because it's trash, but it's classy trash.
Me: Just like you!

(Burn!)

Me and Kels also went to a Canucks game back in November, which was freakin' fun. I hadn't been to a game in a couple years, and Kels had only been to one ever, when she was 13 or something... They were playing the Blackhawks, and won, which was good. Also, we spent a considerable amount of money on $7 beers, so that was fun too. All in all, a good night. Best money I'd spent in awhile, actually.

And of course, we could barely get through a period without something stupid happening...

"The Sedins are twins?" - Kels (obviously).

"I wish I lived at Canuck's Place." - Kels, unaware it was a hospice for sick kids. I'll give her a break on this one I guess.

And that folks, is the backlog of stories and quotes from the past two months I was on hiatus. Now, only new stuff to arrive. Sometime in the new year, there will be a "Best Of" section added to the left side, and I've got a couple decent posts already in the works...some funny, some sad, some just plain good. Maybe a few that're all three rolled into one blog-orific package. Wait and see...

Happy Christmas Eve-Eve.

The best two things I've heard since October...

"Brad talked to me today!" - Kels

"Let's go." - Brad

Soon, B-rad. Soon.

:: No More ::

This is the second consecutive weekend where I've had one morning where I wake up feeling like a complete retard. Not hungover, mind you, but I just feel like a moron. Probably has something to do with Ian feeding me straight vodka and me actually drinking it.

But I'm done with that now. Sooo done.

No more.

"I need more booze...because I'm funny!" - Amanda

"Are you loaded?!" - Amanda again...then she fell over after asking the question.

"Even your olive skin can't contend with my blackness." - Buchs, to Kels.

Amanda: Why can't I call Bobby?
Me: Because that's the T.V. remote.

Buchs: You know...the hospital waitress?
Me: The nurse?
Buchs: Yeah, that's it.

"Jesus is the best wingman ever. He'll take the fat chick every time." - Buchs.

"It's time to say 'Get on your knees or just get out.'" - Bobby, on his philosophy.

"I'm making a fool of myself." - Amanda.

(as an aside, notice the quote variety? Not just one or two people. Whiners)

Last night was a bit of a mess - Amanda, for example, was drunk by noon! It was her last day of classes, so she was drinking with her school buddies. A few of us hung out and my place for awhile, then me, Amanda and Kelsey headed to Sharks.

Amanda lasted only about a half hour before running out of steam, so she left. Bobby came by for a bit too, and bought some Jack Frosts. Then he left to go pick up a wandering Bucholtz, who was on 96th sitting on the side of the road, chugging 7-UP out of a 2-litre bottle.

So the rest of the night, we had a couple more drinks, then Bobby came and picked me up at about 1:15 and I left Kels there...not sure where she ended up really. I came home and passed out, woke up at 4:45 and was a little confused as to what the hell was going on.

As an aside, I really don't like those mornings where you wake up and nobody's around, and you don't really know where or how everybody ended up, but that tends to happen a lot lately.

Meh.

:: Back by popular demand ::

At long last, the hiatus is over. I know I said the blog was discontinued til Brad got better - and I still stand by my claim that it doesn't feel right without him - but I've also come to the realization that it will be awhile yet until he's up and given'r again, and I know you people don't want to wait that long.

Turns out you just can't get enough of me. Can't say I blame you either, what with my clever wit, good looks, and charming personality.

So I'm back baby.

Since Halloween I have actually been writing stuff down, with the plan of making a few monster posts to catch Brad up on what's he missed. I'm not going to recap every single event for you right now, cuz that would take awhile, but I will toss a few quotes your way, collected at times over the last few months. More will come later.

So what's been shaking the last few months? Well, for starters, there were many, many hospital visits in November - such large crowds that we were once asked to leave by a nurse. (On a related note, Cindy wants more people to visit again now. Go say hi to Brad if you've got the time. Even if you don't, make the time and do it anyway. It's the holidays and people need to be with their friends).

Some hospital quotes....

Somebody: We shouldn't be so loud.
Kels: Who cares, everybody here is in a coma.

After the second night, some of us went to The Spaghetti Factory for a late dinner. Scott, Bobby and Buchs ordered Caesars. At one point, Kels just broke into a mini fit of laughter - not even because she said something funny but because she almost said it. Yes, we're now so impressed with ourselves we're laughing at stuff we don't even say. What was so funny you ask?

"Scott, can I eat your bean?"

Yep. Not even going to say anything more about that. Nothing, I swear.

There was also one strangely funny moment, when Kels and I realized we had both ordered the EXACT same thing, right down to drinks and appetizers:

Caesar salad
Corona
Seafood Linguine

Buchs: You ordered the same thing? You're like an old married couple!
Me and Kels at the same time: Shutup!!
Buchs: Proved my point right there.

Ugh. Outsmarted by Kyle Bucholtz. Youch.

And, now to liquidate some of the older quotes - from the Halloween party at Dave's house. Brad, I'm doing this for your benefit, because I know you won't have any memory of the night. But here's the rundown: You were Batman, Sean was a hideous-looking Robin. There were young girls there who were sloots. You may or may not have got with one of them - I honestly can't remember. Just to make it sound better, let's say you got with three. At once.

Nice work.

"I wish you could just push a button and be drunk." - Kels

"What's in my pocket? Oh, it's cheese." - Kels

When some young sluts left early...
"What, curfew?" - Kels

Buchs (to some girl): Wanna go upstairs?
Kelsey (butting in): Worse two minutes of your life.

Jer: I don't know why Colorado signed May.
Brad: Maybe because his last name is a month.

"I have the hugest wedgie. It's like a taco in my ass." - Brad.

Wow, sure feels good to see Brad's name attached to a stupid quote again, even if it is old.

Tune in later on while I purge the rest of the quotes and stories while we play catch-up.

Coming up: Dinner party at Tara's house, some random parties, and me and Kelsey go to a Canucks' game.

I know I said earlier this blog was on hiatus until Brad got better, but I'm making an exception today. And no, it's not a happy exception either. Sorry.

When I was five or six years old we bought a dog, Buffy. Small, maltese, used to fit in my dad's shirt pocket. Somehow, the little guy stuck around for 19 years - long, long after most dogs have had their day.

Still not sure how he managed that, to be honest - thats' 133 in dog years, for christ's sakes. It got to the point these last few years and months where I seriously wondered if he'd stick around forever.

Sure, he got blinder and blinder, and deafer, and the last months seemed to really struggle breathing at times, but somehow he always fought it off.

'Til yesterday, when we had to put him down. He just couldn't breathe this time...poor guy.

I don't really know what else to say, other than he's gone and I miss him.

Just one more thing to tack onto this trainwreck that's been the last 2 months I guess.

See ya pal.

These last two days have been, without a doubt, some of the worst I can ever remember. I don't even know how to put it into words.

We're all thankful to hear that things seem to be slowly getting better, though. Now all we need is for B-rad to wake up.

We're right with ya buddy.

I was gonna post about all the fun events and quotes from Saturday's Halloween party, but I can't - maybe some other day.

Right now there's no way. I just can't. I don't know what to write right now. Or think.

I just..I just don't.

Cleanin' up some biznass Part II

More quotes, some new, some as old as two weeks, but funny nonetheless.

"In the clutch, I perform." - Buchs, on being a good friend.

Someone: Where's Bobby?
Someone else: I dunno, probably riding a camel.

"I'm pretty much like Jesus." - Jer

"The table's name is...somebody else." - Sean, incredibly drunk and not making a God-damn bit of sense.

Stomach vs. Fists
Chris: Let's go fight hindus.
Ian: Can we get some BBQ peanuts first?

As Chris left for his hockey game...
"Good luck....Dammit, I wasted two words there that I'll never get back." - Jer

Now, I was just planning on posting those quotes, but then Kels called me a few minutes ago, driving home to Burnaby after coming out here to watch the hockey game with us. She was bored on the drive I guess, and well, was weirder than normal.

She was going on and on about the following random topics - her windshield wipers, a big puddle off the Kensington Ave. that's always "the funnest part of the drive home", and the movie A League of their Own. In between all this, she was singing country songs horribly (I mean beautifully). Now, it wouldn't have been THAT bad, except every five seconds the songs were interrupted with road rage - "Fuck you bitch! Get out of my lane!"

American Idol awaits...

***I forgot to mention the first time, but three more people - Tara, Amanda, and Katie - have recently started msn blogs. I don't know how often the three of 'em will update, but at the very least there are some good pictures there, so I added them to the link list. I also organized the blogs by my groups of friends - mainly because otherwise there'd be two Tara's on the list, and we can't have that.

Cleanin' up some biznass...

I haven't posted in a week or so, and I've got some old quotes and stories to blog about. Most are from Kelsey's party she had last Saturday.

"If I wanna stick my thumb up a little dog's ass then I'm gonna do it!" - Ian, tanked.

"That's not a fucking raccoon at all!!" - Ian again, after staring at a rabbit in a cage for a solid 5-10 minutes.

"If I wanted to get wet I'd baptize myself." - Brad, not happy about walking in the rain.

'Twas a good shaker overall, or a good 'Box Social' if you will. I remember parts of it, but I did drink a bottle of gin too, so that might be why parts are blurry. This weekend hasn't exactly got off to the greatest of starts. Work was alright Friday, I've got a couple big stories on the go, which is always fun.

Our Friday nights lately though, need some improvement. A lot of people aren't around anymore on Fridays due to work/hockey or working early Saturday a.m. So there's a limited crew, and not a whole lot to do. Some of us ended up going to Sharks but it wasn't very fun, and to be honest I was kinda sick of being around people, so I took off and came home to sleep. Lame? Maybe a little, but it was OK still.

Tonight, Canucks' game. Can't go wrong with that (I don't think).

After Brad mentioned on msn he wanted to go back in time to his birth...

"He definitely needs a mulligan on life. Maybe he'd do it right next time." - Chris

Speaking of people who may or may not need "life mulligans", it was Mike's birthday yesterday, the 13th. I tried saying happy birthday to him on msn, but he didn't answer, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna waste LD minutes on my phone and actually call the poor sucker (by the way: Mike, I don't have your Vernon #'s anyway). Anyway, because of all that, I'm here writing this.

Happy Birthday.

"I love hockey so much I just wanna blow my load every time I think about it." - Sean, happy (to say the least) about the return of the NHL.

:: THANK GOD FOR ME ::

Well, it was Thanksgiving this past weekend. Normally, it's not a holiday I really give much attention to. It's just a day off and an excuse to gorge on turkey and pie. Good enough for me. Then Melissa asked me what I was thankful for, and I said I didn't know.

I really hadn't thought about it.

In previous years I've probably said I was thankful for the usual stuff that everyone always says they're thankful for - their friends, their family etc etc.

All good choices. Except this particular year I'm thankful for something else for a change.

Myself.

Yup, I'm gonna be a conceited bastard and say the thing I'm most thankful for this year is myself. That I'm here. Alive. Well. Doin' my thing (whatever that turns out to be).

For a decent majority of my life, I've spent a lot of energy on other people - lookin' out for 'em, cheering them up, or just generally being there for them, whether they needed or wanted it or not. Any number of my friends will tell you I'm too nice for my own good.

Well, this year has been no different. Except that I've now decided to try and not waste so much energy on other people. That's not to say that I'm not thankful for my friends, or won't be there for 'em should some catastrophic event arise, but I'm just not going to care so much about any of the piddly crap anymore - especially other people's crap.

Instead I'm just going to worry about myself, because this year, for the first time in awhile I actually have "me" stuff to focus on. And thus far this year I've done a decent job of doing that, so I'm thankful for myself.

Cuz if I didn't do any of that, I'd be pretty fucking miserable.

Now, like I said, I'm still thankful for everyone else, but for the time being I'm more thankful for myself.

You should be too.

Okay, in the past few posts, Jer has given me shit for not remembering or posting every single funny quote, and I confess right now that there's one I can't remember - Jer even said to me "Hey Nick, remember that!" right when it happened...but I forget. So Jer, if you remember, comment away. Sorry bud.

Alas, there were somethings I remembered.

"You know what fucking pisses me off? (Minorities) who still get overly offended and think absolutely every time you say anything it's somehow a racist burn on them. You know what? Slavery ended 170 fucking years ago. Get over it." - Buch's rant

Buchs, shitfaced on Wednesday, making new friends...

Buchs: So, where you from?
Guy in bar: Washington.
Buchs: That sucks. I've been to Washington twice and both times it fucking sucked.

"It's like fucking a fleece bear." - Buchs again, on the virtues of wearing his new sweatpants.

"God I hope my kids don't grow up to be like him." - Kels, talking about - guess who? - Bucholtz.

"Why are you licking the carpet? What are you, a lesbian?" - Kels, to her dog Rocky the other day.

"Four guys in a purple Ford Aspire. Man, we're pimps." - Sean, before honking the horn at some girls.

"Did you know the there's no slang in the German language? It's true - they can say 'Let's liquidate the Jews' but they can't tell you to 'Fuck your hat'." - Buchs.

Last night was a pretty low-key one once again, went to the movies with Buchs and Brad and saw Two for the Money, which was pretty good, although the last few times I've seen Al Pacino in a movie it hasn't been as good he used to be. Ah, well, he's still rad.

Then we headed over to Lambie's for a bit, where everyone else was - minus Chris, who's in Kamloops, and Kelsey, who's in Enderby. It was actually an odd Friday for me, because my normal Friday routine consists of working til 3, then going to Jimy Mac's for beer/food with Kelsey and/or Chris, and usually Tara too. But instead, I worked late, til my usual 5:00 quitting time, and came home and didn't go to any pub for dinner. Instead, my two usual accomplices were in the Okanagan, and some other people bailed on the food idea, so we went to the movies instead. It was a good night, but it was a bit different than the normal routine - never bad to mix things up once in awhile though.

So that was the night in the nutshell - the highlight being when Lambie ate a sickeningly-gross spider web and dead bug in it for $14. Just gross. Yet awesome. Tonight we're watching the Canucks' game, I'm just not sure where. Somebody's house, or Slapshots, most likely.

"It looks like a giant robot took a shit." - Ian, on the skytrain, looking at the Expo/Science World building.

"Fuck I'm sweet." - Sean, happy with himself after spraying playing cards all over his living room, and right onto Rachel's plate while she was eating something. He was more impressed than her.

Sean: I'm not going. I got tired.
Brad: Tired of what?
Sean: Being awake.

Sean: Why don't you grow up?
Brad: I would if I could. Then I'd be like Jack and the beanstalk. I'd be all tall, and climby, and shit.

"I thought I hit a dog but it was only a juicebox." - Brad, after parking his car.

After Jer poured a perfect beer really quickly...
Kels: Nice pour!
Jer: Yeah I know. I'm not gonna lie, I got a woody now.
Bobby: Really? I think that'd only be worth like a half-chub at best.
Jer: Hey, it's my pour and I'll get whatever percentage of chub that I want.

It's weird how we can end up going to three bars in one night, yet having nothing really super exciting happen. No one was drunk (except Brad), just very mellow.

Some of us went to Fort Pub for dinner - where Bucholtz wouldn't stop singing "Closer to the Heart" at the top of his lungs. Then he left without his cell phone and iPod. Idiot.

After Fort I went home for an hour or so and just chilled - there was a decided lack of activity last night - Sean, Buchs and Ian all had to work Saturday so they called it a night before 10; Chris was coaching hockey; Jer was at the Giants game with his dad; and Kels wasn't sure if she'd be coming out of not.

She did though - and me, her, Tara, Amanda and Brad decided to go to Sharks for awhile. But it was shut down for the night by the Liquor Control folks, so we were out of luck with bar #2. So we inevitably headed to the ol' standby, Slapshots. Turned out to be fun in the end - Jer and Bobby showed up later, and Rob was there too. Just not our usual night of craziness - which was good actually because I was really tired from the Audioslave concert the night before (Which was fucking AWESOME!).

I didn't really drink - a couple beers probably, just 'cuz I'm saving my energy for tonight's Canucks' PPV exhibition game. We're headed back to Slaps.

Should be good.

"I wish that the song 'I'm too sexy' would play whenever I walk down the street." - Bucholtz, after performing his "model/runway" walk.

"When I get a seat I don't mess around." - Ian, after plunking himself into a corner seat at Mirage. He started pounding beers and didn't really get up all night.

After a night pounding beers at Jeremy's on Friday, we went to Mirage for the 'official' birthday celebration of Sean and B-rad's birthdays. Not being a real club guy, I didn't have high expectations for the place, but it was surprisingly a very good night. $3 beers and $2 highballs had their desired effect too - but after talking with people today, it seems like I came out better than most.

Nick 1
Mirage 0
Everyone else -10

I was pounding gin-and-7s pretty consistently last night, with a few beers mixed in, and Bobby was doing pretty much the same. He was the first to go - not even making it to the bathroom before puking all over the bar. He passed out in the parking lot (still puking) with Jeremy. And Gorski felt like hell this morning, and Kels said "I feel like death."

Normally, I'd be in the same boat - especially since I had to be up by 9 for a quick bit of work this morning. However, I felt fucking fantastic. No hangover. Not even that tired. It was marvelous.

Like I said, the night itself was a good one. We got there VERY early (we were about the only ones there for a few minutes) but it picked up quickly. Early on, the DJ/host/guy with microphone came out and said he needed 3 volunteers to try and win a free drink. Being it was their birthdays, we volunteered Sean and Brad. Some other girl was contestant #3.

The contest? Make the best sex noise without using any actual words. Sean had the mic first and was actually really good - he would've won had the girl not recruited her friend to do it for her. She was marginally hot and sounded really slutty, so Sean conceded victory.

Brad, however, was fucking terrible. At first he tried to slink off the stage but they wouldn't let him. He was clearly embarrassed - and I don't blame him, I probably woulda been too. But it was still a bad attempt.

"I couldn't tell if you were having sex or riding a horse." - The host, critiquing Brad's work.

The rest of the night got slightly more blurry. Spent most of the last couple hours dancing and hitting on some girl named Stacy, which was fun. I'm not used to getting that much attention at clubs, so I just went with it.

Even if my "wheeling" ability was a little rusty ("In pre-season wheeling form" according to Chris). He seemed slightly disappointed afterwards that I didn't complete the "full wheel" but I got effort points.

"You had the wheel going pretty good for awhile." - Chris

So that was the night. Not a bad one at all.

Another Friday...

"I should clone myself." - Kelsey

"Alex Rios is my boyfriend. Shhh...it's a secret." - Kels

Tara: This woman called my work the other day and said she'd only speak to French Canadians or Jews.
Chris: Who likes French Canadians?

"Nigga please...it's funny cuz I'm so white." - Kels

Kyle: I wanted the pink and diamond phone but it was too much money.
Kels: Why, did you grow a vagina?
Kyle: No, but if I did I'd fuck it.

"Okay fine, just drive home you idiots! I don't care. But do me a favour and both die at the same time so I only have to buy one set of funeral clothes!" - Jer, yelling at me and Kels before we left. (For the record, I wasn't drunk and nobody drove anywhere)

"It's like a hat..for a waterbottle." - Kels, talking about her new waterbottle's lid this morning (completely sober)

Last night was a decent one. Started at Jimy Mac's for dinner and a couple pitchers o' beer, then it was off to the Scramstad residence for some more beers. Hung out there the rest of the night with pretty much everybody. And me and Kels were somewhat shocked to realize that we were pretty fuckin' tanked and it was only 8:12.

We work quickly.

The night progressed as usual, with the odd hitch here and there. Then Kyle, Jer and Ian came home. They'd been out at Jer's uncle's place fixing his truck. But when they walked in the door, they looked very different.

All three of them had shaved heads. And Sean quickly followed suit and did it too.

Now, Jer and Ian have always had short hair, so they didn't look that different. But Bucholtz has had long curly hair for as long as I've known him - since he was probably 13 or something like that. He looked ridiculous - especially considering his hairline comes to a point (like a perfect arrowhead) in the middle of his forehead.

We decided that - not only does it make him look 5 years younger - his new hair makes him look like Dracula...or Count Chocula, whatever.

"He looks like Dracula, not Count Chocula you bunch of cereal munching idiots!" - Jer

"Weird. I'm hanging out with a bunch of white guys with shaved heads." -Bobby, afraid that some kind of racial hate crime/skinhead situation was about arise. It didn't.

"Now that you're drunk can you fix my hair?" - Ian

Then when it was time to go home around 2ish (I think), Kels was back in her form of two weeks ago, demanding to drive home. I don't know that she actually would have, but I stole her keys again anyhow, even if I got yelled at for it. (and told to "Go away and fucking leave me alone!") But that's ok.

"I don't know how we're such good friends. You should've punched me in the face." - Kels, this morning, about how I (and I alone) usually end up (undeservedly) taking the brunt of her drunken wrath.

It's tough work, this attempting to keep my friends alive and out of jail, but the next-morning "You were right" is enough for me.

Things I've been called this week by newspaper readers:

Despicable
Disgusting
Someone who should never had kids (because "it's probably better that way")
Deplorable
Reprehensible
A bastard

But now it's Friday. Let's drink.

As some of the crew were playing a drinking game...

Kels: Hey, can I play?
Buchs: Sorry, no. To quote the scripture, 'No cunts allowed.'

"I wouldn't sleep with him if he was the last man on earth. I'd do the devil first." - Melissa. Can't remember who she was talking about.

If you scroll down a post or so, you'll see a quote from Ian (mis-reported as Jer though) about how you know you're old when you don't know people working fast-food jobs anymore. I had a similar experience last night, out at Blarney Stone with Melissa for her birthday. We were sitting there, then some girls from Melissa's work came by, so we all introduced ourselves, and then we all were talking about what we do for a living...

"Teacher"
"Realtor"
"Sports writer"
"Legal assistant"

For most of my life, I've been more used to lists like "Dairy Queen/going to school/drug dealer."
Just something I thought I'd point out. I guess it wouldn't kill me to hang out with older people once in awhile, who knows. Sometimes I'd imagine it'd be less fun - cuz I don't want to spend an evening sipping wine discussing RRSPs - but it'd probably be less crazy too.

Anyway, on to the weekend. It had it's highs and lows, but overall it was typical. Saturday night, like I mentioned earlier, was Blarney Stone downtown for Melissa's birthday. Me, Melissa, and Ashley started drinking in Burnaby around 5ish, then we headed to the Stone around 8:30. I hadn't been there in 5 years, and it's a pretty cool place. I had to leave a bit early though, but that was OK, better than missing out completely.

When I came home from downtown everyone was just hanging out. Nothing really eventful happened before I called it a night except Kels wouldn't stop blathering on about her shoes...and then she bounced around for awhile goin' "Wanna fight?"

Then I got punched in the jaw. Pretty hard (for a girl). But I got a few shots in...

Me (after a body shot): There, I got one punch in!
Kels: You didn't even hit me in the face! Body punches don't count.
Me: Yeah, but this way I get to touch a boob.

I could probably make another joke or two out of that conversation, but I won't.

Friday night was Shark's Club, and to be honest, it was nowhere close to as fun as the last time we went. I guess there was no hope of that place putting together back-to-back wins. Can't say I'm really surprised, but whatever. At least we got drunk.

Some of the Shark's events: Jeremy starting an arm-wrestling contest in the patio/smoking room; Sean being extra mouthy to random strangers, and then Sean snapping his cell phone in half, apparently because he was mad about something while arguing with Rachel.

Oh, and Ian kept demanding that I punch him in the face.

Should've.

"I went to the mall determined to buy something and I came home with a pretzel." - Melissa

"I can't even take you seriously right now." - Brad, to me when I had my hair in a faux-hawk at Slapshots the other day.

"This place is almost as crappy as it was before." - Brad ( I think) upon the re-opening of the 'new and improved' Slapshots.

"You know you're getting old when you dont know anyone who works at mcdonalds anymore." - Jeremy

***

Couple links to check out....

My iPod Shuffle thinks I'm gay

List of things that piss us off

I was clearing some random files off my desktop today, and came across a file with a couple old quotes from Kelsey that I meant to post but forgot about. Better late than never I guess...

Me: Why are your socks 42 different colours?
Kels: They're my lucky socks. They helped me get a job today!
Me: They helped you get a job?
Kels: Well it was either that or my awesomeness.
Me: Probably the socks.

Me: I'm eating potato salad right now.
Kels: SEND ME SOME!
Me: Uh..how?
Kels: E-mail it!

Sean: Me and Rachel had sex in a hot tub in the middle of the afternoon!
Ian: Is that a challenge? Because I'll do her right now!

You hang out with Brad for a whole weekend on a roadtrip, and you're bound to collect some doozy quotes...

"They shouldn't go to jail, they should get a trophy." - Brad, on the people who dug the drug-smuggling tunnel under the Canadian-American border in Aldergrove.

"It's almost time I developed a gambling problem." - Brad

"Buddy, if basepaths were downhill, you'd be Rickey Henderson." - Brad

Slut: Do you like blowjobs?
Brad: Do I like Christmas?

"There's just two kinds of people who wear purple: The Anaheim Mighty Ducks, and homos." - Brad

"I gave her the juice. That's like a cross between the business and...more business." - Brad again

"I have a little more respect for Bucholtz now." - Chris, after him and Brad met some friendly black guys. Bucholtz of course, is 1/6000th black.

"We're still friends with you but I don't know why." - Chris

"I'm gonna change careers from a no-good son of a bitch to a ballplayer." - Brad

"They should've had a doubleheader today. The first game should've been all this Sept. 11 stuff, then Game 2 should've been Muslim Appreciation Night." - Brad, after the Sunday M's game.

Jenna: Can you believe we got all this beer, a sandwich, and two bags of chips for $30?
Nick: God Bless America!

Well we're all back from Seattle, and it was awesome. We stayed in Everett actually, at Jenna's aunt and uncle's house. They're rad people to stay with - they stayed up on Saturday and drank a bit with us. And the best part was that Kerri spent a good deal of the weekend questioning how a) Brad could be so dumb and b) How come it didn't bug him that we bug him so much.

(As an aside, here's a typical Brad situation. We were watching bullriding on TV, and Brad revealed to us all that he didn't know that bulls were only male, and regular cows female. I'm not kidding you. Nice job B-rad)

Anyways...the games were awesome even though the Mariners lost them both. The second game the Safeco ushers moved us from our top row bleacher seat to the near-empty Terrace Club, where the seats are wider and comfier, and the food is brought right to your seat. Ahh..luxury.

We also took the Sounder train from Everett to Seattle for Game 2. It was pretty cool cuz I'd never been on a real train before. A good deal for $6 roundtrip.

The only part that kind of sucked was that the M's super-rookie, 19-year-old Felix Hernandez, didn't have his usual stuff in Game 2. The kid's a fireballer -and the video radar gun had most of his pitches in the 96-98 mph range, but he got a little roughed up in the second and didn't dominate as he's been doing so far in the show. Oh well, still nice to see him throw.

The rest of the weekend was just a lot of hanging out, drinking beer, chillin' and playing with Howie the cat, who I thought was pretty awesome (and I don't even like cats).

I think a few of us are also dreading our cell phone bills when they come this month, thanks to the wonder that is the Roaming function on our phones. Now, I didn't actually make or take any calls while stateside, but I sent out a lot of text messages. Hopefully they're still free like at home, but if not, uh oh. When I came down 2 weeks ago with my Dad I maybe sent out 10 messages, but this weekend I sent about 10 a minute. Sent some to people because I was just kind of bored, some because I was drunk, others because people wanted to know how the game was goin', and others I sent to make sure people were doin' OK and having a good weekend

And Chris and Brad called everyone they knew at 3:30 a.m. to ramble incoherently.

Nice way to spend those airtime minutes fellas.

All in all though, an A+ weekend, especially when combined with Shark's Club Friday, which me and Kels decided was one of the best times there in the past 8 months or so - at least.

And, for a change - she could actually remember most of the night.

Which was about the most shocking thing I've heard since February.

Well, me, Chris, Jenna and B-rad are heading to Seattle tomorrow to watch a couple o' ball games, but tonight was pretty damn decent too, and I hadn't expected it to be - at all.

I had to work today until 11 p.m. because the Eagles were having their season opener. I was supposed to be at work since 8 a.m. but because I overslept, it wasn't quite that early. Anyhow, I still didn't wanna be working that late CUZ IT'S FRIDAY. But alas, I was stuck. I missed out on Jimy Mac's and, because the game was so lopsided (Eagles suck this year), I left after the second period and made it back to Grove just in time for Shark's Club. Normally it's not my favourite place, but we hadn't been there in ages and everyone wanted to go, so I met people there.

Turned into a pretty good night - got decently buzzed, and sat around, talking mostly with Ian and Kelsey, and Sean too. We left early, at around 12:30, after Buchs and Derrick had already been booted (not sure why) and Sean was next in line after he yelled at some old guy for grabbing Rachel's ass. Me and him were ready to punch the douche in the face, but we relented, and just went home.

Well, I went home anyway. The rest of the folks headed to Liquid for the last hour of it being open. I'm not a club guy, and just wanted to go home though. Good night all around, especially considering how it was shaping up earlier.

See y'all when we get from Seattle.

Just in case you needed a reminder that pro athletes, and in particular NFL players, aren't all thugs, felons, or just dicks in general. Read this about some New Orleans Saints and the Hurricane.

It's an excellent article, I read parts of it twice - especially the following paragraph from wide receiver Joe Horn, about the desperate people being branded as looters.

"Hell, if I'd been trapped there, you'd be calling me a looter, too. Picture watching your little sister drown and you're scared and hungry and you don't have any shoes, and now two hours later you see a Wendy's or a Footlocker. What would you do?
"You know what I'd like to say to everyone stuck there? Loot my house. Seriously, I have a nice house in Destrehan that's full of stuff, and anyone who wants it can have it. Go on in and take my flat-screen TVs and raid my refrigerator. Whatever."

Sure, there are thousands of regular non-famous people doing lots to help too, but I only read Sports Illustrated.

"I'm going to get two tattoos - one on each hand. One one hand it's going to say 'UNLOVEABLE' and the other will say 'UNSTOPPABLE.'" - Kelsey.

"I'm a spy." - Kels again, this time excited about the hand-recognition system being installed in her new office.

"I don't gamble with horses, just my life." - Gorski (who else?)

"Pickles can eat my butt." - Sean

"I hate brown people. The only good brown person is me. The rest suck." - Bobby

"What did you do? You're a C*&@ that's what you did!" - Derrick, shitfaced, reading (then burning) a letter from his girlfriend. Or maybe that's ex-girlfriend by now.

Bobby (watching football highlights): That's my man right there, Daunte Culpepper!
Gorski: My man is Jesus.

"Oh fuck off, you'd kill a hooker if you got the chance." - Bucholtz

Well, this long weekend was an absolute doozy. Of course, It didn't feel like a long weekend for me since I'm on holidays anyway, but I'm back to work Wednesday, which I'm not really looking forward to, but I guess nobody can stay on vacation forever.

Friday things started off pretty strong with the Pearl Jam concert. Me, Chris, Jenna, Kels, Sean, Rachel, Pat and Brad took a limo downtown - and had the bitchiest limo driver ever. Most of us wanted to throttle her. Thankfully the guy on the way home was a lot cooler - and he didn't charge us $5 per unscheduled stop (even if it was just a 20 second pee break on the side of the road). Anyway, the concert itself was probably the best I've ever been to. Right from the start, PJ busted out all the classics - Release Me was the first. I guess because they weren't promoting a particular album they just played their old tunes - Wishlist, Release Me, Black, Alive, even Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town.

It was awesome.

We were all pretty drunk too, thanks to a bit of pre-drinking, and then a few beers at the concert. Brad was especially in fine form, but we've come to expect that from him by now.

A lot of people were out of town beginning on Saturday - Sean, Rach, Jeremy, Ian, Lambie - so we gathered the remaining troops and started drinking at my house. We BBQed some steaks and had some potato salad (although Kels ate the most of it, as per usual :P) Then we headed to Dave and Derricks and proceeded to get friggin blitzed.

It was a good time - Derrick was his usual angry/hilarious drunk self, and drunk Dave was Creeper Dave (again). Also at one point, Gorski threw an empty beer can at me, and so I drunkenly decided to chase him down Dave's steep driveway. Now, for one thing, Brad's pretty fast and I was apparently keeping up with him pretty good - until I bailed, did some somersaults, and crashed onto the road. My leg and hands have some pretty good road rash right now.

Also somehow me, Buchs, Bobby and Kels ended up in Surrey at The Mirage, because BK knew some guys who were gonna get us in past the line. Well somehow after we parked, Kels and Bobby took off for the bar, and me and Buchs were left wandering the parking lot. Buchs took a cab back and after accidently calling my dad instead of Bobby, he came and picked me up. Good thing, cuz I don't think 11 bucks wouldve got me a very far cab ride.

So there was a little bit of confusion, I was kind of mad, but in the end it was just drunk talk. I eventually ended up with Bobby, Kels and the Mirage guys at Denny's at 3 a.m. Then we were back at my place where I was booted out of my own front yard by Kels cuz she had to talk to Bobby.

Apparently I wasn't allowed to hear their conversation about golf. Fools.

Bucholtz was slightly more angry than me about getting left in Surrey, which was actually his theme for the weekend, cuz he was unneccesarily angry and snap-showish last night too. But excessive booze will do that to ya I guess. Still kind of a pain in the ass, but whatever.

He ended up calling the cabbie a douchebag before getting kicked out at 176th. Gorski had to come get him.

It was also revealed last night why Kels has said 'No' everytime I've asked her to dance when we've been at Roosters or wherever. Apparently I'm not on her list of "4 or 5 people" she'll dance with.

People on the list: Bobby, Brad, Kyle.

Ouch, that's a tough list to crack. :P

:: My frustratingly awesome weekend ::

"There's so many hot chicks here... I might meet my future wife tonight." - Brad, at Roosters.

"Oh who am I kidding, I might meet my ex-wife." - Brad, minutes later.

Sean: Does anybody know Dave's number?
Bucholtz: I think the more important question is 'Aren't you...Dave?"

After some weird guy followed Kelsey from the dance floor to our table at the bar...

Chris: How do I know you?
Guy: You don't.
Chris: Then why are you standing here?

"Somebody bit me." - Brad

Bucholtz: I'm gonna buy a sword.
Jenna: Really?
Bucholtz: Yeah, ninjas have been coming into my house like they own the place, so I gotta put a stop to it.

Well this weekend had its ups and down. The ups - Friday night at Roosters for Jenna's birthday. It was, as usual, a gongshow. Much drunkery and buffoonery ensued, thanks to $3 Coronas. It also included most of the above quotes, and also a near-scrap between Chris and some very large, angry men, and then Bucholtz vs. the very same goons about 2 hours later. Nothing happened though.

For the first time ever, we actually got there before the place even opened - although me and Kelsey and a few others had been drinking for a few hours by then.

Saturday morning a bunch of us went out for hangover breakfast at Ricky's, then Bucholtz, Gorski and me went to the mall for a little while, and watched Buchs' blow about 300 bucks in 20 minutes. I, on the other hand, just bought the complete series of The Job - a Denis Leary series from a few years back. It's awesome - classic Leary.

In hindsight, I should've bought a backup cell phone too, cuz not even 12 hours later, I lost mine. Now, losing a $250 phone sucks enough - not to mention all the phone #'s I lost along with it. However, it's how I lost it that has put me in a bad mood ever since.

We went to a kegger last night at Dave's house, but beforehand, a few of us were at Sean and Rachel's, just chillin'. I had my phone then, cuz I was talking to Tara on it, and then we left. We made a quick stop at Willoughby to meet Brad, then we left for Dave's. About 5 minutes after we left the park, I realized I was sans phone. I just figured it was on Sean's table, where I thought I left it. No biggie.

Well it's not there. It's not in Sean's car. It's not on the ground at the park. I seriously have no idea where it is. But it absolutely MUST be at Sean's or in his car - but nobody can find it. It's like it just disappeared into thin air.

Of course, after I buy a new one tomorrow morning, It'll turn up. I can guarantee you that. It's so fucking frustrating it's literally ruined my whole weekend, which sucks because it was a doozy. Dave's party was pretty decent, including another episode of Kyle and Brad "Sharing" - that's the third time for those scoring at home.

Also, Chris was in his usual asshole form. By his estimation, "I bet 75 % of the people there hated me."

He says that with pride, mind you.

So that's been my weekend. I leave tomorrow for a day and a half in Seattle to watch some M's games with my dad, and I'll be dropping $300 on a new phone before I head out around noon.

In other non-aggravating news, my photos from Merritt are finally online, you can see them here.

I'll see ya'll in a few days. (And if anyone finds my phone before tomorow at 10:30, call me.)

Well folks, today marks the beginning of GongShow Weekend. Yes, I know that approximately 83 % of our weekends are gongshows to some degree, but this'll be especially ugly.

Tonight is Roosters - for Jenna's 20th Birthday! (Happy Birthday, by the way!) It'll definitely be a shitshow because, well, because that's what Roosters always is. Can't wait.

Then tomorrow, I just found out, is a keg party at Dave and Derrick's house in Cloverdale. And nobody can resist the lure of a keg. Nobody.

It's gonna be rad.

And not only is it Jenna's Birthday weekend, it's also the last weekend Katie will be here before she goes back to school, which sucks. But I guess people gotta go to school, so not much you can do about it.

At least we're not losing Ian to UNBC too.

"Somebody could've walked in here and just stolen our house." - my Mom, after Tara walked in and dropped off a birthday cake for Jenna without either of us hearing her say "Hi."

Brad and me talking about getting back to weekday drinking once Canucks games get back on TV in a month or so...

Me: Our livers have had a year off from hockey drinking so we need to show 'em who's boss.
Brad: Mine already knows who's boss.
Me: Mine too probably.
Brad: That's okay, it'll be laughing in 30 years when it goes away. It'll go on a little vacation with my heart.
Me: Don't forget your lungs.
Brad: Oh yeah. Dammit, all I'm gonna have left is my spleen....Good ol' spleen.
Me: What's a spleen do anyway?
Brad: I dunno..it spleens things.

Well, here I am in Vulcan, AB. Day 3 of my 19-day holiday extravaganza. Mike and I just got back from a couple days in Calgary - we stayed at his cousin's place (in the darkest, most sound-proof room I've ever been in).

The trip here Friday was actually better than expected - took 11.5 hours to get here, and just under 10 til I was in Calgary. It would've been faster had I not had to make a million pee breaks, but I guess that's to be expected when you drink a large starbucks, bottle of water, bottle of lemonade and a diet pepsi all before 1 p.m. On the brightside though, I did see a bear - near Revelstoke.

Last night we were in Cowtown, and we basically just hung out for awhile - checked out a few stores, went to Reb Lobster for dinner (and had the "Ultimate Feast"), then went and watched Four Brothers, which was awesome. Nothing out of the ordinary, but just a good action-packed flick that really had no boring parts to speak of. Also had a very cool car chase - Mike and I agreed it's one of the best we've seen.

We've also spent some time watching really bad movies, which really isn't that out of the ordinary for us. First off, we watched Evil Alien Conquerers - starring Oswald from The Drew Carey Show, the Mighty Ducks' Fulton Reed, and a uni-browed Tori Spelling. It really was a terrible movie, but it's funny because it's supposed to be bad - whoever made this thing had to know it was terrible right from the start.

Definitely entertaining stuff.

Not really sure what we'll do tonight now that we're back in the bubbling metropolis of Vulcan - probably just loaf around, get something to eat and watch TV, which is fine by me. Mike's gotta work tomorrow and Tuesday, so I'm on my own. I'll probably just wander the town for awhile, and when I cover the town from end to end (I estimate it'll take 15 minutes) then I'll just come back to Mike's and chill...and think about how I'd normally be working on a Monday afternoon.

I might post again before I come home, but I don't know. I do have some pictures to load up - one of a beastly yak we saw today that looked like something out of that kid's book "Where the Wild Things are". It was awesome. We named him Stanley the Yak.

Well, see ya in a few days. Enjoy working on Monday suckers.

On the mole holes in my backyard...

"It might've been Digby. He digs - that's why he's called Digby. If he didn't dig, he'd just be Normalby." - Bucholtz.

Bucholtz: I lost my shirt. I think it's at Lambie's house.
Chris: It's probably lost there with Ian's phone.
Bucholtz: I could have a shirtphone!

"When my kid is 10 or 12 I'm just gonna wake him up at like 4 a.m. for no reason at all. When he asks why I woke him up I'm just gonna say 'It's payback, bro.'" - Financing manager at the car dealership where Melissa bought her car, talking about how his young son always wakes him up in the middle of the night.

This weekend was a quiet one.

Our crew was depleted fairly significantly. Jeremy is in Saskatchewan for family reunion, Kelsey's in Enderby for a week, Sean and Rach were MIA all weekend long, no even answering the phone. Ian worked late Friday til 11, and Chris and Jenna weren't around saturday or sunday.

Pretty weird, that's all.

So friday, me, Kyle and Tara went to Fort Pub then me and Buch's started drinking. A handful of people - Chris, Jenna, Derrick and Brad - were at Derrick's but I guess we weren't on the guestlist.

"We're coming over, we're coming over right now" was all we heard for at least 2 hours. So we drank a bit on our own, then when Chris and jenna came by, nobody felt like drinking anymore, so we went and saw Wedding Crashers.

It was a fucking awesome movie, really funny.

Saturday was good - went to Burnaby in the afternoon and helped Melissa buy a car. She got a 2005 Chevy Cobalt. Definitely a nice ride. Then we went out for dinner, and came back to Grove and drank a bit on the deck. Ian, Bre and Tara came by for awhile, but it was another low key night.

I hadn't seen Melissa in awhile so it was about damn time we hung out.

Nobody else was around again - Chris and Jenna were out getting trashed at Charlton family BBQ/Gongshow of some sort (nice 2 a.m. phonecall by the way, Chris. Funny stuff.) And Brad, Derrick and I guess Bucholtz were at a "private party" which isn't too surprising these days. Or maybe they just didn't have their phones on them. Or maybe they were shoved up a certain place and couldn't use 'em, who knows.

Just kidding, I don't care. We had a fine time Saturday night without them.

Only 4 more working days til I'm off for 19 straight. Friday morning I'm Alberta-bound again. But this time I'm only going for a few days, not 8 months like last time.

Let's hope the weather's better too.