Well gang

this is the last blog post for '08. Thanks for dropping by. It's off to watch hockey and then to meet my wife downtown for what little we can see of "First night." Hey hey, the train and ETS are free tonight.

Happy New Year

Anyway bloggers, that's all for now

e. Jim

1more sleep for '08

I went into work feeling alright reading Helix on the train. Weather wise it wasn’t bad. I bought my January bus pass at the “Readimart” before going up the escalator for my train. Coming through the doors of the office building where I work I met up with JT and he said how last night he wan the NFL playoff pool, so I owe him $20. This kind of through me for a loop but he said if I want I can pay him Friday. Yeesh all this money going out very little coming in.

I had a slow night in the beginning but it picked up. I ended up with $335 the first half and 2 CC’s. I called Anne at break and had a chat. TD bank had called her as she was out and I left her a hand written note. I ended up doing $735 and a CC sale the 2nd half and no “good job” for top total or anything like that. I walked out of there not feeling that good about my effort. Plus my teeth were acting up. A burning pain developing on my upper right side. The pain eased off there a bit.

I was glad to get out of the office. I had a brief wait for my train reading Helix on the way home. Two cars but plenty of seating because the University kids were on Christmas break.

I got home to watch. Raw. Good show last night. I‘d give it an 8/10. Anne made me a great cheeseburger and fries. My mouth felt a little better before I tucked into my dinner. I was done by about midnight. We watched a bit of ET and I checked over my finances there a bit and I can pay JT off what I owe him tomorrow. Anne said she can only cover me for my website or Lodge dues now but I’ll use the funds for my website and cover my Lodge dues in February. Their ok for it.

I’ve got tonight to work with and then I’m off for 2 more days. I’ll get my paycheque Friday. This cheque will have only 12 hours on it but the rent will be covered and I’ve got my January bus pass. Next week I’m putting 32 hours in for my Lodge dues.

Anyway Bloggers, that’s all for now

e. Jim

Yesterday was a reading day

Sunday was mostly a reading day although I did do some more assassination research. I’m looking into the General Walker shooting.

The Nashville at Edmonton game was a darn good one. The Oiler’s don’t have to win every time for a game to be good but last nights game Oiler’s 5 Preds 2 was fun to watch. The fans needed a win at Rexall. I did that from 6-9

Also last night and Anne went out to Walmart and mentioned there was something under the tree. It was in a Christmas wrapping bag. OMG the Xbox 360! What she said she did basically was buy it out of our January rent money but she’s going to make an appointment to the bank and get the balance later this week for rent and my website/lodge dues. Wu-who now I can play Elder scrolls on our 42” LCD wide screen. We haven’t opened it yet because we want to get the funds out of our RRSP for 2009, in case there are some complications so we can get our money back from Walmart. Now I can play Elder scrolls. At least its in a box under the tree:

Finally, I completed reading “Fast Forward #1” Here is a “brief review:”

Brief synopsis: This is an annual anthology from a master anthologist. Lou Anders knows his stuff and brings to the table some good offerings.
Pros: 19 stories and 2 poems. 5 stories were Very good, 7 stories were good, 4 stories not bad.

Cons: 3 stories were poor. Plus 2 poems I had to add a wtf?

I liked most of the stories in this anthology except but there were a few that I found boring as hell. I’ll be reading FF#2 later on this winter On a scale from 1-10 I’d give this a good 6 e. Jim’s out of 10.

Now it’s onto Eric Brown’s “Helix.”

This week is going to be interesting. Firstly I go into work tonight and then I’ll be watching Monday night Raw. Tuesday same thing just into work but that’s my last shift of 2008. There’s a shift Wednesday but that’s in the morning only. Since I don’t work mornings that doesn’t apply to me. Hence: Day off. Also, Anne’s at work and there’s an Oiler game Wednesday December 31st here at Rexall with Ottawa Senators. Right after the game or just before midnight I’ll be scrambling for a train downtown to meet my wife. She gets off work at midnight. We’re going to try get to see some of the fireworks but chances are we might not. Thursday January first the Oiler’s are in Calgary giving the Flames some New years “cheer.” I’ll be watching that one. Anne’s at the bank January 2nd hopefully with good news and I’ll have my lodge dues and my website funds.

Here’s another photo of the stack of books I read this year. Icewind Dale the 2 Peter F. Hamilton books were all over 1,000 pages each. It’s my goal to read at least one book/month.

And at last what wouldn’t the season be without another cat photo? This one is of Silky. I’ve had him for well over 10 years now. He’s also my dinner guest sitting beside me hoping for a taste of my supper, which I always oblige. Silky is extremely shy. Except with me and Anne.

Anyway Bloggers, that’s all for now

e. Jim

Not a bad day today at that

Lets see, I was up about 6:00am to post a blog entry on my website. Also writing for myself basically.

I went out there to catch my 9am bus. Weather wise, it wasn't that bad out there. There was a definite change in the air since having those -20C+'s/wind chills whilst waiting for my Saturday morning #11 to Clairview and then to Cororna. It felt lonely walking to through the parkade. inside the office I met u with Supie and we talked about the holidays stocks etc.

By 10am when Moe came in to run the floor we had 12 people for the whole floor. I moved to the back and had K sit with me. JT was there along with Bud. The lowest turn out of the shift. Rob's going to let the shit fly on Monday. I won a $5 Nevada and won a $1 on a bet Moe and I made.

I even did well on the job. Moe complimented me on Anne's haircut job. I got my cheque plus my $25 bonus. So I got anything over $200. So I took out $40 for me including the $25 I brought with me. I walked up to the City Center Mall looked through Coles book store. There are some nice Trade David Eddington editions and some Starcraft novels I want to get into. I got a $10 pre-paid pay-as-you go Telus receipt for my cell phone. TD bank is open on a Saturdays now? That's pretty convenient. I've been wanting to try one of those KFC chicken bowls. I got one to take home and after a 10 minute wait at Clairview in the -4C weather. You read that right. -4C!!! That's darn near--balmy. Right now it's -6C but there is a -11C wind chill, which still isn't all that bad. Sunday is supposed to be a bit colder -12C. Even that isn;t too bad. We're to get 2 days next week, Tuesday and Thursday, which are supposed to be around -21C--25C . Weekend weather looks warm.

I got home about 3:45pm watched a bit of TV, did some Internet stuff and then went for a 2 hour power snooze. I badly needed that.

Anne called me at 6pm for ten minutes and I started my KFC meal. These things aren't bad. on a scale from 1-10. I'd rate them an 8/10. I'll get them again. I hope to complete reading FF #2 this weekend. After this, I'm going to read Eric Brown's "Helix." looks interesting.

Anyway Bloggers, that's all for now.

e. Jim

Happy holidays one and all

I went into work for my Tuesday night. Anne suggested I take the whole day off yesterday. So I went into Audrey’s and got my FF#2 book. Apparently over the year I had accumulated enough out of my book club membership and it was free. Feeling good about that and having 3 days off I called Anne before the shift started about my good news. She was doing laundry upstairs and needed my apartment key for the laundry room.

Also Tuesday night Anne used her Pizza 73 coupon and went and got us a pizza meal including wedgies which she wanted to try. It was really good. I had some chicken pieces and 4 slices left over for my lunch yesterday.

Today was a relaxing kind of a day. I got up about 1:45pm and I’m still feeling a bit exhausted. I was doing some JFK assassination research stuff. Odd how 26 trained professionals at Parkland hospital that were direct witnesses handling the Presidents body in and out of the trauma room all said Kennedy had a large wound of exit in the occipital region of (back) of the head.

I also listened to a lot of stuff on YouTube and answering email. Also Anne made me a rum and Coke and I got a bit of a buzz off of that. Today Anne’s having Christmas turkey and I’m going to be enjoying so baby back ribs a baked potato and fixings.

It’s tradition around here to open Christmas gifts Christmas eve and I’m glad my wife and I are together. W didn’t have a lot of money for the holidays, mainly because my vacation pay fiasco as mentioned elsewhere. I got Anne some beauty products and she got me a pair of genes, a book (FF#2 which she wrapped up for me.) some new batteries for my camera and some socks. But we have our rent paid for January our bills paid. All we need is our bus passes. We’ve got our Christmas treats like chips, pastry’s, chocolates, chips and bits and bites, rum and beer. Plus we have Boots in for the night. Also, I have an Oiler game and Friday night Smackdown coming up. I go into work Saturday but that’s ok. The job is going well. With all that said, I’d like to wish all my readers to this blog, happy holidays.

Anyway Bloggers, that’s all for now

e. Jim

Nice day Monday

Since it’s been a few days since I last posted a blog entry, I figure it’s better late then never. Anne wanted to get up a little early to make us our Sunday brunch for Monday. She got out pots and pans and went to work. So we had out nice Sunday breakfast about 2pm Monday afternoon. I got some Lodge mail and Anne got a $100 gift certificate from her sister for both of us. Very nice of her.

My wife had to leave for work early and I left at my usual time. I ended up catching my bus in the cold but because there was very little wind, it wasn’t that bad heading out Monday late afternoon.

I’m still reading FF #1 and I just read “A Smaller Government.” It wasn’t bad. Not great, but not bad. I’m on pace for completing this book by the end of the year and I’m picking up FF #2 Christmas eve,

Speaking of Christmas eve it is a work day but were only working until 1pm. Cheques are being sent the day before Christmas which is ok. It also means I’m up pulling in a rare early morning shift to get the cheque and to qualify for my stat pay. When your working part time here in Alberta you need to work the day before and the day after. Kind of silly really.

I had a pretty good night at work. Greg put the Oiler game on for us and the Oiler’s were winning 3-1 when I left out of there at 9pm. I got home and with 10 minutes left it was 3-2 Oiler’s with 10 minutes left in the game. Anne called with 2 minutes left and the Oiler’s scored on a power play. Good stuff. Nice Christmas present for us Oiler fans. Anne put out some canned ravioli for me and I watched Raw. It was an excellent show last night. On a scale from 1-10, I’d say it was a 10! Great stuff.

Anne’s not home yet as she’s out at Superstore across the street getting stuff for the holidays. Otherwise I had a nice couple of days since Saturday’s entry. I worked on my special writing project. For now I’ll just call it KOR. I’ve got the first 12 scenes done up a bunch of characters. That’s all I’m going to say about it now

Anyway Bloggers, that’s all for now

e. Jim

Big post Saturdays

I‘m having a real struggle obtaining my vacation pay. This fiasco began because I have my vacation pay accrued. I take out 2 draws/year. 1 in the Spring and another this time of year. Makes for a nice Christmas. I called last week to have the reception hold a form for me on Gregg’s desk. It was in a large white envelope: “This for James;” I left it on the boss’s desk in the envelope over the last weekend because he was in Vegas. Thursday night imagine my surprise when I found no vacation pay on my cheque. Wtf? The boss said he never saw a form from me and I should get another form from Greg, re-submit it for him and try again for Friday morning (yesterday). It‘s still not to late. However Greg was away from the office last night. Shit. I thought I’d have to make a special trip in etc. I later saw Greg out the corner of my eye when he came in an hour before the shift was ready to close (Thursday night) He produced the envelope. I received $80 in bonuses based upon CC’s et. The boss thinking it was for me gave it to the management station on the same floor. I’ll provide a photo of this area for later. This was my mistake for not opening up the envelope for the boss’s attention.

Last night I’m feeling pretty good heading into the office. Partially overcast etc. Cold. No sooner do I get off the elevator Greg hands me this notice: It’s an email reply to the boss from head office saying there was an overpayment (of some kind) almost equaling the 2nd half of what my vacation pay was for. WTF? I was livid, crushed. The Grinch that stole Christmas you hear about had stabbed me in the back. I brought this letter to the boss’s attention while he was still in his office and he asked me if I’m coming to the Christmas party. What, after this? He wrote down a phone number I should call Monday, yeah right because head office (Calgary) conveniently left for the weekend. All kinds of things wee running through my head and I had a slow start to the shift based on that and felt terrible. I knew this would cause me some grief at home with Anne later as well. I was expecting this money to buy the 120 Gb Zune media player as a Christmas present for myself and to take Anne out for a nice Christmas dinner. So much for that. In early January Anne’s going to take out of her RRSP for my Lodge dues and my website. My vacation pay accrued allows me to buy one big ticket item/year. Now if I don’t get this thing fixed up, I’ll have to rethink this vacation pay strategy and maybe have it on my weekly pay cheque like most people do.
I wasn’t in a good mood, obviously, heading home. Even though the Oiler game was on I still felt let down. I didn’t even go buy a book at Audrey’s as I wanted to buy the “Night’s Dawn” trilogy, book #2. I came in shortly after 9pm last night, listened to the Oiler’s/Ducks game in progress. 2-1 Ducks but the Oiler’s scored their first in the game in the 3rd just as I was coming in the door. They tied the game up but lost in the shoot out. Good news for us Oiler fans is that the Flames lost, on their home ice yet.
After the game I watched a bit of Smackdown and Anne came in and I showed her the form and she was level headed to work it out with me what might have happened. Then the fighting dinner, some of Smackdown, more fighting. I went to bed then got up to do some computer stuff in the office. Anne came in with some chocolates for me (peace offering) We’re all right for now.

I’ve had a tough week, what with hearing all of this economic gloom and doom going around I had some potentially explosive stuff that could have occurred with another employee at work (shades of Lucian but with somebody else) The Oiler’s lost a game earlier this week, my vacation pay, plus some problems with my teeth. There hasn’t been a lot to get excited about. Anne gave me back $15 from the other day so I still had my original $80. In which case I’m going to go get the book and a bottle of Christmas wine for us for next week.

We’ve got a lot to be grateful about considering the trouble in the world and the economic meltdown. We’re not in a recession quite yet here in Edmonton but unless things change we could be in one by the Spring. Then again the economy could change on a dime. We had a recession in 2004 that completely escaped my radar. I never even knew we were in one at the time! That recession came and went and some are suggesting (here at least) its going to be like 2004.

The good news; the US has given the green light for another bail out package. This time it’s for the big 3 in the auto industry. We’re essentially doing the same thing here in Canada announced yesterday a multi billion dollar stimulus package that includes our own auto industry most of which is back East. Thing is, you can toss around Billions of dollars if the banks aren’t going to lend credit to customers no matter how good the car is, nobody will be able to get one. In Europe I’ve heard they have had (or have?) this 2 for 1 deal. Buy one vehicle get a 2nd one free. Good idea. The other thing is our auto industry is just a spin off of the US auto industry. We produce the overflow. Also, the auto industry needs to produce vehicles that people want to buy, Hybrid vehicles could become a lot cheaper for one thing. It’s not good news for the Alberta oil industry but there is the larger picture here. More about the economy here, the Feds are talking about reforming the UIC (Unemployment Insurance Commission) program again by bringing it back to the level of the early 1990’s. The Coalition is really squeezing the Tory minority here, which is good. Especially if Harper wants to keep his job. The recent EI (Employment Insurance) is no better then Union strike pay.

I’m really blessed in some ways because in my line of work, I am recession proof. Also because I’ve diversified some years ago I can always work in Security as a security guard, also recession proof. Plus my wife is working and we could qualify for a rental subsidy program in the new year and there are all kinds of things the Feds can do to strengthen and improve our economy, things look optimistic. Plus, I’m going to “fight for my vacation pay.” We think it’s a clerical error on their part. Plus the Oiler’s play on Monday, we get our cheques on Christmas eve, I get 2 days off and the Oiler’s play again on Boxing day.

As for me, today it’s into the office in about an hour. I’ll be out there in that -28C weather waiting for the #11 bus to creep over the Manning bridge. No Tim Horton’s for me this weekend and once I put my 4 hours in, it’s off to get my book and a bottle of wine and I’ll have a nap later. I feel pretty good about things around here after all.

Anyway Bloggers, that’s all for now

e. Jim

working the week

It wasn’t to bad going in Wednesday afternoon. I read from a really long short story in FF #1. I didn’t like it at all nor could I find the plot or even what the story was about. The story was stupid meandering and a real waste of time. I’m hoping that within the last 8 stories or so left there will be at least one more very good and a few good stories before I’m done with FF #1,
I had a decent night on the job getting praise from management for top total and a couple of CC sales as well. I left with a headache and felt something coming on.

The air walking across the parkade to Corona didn’t help and my headache got worse reading on the way home. That story had to be the worst one of the bunch of the batch. Sorry Ian McDonald but that story blowed. I didn’t feel much better on the bus leaving out of Clairview. All I wanted to do was to catch whatever remained of the Oiler game. It was 2-0 in the 2nd for Vancouver. 3-0 at the end of the 2nd. Uggh. The Oiler’s finally got on board, 3-1. Which is a lot better then they did against us on Saturday night. The Oiler’s made it interesting scoring a 2nd goal late in the third.

During the game my headache had got worse. It wasn’t a headache but its something? Flue? Most likely. I laid down with the fan on feeling a little better. Anne came in and made me a lemon relief tea and I‘m starting to feel a bit better.

I’m hoping I’ll have my vacation pay on my cheque this afternoon. This way I can get myself a Christmas present and I most likely will get something nice.

What I don’t know yet. I do know I want to pick up book #2 of the Nights Dawn trilogy.

Anyway Bloggers, that’s all for now

e. Jim

Here it is already

in the middle of the month and I would have thought by now I would have FF# 1 read. The last story “P dolce” was highly enjoyable. I’m enjoying “Jesus Christ reanimator.” Another good story. The 2nd half of FF #1 is turning out to be better then the fist half.

Not much going on today. It’s out at 4pm to brave the cold weather and into work. I’m going to put in another full week and maybe a few afternoons as well. I don’t want to miss a CC bonus because of 1 mistake on my part.

After work it’s home for Monday night Raw. The next Oiler game is here on Tuesday against Chicago. Then for the rematch at Vancouver Wednesday.

Hard to believe Christmas week is almost here. Next Wednesday is Christmas and then it’s time to renew my website for another year and my lodge dues are up soon as well. I normally on New Years day take a look back at the that was with a bit of a review and some predictions. I’m going to start a separate page called “predictions.” None of them turn out but it’s fun trying.

Coast has a decent show going on as I write this (Sunday/Monday) Horror suspense novelist Dean Koontz. He’s been on before. Wednesday/Thursday is on UFO’s. One of my favorite Coast topics.

Anyway Bloggers, that’s all for now

e. Jim

Winter storm

We’re in the middle of an extreme winter storm right now folks. Temperature out there is -23C with a wind chill of -34C. We’ve had it good until as of last week. Even as of the other night Thursday was mild, almost spring like.

Yesterday when I left out of here at 4pm it was -8C. I can’t recall what the wind chill factor was but it was really windy. It was cold but not unbearably so. I got into the office a little after 4:30pm and got my dialer and had a coffee. It was slow going sales wise and I think we’re going off this CPA thing. Moe moved us to the other side where we originally were. I got one CC sale and a total of $465. After work I braved the cold and headed over to Audrey’s. I got book 1 of Peter F. Hamilton’s “Night’s dawn” trilogy and Book two is there. I’ve got 2 books behind the special order desk left, including FF #2 at American pricing. The book I bought was just under $20. When I get my vacation pay next week (if it all comes in) I’ll pick up Book 2. Book 3 isn’t out yet at Audrey’s.

So I got home and did my admin stuff and went online expecting my wife to give me a call but I didn’t hear the phone ring. I think she gets out at 11pm on a Friday night. I didn’t watch any Smackdown. I just couldn’t get into it.

I watched the news and Anne made me a soup and a sandwich and I watched ECW and went to bed.

I woke up about 3:30am and couldn’t get back to sleep after that. I wish I didn’t have to go into work this morning, not because of the cold but because of fatigue and I’m a bit wiped out from the week but I need the CC sales. Just 2 more for 20 to qualify and a few extra in case some decline for the bonus. That’s an extra $40 on my cheque.

Somethings got to give here. With our finances and all we’re barely cutting it. Fortunately we had a rental increase in October and since (by law) the next rental increase wont be 365 days from there so we have some breathing room. But they wont increase it by much yet every time they do Anne freaks out. The other thing is we have a chance to apply for rental subsidy, so that could help us out. Then I could always put more hours in on the job (last resort.) The DNC list is no doubt hurting us but its not unbearable. When someone other then the customer’s name on the screen says “put me on the DNC list” I don’t comply. The customer has to tell me that not the neighbor or the friend over for a beer or the secret lover hoping to get some. I might have to put more hours in after the new year pending the subsidy. Then the other thing is I could always get another job. I’m looking at security guard job (SGJ) work. Not all SGJ work is cushy though. A lot of it is on your feet and moving around. But I wouldn’t mind something like the WH job I had in 1994. That was a cushy job. Site was small a 10 minute patrol and most of the time it was sitting down reading. So, it’s not like we don’t have options.

Today I’m out of here at 9am to brave the cold waiting for my bus I’ll have my balaclava on and a 5 minute wait in the shelter. I‘ll be ok. I’ll get my Tim’s breakfast and the walk across the parkade by Corona station this morning is going to be the hardest part and the same route back after.

This next week is going to be a short work week what with Christmas and Boxing day in the middle of the week. It’s going to feel strange. This time next weekend Christmas will all be but over.

Speaking about this time of year, the Sun sets at 4:13pm. But the winter Equinox is December 21st after that the days get longer. Daylight savings time year 2 of the Canadian system to the American one is March 9th. What with December mostly over that leaves us with January and February for real winter. Daylight savings time is March 8th. I usually start thinking Spring Q3 of February.

After work I want to go to Future shop and have a look around and get some chips from the Dollarama store on the way back. I’ll have a bit of a nap. The Oiler’s are hosting Vancouver for tonight’s game. Once I get home, I’m hunkering down for the weekend. We’ve got Boots with us. Anne rescued him from the cold as soon as she got home.

Anyway, for the most part, that’s all from me for this weekend. I might post over there on Blogger Sunday.

Anyway Bloggers, that’s all for now

e. Jim

I was able to

call the receptionist to get a form for my vacation pay. I’ll fill it out for Rob so he can put it on for Next weeks pay period. Anne left for her 8 hours and I locked everything up for my 4 hours.

Weather wise it was nice going in +3C. Weird clouds in the West, almost Spring like. I felt good going in. I got my dialer and I had a good crew to work with. I was getting a few CC’s as well and I had I think about $400 by break. Bud got the first $20 bonus. I moved up to JT’s dialer and Still getting CC’s I ended up with $735 and the 2nd half $20 bonus. That was a good night going in. That bonus if I get it will be on my vacation pay bonus.

I was feeling good leaving out of there making sure Moe got my bonus in. Good stuff. I had a chat with one of the guys I sat with (Peter) in the 2nd half waiting for my train home. I got a bit of reading in from FF. Just as I was pulling in so was my #183. I got that home and relaxed the evening. Anne called at 10pm and I had some ravioli she fixed up for me and fed Boots and she came in about 12:30. It gave me a break as well.

My wife made a platter for us of sausage, crackers, cheeses, olives type thing to go along with out wine. I’ll take my insulin, we’ll listen to a bit of Coast and we’ll pass out.

I’m really struggling with one of the stories in FF by Larry Niven and Brenda Cooper. “The terror bard.” This is I think one of the first stories I’ve read that is co authored. I’ve never read any Larry Niven but I have one of his books co authored with Brenda Cooper. This story was really hard to follow. And I almost felt like skipping it for the next story. So far out of 10 stories in this anthology this was one of 2 that I didn’t like. I am totally board with it. I‘m hoping the novel will be better. So far I’ve enjoyed only 2 of the stories. This anthology is turning out to be mediocre at best, almost a waste of time. I’m not going to give up on it. I’m about half way through it but this story “The terror bard,” uggh.

Anyway Bloggers, that’s all for now

e. Jim

We're in

winter now folks.

Saturday night I watched a great Oiler's/SJ game on the road.

I didn't get a lot of reading in this weekend because of a soar tooth. I did manage to read 1 short story from the FF anthology. At first the story was slow going but it moved a little faster near the end. I hope to have FF #1 read by the end of the year.

My wife gave me a sleeping pill just now, even though it's a little early and I seldom ever take a sleeping pill on a Sunday night. I'll most likely sleep until 1pm this afternoon because of this thing.

Also I got into a bit of writing on a special project I'm working on. I've got half of the scenes more or less figured out for half of the beginning part of the project. If all goes well I should be in full writing mode May first of '09. I hope.

Today nothing special. I want to go into work and do my Monday nighter and then home to watch Raw.

For hours Sunday night I've been browsing YouTube for various video media players. I'm looking for something that has an external speaker, plays games, and external flash memory. The Zune looked pretty good except for no external speaker. The Zen looked good but it couldn't play games. I finally came across the Newman Manman A4. Its a big 4" screen but has 2 external speakers. I think it's sold for about $140 bucks. Looks really good. I don't like the screen size though.

last night I stumbled a pretty low quality 1992 video on the Gnostic Mass done in 8 parts no less. The video quality was fair. On a scale from 1-10 I'd say 4. But easy to see what was going on. I rather enjoyed it. Last time I was at a mass was I think 1996, just as Nepthyse was closing down. I really miss it. I think ByThor is still holding them with Ashtoroth, I'm not sure.

Anyway Bloggers, that's all for now.

e. Jim

My friend

Neil lodge organist couldn’t make it. He suffered another stroke the other day. He said the stroke took out his sense of smell. I felt bad for him. I couldn’t get Nathan. So it looked like I’d have to leave on my own. I managed to get a hold of Nathan but he said he had to pick someone up from the other side of town. I was on my own after all. I had about a 10 minute wait for my bus but it was really warm out there. It had been snowing off and on all Thursday afternoon. A 15 min wait latter at Clairview LRT and still no train. Finally a train pulled in and the operator had said the whole LRT line was being delayed by 15 minutes. Finally, at Rexall and waiting for a bus on 118th by the overpass I get one. The driver thought I met 60th st and the snowfall kind of disorientated me. I got off to early. At 7:20pm I’d be late for sure and after a bit of a wait I got another bus heading the direction I need to go and I was across the street from the lodge at 7:30pm. I buzzed and tried the door. Open. I got inside even before things got underway. Just in time.

The whole evening went well. I was a little rough around the edges for my part. The festive board was free. All officers got together for a group photo. I had a good time. I called Anne a few times. I’d be late getting home.

George drove me home and I got in about 11:30pm. Not bad.
Today it’s off to work and get my cheque and then get the bus up to the bank and home.

Anyway Bloggers, that’s all for now

e. Jim

It was sure a

lot colder going in yesterday afternoon, but not bitterly so. I read a bit out of FF on the way in and decided to go straight into the office to grab my dialer because of all the “new tap shooters.” New because all the East Indian kids that were Robs darlings a year ago are now out because Immigration/Service Canada says it’s illegal for them to work at my place of employment. Rob is elevating staff for “promotion.” Yet DC said for me to go to the back to the business section. Meaning more of the CFK campaign, because I got a $1,100 total Tuesday. I sat in-between JT and R. Both were not using their 3 levels of support. This tells me that “management” singled me out because with the high total Monday night, I stood out. So I was listening for the “Do t Rob’s way,” approach and JT or R were not. That boarders on harassment.

I had a slow start last night pulling in $230 something and 1 CC sale before the break. I rallied with $440 and another CC sale for 2 on the night. The best part about the evening was the Oiler’s were leading 3-1 when I left and I got a $5.00 bonus. I should be getting $35 in bonuses next week. Yeah right. I rode in on the train with one of the recent kids I was taking upon myself to train. I prefer riding in alone.

Ok, speaking about hockey everyone is all up in arms over Sean Avery’s comment in Calgary the other day. The league ought to chill out. And here’s everyone like Don Cherry jumping on the band wagon. Personally I “love the guy,” Sean Avery. He’s a great hockey player. He’s young and abrasive and I like that. The Oiler’s should get rid of Penner and the other goal tender talk to Dallas and make a trade for Avery. He might be a great fit for the Oiler’s.

I’ve got Lodge this evening and I’m looking forward to that. Its our installation night where everyone steps up for real. My first chair.

Everyone’s talking about Harper suspending Parliament because of this coalition thing. Reality check time. When Harper was opposition he tried doing the same thing with NDP and the Block to get rid of the Liberals. This whole thing is a bunch of crap.

One movie that looks really good (another remake) “The day the Earth stood still.” The 1951 sci-fi classic. There’s 4 movies I want to see, the above. And also the new James Bond, and the new Star Trek movie. There’s also another Transporter movie coming out. Hollywood has a good crop of sci-fi movies coming out this year. Or what’s left of it.

Other then that not a lot going on. I’m still waiting for that simulation from Ms. I might have t call them tonight around 4pm.

Anyway Bloggers, that’s all for now

e. Jim

Work began

on a sour note but I turned it around. I was called into the office. All of management was there listening to my calls. They just don't want me to reload taps. They're right. I turned it around and ended up with one of the best nights I've ever had, and another $15 bonus.I took this photo outside about 4:10pm on the way in. It's looking South at the Manning bridge over the LRT tracks. To the left of me is the ETS bus platform. It wasn't that bad out there although this camea akes photo's about 10% darker then usual.

Anyway Blogger's that's all for now

e. Jim

Yeesh we're

back at it again. Seems next Monday the Harper PC Government, here in Canada needs to bring out a budget. That in itself isn’t bad but what is bad news for us here in Canada is that the Liberals and the NDP have joined forces to bring down the Tory Government in a non confidence vote. Keep in mind that Harper has a minority Government. He’s at the mercy of the other official party leaders. If they don’t like a major bill like a budget they can call for a non confidence vote. In other words we’re most likely going to the polls again. With all the political instability here in this crazy country is there any wonder investment and consumer confidence is down. A 3 party system is the way to go but this ganging up on one leader because he has a minority is simply wrong. We’ll know next week sometime if and when there will be a major election-again.

Not much going on at the moment. I’m enjoying my first coffee for the day. We’ve got our rent ready (more or less) for today. My wife gets paid on Friday. Christmas looks good. This week I’ve got lodge night. It’s my turn to be Tyler. Should be fun. Hopefully in the new year, I’ll have a new job and I can have every Thursday night off without having to explain to management where I am every other Thursday night.

Its grey out there and windy but holding at +6C. Our snow is supposed to get here this week sometime. Most likely as I’m going to lodge. Oh well its about time. I also noticed that the book cover images on my Blogger Blog are broken but the same images are intact on my website. Most strange. I think it might have something to do with a passwaord change where I upload my images to get a URL. I'll try and fix it up after Monday night Raw tonight.

Anyway Bloggers, that’s all for now

e. Jim

A rough couple of days

I met up with M on the way in the elevator and he wasn’t much interested in talking with me. “Grab a dialer if your working. I’ll talk with you later,” is all he would muster. Ok. At kick-off he asked me to wait for him in the back. I got that signal mixed up. He meant computer room. He left me hanging there for awhile and came back and towered over me giving me a lecture about disrespecting him etc. I came close to getting fired. I wont go into the details suffice to say M and I are not on any terms these days and for the foreseeable future. I hope to be in that new job within the “foreseeable future.” I got my dialer and went back to work doing CRF in the tap section. We had a few taps. I had a decent total by break with about $195, then we all got moved over to the front 20 and I had a $100 sale but no CC’s. Only 4 this week. At one point M shut my system down wanting me to listen to one of my recordings for a technical issue for “not doing my job properly.” Put it this way, the job isn’t fun anymore since we began to do CRF. I suspect we’ll be doing much the same today as we did last night.

I was glad to get out of the office at 8:30pm and out onto the street. It was mild heading over to Audrey’s and I made my regards with Trevor. I picked up one of the last special order desk Warhammer 40K Omnibus novels at American pricing. I’ve got FF #2 there for me, the last of my US pricing books. I got a bus up to my bank did my banking and a brief wait for my train. Feeling better about what went down earlier. I suppose M talked about this with Rob because he would need to explain why he shut me down yesterday at 6:30pm. M most likely said to Rob that he would handle it.

Weather wise it was even raining lightly last night. I got home and breathed a sigh of relief I wasn’t fired. That was a close one.

The other thing is Thursday when I called Ms they said my testing score on my simulation was low but the good news is they don’t want to give up on me. F wants to send me another simulation that I can do on my own time and work towards getting a better score. I can work on my own time and get ready for the training course that starts in January. I’m under some stress at my current job and I’d like to get out of it asap. On my terms.

Not much going on today. Except the job thing. All I want to do is to get that over and done with and home. I watched my Smackdown and ECW but acquired a bit of a toothache while watching my show. Anne came in late. She had a busy night at Pizza. We had a late supper and I was in bed by about 1:15am or so with my toothache and all. Anne gave me something but it wasn’t as good as Advil. Tylenol 3 is better but that’s a 2 hour wait in the midi center and a Doctors prescription. I got about 3 hours sleep overnight. I could have slept in until 11am. My toothache is still lingering about but it’s not as bad as it was last night.

This afternoon it’s the Oiler’s playing in St. Louis. Starts at noon. Then there’s another game Sunday in Dallas at 4pm. Anne didn’t know this but she suggested if I didn’t want to go out with them for dinner I didn’t have to go. With the game on TV it’s tempting to stay home. Hopefully her flight will be here around 1pm. We’ll have dinner and I could be home around 4pm not missing much of the game. If it wasn’t for my bonehead mistake Thursday night with M I would have taken today off. We’ll be able to watch the first part of the Oiler game at noon, maybe. I might get home in time to get the last of the 3rd period.

FF #1 is turning out to be, interestinghad a feeling of much anxiety leaving out of here at 4pm for work. All kinds of things were playing out in my head. I couldn’t even read FF on the train. I met Shank out front and he said Rob wasn’t there. Really? Ok. I mentioned about the incident with Greg and nothing much was said beyond that. I get Greg to give me my pay cheque. He did. I went downstairs to get some “cheese pleasers.” Two bags for Smackdown.

This evening, I’m going to learn how to play the rest of “When the Saints go marching in.” Maybe do some writing and play out a quiet evening.

Anyway Bloggers, that‘s all for now.

e. Jim

A short one today

My wife was knee deep in laundry when I left out of here at 4pm. Weather was actually pretty mild. No incidents, just go in get a seat on the train, crack open my book and read all the way to the end of the South LRT line and back.

OTH day 1 last night. I dread doing that 4 four months. The event itself is March 18th, We were calling ‘04 and ‘05 taps no less. The 2nd hour we got to call AES/CCSD/DIH. Apparently it’s some of the East Indian kids last month. We’re going to lose 2 tap shooters. Me if I get that ICC job.

I was happy to catch my train for home and watch an excellent Monday night Raw. What a show. Anne brought Boots in for some warmth overnight. I was doing my stuff and we went to bed about 4am after all the laundry was done.

Over the last few days I’ve been reading a lot of my “Icewind Dale” trilogy. My copy is getting pretty beat up. That’s the trouble when transporting large books. I’ve got about 50 pages left to go and with any luck at all, I’ll be able to start on my next book to read: “Fast Forward #1” by Thursday. I have #2 waiting for me at Audrey’s.

Not much going on this week. I’m still waiting to hear from Ms and when I got to Anne’s phone this morning, there were 19 messages on her phone. WTF? If it was Ms trying to reach me, they would have emailed me but so far nothing going on with that. I’ll call before I leave out of here.

Anyway Bloggers that’s all for now

e. Jim

A laid back Saturday

I locked everything up here, and left at my usual 4pm time for the bus yesterday afternoon. Then to Clairview for the train down to Corona reading along the way to the end of the line and back to Corona. Crossing through the parkade, and between stalled heavy traffic of 106th I noticed M having a smoke outside the entrance to our office building, so I had a chat with him about why I missed yesterday. We went upstairs and I to my dialer. I got off to a good start the first hour, but bogged down the rest of the way before break. The 2nd half was no better, but I got my pay cheque such as it was. After work I hurried back through the parkade to wait for the #5 bus that would take me to my bank. I did my banking and waited for the train back home at Central station. If I had $20 I would have been over at Audrey’s getting a book.

Actually the weather was surprisingly mild going in and coming home; almost spring like in a way. This morning I’m out of here at 9 for another 4 hours. Saturday’s are usually pretty good and time moves fast. After work I’m going over to Audrey’s and get one of the “Star Wars” books. I’d like to get the “Warhammer” book, but that would leave me short of cash.

Not much going on after my nap when I get home this afternoon. There’s no Oiler hockey and in a way I’m Ok with that. I’ve got other things to do tonight. Firstly I want to get some reading done, piano practicing and some writing. I’m learning how to play “Simple gifts.” it’s not that hard of a piece to play. I’ve got the first (both hands) part down.

Yesterday after Anne left for work I had a bit of time to call our service provider about our home phone and the problems we’re having. The first guy said he’d reset the phone and try calling me back to confirm. Some of the lights on the modem we out. The tech guy walked me through the steps to reset the modem. That done he’d call me back. Ten minutes later no one had called. I called again and got another tech support (Ts) guy. Each time I do this I have to go and explain the problem again. Still no one called back. I gave up. Tonight Anne is supposed to call on her break so we’ll see if the phone is working. If not I’m going to arrange for a service call to get this resolved once and for all. The thing is we have 0 time on our cell phones and I can’t use my cell phone to call our home phone to see if it’s working. All this at a time I’m trying to get that Ms ICC job. Our phone has to go out at a crucial time.

About the ICC job I was able to get a hold of somebody Wednesday and even went down to Ms and did some testing. my interviewer even sent me a link to a simulation test, which I took early Friday morning. It was a fun and interesting simulation. I called the following Friday morning talking with F. The downtown for the ICC training wont begin until December first. The only way F can reach me until I resolve our Home phone issue is through email. Of course, I can call out but nobody can call in.

I had a chat with my Ms referral working at the location where I’d like to work and she said that Ms is paying her and it’s weekly. Every Friday just like where I am now. Cool. If I get hired on, then I’ll be getting 2 weekly cheques.

And this morning/today:

It wasn’t too bad out there going into work at 9am. Almost like an early spring like day out there:

This is unusual for November. Usually we should have about 6 inches of snow on the ground and -20C. Even out behind our building (right) in this photo the walkway would be cleared but shouldered in snow:

I got my Tim’s breakfast and brought my insulin along. I got in and realized someone had taken my headset. That kind of pissed me off. I had a slow start but after my first sale I eventually rebounded and by noon I had a pretty good total. I ended up with $485 and 2 CC sales in there as well. All our lists are pretty beat up. At 1pm all I wanted to do was to go in and get one of my books Audrey’s. At the special order desk a few more books came in added to my pile. I picked up one of my Everquest books ordered in at US pricing. Also Fast Forward #2 is there.

It was really breezy heading home. I think I must have got inside about 2:40pm and into bed shortly after. I had a good hour and a half nap and listened to some “Uriah Heap” on YouTube, good stuff.

Anyway Bloggers that’s all for now

e. Jim

Having a slow

couple of days here this week.

As for the ICC job no calls this week and when I get home last night after work my wife calls her cell phone on her break which has about a minute left on "the clock," before it drops. So I'm calling our service provider and apparently calls can go out but not come in due to a power fluctuation of some kind. They'd reset the phone and call me back to confirm I had full service but not yet.

Anne brought "Boots" inside as it's bitterly cold out there. He took to that water we have at various spots in the house for the cats.

I had a slow night tonight pulling in just over $220 and a $50 CC sale as well. Of course doing Magic. Going home was cold. I was able to read more out of Icewind Dale. I'm within the last 205 pages. I hope to read the whole thing by the end of this month.

Saturday on Coast to Coast is their big annual JFK show. I look forward to this each year. Most likely Jim Marrs will be on. I hope they have a round table format.

Anyway Bloggers, that's all for now

e. Jim

Not too bad of a day out there

this afternoon. We've got about 8 hours of daylight left these days. This photo was taken shortly before 9am as I'm waiting for my Satuday bus into work.

Yesterday at work we had the CFL footbal game on but we missed the first half because of some TV listing foul up. The score was something like Esks 13-Montreal Montreal Alouettes 19. There was a key play on a kick off return that caused Montreal to increase their lead from 19 to 27 something. It was all Montreal after that. Too little to late and the Esks are out of the Grey Cup. If they would have won it would have been Edmonton and Calgary. CFL history in the making.

This week I'm going to try out for a few afternoon shifts now that I know how to manage my insulin for a full 7 hours/12 hour day. If Anne can do it I should be able to do it. The idea is I'll go in at my regular time Monday (hopefully Ms will call me about the inbound call center job. I'd love for that to happen.) work Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday afternoons and my regular Friday and Saturday shift. But if Ms calls Monday I'll ask for an interview for Tuesday afternoon before I head into work.

I'm still working through Icewind Dale and in Book 3 of the trilogy. As good as it is, I's like to move onto something else.

Anyway Bloggers, that's all for now.

e. Jim

Not much going on

over the last few days.

Anne's sister called said she's flying out of Winnipeg to meet with work coleeges here and to visit for a few hours with her sister, my wife. They plan on meeting for coffee at the Corona Tim's around 8pm.

I got out there at 4pm for my bus to my train and my train ride into work. Man was the wind blowing. I decided to go right to the end of the line and read. I read about 5 pages.

Work went well. I had about $300 raised by break on my tally sheet and I got a CC sale as well. The Oiler's were off to a good start hosting Toronto. We got our cheques and I had another decent shift for November pulling in $805 on the night. The Oiler's were down 4-2 late in the 2nd when Moe shut us down. I could feel my bsl dropping and the shakes coming on. I asked DC if he had some change I could borrow (he owes me a buck) for a candy bar or something but he only had bills. But fortunately there was a box of his Tim's tidbits with 4 donuts he offered me, which I wolfed down. That felt better. I didn't receive any bonus money tonight but I was a bit Po'd by the size of my cheque. No one to blame but me I guess. I want to give Greg $10 for the cable and I owe Moe $20 and all I get is $20/week and I have books waiting for me at Audrey's. I have responsibilities here and to my wife and I realize this but something has to give.

Since I usually take my insulin shots about 12 hours apart, I thought I'd need to keep it in the fridge at work all the time if I'm working extra hours. Or plan to. I realize that if I take my shot at say noon here at home before I go to work for an extra shift I can take it again when I come home, no need to transport my insulin anywhere. I don't need to store my insulin at work anymore. I'd still need to monitor my bsl and I can bring my glucometer along with me. This way I can put in a few extra afternoons. I don't care about the paper balls anymore.

I hurried out to my bus adjacent to Tim's on Jasper looking for Anne and her sister through Tim's street level windows but my bus was fast approaching. I did my banking and caught the train home. It was still windy out there. Out behind our place Boots was no where to be seen. I went inside to catch the last if any of the Oiler game. Oiler's lost 4-2.

It also occurred to me that because I take my insulin 12 hours apart, if I took a shot here at around 8am before I leave and then take it when I come home about 9:40pm, that might be OK enough to take the Manpower services job. That is if their client still needs 50 positions filled. I'll call Ms later this morning to see if I can set up an interview. I need to realize also that if Ms hires me on to do the training it's only for 3 weeks. Then I can work 12-9 and have my Saturdays off. Thursday Lodge meetings I can sub for Saturday.

Anyway Bloggers that's all for now.

e. Jim

A nice holiday off

I went into work yesterday afternoon, business as usual and I get the silent treatment from the staff for the first half of the night. Not everyone has to acknowledge me. I had to set some people straight about NHL hockey players and hockey players in general and their “huge salaries.” Firstly, not every 3 year old kid makes it to the NHL, because that’s where their careers begin at 3-6 years old. They begin getting up at 6am every winter morning often in -30C weather here in Alberta. They go through the ranks, from Mites-Juniors:
Mite (ages 3-4)
Tyke (ages 5-6)
Novice (ages 7-8)
Atom (ages 9-10)
Peewee (ages 11-12)
Bantam (ages 13-14)
Midget (ages 15-17)
Juvenile (ages 18-20)
College
NHL
And their career could be cut short at anytime due to injury or life in general. It takes a lot of practicing and hard work to make it from Mites-juniors. Usually at Midget or the juniors as we call them here (Oil Kings) get to play at the top level. Very few are drafted by NHL teams. These kids work hard at what they do. They got to be in excellent shape if they want a career in hockey. So when I hear idiots say, “Oh thee multi million dollar hockey players can’t hold down a real job.” Many of these Canadian kids grow up on the farm stacking bales of hay. And not all NHL hockey players are millionaires and not all Pro hockey players are millionaires. Many of them get entry level contracts like $500k to start. For some it’s a $1,000/game Hockey players are prone to broken noses, concussions, black eyes and injuries that can take them out for half a season or end their careers indefinably. Also consider that an NHL hockey player if he goes through his career reasonably healthy his career is about from 18-32. Not many NHL players play past age 32. And when they’re done hockey they go on to something else. Still on hockey Greg and I were watching the Oiler’s in New York and they won in OT 3-2 for 2 points. A 7 game road trip comes to an end and they are in Rexall Thursday.

I ended up around $390 at break and called Anne. The game was over by 7:30pm and I worked out the rest of the night. I was glad to get out of there before Moe makes some kind of statement that Tuesday is a regular working day. My finale total was $785 and 2 CC’s but do I get a job well done or anything like that? I got out before any further preamble and the early train as well and home to watch wrestling.

Raw was pretty good coming from London England. It was a good show with a few surprises. On a scale from 1-10, I’d rate this an 8.5.

So today is Remembrance day. I won’t go into a speech about this except to say I’m a supporter of our troops and the work they are doing in Afghanistan. Also I support our veterans and the sacrifices our troops made in both World Wars and the Korean conflict. Yes I support our troops, “let em finish the job they started.” Most of them wouldn’t have it any other way.

We have a pretty good snowfall developing out there for our first snow. It looks like it wants to stay on the ground but I don’t think it’s going to last. Warmer temperatures are on the way.

Some 8 hours later after the above it’s Remembrance day afternoon. Most countries around the world have something similar. I’m not sure if it’s a stat holiday here in Canada or not but I’m taking today off. My Grandfather J.J. Johnston fought and survived Vimy Ridge and in 1922 went onto become Mayor of New Westminster 1922. That was before my mother was born of course.

Earlier this morning about 4am Anne brought Boots inside. It wasn’t cold out there she just wanted to give the little guy some warmth. He was scared and crying a bit. He didn’t stay long until Anne returned him to the outside. He’s got a little crawl space under a maintenance shed owned by Edmonton housing across the street park.

I’m nursing a nice coffee right now. It’s overcast out there sitting at +0C, which isn’t so bad. What do I care? I’m warm comfortable and enjoying my first coffee.

I’m anticipating Manpower to call me this week. Hopefully before I head into work and I can set up an interview. Even though oil is dropping holding at $58/barrel our local economy is sitting at a 3.5% unemployment rate.

Still working my way through Icewind Dale and once I post this I’m going to delve right into it. I did my piano practicing earlier in the wee hours of the morning. So I’m good to go there.

Anyway Bloggers that’s all for now

e. Jim

I went into work

yesterday morning feeling pretty good. The air was pleasant. I got my dialer and had my coffee as staff began to file in. We had the football game on for the last 3 hours. First half I did ok but things broke down in the 2nd half. I was enjoying the game and because Anne was working I stayed a few minutes later to watch the end of the game. The Esks were one play ahead all afternoon and with seconds on the clock it could have been anyone’s game. Eskimos won and get to play another day-next Saturday in Montreal. Because of their last regulation game they won to cross over, so now it’s Edmonton in the East. If the Eskimo’s go all the way, then it could very well be Edmonton East/Calgary West for the Gray Cup. I don’t know the formula for this format or even how it comes into effect but apparently the league adapted this back in 1996.

The weather was gray out there after work with a bit of sunshine through the clouds. The wind was still and I wasn’t feeling tired at all. I got the train just as it pulled in and I was on the stairs going down and barely boarded the train for home.

Once home and inside I wasn’t too tied. I watched a bit of TV and about 4pm I decided I better get a nap. I woke up about 6:30pm missing Anne’s call I was that wiped out. M’s manpower referral card sat there for me so I went to the website and had a look at that. From about 6:30-7:30pm there wasn’t a lot to do except website stuff, YouTube etc. Anne had a frozen TV dinner thing for me and I began to prepare that and at 8pm she called as I was eating. She wanted me to go down and feed Boots. She was having a good and busy evening at her job. I told her about the referral card and the website.

Sports net had an English soccer game on Arsenal against Manchester United. I’m not a soccer fan but the game held some interest for me. I was actually enjoying it but I had other things to do, like feed Boots waiting downstairs and piano practicing, as well as backing up my hard drive.

The evening was relaxing and enjoyable. Icewind dale is coming along just nicely thank you. Book 2 of the Trilogy is almost read. I hope to be onto Book 3 by Monday afternoon heading into work.

Apparently management at work wants us to work Remembrance day so we can have Boxing day off with pay as long as we work the day before and the day after-yeesh. However thanks to this DNC list purging our data base of numbers to call (at the rate of almost 500 numbers/day we‘re losing) our data base is shrinking as we speak. I’m surprised we have anything left to call even now. We’ve been working on the same campaign for the last 4 months with some variations adding something else in the 2nd half type thing. I get the impression that my company wants to use us to get as much money out of our donor’s as possible. Squeeze them right down. Get as much work out of us as they possibly can. I got a feeling there won’t be a job for me to go back to after Christmas or even at the end of this month the way things are going. So because of that I submitted my résumé into manpower earlier this afternoon. When they open their office Monday morning they’ll see my résumé and hopefully they’ll call me for an interview. I said I would be available on the 12th. They might call me tomorrow and if they do I’ll ask for an interview on the 12th and if all goes well, I can start the 3 week training course next Monday. I’ll work afternoons inbound, and evenings at my regular job (while I have one.) However I’m taking this Tuesday off. If it’s just a regular work day and not a stat holiday why not?

My wife came home about 11:30pm last night and made us a bite to eat and I did some more piano stuff and took my sleeping pill and my insulin. We were in bed around 3:30am listening to a bit of Coast. The topic was about the Titanic. Good topic.

We’re going to have our brunch in about half an hour and at 5pm it’s the Oiler’s in NJ against the Devil’s so I’ll be watching the hockey game from 5pm-7pm.

What I’d like to see happening from the job thing is if I get hired on at the new job and work it as planed and work there Monday-Friday afternoons and my current job evenings and wait for the bottom to fall out. Rob gathers the night shift together: “As you all know, we’ve been struggling with this DNC list for sometime. We’re losing our donor base at the rate of around 500 names/day. I bring news some of you aren’t going to like: As of December 1st the Edmonton office will be closing its doors. You have over the next several weeks to locate other employment etc.” I can see such a thing happening. My wife’s job last January went through something similar last February except with her job they couldn’t staff their operation. We have the same problem. Even more so because Service and Immigration Canada does not recognize my company as proper employment for foreign workers thanks due to the lawsuit against my Company. I see such a speech being made within the next few weeks.

This evening, I’m going to be watching that Oiler game, reading Icewind dale piano work etc.

Anyway Bloggers that’s all for now

e. Jim

Strange week

Four degrees out there. But it’s seasonal. In Winnipeg they received their first snowfall. The Eskimo’s last game could be in Winnipeg tomorrow and the weather might work against them. If they win tomorrow they get to play another day. So far we haven’t had any snow, yet but it’s coming.

Today it’s off to work as I’ll be out of here at my usual 4pm time. Friday’s shift is from 5-8:30pm. I might just go into Audrey’s early and get my book at 4:30pm and head into the office. Hopefully M will have the referral card for me. If she does then, I’ll fill it out and wait for a call. I’ll give them Anne’s cell phone number, so if they call back during the day I can return the call from our land line. If they call say on Saturday when I’m at work, I can call right after work using the cell phone. I need to know from M though, if there is a test of some kind before they hire. And or if there’s a typing speed factor. If no to the above, then great. When can I come in for an interview? (when and if they call of course.)

After work it’s up to my bank to do my banking then hurry home to feed Boots and to watch Smackdown. And that’s going to be about it for me today.

I didn’t get out to the Lodge last night. I was chatting with Neil and he said he couldn’t make it. I thought of what to do and looked for when and if the Oiler’s/Penguins game was on. It’s underway. I called Nathan, saying I wouldn’t be in. I needed a night off anyway even though Pittsburgh was up 2-0 at the end of the first. Anne was right there having her supper and said “good stay home.” I could have gone with Nathan. She wanted to use my last $10 for something to save herself some running around. I agreed. I wasn’t really required to be there but as long as the job knew I was off anyway, why not? So I watched the Oiler’s at Pittsburgh down 4-0. The officiating in this game was going from bad to worse. They pulled Garon and in comes the back up goaltender. Late in the 1st the Oiler’s scored. Bringing it 4-1. The Pen’s scored again. It was 5-1. Then the Oiler’s scored 3 unanswered goals and even got a short handed goal. The outcome was 5-4 Pittsburgh. It was a pretty good game in the 3rd. Too little to late. The Oiler’s play Sunday. in NJ and that’s a 5:30pm game. Despite the Oiler’s losing, I’m glad I stayed home.

Speaking of Masonry and local going’s on, we’ve had this shooting here in Edmonton late last month. More closer to home just a few blocks from us up by the Walmart. A senior was killed. According to Neil the guy was active in one of the Lodges here in the City. Neil knew him quite well. Then the other day a woman in her own basement level apartment was lying on the couch watching TV when a shot went through the window and hit her. Apparently it was a random act and the woman is in critical yet stable condition. Edmonton is a rough town folks but it’s always been that way.

Anyway Bloggers that’s all for now

e. Jim

Finally the

US election is over. President elect Obama. I actually like the guy but is Obama going to be good for Alberta? Now we’ll see what he can do in his first term. At the moment everyone loves Obama, give him another year after the honeymoon is over and it‘ll be back to business as usual. At least Bush kept things, um- “interesting” and he was fun to pick on. I think Obama is going to be one of those “quiet” Presidents like Ford or Carter. This is just my gut feeling but I don't think he's going to make a lot of noise. He did that by virture of being elected. I’d like to see it happening but I don’t think Obama will get a 2nd term. I think some of the things Obama might accomplish will be to end the war in Iraq but I don't see that happening until (and if ) he gets a 2nd term, I think he'll take credit for "fixing" the economy. He might pass some tame legislation, pave the way for alternative fuel concepts, which might manifest in a 2nd term or with another President. Other wise I think Obama will be a "quiet" President, but that's just my feelings.

I had to get up to use the bathroom about 8:30am and I couldn’t sleep after that. I managed to sleep a bit after that and got up about 11:30am to watch the news and fix a cup of coffee and I’m enjoying this now. The markets are all down at mid day.

It’s pretty gray looking out there. They’ve got snow on the shoulders of highway 2 just North of Airdrie. It’s coming our way. Possibly Friday and when it lands it stays until the end of March. We’ve had a pretty good summer though, I can’t complain.

I’m still hard at it with Icewind Dale and struggling for my 100 pages/week. I began this book September 17th so I’m a little off pace but not by much. I wanted to have it read by Nov. 22nd but with another 450 pages remaining, I don’t think so. Possibly by the end of November. Anything after Icewind Dale is going to be a tough act to follow.

Anne’s working tonight so I’ll be fending for myself this evening as she’s out of here about 3pm and I’m off tomorrow night for my Lodge meeting. The last time I was there in September I had that anxiety attack or what ever it was, I hope I don’t get that again.

Anyway Bloggers that’s all for now

e. Jim

I'm enjoying my first

cup of coffee here this afternoon. Coffee should be a relaxing time. You take fifteen minutes or so off for quiet and enjoyment of the beverage. Letting it’s calming affects sooth away negative stress of the day. A cup of coffee is better then a cigarette anytime. Coffee doesn’t always work though. Some days a cup of coffee can taste so good you wish it’d last forever. Other days it tastes sour and for me if I drink more then 2 cups a day I have trouble sleeping at night. Today’s cup of coffee is just right. The only thing missing are my wake up tunes but I’m awake anyway.

Basically I’m still in the middle of this “Icewind dale trilogy,” book. This is a good yarn and I’m having a lot of fun with it. My next read will be hard pressed to keep up with this book. My copy of Icewind dale is getting worn because I’m hauling it around in my bag to work everyday, although the spine seems to be holding up well.

I had a nice weekend off filled with most of the things I wanted to do. I got some music theory in and watched a couple of good Oiler games. It’s nice to see them winning, even on the road for a change. I downloaded a lot of video as well last night.

A couple of video’s I was enjoying: First a 6 part documentary on L. Ron Hubbard. It Didn’t explain a lot about the last days of his life. I still have the original newspaper article about the news of his death that January in 1986. I was never a fan of Scientology or Dienetics but I liked some of LRH’s science fiction-writing. I enjoyed the novel “Battlefield Earth,” and subsequently his “Mission Earth” series. Just a few misconceptions about LRH: Firstly, so the story goes, LRH never met Aleister Crowley. LRH hung out with a student of Crowley’s in California a chemist by the name of Jack Parsons. They worked on a ritual together. LRH ran off with Parsons wife and a large portion of Parson’s money. LRH was never one of my personal hero’s. He was a curiosity for me that held some mild interest and occasionally still does.

The other video was a documentary on Aleister Crowley. This documentary was more engaging then the one on LRH and in 5 parts covered the life and times of Aleister Crowley better then the video on LRH. Both of these characters had huge ego issues. Hubbard I think more so then Crowley. I’ve read a lot of Crowley’s work in the 1980’s and even joined his OTO (Order Templi Orientus.) Crowley arguably has more substance in his work then LRH did. To me, LRH and his spin off orgs were more of a cult then the OTO. I went through 4 initiations with the OTO and thoroughly enjoyed my OTO experience. People often ask me if I believe in the Law of Do what thou wilt, Thelema and Liber Oz? The thing about “Do what thou wilt” is in it’s interpretation: It doesn’t mean you can walk around aimlessly and do whatever you feel like. Like everything in life there are consequences to one’s actions. Most people can figure this out for themselves. I’ll go into this some other time. But yes I wouldn’t endorse them if I didn’t have a link in my welcome block on my website would I?

Also I downloaded a video from a show like Coast to Coast about Aleister Crowley and his being a double agent in WW1. It was in 5 parts. Pretty cool.

Both these figures are larger then life. We don’t get characters like Aleister Crowley, L. Ron Hubbard or Lee Harvey Oswald anymore. It was a different time back then. The world has truly gotten smaller because of the Internet. Here's another photo. Sorry they're not in order. They were all taken within the last 20 minutes though. First came the book cover then the shot of the street and now the Sun's out:

I also took this photo about 10 minutes ago right after the one above. It's not a bad looking day out there. All the leaves are gone from the trees now. It's about +11C out there. Fairly mild for this time of year.In a couple of hours I’ll be out of here to head into work. I got my Lodge stuff all figured out (more or less) for Thursday. Tonight I’ll be on the job hard at it and maybe I’ll get a bit of reading in as well. After that it’s home for a night of good old wrestling.

Anyway Bloggers that’s all for now

e. Jim

Uggh, when

I’m in a hurry, jotting this stuff down after reading it again boy do I make spelling mistakes. That’s why I mention in the “Welcome block” about an editing disclaimer. I usually try and edit these blog posts latter. Especially if I’m in a hurry.

I went to bed at my usual 4am time this morning. I did a bsl reading at that time and it read 12. Not good. Around 2am my bsl was 14.2. My bsl reading is usually high over night anyway.

Today is Halloween and we here in Canada set our clocks back an hour this weekend. We used to do this 3 weeks ahead of the Americans but since last year we moved Daylight Savings time (in the Spring) back 3 weeks to March 9th. So now we have Halloween tonight and Saturday night Sunday morning we set the clocks back. Halloween is the last occasion of Summer/Fall and once we set the clocks back an hour, we’re heading officially into winter. Well by my reckoning at least. It makes for a short winter, only 4 months. In March here it begins to warm up, in theory.

Also this weekend in Calgary they are having their World Fantasy Convention. I’d love to go but the job thing and lack of funds holds me back from attending. Best I can do this weekend is to buy a book.

Also, there are a few Oiler games on TV this weekend I‘d like to catch. Saturday afternoon at 1pm and then again Sunday morning at 11am. Yeesh. I want to get up to watch the Sunday game and I’ll be able to see the first hour of the Saturday game on our last hour of the shift.

So tonight is the last Eskimo game. I think its at Commonwealth. A football game on a Halloween night no less. The last game of the season. Next week is the CFR Rodeo and that’s going to be for I think 8 days. It’s a big event for the City along with Farm Expo. But getting back to this evening, after work, I’m going to head over to Audrey’s and pick up a book. Hopefully I can get home before the game is over and get into Smackdown.

November isn’t as full as October. Sure we set our clocks back, I have step up night at the Lodge, We have Remembrance day Nov. 11th and other then that, November will be a lame kind of a month for me. I like months like this.

Anne and I decided not to go to the office (if there is one) Christmas party this year, my place of employment usually puts on. Christmas day itself is on a Thursday. I might take Thursday and Friday off. Well see. In December our rent goes up $70 to almost $900/month.

Anyway Bloggers, that‘s all for now

e. Jim

Yesterday afternoon

I got onto my bus to Clairview station as Anne was home doing the laundry. It wasn’t bad out there. Very pleasant. No wind. So I found a seat and began to read a couple of pages of Icewind Dale. I read again at my dialer a couple more pages and even as the shift was underway I read in between calls. I must have got 3 days reading done in the first half of the shift. In the 2nd half we had the Indiana at Tennessee football game. It was me vs. JT in the pool since there was no Oiler game on except PPV. When I left the office at 9pm (with 4 CC’s and top total for $765 not quite line hour for the bonus) the game was tied at 14 in the 3rd quarter. I’m really starting to enjoy the NFL. It’s a better product then the CFL. I’ll still watch the Eskimos. We can barely get 35,000 fans at a CFL game here and that’s even in the summer. Moe said I’d be better off watching high school football then the Eskimos. He might be right. The way they’ve been playing this year? Even in US College football they can get 70.000 fans out each game. To be fair this is all proportionate to the density of population. I don’t have a favorite NFL team and the closet one to us here would be Seattle.

Moving along here, I got in about 9:30pm. I had a good night reading my book, getting top total making money for me and the company and watching almost a 3rd of the football game. When I got home I watched Monday night Raw. Good show and Anne made me a nice lunch of enchiladas. Not quite as good as mom used to make them.

After Raw and catching some of the entertainment news I went off to do some research finding out information of a school I attended I think in the early 1960’s: I used Google Earth before and I have a pretty good idea where the school is located: Austin Ave and Schoolhouse road in Coquitlam BC. When I got using Google Earth when it first came out (I guess that’s what most of us did. Look for old schools and our house we used to live in.) Austin Heights school was one of my first Google Earth destinations. I was shocked to learn the school wasn’t there. What happened? For years later I had no idea what happened to the school. Reports from nice people giving me sales on my job that lived in the area hinted it was torn down but that’s about all I got. No details.

Over the years since using Google I tried various search terms but came up empty. I only attended Austin Heights 1 year. In that year (as we lived on Reagan and Hailey) the school was at the end of the 1300 block of Austin Ave. A Google Earth glance of Coquitlam from where I used to live for those 10 years in the 1960’s and where I had to go to school was pretty significant for an 8 year old or so kid. Since we only had one car in the family dad used it to go to work, I had to use my bike to school. We had no bus service in Coquitlam in the 1960’s. I was considered to be a slow learner at the time and placed in what was called Occupational studies. We were low on the food chain as far as kids go in public schools. The other kids in the family went to Porter street in the public school system. Growing up in the 1960’s in Coquitlam I went to 4 Occupational public classes either because those schools closed down the Occupational program due to low enrollment or some other factor I wasn’t aware of.

It wasn’t like I had fond memories of Austin Heights because I’m not even sure what year it was I attended. So today I’m going to use the phones at work to call long distance to the school district office and see if I can get a complete transcript of the schools and grades I completed from when I first went to school I believe was Mountain View 1960. Maybe I can get class photos of each year. If I can actually speak to somebody.

Okay to wrap this long topic up, early this morning I tried a different search term: Austin Heights elementary. Sure enough I was lead to a Facebook page from people that went there. Still no specific details but one commentator said he watched it being torn down and retrieved a couple of bricks from the school as mementos. He said it was torn down in the early 1980’s. That’s a little bit of closure for me.

Most of my childhood growing up in the 1960’s was somewhat murky. I can recall specific events of course but not things that played out season by season. One thing that struck me odd was that where we lived there were no major sidewalks. It’s amazing anyone of us weren’t hit by a car on the way and back from school. The main streets had sidewalks like Blue Mountain and Como lake road. Even today from Google Earth there are no sidewalks on Regan Ave.

On the Facebook page they talked about a little diner that used to be there on the corner of Schoolhouse and Austin Ave. I recall in the early 1970’s Gord, Dave and Bob and I would go there occasionally. I forgot the name but it was called the “Luxury freeze” I think. I recall they had great fries and milk shakes.

I’m onto my first coffee. Anne’s sleeping away. I’m almost in the middle of Icewind Dale. I came across a lot of nice colorful phrasing in the story last night and throughout the book itself. I’m impressed with the writing.
Next Oiler game is Thursday in Nashville as the boys are on a 7 game road trip. Rolly was in goal last night and he has yet to give his team a win in this season.

Hey I just realized I missed Star Wars Clone Wars Sunday night. Damn, what was I thinking?

Ok so for today it’s off to work. Put my 4 hours in. come home and relax out the rest of the evening. Other then that not much going on.

Another big game comes out today “Fallout 3” I’m not really into these kinds of games. They don’t do anything for me. Give me good old D&D any time.

Anyway Bloggers, that‘s all for now

e. Jim