The Magic Satchel

On October 30 I discovered the two people I took a chance on when deciding to rent them my house left more than excessive dirt and a destroyed carpet behind in their wake…. they left me a lovely parting gift.

Bedbugs.

I know what you’re thinking, and I couldn’t believe it either. Bedbugs are something you worry about in hostels and divey hotels, not in your home, not in your sanctuary from the outside world.

I honestly got lucky to discover them as early as I did, and the only reason I found out was because one was just a little too eager to get to the buffet table (me) than it should have been. I was going to bed, and what looked like a piece of lint was on my red flannel sheets. I was planning on vacuuming the house the next day so I just tried to brush it off to the floor and go to bed. I missed, and it started to run away. I went to grab it, thinking it was an ant or something, and it squished in my fingers making them all red.
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You’ll remember (or maybe not) a while back I was quite upset with the number of banks I had somehow found myself dealing with on a monthly basis. Blood sucking leeches draining my bank account off to a number of different piles of debt I’d managed to acquire over the years, and all to seemingly no positive gain in my financial position.
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two days late

I could edit the date this was posted to show I’m not always late, but that requires more effort than I’m willing to put in right now. yes, I’m feeling so lazy that I’m not going to do about 5 mouse clicks…

Anyway, I’m really just posting to break the rather loong streak of silence here, to remind the (one) reader that I am still alive and kicking, just busy with stuff that doesn’t really seem to be worth writing about.

In short, my summer has been winning the ball hockey championship (for the 2nd season in a row), yet again not enough camping or hiking, trying to sell a house I own with my brother but then buying it outright instead, not enough biking… basically too much stuff I have to do but really don’t want to and not enough of the things I like to do.

My camera has been gathering dust, I’ve been dealing with yet another injury (the foot this time, always great to hurt something new), and generally haven’t had time to sit and gather my thoughts for more than a few minutes before I’m off to do something else.

Fortunately, I’ve been able to tie off a lot of loose ends over this most recent stretch of silence, and this means I’m now able to find the time to sit and bore you to tears.

In celebration of my birthday, I thought I’d take the time to generally outline what I see myself doing in my 36th year on this planet. Plus, with this on record I pretty much have to follow through on it.

- reducing debt (the bank list is down to 3 from 5, and in 6 months it will be down to just 2) Debt free in ‘09 (with the exception of my house) is the goal, I just need to stay focused to make it a reality.

- traveling to Denver in February and Montreal in March – both to spend time with friends but also to attend hockey games

- pushing and participating in p/d/p more than I have been (other projects as well)

- reducing the clutter in my life – literal and figurative

- taking better care of myself – dealing with a knee problem 2 years ago and now a foot / ankle problem for the last 10-12 months I can’t ignore the fact that I need to find balance in what I do, or find better, less painful ways to do what I enjoy.

- find ways to break out of the closed environment I find myself in. new activities, volunteering… that sort of thing.

- become a more valuable employee (that sound so lame… I really mean find ways to not be bored at work) – I was approached the other day with a pretty outstanding offer within my current company that may push my career (I have a career? it sounds so grown up ) in completely different direction. I’d be a fool to turn this down, so I may be doing some book learnin’ soon.. here’s hoping my brain hasn’t completely atrophied over the last 5 years and I can live up to their expectations.

so yeah, a pretty general list, but if I hit all that I have laid out here I should be a pretty busy and somewhat different person sitting here talking to you a year from now.

talk at you later.

Aug 08 -
Jul 08 –
Jun 08 –
May 08 – Virginia
Apr 08 – Alan
Mar 08 – Barry’s
Feb 08 – Josh
Jan 08 – none (nerd night)
Dec 07 – Alan
Nov 07 – Josh
Oct 07 – Barry’s
Sep 07 – Alan
Aug 07 – none
Jul 07 – none
Jun 07 – Barry’s
May 07 – Hani Akbar
Apr 07 – Alan
Mar 07 – Randall’s
Feb 07 – Josh
Jan 07 – Barry’s
Dec 06 – none?
Nov 06 – Alan
Oct 06 – Barry’s

Alan – 5
Barry – 5
Josh – 3
Randall – 1
Akbar – 1
Virginia – 1

Yes those are stats.

I’m coming up on 29 now boys and girls, and it’s time to celebrate! Newcastles and Ship Burgers are on the menu, hopefully served up with a side of sunshine, good music, and great friends. I’m aiming for the usual 12-hour marathon, so show up at the Whip & Spanker anytime after 2pm on Saturday, June 7th for your free high-five!

(Mom might even drop by with some banana bread if we’re lucky )

I’ve got a bit of a problem these days.. and as near as I can tell it is a bad case of bankitis.

I have my “main” account at one bank, along with a pitiful and much abused RRSP account which has seen almost as much withdrawing as deposits over the last few years. I have a credit card from another bank, an account and a line of credit that was used to pay for my second degree at a completely different bank, student loans that are run through yet another financial institution (who decided that less than $200 was more than enough for a full year of post secondary tuition, books, and other costs when I decided to go back to school, forcing me to bank #3) and then ING direct, where I vainly try and hide a few dollars to “save my money”.

Not only do I get the mandatory statements in the mail from four of them telling me just how little I make, I also get constant phone calls trying to upsell me on the latest account feature, or to take out life insurance with them, or asking me to tell them how much I love paying them ridiculous fees for the honor of (temporarily) storing my money with them.
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Last year I came to the realization that I believe new year’s resolutions are destined to fail. Decisions made while either really drunk or horribly hung over are rarely going to be the most practical, and in reality they last as long as the flavor in that cheap pink bubble gum you used to get with hockey cards.

Because the expectation of failure was always in the back of my head I never took resolutions very seriously.. always opting for the generic “eat better, drink less, be a better person” crap that is always so difficult to measure and say for sure whether or not they were successful. Was I a better person? I bet my friends would drunkenly agree if I were to ask them (cue sarcastic input), but it is easy to be good to friends and family. Did I eat better? I’ll be damned if I know. There are always ways to trick yourself into justifying eating crap even when you know it isn’t good for you.

As a result of this ongoing cycle of futility, last year I took a slightly different approach and set goals. As it turns out most of my goals were moderately to seriously off the mark, but the point I am trying to make is the difference I see between a goal and a resolution. In my mind goals are more of a motivation than a resolution, because it turns out that close does count in something more than just horseshoes and hand grenades. Working towards a goal is always worth the effort, because you always have something to show for it when your arbitrary deadline passes.

Did I bike 3000km in 2007? No, but I did ride more than last year (a total of 2202km, I think that was about 400km further than last year)… and even though my revised goal for 2007 didn’t get reached either (it was a damn cold November and December), I still don’t look at it as a failure. How can I view biking the equivalent of half way across the country as a failure?

did I “learn one new thing a month”? If I had to sit down and say what I learned and when I’d likely run out of big stuff before I run out of months, but I’d like to think I could cross this one off as complete. There are some things I wanted to learn but couldn’t find the time or motivation to sit down and give them the time I know they would require.. but there is always this year.

There were other goals set, but I won’t bore you any more than is absolutely necessary.

I think the goals I set last year were good, and they will likely get carried forward to motivate me in 2008. I have a vague idea of some things I’d like to add to the list, but that is the beauty of goals… I don’t have to set them now. I might add one tonight, but then again it is past my bedtime so I might just leave it for a while…

I’d like to just take a moment to wish everyone the best of the holidays and hope that this message finds you all at least one of the following: safe, healthy, happy, surrounded by those you care about, and enjoying all the food that seems to always be around at this time of year.

This month has been awful for writing, and taking pictures… and general motivation in almost everything I do. I make no promises to return before the new year, but if I do I will follow through on at least one of the stories I said I’d tell in an earlier post.

ps. if you are saying wtf is Festivus, go here

Tonight I decided that I would break with tradition and not leave things until the last second.

Instead of running around on the 22nd or 23rd of December and trying to get the few gifts I “need” to buy and dealing with burnt out sales staff, grumpy customers, massive lines and no parking like I usually do… I decided I’d make a quick stop on my way out for the evening at the local electronics megastore to pick up a gift for my brother.

While I was there I saw a display of behavior that makes me pause and wonder how parents stay sane.

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…and I can’t figure it out. I seem to recall signing up for this with 3 others, but where have they gone?

Do I need to tell everyone a story…?

perhaps one titled “I was a preschool stoner”, “my favorite books”, “holiday planning is boring” or “101 ways riding my bike is better than Calgary Transit”.

you pick, I’ll tell.

annnd go.