Thursday 9 November 2006


Okay so this has been an up and down week. Actually, now that I think about it, this week has been pretty much up, with a somewhat down feeling in the background.

On Saturday, Suzanne and I drove down to Buffalo to see our good friends Paul and Crystal and their darling boy Grant. We had a nice lunch and and a good visit and everything, but all day there was a looming sense of anticipation for what was to transpire that evening.

You see, Paul's cousin has season's tickets to the Sabres, and Paul had somehow managed to swing a deal whereby we got the seats that night to see the visiting Leafs. (He actually traded a very expensive bottle of hooch for the tix). The Sabres had been riding high, having lost only once since the start of the season, and traditionally seem to have their way with the Buds at the HSBC Arena. So Paul and Joe (his friend, and co-Sabres-fan) were feeling pretty good. But Suzanne and I are Leafs Nation so we just assume we'll win every game.

Suzanne was in rare form. It started at the border on the way over, when the guy asked the purpose of our visit, and she says, "We're going to the Leaf-....we're going to the hockey game". Of course by the time we got to the arena and into our seats, we had, as is the custom, 'lubricated' ourselves a little, so things went downhill (or uphill, depending on how you look at it) from there. Sitting as we were in Season's Ticket Land, there were ZERO other Leaf's fans around us. So when we stood and cheered ALL FOUR OF OUR UNANSWERED GOALS, the mood was palpable. When Maxim Afiniganov got hurt and Suzanne sang "Dig-a-hole-and-bury-'im!" I thought she might be asked to leave.

But she wasn't and we won and it was excellent. Great game, good times. And the Anchor Bar for wings on the way home. Delicious.

Even still, every now and then, a thought would pop into my mind: "Wait a minute, I'm unemployed! I'm not allowed to be enjoying myself!"

Well, let the good times roll, because I got myself a new job today. It's copywriting for a company in Toronto, the pay is low and the commute is brutal.

Like the man said, "I was looking for a job and then I found a job....heaven knows I'm miserable now."

(not really.)

Friday 3 November 2006

This is a re-post from way back, but I'm feeling nostalgic about my scooter. Plus, YouTube works much better than it did when this was first posted, so there should be no stopping and starting. Unless, Dad, you're still on dial-up?

Wednesday 1 November 2006

The job hunt continues apace, and much as it's one of my very least things (maybe second to the dentist) I should say that it's going fairly well at the moment. Nobody's called me yet, but it's only been a few days.

In other news, I have been faced with one of the harsh realities of Ontario life. With the cold weather almost upon us, (and an equally frosty economic downturn at Wallace Inc.) it seemed like a good time to 'park' the bike for the season. I cancelled the insurance, sent my license plate back to BC, and will now try to come to grips with the fact that my Vespa is a fairweather friend after all. I suppose that in Ontario it really is a recreational vehicle, so it's appropriate that in Barrie they sell them alongside snowmobiles and 'four-wheelers'. To me that seems like selling neckties next to rubber Wellies, but whatever.