Friendly Giant

Got Wood?

2012-09-04T11:10:00.000-05:00

This past weekend I spent some time out on Lake of the Woods. I had taken the above picture using my iPhone equipped with an attachable lens kit that allows for wide-angle, fish-eye and macro photos. What you see above is a macro picture of the fading stain of a "Bear Chair" (as pictured below)

Due to some excessive indulgence in some tasty beverages on Friday, I found myself with some down-time on Saturday night as the entire camp went lights out by 11pm, leaving me with my thoughts and a beautiful night. I was browsing through some recent shots and got stuck on the macro image and the colors and it got me thinking. As I believe I have mentioned before, when I start to get buried in my mind, I often find myself needing an outlet and in most cases, that comes out on paper. Here is the outcome:

Weathered, worn and cracked, the arm carries on

What once was a fresh sheet, is now a colorful song

Be it a drink or some food or just for your support

It sits patiently waiting, for its time to report

So many stories, both good and bad

Yet it remains vigilant, through happy and sad

When it's mistreated, it will scar and decay

But some sand paper and paint can keep it at bay

This arm is no different than you are me

As long as it's cared for, it will remain to be

The surface's condition may vary and evolve

But it's what's on the inside that provides its resolve

Blackened and Blue

2012-05-31T16:10:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I have posted something, so I've decided to dig into the depths of my mind and expose a side I generally keep to myself or only share with people close to me. I wanted to post this though, as when I look over the words, I really liked the way this came together and it really does paint a picture about me.

This is a piece I would really like to compose into song, but in my experience, I generally find it easier to write the music before the lyrics as opposed to adapting a musical composition to words. Either way, I hope you enjoy it.

Blackened and blue, what a familiar place

I fight back emotion as tears dampen my face

Time and again and I still haven't learned

Hands in the fire, surely get burned.

There is no undo, when you've said too much

So watch what you say and try not to rush

Easy it may appear, but I've yet to see

Because I'm not you, I can only be me.

Words can't express, the feelings I endure

Following my heart, when my mind is not sure

Haven't any clue, just reaching in the dark

A blaze of love waiting, for any kind of spark

Why do I do, the things that I do

Leaving me beaten, blackened and blue

All I want, is love to be true

All I want, is to be there with you.

You were and are...

2012-05-13T17:31:00.003-05:00

Always there, in times of need
Ready to bandage when my wounds would bleed
The first to cheer when I achieved something new

The biggest hugs when I was feeling blue
The one who always knew just what to say
The biggest reason I am who I am today

These may only be words, but they come from the heart
Thanking you for being there, right from the start
There's just not one thing, I can say or do
To express how much, I love and appreciate you

Thanks for everything you have ever done for me. It takes a special person to be a mother, I am truly blessed and proud to be able to call you mine.

Happy Mother's Day!

Making the Final Approach!

2012-04-02T23:57:00.002-05:00

I want to start by apologizing to those that have been following along regularly as I totally slipped on the blog entries over the last week and with it being the final days of the 'challenge' I'm sure you are all wondering how this all turned out. I was keeping the blog quite regularly, but really found that by the end of it I just felt as though I was regurgitating the same thing over and over with the odd adjustment to the daily story.

In all honesty, these blog entries really provided a lot of support for me in the early stages of this excursion as they really caused me to remain vigilant against the demons within that were doubting. Having to maintain that accountability pushed me through that transition between what I was, and what I've become.

To quickly sum up what I've done in the last week... I ate breakfast (oatmeal, blueberries, cranberries, flax seed), I ate a lunch of sorts (banana, kiwi, cucumber), went to the gym (3 days weights, 2 days core/abs and 5 days cardio of some form), had myself a protein shake (milk and protein powder) and then went home and cooked myself a nice dinner (including one of: chicken, salmon, pickerel or tilapia). For snacks I would generally stick to a serving of roasted almonds or allowing a serving or two of my favorite salty snack. At the beginning of the challenge I was very much against the idea of having chips as a snack, but as I got along, I learned that chips in "moderation" wasn't hurting me at all. On most days, I was well below the allowable calorie intake that was set-up for me while using "My Fitness Pal", even with a serving or two of chips.

Looking back over the last 31 days of this challenge I can truthfully say I did not feel as though I was punishing myself with my meal or snack choices. There was only one thing that I cut out, and that was sugar waters. I was a huge fan of soda drinks... I drank way more than I should have! At times I would say that my consumption was upwards of 1L+/day of pop. For this last month though, I drank 2 glasses in total which even surprises me! The best part was, the more I kept myself away from the sugar drinks, the less I desired them! I realize this is likely a major factor for the results I saw over the course of what has now become a month of self-discovery. I'm going to term it this as it really feels as though I learned something in all this and will continue to live in this way. I will still enjoy a lot of the foods that I love to eat, I'm just going to be more conscious of it. I'm finding this exceptionally easy at this point in time though as the results I've seen just in this month alone are amazing! Speaking of those numbers, here they are now:

Overall, I was happy to see significant loss in a number of areas! The glaring number of course is the 0.5" increase in my chest... Haha, no, the 17lbs lost was definitely a number I was hoping for, but wasn't so sure I could reach. Realistically, I would have been ecstatic to have lost 12lbs! Another one of the more notable areas was in the spare tire hiding in my abdominal and waist area, I was packing some 20s in there somewhere! 4 inches in the gut is very noticeable and very welcomed! I can feel it considerably in ALL the clothes I wear. It took almost the entire 4+ weeks to lose that 1" in the waist, but man, that was a HUGE inch! One thing I haven't gotten the chance to do yet is to take another skin fold test to see how much body fat I've lost, but I will get that done on my next weigh-in/measurement day.

At this point in time I feel as though I've crossed a threshold. I want to continue to work hard and see just where this new path will lead! What I once thought were lofty goals, have become a lot more attainable and it doesn't even feel like I'm really sacrificing anything! I'm going to continue to weigh and measure myself weekly to chart progress and I've also been snapping some pictures as well to watch the transformation using a stationary camera, but as it is only 4 weeks in, there really isn't a lot to show just yet. But, as I get closer to the goal it will make for a very cool thing to look back on. I will also continue to provide blog updates, but they will now become a lot less frequent. I will try to ensure I get at least one update in every 2 weeks.

Day 22 - Weigh-in day #3

2012-03-22T21:46:00.001-05:00

Felt pretty good when I woke up this morning, but I could see really quickly that my legs were pretty tired from yesterday's run. I was looking forward to seeing some numbers though as I felt as if I had a pretty decent week as far as this new lifestyle is concerned.

I had some breakfast as usual and made my way to the gym in the afternoon. I hopped on the scale was happy to see that my mass plummeted by another 3lbs over the last week. Nice, steady progress is really all I can ask for, and that is exactly what I'm seeing. I followed up the weigh-in with the ab/core circuit I've been practicing the last couple of weeks now and the circuit is still quite difficult to get through. After the core routine, I stepped onto the treadmill to see how a run felt... I warmed up for a couple of minutes and then upped the tempo. I only ran for about a minute when I was starting to feel a lot of tiredness in the legs, so today, I just took it easy on the cardio and only did 15 minutes on the treadmill as opposed to the usual 30. I kept my intervals short, but made sure to keep the speed in the 7.5mph range in order to get a good sweat going.

After the gym, I made my way back home to get the rest of the Thursday ritual finished up. Here are this week's numbers:

Again this week, there were some noticeable improvements in a couple of areas. I lost another 3/4" off of my gut, a 1/2" off of my waist (FINALLY!) and a 1/4" off of my calf, although that may be due to inconsistencies in the area of measurement. Overall, another promising week as far as I'm concerned. If I can continue to live in this manner, I will be looking pretty damn good in just a short while!

After I finished up with the measurements, I grabbed some food items from home and then headed over to my Granny's place to cook her and myself some dinner. I prepared some Salmon (Granny's favorite food), some beans, sliced up a cucumber and also brought along some seven-grain salad that also went over very well with my Grandma.

I don't have much planned for the evening and was thinking about really trying to stay away from the snacks. It is currently 9:46pm, so this is right around the time when those cravings start to kick in... We'll see how that goes!

Day 21 - Almost 3 weeks down

2012-03-22T21:17:00.002-05:00

I woke up in the morning feeling pretty tired. It took me the bus ride into the office and another 1/2 hour after afterwards to shake the cobwebs out of my head. I had the usual breakfast and picked myself up an XL Tim Horton's green tea (I'm now 9-for-29 on roll ups). With the way I was feeling, I was starting to think the gym would be just a thought today and not a reality. By lunch time, I was feeling pretty hungry and anxious to get out of the office for a bit, so myself and a buddy headed out for some lunch.

We ended up at Assante Cafe, where I found myself grabbing one of my favorite dishes. I ordered the Chicken Tikka wrap, with coleslaw and a milk. When I went to eat my meal, I poured myself a glass of the milk and took a big swig... Much to my surprise it tasted like Blue Cheese, except a little more bitter... My eyes dropped to the side of the container, only to see that milk I was drinking had actually expired 10 days earlier! I got the attention of the server and she apologized and replaced the container with something more fresh. I am not usually in the habit of checking expiry dates in restaurants, but I guess from here on out, that may be a good idea. Although the meal got off to a rough start, it was still as tasty as ever.

After lunch, I was feeling a lot more lively and figured that the gym was back on. When I went to the gym I performed an arm workout with 6 different exercises, 3 for biceps and 3 for triceps. In an effort to get a good burn going, I was sure to keep my arms in a locked position and use consistently slow movements to both raise and lower the weights in a controlled fashion. By the end of the routine, my arms were tingling and it felt like my biceps were going to explode. I followed up the arm routine with a bus ride home and then another solid outdoor run. I extended the route to approximately 5 miles and managed to get through the run quite nicely, which was a bit surprising as I was feeling pretty tight at the start, but I've come to realize that this may be a normal phenomena.

For dinner I lit up the BBQ and made myself a nice Pork Tenderloin chop along with some steamed brussel sprouts and some seven grain salad. I limited myself to water and a serving of almonds for snacks as I wanted to be at my best for the next day... Weigh-in day #3!

Finally... All caught up! (Day 20 - March 20, 2012)

2012-03-21T00:24:00.000-05:00

I never think these entries are going to take me much time until I actually sit down and start typing. My slacking on the weekend updates coupled with my need to ramble are creating a lot of work early in the week!

Today, I have to admit, I just wasn't 'checked in'. Due to some personal matters, my mind was not on work or the gym. I had my breakfast and also managed to bring in some leftover tuna salad for lunch along with a banana. After making it through what seemed to be a very long day, I went to the gym and got in a good ab/core workout, using the same circuit I reported on, in an earlier blog. There was no cardio of any kind done today.

For dinner, I ended up having a few pieces of pizza from Tony's on Pembina highway (not Tony Roma's). It was pretty good pizza and the fact that my uncle was treating, made it taste even better! I had a reasonable portion of the Ham/Pineapple and Pepperoni/Mushroom pizzas and washed it down with a big glass of water. Stuck to water for the rest of the night as well. I'm finding the more I drink water, the more I enjoy it! I'm also noticing the longer I go without soda, the less I want it!

Tomorrow will be back to regularly scheduled programming...

Weekend Warrior (Days 16 - 19)

2012-03-21T00:02:00.001-05:00

Friday was a slow day and I wasn't feeling the work or gym vibe. I had my usual breakfast chow and plugged through the day at the office. Despite the temptation to skip out on the gym, I forced myself to go and get in a chest routine (bench press, incline bench press and decline bench press) and a cardio session.

I decided to change the cardio routine for the day as I had been running a lot recently and figured it may be a good idea to take a break from the running. Instead of the usual intervals, I opted for an uphill climb. I spent the first 20 minutes walking at a speed of 3.5mph and an incline of 5(degrees?). It actually felt pretty good and seemed to do a really good job of loosening my legs up after a short while. By the end of the segment I was definitely starting to feel the work in my legs. Then for the next 10 minutes I bumped the incline up to a 10. This was considerably more effort than the previous and I really started to get the heart pumping! Feeling pretty good at this point I decided to pump it to the max and cranked the incline up to 15. I was initially thinking I could do this for 10 minutes, but about a minute in, huffing and puffing I realized this was going to be a tall order. I ended up cutting it at 5 minutes as I was starting to have a hard time keeping pace, but it felt great! I finished the climb off with another 5 minutes at an incline of 10 and then cooled down with 5 minutes back on 5. At completion, I felt as though the workout was just as beneficial as going running, but with less impact on the joints. At its peak, my legs were burning and I was really giving the lungs a workout. All-in-all it turned out to be a pretty good routine considering my initial lack of enthusiasm. But, that is one thing I have come to learn over time, some of my best workouts were on days when I didn't want to go in the first place. Definitely worth pushing yourself through those times of weakness.

For dinner on Friday I actually just had some of the leftover Chicken Stir-fry from the day before. I added some seven grain salad and baked up a couple of hashbrown patties to supplement the meal as I was craving fries, but didn't have any in the house. I stuck to water for the evening and had myself a serving of almonds. Nothing too fun, but still satisfying, and almonds are a great source of protein as well as omega-3 fatty acids.

Saturday I awoke with the brightness in my room that only a sunny day could provide. I got out of bed, took a look outside and decided that today was going to be the first outdoor run of the year. I was never a fan of running growing up, but finding now as I am starting to develop my running legs, that it is actually quite relaxing... Meditative if you will. While I can't say it happens too often(yet), I love to just lose myself in the music and feel the rhythm of my body as my feet glide across the ground. When the breathing and the legs are working harmoniously together, running is a beautiful thing. Much like meditation, you forget about everything else and just focus on yourself and the amazing piece of machinery that is our bodies.

I made myself some breakfast, let it settle and then laced up my joggers. Due to some nice weather we had been enjoying, I was happy to be stepping outside in some shorts and a t-shirt. Surprisingly, the first run actually felt pretty decent. I was maintaining a faster pace than usual and the scenery was a welcomed change as I'm generally staring at a wall when running on the treadmill. As I was curious to see just what I did, I used a site called 'gmap-pedometer' to plot out my excursion(check it out here). I managed to run a 3.4mi circuit in 35 minutes (5.8mph average), which is actually pretty decent for what I've been doing as of late. It may not have been the enlightened experience above, but at times I was really getting into good grooves. I look forward to progress here in the future.

For dinner on Saturday, I made myself some pickerel with butter, lemon and a sprinkle of salt and pepper, accompanied by some steamed brussel sprouts and seven grain salad. I had another good evening as far as the snacking was concerned.

Sunday I woke up wanting bacon and eggs for breakfast... That being said, I decided that even though I was going to take the day off as far as working out, that before I could have the breakfast, I had to go out for a run. My legs feeling a bit on the stiff/tired side after the previous days experience, I was skeptical about how far I would be able to go, but after a few minutes running, they loosened up nicely and while they were pretty tired, I had myself a solid jog (for my day off) at 2.6 miles in 28 minutes (5.6mph average). So, feeling a lot better about my bacon and eggs breakfast, I cooked myself up 4 pieces of bacon, 3 eggs and a couple of hashbrowns... DELICIOUS! I enjoyed my breakfast with a glass of Acai juice and a small glass of milk.

I went to the Jets game Sunday evening and wanted to get there early as it was Andrew Ladd bobblehead night. As I didn't have anything planned for dinner, I chose to go with a quickie, making up some Tuna salad and just eating it right out of the bowl. I also had some seven grain salad... I eat this a lot, it is really tasty! After dinner, I proceeded to go to the game only to come home disappointed by a heartbreaking loss to the lowly Hurricanes. I stuck with water at the game as I was looking to keep the weekend alcohol-free.

I decided that Sunday night was snack night and it was a good night for it as I PVR'd the season finale of 'The Walking Dead' and some munchies while I watched it were sounding good. I did not exercise good judgment on this night though as I had a chocolate bar (mmmmm.... Wonderbar), some gummy candies and a boat-load of chips... Lets just say, someone was feeling pretty guilty on Monday morning...

Monday, I awoke feeling as though I indulged a little too much. I wasn't upset that I had a plethora of snacks, it was more so the quantity consumed... I find myself starting to think about this a lot more now that I have been watching my food consumption over the last few weeks. I'm not necessarily counting calories, but I am definitely recognizing my tendencies and starting to feel less inclined to fall into my old habits. As I mentioned before, I'm not looking to cut anything out of my life, just enjoy it in a more responsible fashion. Anyway, I didn't beat myself up about anything, I just decided to make up for it by working myself harder in the gym.

I had the usual breakfast and having noticed that I haven't been eating lunch a lot too often, I added a banana and english cucumber for a light lunch. I then went to the gym and did a vigorous back/shoulder routine which included 4 back exercises and 4 shoulder exercises. After I finished up with the weights, I packed it in and went home to have another outdoor run. My legs on this day were feeling really good. I pushed myself through a 4.1mi run in 45 minutes (5.5mph average). I was even considering pushing it out further as my legs were still feeling pretty strong by the end, but decided not to overdo it.

For dinner, I ended up making myself another Tuna salad, but this time I added some diced green onion, some diced celery, pepperoncini peppers, hemp hearts, hot sauce and a couple tablespoons of mayonnaise. I threw that all in a tortilla wrap and enjoyed that along with another serving of... you guessed it! Seven grain salad! I drank water all evening (about 2L of it!) and had myself a snack of almonds.

I was quite pleased with my Monday as it was just the response I needed after a minor indiscretion the night before.

Weigh-in Day #2 - Back to the Future (Day 15)

2012-03-16T22:46:00.000-05:00

Well, this should have been done yesterday, but I just didn't get around to it, so we are going to give Doc a call, hop in the De Lorean and pretend it's still Thursday.

One thing I have read about a number of times in the book I've been plowing through is that eating better and working out lead to results. Results lead to self-confidence, and self-confidence is basically a wide-open door inviting you in for a late night drink. When you are brimming with confidence, you exude megawatts of positive energy and that aura is one irresistible mo-fo! It also states that good things tend to happen to positive, confident people. I have to admit that for the last week I've been feeling pretty damn good about myself, which is a fantastic feeling after the dumps I've been hanging around in for quite some time now.

My day started off with the usual breakfast routine and included a rather interesting morning meeting. At this point in time, I can't really elaborate as to the details of this meeting here, but lets just say that it packs the potential for an interesting, unexpected and welcoming new challenge. This meeting also instilled some added positive energy on a day where I was already excited to get to the gym and see what the passing week had done for me.

I went to the gym and stepped on the scale there where I weighed in at 276lbs... I was mildly disappointed at first, but quickly realized that I can't lose 7lbs every week and it was likely that my first week was the result of losing a lot of stored water. All-in-all, I lost 3lbs after my second week and really when thinking about it, that is still a pretty significant number as it brings my total to 10lbs in just 2 weeks. For my routine, I did a 6-exercise circuit including: Long-arm weighted crunch, reverse plank with leg raise, half-seated leg circles, seated ab crunches, rock 'n' roll core (plank variation) and weighted one-sided crunches. After that I hopped on the treadmill and had a spirited 30-minutes session at a higher intensity than I normally do. Once all was said and done in the gym, I made my way home to take care of the weigh-in obligations including a few Kodak moments (or Pentax in my case) and a tale of the tape (measurements). Here is what happened this week:

I was kind of surprised when I looked at the numbers as I couldn't help but notice the increase in size in a number of categories and at first I was kind of disappointed with that, but then when I thought about the fact that I started back with the weights this last week that it really only makes sense that those muscles would be swollen due to recovery. That being said, there were a couple of really positive negatives in terms of my weight and my gut. I lost another 1.25" on the spare tire and that in itself was another fairly significant number. I am curious though as to when I'm going to start seeing something lost in the waist.

For dinner, I cooked up another tasty Chicken Stir-Fry with Onions, Garlic, Celery, Red Peppers and it was served up on some egg noodles with a nice glass of Milk. For snacks in the evening, I had small amount of Almonds, a serving of chips and some Juicy Squirters by Maynards... Freaking love those candies! While I have been snacking, I have been doing it responsibly, by only indulging in a serving or two as opposed to entire bag like I used to. Another snip-it out of the book I'm reading is a piece I find a lot of truth in. A diet often involves restrictions, limitations and denials and ultimately more often than not it leads to a massive binge and diet failure. I'm not looking to for a quick turnaround with a fad diet, I'm looking for a life change. I firmly believe that by still allowing myself to indulge in the things I love to eat (responsibly), it will only make this experience that much easier to sustain.

March 14 - One day to weigh-in day #2

2012-03-14T23:14:00.000-05:00

From this point forward, Oatmeal breakfast with fruit and Flax seed will now just be known as "breakfast". It feels as though I'm putting you through unnecessary torture by repeating this every day. I will say this though, the Flax seed 'taste' is being acquired and, I'm about to run out of my blueberries as there were none around at Costco when I was last there (Costco is kind of known for removing products without warning), so I will soon be changing over to Craisins. The Craisins are pretty high in sugar, but I really don't intake much else for sugar during the day, so don't believe I need to be concerned, but I guess as I think about what I just wrote, clearly I was concerned... Ha! Now that we have that settled, I really wasn't feeling too motivated today, but I think it was partially due to a phone call that came about 5 minutes before my alarm was supposed to go off. There was no problem with the call, it's just the feeling of being robbed that last 5 minutes of unbroken sleep before the snoozin' happens.

I spent a good chunk of time in the gym today as I ended up taking the afternoon off. I got in a solid arm workout with a circuit-like routine where I would alternate between a bicep and a triceps exercise in succession for 3 sets each. I did three different exercises for each and my arms were burning pretty good by the end of it. The cardio seemed like a bit of a battle today as at first I was a little stiff in the legs and then when they loosened up, I started to get a cramp on the right side (perhaps not enough water?). I decided to shorten up the running intervals, but increased the speed and it worked out well as I managed to get through it and made my way to the 5.2mph average I have been maintaining. Not an impressive speed by any means, but I'm hoping to see that increase over time. Right now, my intervals are usually as follows:

First 10 minutes: 2min @3.5mph (to loosen up a bit), 8min @6.5mph
Second 10 minutes: (2min @3.5mph, 3min @7.0-7.5mph) x2
Final 10 minutes: 2min @3.5mph, 2min @8.0mph, 2min @3.5mph, 2min @8.5, 2min @3.5mph

For dinner I had some BBQ'd Chicken breast dressed with pepper, seasoning salt, some Frank's sauce and a bead of Mustard down the crease between the finger and the breast (sounds so kinky!). I like the mustard there as once the chicken is cooked it really seems to compliment the taste. For my specialty BBQ Chicken dish though, I would not use Frank's, but would instead use some Zesty Italian dressing and then melt some Parmesan cheese on top... That, is delicious! I also ate some steamed string beans, a helping of 9-grain salad and a glass of Skim Milk to finish off a tasty dinner.

With it being weigh-in day #2 tomorrow, I'm feeling the night will consist of a lot of water, some Acai juice and perhaps some almonds. I really like the idea of a weekly weigh-in and measurement and to be honest, I look forward to it every week. It's certainly a motivating factor and until I reach my ultimate goal, I think I will continue to perform this ritual.

I see a trend here... Days 9 - 13 (March 13, 2012)

2012-03-13T21:14:00.002-05:00

I think it's safe to say that from here on out, you can expect no updates on the weekends... My apologies for this, but I'm sure for those that are actually keeping up on my progress, you will forgive me!

I'm going to try and condense my previous days into as small an update as I can...

Friday, like most days, had my breakfast and made a trip to the gym in the afternoon for cardio. Ended up having a few of the boys over to watch the Jets lose to Calgary (boo!) and we ended up ordering some pizza. We got pizza from Quality Pizza (pretty good!) and went with a Pep, bacon and Mushroom as well as a Chicken, Jalapeno and Banana Peppers. I made a conscious effort to eat a reasonable portion and didn't feel guilty in the slightest. I managed to make it through the evening without any notable lack of judgement.

Saturday, woke up around 10:30am and had myself a bowl of Oatmeal... SURPRISE! I then made my way out to Costco to pick up some groceries and was quite proud of myself for what I ended up coming home with. Generally speaking, when I go to that store, I often come home with a lot of stuff I shouldn't, Saturday, I was victorious! The shopping experience was further enriched by running into my friend Kristin. After a nice conversation with her, I paid for my stuff and made my way home. Saturday was going to be a bit of a write-off due to the fact that a couple of friends of mine were having some people over to enjoy the beautiful weather and had actually smoked a Turkey and some Beef Ribs. It was a great day of sun, fun, semi-healthy snacks and FIRE! I managed to consume a considerable amount of Gin, Lemon and Water, which didn't help my calorie count for the day. While it was a day filled with non-standard meals, I still managed to surpass my calorie limit by only a marginal amount.

Sunday, I woke up feeling pretty good. I was feeling no ill-effects from the previous days indulgence so I got up and made myself... You guessed it! OATMEAL! Except this time, I added a new ingredient! I picked up some Flax seed (high in Omega-3s) the previous day as the book I'm reading (Men's Health Diet) recommended adding the grain to my 'diet'. Admittedly, when I opened up the package, it smelled like Peanut Butter! However, I quickly learned, it TASTED, nothing like it! I believe this will be another item I will have to acquire taste for. After choking down breakfast and a quick stop by my Granny's house, I made my way to the gym where I proceeded to get in a solid weight routine focusing on my back and shoulders along with another 30-minute session on the treadmill. This erased any guilt I had and it was also nice to step on the scale and see that my weekend did not have much of an adverse affect to what I had accomplished in the previous week. While in my past experience I knew a weekend could result in a gain of about 3 - 5lbs of water and such, I managed to only pack on 1lb over the weekend and that was erased by the gym. Sunday night, I made myself a nice Pickerel dinner with green beans and 9-grain salad. Despite my Saturday, I decided that Sunday was still going to be a 'cheat' day and I went out and grabbed myself a nice bag of Miss Vickie's Jalapeno chips and a bag of Maynards Juicy Squirters... HAHA I freaking love that name, sounds so nasty! Sunday night, I enjoyed an over-sized portioning of both treats and watched some Walking Dead... By the way, if you haven't seen that series and you enjoy zombies, you need to get your shit together and check it out! It's getting very exciting... But that's to be expected as next weekend is the season finale.

Monday was nothing out of the ordinary. Had my usual bowl of oatmeal with the Flax seed and it was actually much more palatable! I saved my workout for the end of the day and had myself a good ab/core session followed by another 30-minutes on the treadmill. My legs were a little stiff, but still managed to keep up the usual pace. I came home craving bacon and eggs, so I decided to make myself an omelette for dinner. It consisted of 4lg free run vita eggs, 3 pieces of bacon (diced), celery, onions, pepperoncini peppers and jalapeno monterrey jack cheese. It was outstanding (pictured here)! I made it through the evening consuming a large mug of water with freshly squeezed lemon and another litre or so of just plain water.

Today... Breakfast as usual. Went to the gym again at the end of the day, but only did cardio today as I was more interested in getting home. I did however have a great cardio routine as my legs were feeling really good today! I also stepped on the scale today and unofficially, I'm down another pound, bringing the total to 8. I don't take this too much to heart though as I want to keep my official weigh-ins on Thursdays as my benchmark. Nonetheless, I'm still very happy to see progress continue! For dinner tonight, I made myself some Salmon with green beans and 9-grain salad and nice glass of milk! For the first time that I can remember, this was also the first time I ate my meal and discovered I was incredibly full by the end of it! Perhaps my over-stretched stomach is starting to realize that the party is over!

I continually refer to the changes I've made as a 'diet', but in reality, I'm not trying to cut anything out, except for bad decisions. What I'm really hoping for here is to establish better eating habits and just an overall consciousness of what it is that I'm throwing into my body. I've really gotten comfortable with the routine I've gotten into and truly feel that this is something I can sustain beyond the end of this month. I'm now just about through 13 days of this challenge and I can honestly say that it really isn't difficult to be smart about food and exercise choices... The biggest challenge I've had to overcome is laziness. In my opinion, laziness is addictive and a hard habit to break! But I can tell you this, if you really want to make a positive change in your life, you need to dig deep and just go for it! Almost 2 weeks into this and much like my friend Randi realized, the change in self-awareness, confidence and overall accomplishment is amazing and incredibly infectious! As I like to say, you can't win the lottery if you don't buy a ticket, except in this case, you have a MUCH better chance of winning and all you have to do is TRY!

Day 8 - Tale of the Tape

2012-03-08T22:26:00.003-06:00

I awoke this morning feeling triumphant, perhaps even a little fired up. One week into this challenge and I'm starting to really notice an improvement in my life. For too long now my mornings have been about as enticing as a gathering of the Polar Bear Club. That being said, it is a nice feeling to again look forward to what the day has in store for me. As I rolled out of bed I was thankful to realize that the stiffness I was feeling last night had subsided and surprisingly my legs were feeling pretty fresh.

Today was much of the same as far as breakfast was concerned, nothing exciting to report there. For me, knowing it was my first official 'weigh-in' day, I was quite excited to get to the gym. I had a feeling I was going to be happy with my progress as I can actually see the difference. I'm happy to report that after 7 days of this challenge (today being the 8th day), I have lost 7lbs! I weighed in today at 279lbs. It would be an understatement to say that I'm satisfied with the progress so far! As a celebration, I treated myself to a 30-minute cardio session on the treadmill. Again, there was no stiffness and for the first time in 2 weeks I was not getting gassed out on my intervals, which made the experience a lot more enjoyable. I didn't have lunch today, but did have a sliced English Cucumber and an Apple.

I made my way home after a successful day and proceeded to get onto the weekly photos and measurements. Yes, I took photos on the first day and will continue to take pictures each week on weigh-in day, I'm just not sure if I'm going to share them or not... Who knows, if this turns out to be a major success story, then perhaps I will! Anyway, taking a look at the numbers, there is definitely some noticeable improvements after just 7 days. The numbers below indicate the measurements of those areas in inches. The Net +/- shows the gain/loss compared to the starting numbers. I didn't know what to expect, but I am definitely happy with what I see! The most notable is the gut, where I lost 1.5" already! My waist came as a bit of a surprise as I felt as though that has improved, but nonetheless, a very promising start!

After seeing all these positive results, my belly was rumbling for some sustenance, so I made up a tasty Chicken stir-fry for dinner with Red Peppers, Onions, Garlic, Celery and Bean sprouts, again using the Thai Basil seasoning along with a nice glass of Milk. Which pretty much takes me up to the minute as far as updates.

On my bus ride into the office the last few days I've been reading "The Men's Health Diet". I'm not too far into the book yet, but I really like the ideals it appears to be built on. The diet is a maintainable lifestyle change in which you don't have to stop eating the things you love, you just need to be smarter about it. I really like their 7 simple rules to getting ripped. Once I've read the entire book, I may consider giving it a try in the future. It has meal suggestions as well as exercise routines among other tips and information. So far it sounds quite interesting.

Days 4,5,6 and Today the 7th! (hehehe ooops)

2012-03-07T20:13:00.005-06:00

Well, I'm not surprised that there is such a gap since my last entry... I didn't think I would be able to maintain a daily blog. However, that being said, I have NOT forgotten about my challenge! I'll try to quickly catch up to today.

Saturday night I did end up having a few drinks. I also folded to the temptation and had some Multigrain Chips with some Garlic Hummus. I was feeling incredibly guilty about it, but after crunching the numbers and being reasonable with my portions it really wasn't bad at all.

Sunday, inadvertently this turned out to be my cheat day. My parents were heading out of town for a warm holiday escape and before they left wanted to get together for a family brunch. The meal ended up being Bacon + Eggs, with Sausage, Hash-browns and Toast. While it likely wasn't the best choice as far as healthy options, it was delicious. Where I would normally gorge on a meal like that, I managed to conjure unspeakable powers and fought my desire to eat. Having known about the meal beforehand, I made sure I spent a half-hour doing some core exercises at home before I went and actually felt as though I hit my abs pretty well with a circuit of 5 different core exercises. Sunday's dinner, due to laziness and a nice brother, I had myself a nice double pepperoni pizza from Diana's Pizza on Ste. Anne's rd. My bro works there and was generous enough to come by my place with one after one of his shifts. The pizza was a thin-crust with double pepperoni, three-cheese blend on a marinara sauce mixed with some hot sauce. It was greeeeeeeasy, but so so good.

Monday I got back to the office and after a weekend I was feeling pretty good about how I did. I may not have avoided the snacks, but when I did have them, I kept them to a one or two serving portion. I had the usual meals on Monday, with Oatmeal and Blueberries for breakfast, went to Cafe Assante for lunch and had a Chicken Tikka Wrap with Coleslaw and some Milk. I would recommend the place if you were in Winnipeg Square and looking for a healthier option. The Tikka wrap is by far my favorite menu item. In the afternoon, I made my way into the gym and got in 30-minutes of cardio. Dinner, was spent at 4Play Sports Bar with my buddy Randy as we were heading out to the Jets game. I had the Grilled Chicken sandwich with a side Caesar salad and a couple of Caesars. It was a decent meal, nothing noteworthy. At the game I ended up having a few more drinks... HAHA! What could I do?!?! They tasted good and it was the Jets game! And what a game it was! Great energy in the arena on Monday night and the Jets sent fans home happy after a huge win. The alcohol in the evening wasn't the greatest of choices, but I was sure to have myself a fair amount of water when I got home.

Tuesday, was a solid day of food and exercise. I managed my diet well with the usual breakfast, some soup for lunch and a nice pickerel dinner with some green beans and 7-grain salad. I did have some Pringles in the evening but kept it to two servings. I was actually quite surprised with serving size (16 chips) and the reasonable nutritional break-down. As far as fitness, I struggled through the first 12 minutes of my cardio, but then loosened up and pushed myself hard for the remaining 18-minutes to reach the same distance and average speed of my previous runs. I then added about 40-minutes of Chest and ab exercises, rotating between each set (ie. Chest set, abs, chest set, abs...).

Today, again had the Oatmeal breakfast w/blueberries. I'm actually starting to enjoy the meal, but have been avoiding the original flavor. I think once I work my way through the box, I will try making some of the real deal as I've had a few friends who've read about my experiences and have made some delicious suggestions! I ended up taking the afternoon off, so I went to the gym before going home and had myself another great workout. I spent 40-minutes on the treadmill with 30-minutes of interval running/walking and a 10-minute uphill climb. I then moved on to have a good 30-minute ab/core workout with a similar circuit to what was used on Sunday. After the gym, I hopped on a bus back down to my turf and decided to hop off at the Tim Horton's on Warde and St. Mary's. I grabbed a big green tea and as it was nice outside had a nice walk home with the iPod providing candy for my ears. For dinner I cooked up some Salmon with a touch of olive oil, fresh ground pepper, sprinkle of seasoning salt and some freshly squeezed lemon juice. I accompanied it with another portion of 7-grain salad (that stuff is delicious!) and some steamed Brussel sprouts. As tomorrow is going to be my first "Official" weigh-in and measurement day, I'm going to really try hard to keep my evening to consuming water and perhaps a nice glass of fruit smoothie.

Looking back through the history of "My Fitness Pal", I see that I'm doing a pretty decent job of consistently acquiring a good portion of my daily nutrients as far as protein, fat, carbs and various vitamin intakes and taking these last 5 days into consideration, I only exceeded my calorie limit once (Sunday), so I'm pretty happy about that. I decided to step on the scale to see what I could be expecting tomorrow and was quite pleased. I weighed in today at 281lbs (started at 286), so only being 6 days in and losing 5lbs, I'd have to say I'm very satisfied with the progress so far. I still think I can surprise myself tomorrow though if I stick to my guns tonight!

Not going to lie, I'm looking forward to seeing the measurements tomorrow as the numbers don't lie. I can already feel the difference. After just 6 days of managing diet and running, I have to say I'm feeling pretty damn good!

March 3, 2012 - Day 3

2012-03-03T14:53:00.001-06:00

I didn't have a lot planned for the day today, so I slept in until about 10:30ish this morning. Woke up and made myself a bowl of instant oatmeal along with some dried Blueberries mixed in. I was still feeling guilty about the snack this morning, but I think I've come to grips with it now... It's not nearly as bad as I felt it was. I've been the guy that can pull out a bag of chips and eat the entire bag in a sitting as well as have a lot more pop that one person should, so really three handfuls of popcorn is doing pretty damn good! Baby steps, right?!?

As mentioned, I didn't have a lot on the agenda today. My granny had called me and asked to me to pick up some groceries for her, so being the best grandson ever (and modest at that), I packed up some spaghetti leftovers for her and went over to her place to pick up the list. While there, I decided to shovel off her sidewalk and driveway as it was a good way to get some exercise as well as to help out.

After shopping, just made my way back home and made myself some lunch. One thing I've noticed since I started eating breakfast regularly is that I get hungry a lot more over the course of the day. Previously, I wouldn't eat until lunch time or later! I already feel a difference. It's amazing how much eating breakfast changes the game! Anyhow, for lunch today, I cracked a package of Thai Coconut soup (from Costco) and made myself a nice big bowl of soup for lunch. The contents of the entire package was only about 350 calories, but there was quite a bit of sodium... Nonetheless, enjoyed my soup with a glass of water and a cup of green tea.

I don't have much planned today in the way of physical activity as I was in the gym 5 days this week running on the treadmill and I think my legs could actually use a day off. I may go out for some cardio tomorrow, but I'm not going to hold myself to that. If nothing else, I will spend some time tomorrow doing some core exercises and some ab work. As for this evening, there's a good chance some adult beverages could be involved... If so, I'm going to be sticking with Gin, Water and Lemon... Tastes like a sugarless Lemonade and it certainly does the job, while keeping the sugars and other stuff down. I generally juice a half of a lemon per drink and mix with water. Really, when you think about it, it's a great way to drink as you hydrate yourself while getting tipsy at the same time!

March 2, 2012 - Day 2 (Friday mofos!)

2012-03-02T11:09:00.000-06:00

I managed to escape last night without any poor decisions and it felt good! One day in, still a long ways to go, so I don't want to get too excited about last night's triumph. That being said, when I woke this morning I felt pretty damn good about myself.

For breakfast today, I choked back some 'Original' flavored instant oatmeal with some dried Blueberries (230cal) accompanied by a XL Green Tea. While struggling through my oatmeal I was thinking of ways to try and improve the blandness of it... I have gotten used to the texture, but there is just something wrong with eating something that has NO taste whatsoever! As suggested, perhaps adding some cinnamon to the mix would be in my best interests.

Hit the gym a bit earlier today and did the standard weigh-in before I got down to business. Today I weighed in at 282lbs, which is already down 3lbs from where I started. I hit the treadmill again today for another 30 minute interval, averaging 5.4 mph burning another 580 calories. Now, I just need to figure out what I'm going to do for lunch as I didn't bring anything into the office with me outside of an Apple and an English Cucumber.

Alright, so I failed on the lunch with no lunch at all. However, I made up for it with an amazing Spaghetti Dinner. After another good workout shoveling the walkway and driveway, I began dinner construction... I made the meat sauce with Chicken, Onions, Garlic, Green Peppers, Celery, Mushrooms, some fresh ground pepper and a jar of Roasted Garlic Tomato sauce. I also dropped a bit of Frank's Xtra Hot into the sauce for some extra taste. I cooked up some whole wheat pasta noodles and shredded up some Jalapeno Monterrey Jack cheese to top my dinner. It may have just been the best Spaghetti I've ever made... It was so good, in fact, I made extra just so I could have it again for dinner on Saturday. I'm not a big fan of leftovers, but if there is one thing I love, it's Spaghetti leftovers, as long as the noodles and the sauce are stored separately, otherwise the noodles absorb the sauce and the leftovers then suck. I had a pretty sizable portion dinner, but I was starving and had to make up for lunch anyway. I calorie count was somewhere in the ballpark of 1050ish for the entire meal. I enjoyed dinner with glass of Milk and then was set for the rest of the night.

Admittedly, I didn't make it through the night without breaking down, but I limited myself to three handfuls of air-popped popcorn and it was topped with a touch of olive oil (in place of butter) and a sprinkle of salt... I felt incredibly guilty about it and was sure to drink a cup of fruit smoothie and a fair-sized bottle of water with it. I would still consider day 2 a great success,despite the snack at the end of the night as both the cardio and the shoveling put my net calorie value well below my daily set limit.

March 1, 2012 - Day 1

2012-03-01T11:36:00.003-06:00

I believe the best way to stay on top of this blog business is to constantly come back and update as the day goes on, so I will be publishing and updating each blog daily... Keep in mind, that I've written only 17 blogs in total in the last 3 years, so for me to write 31 blogs in a month is going to be a stretch... Again, I will try to keep this as consistent as I can.

Woke up this morning with a renewed sense of enthusiasm. The months leading up to this day have been anything but good. While I have maintained a fairly regular gym routine, I haven't realized much in the way of results to this point as I have been guilty of some terrible food choices and no conscious judgments made when it came to portioning. This is a major component of what I'm trying to change in the next 31 days. There are 2 things I will be using to keep me on track as far as food is concerned. I will be logging my diet here for the world to see and I will also be logging everything I do as far as diet and exercise in an application I have on my iPhone called "My Fitness Pal". This app is available on a number of platforms (web, iPhone and possibly BB), it is fairly straight-forward, in that it provides a journal for all foods eaten that you can actually search an online database for. The foods are often broken down into serving size as well as the nutritional information included for crunching the numbers. One other thing I notice about the app is that there is a FRIEND feature, so any of you out there interested in trying this app out and looking for a buddy, I'm your man! According to the details I punched in when setting up my profile, it calculates my daily intake limit to be about 1900 calories, or in simple terms... One Big Mac.

This tool also has a similar database for exercises and there is also a log to help keep track and chart the weight as it climbs/declines... In my case, the plan is to see a MASSIVE decline in weight over the next 31 days. Again, while I don't want to put any numbers there, I like to believe that I can and will lose anywhere from 20 - 30lbs over the course of this next month. I realize this sounds like a pretty aggressive guesstimate, but based on what I know about myself, this is quite possible and I assure you, this will be done in a HEALTHY way!

For breakfast today, I enjoyed a bowl of instant Oatmeal (Quaker - Maple and Brown sugar), complimented with a handful of Dried Blueberries, both courtesy of my favorite place to shop... Costco! I also went with my usual XL Green Tea from Tim Hortons (0 Cal). According to the information I see, this meal will account for 264 calories. After today, I will likely limit my meal descriptions to a list type format as it will get boring to tell you what kind of Oatmeal I'm eating everyday.

Today's lunch will consist of last night's yummy leftovers! I made a Spicy Basil-Thai Stir-Fry (Cubed Chicken, Bean Sprouts, Green Peppers, Onion, Celery and minced Garlic). The stir-fry was made with 2tbsp of Olive Oil and a packet of Stir-fry seasoning (acquired at Marcello's Meats). My portion for lunch will consist of a fraction of the ingredients used. I will also be eating an entire English Cucumber and having another XL Timmy's Green Tea. This meal will calculate to roughly 373 calories, putting me up to a total of 637/1960 calories so far today.

I went to the gym for a 30-minute cardio session in the afternoon. I ran on the treadmill in intervals, averaging a speed of 5.4mph burning about 580 calories. This puts my daily net total down to approximately 56 on the intake. The run itself felt pretty good, it was the 3rd time this week I got one in. This week I plan on just doing cardio in the gym as I need to spend some time developing a weight routine and to determine whether I want to be doing weight training 5 days a week or less.

As I am heading out to the Jets game tonight, I didn't have time to make a cooked meal, so instead, I made a Tuna salad out of some stuff I had around the house. I used Romaine Lettuce, canned White Tuna, sliced Pepperoncini peppers, Hemp Hearts, Celery, Jalapeno Monterrey Jack Cheese and some creamy Herb & Garlic dressing... All this accompanied with a nice glass of skim milk. The meal in total for dinner calculates to 866 calories, with the dressing accounting for almost half of that 368calories... I used 5tbsp as it was a big-ass salad!

Just drank water tonight at the game as it was the first night of the challenge, still had a great time as I got my bro out for his first game since the return of the NHL and I think the 7-0 score for the Jets was a factor as well! To finish off the night, while thinking of all the yummy things I could eat I finished up with a 1/2 cup of Whole Almonds (unseasoned) and a cup of Berry smoothie for another 605cal, but with the running taken into consideration, I still finished the day below the 1960 calories with a net total of 1527. All-in-all a good start, but that's what I need to keep in mind, this is just the start!

Man With "The Plan"

2012-02-29T21:05:00.000-06:00

If my weight were a roller coaster, it would be one hell of a scary ride! Up and down at sharp angles, sure to make those with weak stomachs battle the urge to spew. The only problem is, I don't know when this ride is going to finally come to a halt and find some level ground. While I am by no means a big fatty, I'm not happy with what I currently am and it is time to make a change in my life.

I am fully aware of the factors involved in the creation of this spare tire that I choose to carry around and would be the first to admit that it is about 95% related to my diet. I do go to the gym regularly and I even eat pretty well when it comes to meals! However, I'm terrible when it comes to portions and snacking! It's not that I'm oblivious to the counter-productive properties of Chips, Chocolate, Pop and Candies... It just seems that at the time decisions are made as far as whether or not I should indulge, I choose to ignore common sense and opt for carelessness. Besides, it's much easier to give up than to fight for a cause!

I recently spent some time reading a blog belonging to a friend (Twitter:@RcjDxo), now on the home stretch of a 29-day fitness challenge, and I was quite inspired by it. She seemed to have gotten through it with relative ease and through her triumph, is considering a permanent change! After reading this I felt that something like this may be what I needed to do as well.

I already spend a fair amount of time in the gym, so for me it would be more about managing my diet, properly. I picked up some resources to aide controlling my diet and another with a collection of exercises I can do to add some variety to my current routine. Mix in some cardio and altogether (at least in theory), we have a recipe for sexy cocktail! Now this all seems relatively straight-forward in nature, at least until you add the human component. Taking this into consideration, I'm adding some accountability to this challenge. I'm going to keep a daily blog of the progress and it's going to start tomorrow! While I'm somewhat skeptical of myself, I plan to see this through as closely as possible.

To get an idea of where I'm starting from... Here are some details. I'm soon to be 33 years old (at the end of this challenge actually!), I would consider myself to be somewhat athletic in nature. I currently stand at 6'5" tall and I break the scales at 285lbs. I borrowed a skin-fold caliper from the gym at work and took the standard 7 measurements used to determine my body fat composition. In terms of this test, a measurement of 130+ total is considered poor as an athletic man... I was 137.5. Clearly, I have some work to do! I also took tape measurements of 8 different sites on my body (no, not there!), so I can go back to these in the future as far as milestones are concerned. Again, the results were not impressive:

Neck: 17.5"
Shoulders: 53"
Chest: 46.5"
Biceps: 15.5" pythons
Abdominal: 46"
Thigh: 17.5"
Calf: 17.5"
Waist: 43" (I'm not sure how that works... I wear 38" jeans... I must have a nice muffin top... hahaha!)

I'm hoping to achieve some goals through this experience, but I really don't want to put a number on it or raise expectations. I KNOW I should do well if I stick to the plan and I'm hoping that the transparency of sharing this with the world will only help this challenge along. I've always wanted to see myself fit and I've never quite gotten there, it is time for this to change. Perhaps this is all I need to do in order to get over that hump. Speaking of humps, it's Wednesday, I'm pumped and in the words of Flight of the Conchords, it's "Business Time"!!!

Happy Holidays to One and All

2011-12-25T00:04:00.000-06:00

A calm winter's eve and nary a sound
Get the kiddies to bed, Santa will soon be around

Whether sharing with family or the closest of friends
Seasonal cheer be abound with you all through night's end

For tomorrow's a day to be with those we love
To remember those fallen and now watch from above

To put smiles on the faces we hold closest to the heart
or show thanks to those, who have done more than their part

It's not about the presents, but it is about the gift
From life we've been provided on the planet we all drift

I mean you no offense, but must make this clear
I wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

TWAS THE DAY OF THE JETS

2011-10-09T12:11:00.002-05:00

The people were gathered in cheerful glee.
Highly anticipating what they were about to see.
15 looooong years is soon to end.

As we sit and cheer with the closest of friends.

Whether screaming in the stands or glued to the TV,
We all get to watch, what some thought would never be.
From Byfuglien to Scheifele, and Ladd to Kane,
from Enstrom to Burmistrov and the freshly acquired MacLean

This day in JETS' history will be one you must see
and it's broadcasting live on the one and only CBC!
GET READY JETS' FANS, IT'S THE END OF OUR PLIGHT!
MERRY JETSMAS TO ALL! AND TO ALL A GREAT NIGHT!

Not to get ahead of myself... But...

2011-05-30T15:35:00.002-05:00

Dear People of Atlanta,

Oh what an interesting last few weeks it has been. If the rumors prove true and there is an OFFICIAL announcement tomorrow (Tuesday May 31, 2011) or sometime this week, we the people of Winnipeg will soon be home to an NHL franchise that recently belonged to your city. Some of your people may have even heard of them, they as of TODAY are called the Atlanta Thrashers. I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of Winnipeg and thank you for the chance to make this dream once again become a plausible reality. If it wasn't for the lack of support the fine people of your city provided to this young and promising franchise, none of this could have been possible today.

Cheerfully yours,

People of Winnipeg

~~~~

Dear Atlanta Thrashers Fans,

Although you may not believe this or care to rationalize what we have to say, our sincerest apologies for the impending loss of your beloved Thrashers. We hope the heated comments and few bad seeds on the various social networks didn't take things too far in the battle of words these last number of weeks, but as you can clearly see, we are just as passionate about NHL hockey as you are. We too know how it feels to have a team uprooted and moved despite the many efforts valiantly staged to try and save them.

Despite popular belief, we had no intentions of 'stealing' your team away, however the unfortunate situation you face today has presented a fantastic opportunity for another group of people that once felt your pain as well to gain another chance to once again host the highest caliber of hockey. If all rumors hold true this week and this transaction becomes official, we promise to take good care of this young and talented group and encourage all of you to come up north and share the hockey love. We truly hope there are no hard feelings as we know that it was not your fault this situation unfolded the way it did, you as fans did all you could and we as fans can respect that.

Sincerely,
Winnipeg/Manitoba Thingamjiggers' Fans

~~~~

Dear Naysayers,

You said it would never happen. You said we don't deserve a second chance. You question the hearts of our fans! If the process continues in this fashion, we will see an end to an NHL drought in Winnipeg that has lasted 15 years. If this all becomes a reality tomorrow or in the following days this week... All we have to say to you is... BITE ME!

Thanks for your support,
The Believers

VAN-TASTIC VOYAGE!

2011-01-05T08:00:00.001-06:00

(The Black Keys - Live at the Orpheum Theatre, October 3, 2010. Photo Courtesy of Brad Speiss)

WARNING: The events of this entry may not have happened recently, the subject matter may not be of interest and the story itself may be rather long-winded, reader's discretion is advised. The truth is, I meant to write this entry back in OCTOBER but obviously that didn't happen and I have no excuse other than pure laziness for my tardiness. After spending a number of days working on this I've also concluded that it is really long... I hope it's not boring!

Come a-long for a ride on a VAN-tastic voy-age! Fly, fly, then a short train ride, when your visitin' Van-city avoid the East Hastings Side!

Alright, so maybe I'm no Coolio, but if you're still reading this, it couldn't have been that bad! A couple of months back, myself and a couple of friends had the pleasure of making our way out to one of Canada's premiere ocean cities, Vancouver. The reason for the trip was primarily to witness a rock spectacle as provided by a group that goes by the name of the Black Keys. We managed to score some row 7 centre stage seats in an intimate venue via an internet pre-sale and well, the trip pretty much sold itself. As the concert was on a Sunday night, we didn't see any reason to fly out there for one day to catch the show, so we made a weekend of it. It was a great opportunity to catch a highly anticipated group as well as a chance to get out and see what this city that I had heard so much on, was all about.

As for the Black Keys... Well, while the Black Keys have now released 7 albums and have been around since 2001, I was only exposed to them back in late 2009. They're a 2-piece show, consisting of a drummer (Patrick Carney) and a guitarist (Dan Auerbach, who is also lead vocals). An American Blues/Rock band, whose music seems to fit ANY occasion, and if you haven't already heard any of their music... You need to enlighten yourself and check out a few tunes! I would provide a couple of recommendations as far as which music to start with, but in this case you really could select any track they've laid and I promise you won't be disappointed. For those looking to experience the true evolution of their sound, you need to start where everything does, in the beginning, with The Big Come Up. Now, I could go on to write an abstract about this band, but really I don't know if I could do it any justice and Wikipedia seems to do it nicely, so here is a link for those interested in reading more.

FRIDAY (October 1, 2010 - 2 days until the show):
We arrived in Vancouver around 8am and quickly made our way out to the SkyTrain, to make our way downtown, where our hotel was located in hopes that by some miracle we could get a really early check-in to drop our belongings off. I was kind of excited to get onto the SkyTrain as I had heard a lot about it from the Olympics and I had yet to experience any form of railed transit in the past. Initially, when we boarded the train it was completely empty, but seeing as it was the beginning of the line, I suppose that was to be expected. It quickly filled and for the most part was no different than any other form of public transit I had been on... Not an environment for those that don't like to be close to others. It was about a 20-minute train ride from the airport to the end of the line in the heart of downtown. As we came out of the train terminal and up to the streets, it was quickly apparent that I was no longer on the Prairies... Street elevations going up and down like roller coasters, buildings all around reaching to make their mark on the Vancouver skyline and of course, the Mountains and Ocean provided a breathtaking back-drop to an already beautiful first impression. From the terminal exit, we only had about 6 blocks or so of walking until we arrived at our hotel. Thankfully, they had a room ready for us and we were able to drop our luggage off.

As we had been up since 5:30am CST and it was quickly approaching 9am PST, we figured it would be a good idea to go for a walk around and see if we could find somewhere for a nice breakfast. We came upon the Bellaggio Cafe on Thurlow and decided it looked like a suitable location to fill our bellies in a cozy but comfortable walkway-side table. I wasn't about to play any games with my hunger and ordered up the Full Bellaggio breakfast, consisting of eggs, bacon, sausage, ham, hashbrowns and toast, along with a green tea to balance the meal out. The breakfast was delicious and the scenery walking by was certainly a nice addition to an already enjoyable meal... Hey, what can I say? Three single dudes out for breakfast, there was some ogling of the ladies, alright?!?! After breakfast, we explored the downtown, trying to get a grasp of our new found surroundings.

We made our way down Robson st, checked out Coal Harbour and eventually planted ourselves at a scenic patio overlooking the harbour, called Lift Bar & Grill. We proceeded to enjoy a number of tasty adult beverages there, while watching water planes land in the harbour amidst a large collection of massive yachts and ocean-liners... With the great Stanley Park on one side, Grouse Moutain and the Lion's Gate bridge off in the distance it proved to be quite the eye-candy. We convened briefly about dinner plans and agreed that a nice steak dinner at the Keg would be in order. We hit up the Keg on Thurlow @ Robson St and indulged in some more tasty food and you guessed it... Adult beverages! As I'm sure most people have eaten at the Keg, no explanation is necessary as far as the atmosphere is concerned. The remainder of the evening was mellowed due to the long day and after a quick nightcap on Robson st, we packed it in for the night.

SATURDAY (October 2, 2010 - 1 more day until the concert):
We awoke to another beautiful day in Vancouver, sun shining and streets bustling with activity. A good portion of the day was spent walking the downtown streets, checking out the life and various shops in Vancouver's Gastown district and along Granville St. To say that the options for shopping were plenty, would be an understatement! While I didn't do much shopping myself, it was still really impressive to check it out. After a good day of exploring, we hit up the Steamworks Brewing Company's patio in the Gastown district for a few bevvies. As it turned out, they were a micro-brewery and had on their menu, some pretty interesting beers. I myself opted for the Caesar (of course) as I'm not the biggest of beer fans, so I was content to watch my buddies enjoy their micro-brews while I sipped my alcoholic soup. After a couple of drinks, we started to think about plans for dinner and then it HIT me... LITERALLY! And, INSTANTLY, much to my chagrin, I knew exactly what it was... The skies were blue and we were no where near any balconies... A bird SHIT on my freakin' head! Now, I would like to think that the chances of this happening to someone are potentially once in a lifetime and rumor has it, that some people believe this to be good luck! Yeah... What a crock! The only thing lucky about the situation was that it shit almost perfectly in the middle of the top of my head and due to the fact that I'm 6'5", I could make it back to the hotel without anyone looking at me as if I had just tried to re-enact the scene in Something About Mary, where Cameron Diaz mistakes Ben Stiller's joy cream as hair gel! We all had a good hearty laugh about the situation, but deep down, I was cursing the day the guilty bird was hatched. Needless to say, this encouraged our current round of wobblies and Caesar to be our last at this establishment. We continued to have a good chuckle back to the hotel where I was able to clean up my coif and we it was also where we decided that it was time to get ready for what turned out to be one of my best dining experiences to date, with a visit to what was billed as a Legendary Vancouver restaurant... Joe Fortes.

We arrived for Dinner at Joe Fortes shortly after 7pm, the place was PACKED and full of life! As we were informed that we'd be waiting for 20 - 30 minutes, we talked briefly about looking for another destination, but we all seemed to be pretty interested in some high-quality seafood and THIS was going to be the place to do it... So, we pulled up a sliver of the remaining space in the lounge and ordered up some drinks... We got our drinks and within 10 minutes, we were being summoned for our table. Our server came to the table and to be blunt, he knew his shit. Charismatically, Jason (our server) went over the finer details of the menu, being sure to emphasize the specialties and upon our request, his recommendations. He was also quick to point out that this restaurant was famous for its Oyster Bar. Having not had any form of Oyster before, but remembering what I saw in movies, I was somewhat apprehensive to try them, but after some reassurance we decided to get a few to start with. We got our first plate of Oysters and as we all stared down at them wide-eyed, Jason was explained how to dress them and eat them... Much like the movies, you break the attachment tendon and then you can pretty much slurp them... Yeah, I know it sounds gross, but DAMN! Talk about tasty! They were so good in fact, that we ordered a second plate of them and even then were tempted to order a 3rd! Again, while they are not the most visually appealing items, they are down right delicious! For dinner, I went with the Sablefish, accompanied by 2 Alaskan King Crab legs. They claim to not cook the fish with any additional flavoring, and that the buttery taste was actually as a result of the Omega-3-rich content... This piece of fish literally melted in my mouth like a piece of cotton candy and to say it was delicious would be serving this meal a harsh injustice... It was fucking fantastic! Paired with Speiss' carefully selected bottle of red, "The Show" (California - Cabernet Sauvignon) it made for one freaking first-class meal! After dinner, we ordered up a round of Irish coffees and we were primed for a great night!

We settled our massive bill and then filed out of the building to look for the nearest cash machine so we could refill our wallets for a night out.... Unfortunately, the night on the town was quickly thwarted as when one of my buddies went to grab some cash from the machine, it didn't spit out any money, nor did it spit out his card! So, having just been denied with 2 days left in the city and now without his means to acquire more funds easily gone, it quickly swayed our spirits from a where-to next, to a what-next mentality... The unfortunate incident had clearly offset my buddies mood as he went from smiling to sullen... Seeing this, both myself and my other buddy felt terrible for what had happened and were more than happy to make a quick amendment to our plans... We walked into the nearest Liquor Commission, pooled together a few twenties (perhaps more than a few) and picked up a 2-6 of Patron, a case of Caesars and a bottle of wine. We then proceeded to take our newly acquired loot and made our way back to the hotel for a good night of drinks, music and drunken laughs. Despite a rather unfortunate turn of events, we managed to have ourselves a pretty good night lounging around sipping Patron while delving into the world of the White Stripes, The Ranconteurs and of course, The Black Keys.

SUNDAY (October 3, 2010 - Awww Yeah, Concert Day!):
I arose from my slumber to the sound of my own laughter and what turned out to be a vivid dream of how I somehow convinced the Black Keys to play a set in my basement. Why is this funny you ask? Because despite the good fortunes of my dream, I missed the damn set because for some reason I had to run out and buy them potato chips!!! As is usually the case with my dreams, that turned out to be a serious adventure! I will spare you the details for now, but seriously, if you want to hear about a couple of messed up dreams, ask me about my Vancouver dream experiences... They are MESSED UP! So anyway, I shook the cobwebs out of my head and explained my story. We gathered our senses and lazed around the hotel room watching some NFL coverage, which seeing as we were out west, it actually started at 10! Nothing like football for breakfast! Once we got ourselves cleaned up, we made our way out to Moxie's on Robson St for some breakfast, wings and football. We figured there would be some activity there, but it was actually pretty slow, so we scored ourselves a nice booth in the lounge, right in front of a big TV. As it turned out, we spent pretty much most of the afternoon here watching football and talking about the upcoming concert... When out of the corner of my eye, I spotted something... I wasn't completely sure about what I had seen, but was PRETTY sure that I had just seen Patrick Carney (Black Keys' Drummer) walk into the restaurant with a lady and 2 children... It couldn't be! Could it?!?! I quickly mentioned my discovery to my buddies which quickly had us all trying to catch a glimpse and confirm the identity... It is him, TOTALLY! Oh shit, what are the chances that we travel halfway across the country to see these guys and one of them walks right into the same dead restaurant we'd been sitting at?!?! So, we all pretty much took our turns hitting the bathroom for a quick break to 'confirm' that it was in fact Patrick Carney, but none of us had the guts to go up and actually say hey to him! As much as I wanted to, it was kind of a group feeling that he may not appreciate having his meal interrupted by a bunch of babbling fans, so we left him be... However, when he passed us by again as he left the restaurant... I shouted out "BLACK KEYS RULE!" and gave him the big thumb's up! This got me two reactions... Firstly, from the woman accompanying him, it got me the dagger eyes, yes, the most unwelcoming of responses, perhaps not interrupting their meal was a good thing, I didn't want to be killed and miss the concert! And secondly, Mr. Carney himself looked right at me, smiled and gave me the NOD! Awww yeah, I got the nod! I got the nod! HAHAHA! He then left the building and we laughed and talked about how cool it would've been to get a picture with him... A little too late for that now, but nonetheless, it was a great experience. We watched some more football to pass the afternoon and then made our way back to the hotel and got ready for the concert.

We were greeted outside by another beautiful night as we made our way up to the Orpheum Theatre on Granville St, the venue that would be hosting the night's festivities. We managed to make it there for the opening act, Nicole Atkins, who actually put on a pretty good performance as they tried their best to rev the crowd up for the main attraction. No priming was needed though, these people were ready to rock. Nicole Atkins put on a good set and almost as soon as she finished, those with general seating tickets began to fill the aisles and crash the stage. Security came and had everyone go back to their seats, but as soon as the the lights dimmed, the aisles and area directly in front of the stage were again packed with people. You could feel the excitement building and then finally, after 6 months of anticipation... There they were! The spotlights began to shine revealing the 2 warriors and their weapons, and as expected after a brief introduction, they came out guns blazing with their notorious opening song, Thickfreakness... Much to the crowds approval, Dan Auerbach began to dance with his guitar on stage as he ripped away with precision at the strings... Let the ass-kicking begin! After the opening song, they took a step into the past and pulled up a classic version of Girl Is On My Mind (This video clip is from Portland 2 days later, but the general feel is almost exactly the same as Vancouver). As my cousin had mentioned this was one of her favorite tunes, I pulled out the Blackberry and filmed the entire song only to find out later that despite how it looked while I was recording, the quality of my video was both brutal visually and loaded with noise... Sorry Jessie! Song after song, this band continued to display their showmanship up on stage, with Patrick Carney looking like one mad mofo as he rhythmically kicked the shit out of his drum kit. I hadn't spent a lot of time in the past watching drummers in a band, but seeing as there were only 2 instruments on stage for the most part, it quickly became apparent that Mr. Carney had some "Mad" skills. Watching Auerbach dance and bob as he seemingly made his hollow-body guitar scream without effort was absolutely amazing and I totally look forward to seeing it all again! At some point in the concert Auerbach was happy to report that for the first time EVER, they received an award marking the achievement that their latest album Brothers had just gone GOLD in Canada... Out of 7 albums and almost 10 years of rock, they finally receive some much deserved recognition! As you can see on the set-list below, there was no shortage of rock or diversity in their presentation. There was representation from pretty much every album and as expected they played a number of songs from their latest release. Some of my own personal favorites from the show were Stack Shot Billy, Busted, I Got Mine and of course the big three from Brothers, Howlin' For You, Tighten Up and She's Long Gone. We were curious as to how they would play the newest songs as the album Brothers clearly had multiple pieces and to no surprise or disappointment of the fans, 2 other guys came out on stage to help them play the songs. They played for just over 2 hours, but managed to still leave most people with an appetite for more! 6 months of anticipation was not a let down and it was clear as we all walked out with huge smiles on our faces that we had all just had multiple ear orgasms.

Here's a breakdown of the set list with links to actual concert footage from the songs I could find on YouTube:

Thickfreakness
Girl is on My Mind
10a.m. Automatic
The Breaks
Stack Shot Billy
Busted
Act Nice and Gentle (The Kinks cover)
Everlasting Light
Next Girl
Chop and Change
Howlin' For You
Tighten Up
She's Long Gone
Ten Cent Pistol
I'll Be Your Man
Strange Times
I Got Mine
Too Afraid To Love You (encore)
Sinister Kid (encore)
Your Touch (encore)

MONDAY (Last morning in Vancouver):
I was again awoken by images of some vivid dreams I was experiencing... Only this time the dreams from what I recall were not pleasant by ANY stretch of the imagination... In fact, they were pretty disturbing. I will avoid details, but one thing I can say for sure is that among the many memorable times I had in Vancouver, both Sunday's and Monday's dreams will remain planted in my mind for a LONG time! Slowly we all began to gain consciousness and as we opened the drapes it was to our disappointment that we discovered the weather that Vancouver is most famous for... Grey skies and rain. As this was the last day and we were within 4 hours of our flight we decided to make our way down to Stanley Park for a quick tour before our departure. We took a cab to the entrance and then just tried to walk as much of the park as we possibly could. The park was MASSIVE! The scenes were beautiful to say the least. A great view of the downtown skyline, with West Vancouver fading away into the mist. Lions Gate bridge full of activity as people made their commutes to and from North Vancouver. We only covered about half of the park before we ran short on time and at this point we managed to score a taxi passing by. The cabbie was more than happy to finish the remainder of the tour for us and even offered to stop on a number of occasions for photo opportunities. After finishing the whirlwind tour, we made our way back to the hotel to gather our things and make way back to the Airport. After spending 3+ days in Vancouver, I felt as though I had barely scratched the surface and I promise, I will be back for more!

I had a camera and had only taken a few photos, but coupled with the photos and videos that Speiss caught on his iPhone, it turned out to be a decent collection. For those interested, I will be posting the photos/video here for your viewing pleasure. (That is, when I get uploading them this evening)

EXTREME-AXE

2010-08-12T12:51:00.003-05:00

This past spring/early summer time frame turned out to be a busy one. It started with an inquiry about the POTENTIAL of selling my house and quickly evolved into selling it, buying another one and almost getting screwed over by the real estate agent in the process. Let me warn you now, this story is not short.

I was looking to make a change; my living space was too small and quite simply, my small 1-bedroom 600 square foot house, no longer met my needs. I love entertaining and I didn't believe that a house should be considered packed with only 6 people in it. Look at the show FULL HOUSE, they had upwards of 9 people at one time and they STILL had room to grow! But I’m going to ‘have mercy’ on you and ‘cut it out’ … With the Full House references. So please, continue to read as I promise there will be no cheesy ‘lesson learned’ music at the end of the blog… I PROMISE!

Anyway, being a believer in Karma and with fresh memories of a pleasant experience the first go-round, I got in contact with the agent that had previously assisted me with the purchase of my first house. The agent came by my place, had a quick look around my freshly tidied abode and advised that despite what I thought, the house was ready for the market! So, I found myself signing ‘selling’ agreement with the agent for 5% commission that very day. This led to a number of strangers proceeding to invade my personal space over the next week and a bit, which in turn yielded a nice offer to which I was content to accept. While finalizing the details of the sale we had agreed upon a fairly lengthy possession date, giving me an ample amount of time to comfortably shop for a new place in what seems to be an increasingly challenging market in Winnipeg. The agent was happy, I was happy, we were all happy.

Over the next week and a half, the agent and I went out on 3 separate occasions to look at approximately a dozen different houses. Nothing notable was found, but that was to be expected as I had no expectations of finding my new home in the first week… However, much to my surprise, one evening during this time-frame I found myself perusing the ComFree listings to which I stumbled upon what I thought to be a gem of a property. It was in one my ‘desirable’ areas, contained a number of the features that I was looking for and was reasonably priced by the current market’s standards. Only issue was that this house was a private sale. Not a problem as far as I was concerned, but upon mentioning the listing to the agent and expressing my desire in viewing it, it was quite clear that the agent was not pleased to hear this. She advised that ComFree customers generally don’t want to deal with an agent and suggested to me that if I wanted to pursue this further, to get in contact with the sellers and see if they would be interested in dealing with her on the potential that a deal could be reached. Essentially, she only wanted me to view the house if she could somehow be involved with the purchase. While I completely understand where she’s coming from as it is her job to do this, the last time I checked, I was looking at houses for MY benefit, not hers. So, despite her conscientious effort to thwart my aspirations, I made the arrangements with the owners and viewed the property… IT WAS PERFECT! The house was well maintained and I was completely taken with the straight-forward and friendly nature of the lady showing it. She beamed with the pride of ownership and was more than happy to provide me any information I was looking for as far as the house and its components were concerned. She spent over an hour showing me every nook and cranny of the house along with the history of pretty much everything her and her husband had done to keep the house in such great shape. In discussions with the owner, I asked her how she felt about dealing with an agent… She was pretty adamant on the fact that she had no interest in dealing with agents as a result of a bad experience previously encountered. It was at this point that I decided that it would be a good idea for me to not push the issue any further as far as the agent was concerned… On top of that, I was absolutely in love with this house.

As suggested by the owner, I wrote up an offer using a form provided by ComFree and wouldn’t you know it, the offer was accepted that night and I had found myself a place after only a week and a half of hunting!!! As expected, I was quite excited about the transaction, but had one thing left to do… I needed to contact the agent to thank her for her help and inform her that I would no longer require her services. Well, let’s just say this story doesn’t end with a civilized conversation between a triumphant new owner and a disappointed, but courteous agent.

The following day, I contacted the agent, no answer… So I left her a message about the offer placed and for her to give me a call. An hour later I get a phone call from the agent, except she’s not friendly and bubbly on the phone as I had grown accustomed to in my previous encounters with her. Instead, she’s talking to me in a low, scathing tone where she proceeds to yell at me and call me a back-stabbing asshole… Am I hearing this correctly?!?! Don’t you mean to call me and congratulate me on my new purchase?!?! Sure, I’d understand if you expressed some disappointment, but I’d like to think you would still try to be happy that your client found a house and again was satisfied with your service, which would undoubtedly lead to further referrals and potentially more business in the future! But no, the agent continues to rant on me as though I had somehow cheated on her with her evil sister and she just found out from one of her friends about it… She informed me that I was the last person she thought would ever screw her over! And how if she’d known I was going to do this, she would have charged me 7% commission on the sale of my old house!!! Screw her over?!?! It wasn’t as though I called up another agency and bought the house through them! I bought the house directly from the existing owners! Up the commission?!?! I don’t remember promising her that I was only going to buy a house if SHE was going to benefit from it! And I never even asked her for the 5% fee in the first place, she offered it to me! So to cut the conversation short, she basically finished the conversation with a few more ‘choice’ words and informed me that I would be hearing from her partner. Shaken from what I had just witnessed I was at a loss for words, but it didn’t matter as at this point in time, she hung up on me.

So, a few hours pass and my phone rings… I pick it up to hear a gentlemen on the other end claiming to be from the same agency and how he’d just finished having a discussion with my agent. He mentioned to me that he had a couple of ideas as far as a solution was concerned to iron things out between the agent and myself… He proceeds to mention that my agent had suggested we were ‘kind of’ friends as a result of past dealings and he posed the following question to me… “Are you the kind of person that takes advantage of your friends?” HUH?!?!? Did he seriously just ask me that question? Obviously I responded with a no as I’m sure most people that know me would share the same sentiment! If there’s one thing I’m not in the market for, it’s making people feel bad or to take advantage of them. He was quick to say that he didn’t think so, but he had this GREAT way to fix the rift that now existed. First suggestion, I could in good faith, pay the agent the commission that she ‘would have’ made, had she been involved in the purchase of my new property…. BUWHAHAHAHAHA!!! I quickly disregarded this suggestion as for one thing, the agent had NOTHING to do with the purchase of the property, let alone be entitled to a commission valued upwards of $8000! He agreed that it wasn’t reasonable and then suggested his second option… That I up the commission on the sale of my property from 5% to 7% for the benefit of the work the agent did. Are you f’n kidding me?!?! This woman made nearly $5000 off of the sale of my property, of which she had ONE open house for 2 hours. I questioned how this could be done as I had a SIGNED document stating the provisions of our ‘agreement’ and there was nothing saying that I was obligated to buy a new house through her because of the reduced commission she offered me. He made mention of the fact that she normally charges clients 7% for sales and how they could simply strike out the 5% and replace it 7%. I guess even the agent’s ‘friends’ are subject to what she normally charges… I expressed my displeasure in his suggestions and he replied saying that he didn’t need to know the answer, that I should contact the agent and straighten it out. So, I got right back on the phone and contacted the agent. Again, no answer… So, I left a message to the tune of “Thanks FRIEND, I’m so happy that you had your boss call me with an ultimatum. I don’t like either of his suggestions, but if I had to choose the lesser of two evils, I would up the commission of my sale… However, please give me a call and we can discuss this further”.

There was no callback, so I had assumed that embarrassed with what had happened to this point, the agent decided to move on from this ridiculous predicament. For the next 3 months, there was no conversation between myself and the agent, she sent me a couple of sales-related emails and was generally pleasant through the emails we shared… While baffled that this situation had dissipated so abruptly, I was happy to be rid of the stress. Then it hit me… About 3 hours before I was scheduled to sign off on all the legal documentation. My lawyer’s office sends me a statement of fees owing, and wouldn’t you know it! The agent upped her commission on the sales real estate fees to 7%! WTF?!?! I contacted the lady that was handling my case file and advised that the commission was supposed to be 5%, not 7%, to which I was told that the statement they had received showed the 5% scratched out and the 7% written in with the note: “As per phone conversation”. I was LIVID! Not only did I not agree with this, she went and took my phone message as approval for her to go ahead and adjust her fee in hopes that I would somehow not notice the slight discrepancy in amount owing!

Upon further conversation with the case manager, it was suggested that I contact the Agency and get it straightened out, or I would be expected to submit payment as per the outstanding amount identified on the agency’s statement of fees. So, I contacted the Office manager of the agency and expressed my discontent with the way this whole situation had been handled and explained to him that I had a previous agreement and I never authorized the amendment. He advised that he would need to look into it and would get back to me. Within the hour, I received a callback from the Manager to which he informed me that he had approached both the agent as well as her direct report and informed them that the Agency would not back them on this case and as there was no signature received that would authorize the movement of the commission rate as identified. He also advised that he had asked the agent to resubmit her statement to the lawyer’s office, citing the commission should reflect what was signed for on the date of the original agreement. I kindly thanked him for his efforts and happily hung up the phone.

In the end, thankfully nothing changed from the original agreement, but it was an incredibly stressful ordeal to be put through, all for the effort of trying to provide repeat business to someone that had been helpful in the past. I never meant to screw the agent out of a sale and I had fully intended to reward her with some token of gratitude for the 6 hours she likely spent accompanying me to various properties over that week and a half. That being said, I had no plan of passing out an additional $2000 or more, especially after the demoralizing phone call I was subjected to. Perhaps in the future I will think twice before contacting an agency when selling my next house.

Despite my desire to name names, I’m trying my best to take the high road and maintain the anonymity of the agent I dealt with along with the douchebag that employs her so as to not be spiteful, well, maybe it’s more for the fact that a friend warned me about doing such a thing and how it could potentially lead into a whole new bag of dirt, so perhaps I just won’t go there… Besides, after all was said and done, I may have lost a ‘friend’, but I gained a wonderful new home.

For Closure

2010-04-18T22:51:00.005-05:00

There is something that has been weighing heavy on my mind for quite some time now. I have been avoiding the topic as I have debated with myself as to whether this was an appropriate direction to go, as it doesn't fit in with the content you have grown accustomed to reading up to this point. I have tried on numerous occasions without success, to steer clear of the topic and write something more light-hearted, but have found that in trying to avoid this, I have created a writer's block. Every time I've sat down to try and steamroll this road block with a fresh idea I found myself dwelling on the subject that I should really have written about all along.

In all honesty, I was afraid to get too personal with those of you that do read these entries, however, I have slowly come to the realization, that this IS a BLOG and the idea of said BLOG is to share my point of view. So to all my readers, I send my apologies for living in denial and for not just being forth-coming with this piece instead of sitting on it for four months.

2010 got off to a really shocking and rather unwelcome start for me and my family. On January 3, 2010, my Grandma, Sally Pfiefer, passed away quietly in her sleep. This was both a shocking and incredibly strange experience to go through as I had not previously lost anyone close to me outside of one of my Grandpas when I was only a baby 31 years ago, along with a couple of family pets over the years. So to say this experience was new, would be an understatement.

My Grandma had not been in the best of health having been admitted into emergency a couple of weeks before Christmas. While she had improved greatly during her stay in the hospital, sadly, she spent her Christmas locked down in her room, instead of where she loved to be, with her family, laughing and enjoying their company, along with indulging in a number of delectable dishes that my Grandma was famous for providing for ANY and EVERY occasion. Whether it was cracking jokes or enjoying a good story, my Grandma truly enjoyed laughing and being the centre of attention.

As I mentioned, my Grandma like many of your Grandma's out there made some of the most fantastic authentic Ukranian foods. Her methodical attention to detail and unmatched abilities to make everything taste just right, all while only using a little bit of this and a little bit of that, made any special occasion something to really look forward to. I have yet to taste a cabbage roll that matches the taste and sauciness of my Grandma's. She has been a major inspiration in a lot of the cooking I enjoy myself, including both Perogies and Perishke. I will truly miss my Grandma's smile, her comical stories and her delicious food.

One thing I am thankful for, was for the time I got to spend with her, on the last time I saw her in this lifetime. It was on Christmas day and my family and I had stopped in for a visit before heading over to my Aunt's for a family dinner. We had one of the nicest visits with my Grandma, as she was in high spirits despite her predicament and was full of stories to share about her experience in the hospital to that point. Before leaving, I got to give my Grandma a big hug and told her I loved her. I have to admit, it was really nice hearing it in return, along with how proud of me she always was. I never spent a lot of time with my Grandma over the years, yet I always wanted them to be proud of the person I grew to be and to hear this coming from her, really meant a lot to me. In hindsight, sadly, it almost seemed as though this last visit, was closure for a lot of questions that we both may have had for a long time.

I wanted to make my Grandma's Christmas special in a unique way as I had figured she would have received an overwhelming number of flower bouquets already, so I wrote my Grandma a poem, transferred it into a card and gave it to her for Christmas just prior to leaving the hospital. Little did I know that this would be the last time I would EVER talk to her again. If I could call it as such, I would say I only have one regret, and that would be that I wished I would have just read the poem to my Grandma. I was afraid of how she would react to it as I was not accustomed to her being the most affectionate of women growing up. But as I had heard from a number of Uncles and Aunts that my Grandma absolutely adored the poem and had all of her visitors read it to her when they would come by. So while it is a fairly minor regret, it is still something I would love to have gone back and done differently. In closing, I want to share with you, the poem I wrote for my Grandma.

~~~~

Ode to My Grandma

This is an ode to my Grandma, to whom I hold in my heart so dear
I may not see her often, but let me make this one thing clear

She means as much to me, as the ingredients that complete my dough
Her Creations have been inspiring, contributors to what I now know

On this Christmas day I wish her, to know this one thing true
The words coming out of my mouth, are I love you through and through

My love and respect is endless, there is no boundary in sight
For her I would do anything, I'd hold her hand all night

~~~~

Rest in peace Grandma, I love and miss you dearly.

My New Year's Reillusion

2009-12-28T12:48:00.009-06:00

It's that time of year again... Where we get together with family and friends and stuff our faces with anything and everything edible. This year has been no different for myself and I'm sure in most cases, the same would go for most of you out there. A number of family and friend-related events coupled with some of the tastiest foods around equals a whole lot of good times and the odd full-tummy induced aches and naps! This year's Shitty DVD Exchange was a great success, seeing more people participate than ever before. Thanks to Jo-Jo's Foxworthy Winning entry "Touched By An Angel", I was lucky enough to take home the shittiest DVD this year. FYI... That bad boy is still in its original packaging! I hope all you collectors out there are jealous! Thanks again to the Baker clan for hosting a fantastic evening!

This portion of every year isn't always about Christmas though... It's also the time of year when people put some serious thought into a list of what it is that they really don't like about themselves. They take this "list" and on New Year's Eve at the dawn of the New Year, they make a drunken oath to themselves that they are absolutely without a doubt going to change these undesirable attributes and completely redefine who they are! This has always been a great idea in theory, but how often can anyone of us say that we've been successful in carrying out these improvements?!?! I know I have never actually completed a single resolution that I've ever made! I think, that it is perhaps time to change our way of thinking when it comes to New Year's ReILLUSIONS! I know I don't even have to explain this term, because pretty much anyone that has ever made them, knows exactly what I'm referring to. However, for those that are not so enlightened, I am referring to a promise that one makes year after year, only to fool themselves for a couple of months of wasted effort.

In some cases these illusions translate into real change, but from my own experiences, the opposite is often the case. There have been instances where I was able to achieve some of the things I had often thought about, but it wasn't because of this magical pact I made with myself. No, every time I've made a positive change, it happened either halfway or more into a given year and had NOTHING to do with the resolution in the first place! I like many others on New Year's eve, would often unknowingly make a promise to myself to fail terribly in at least one category each year. My own personal favorites were the gym and quit smoking illusions. Both initiatives are very admirable changes in the lives of both smokers and those that have fallen into the all-too-welcoming clutches of laziness. However, both require more than an intoxicated commitment to oneself.

Trying to quit smoking because its a New Year has probably got to be the most ignorant promise someone could make to themselves. I've made that promise on many occasions and it became quite clear that using this day as motivation was useless. I'm going to quit smoking because its 2010? Come on people, the gig is up... If you seriously want to quit smoking, you have to know deep down inside that it's time to make the transition. This is not an epiphany that can be made on a whim and adhered to, this is a complete life change! It requires a major commitment to deny yourself something that your body has become dependent on! Not to say that making a quit date for January 1 is wrong, but using the dawn of a new year as your primary encouragement is merely setting yourself up for failure. I can honestly say that it takes a lot more motivation than that to be able to escape the evil grasp of smoking.

The gym endeavor is an entertaining one, and I'm now fortunate enough to have seen this from both sides of the fence. I was the guy that would come into the gym in January full of mojo thinking about how much this would improve my life, only to discover all the pain and soreness you go through in the first couple of weeks as muscles adjust and repair from the added efforts. And once that pain and stiffness kicks in, the motivation to work them dissipates. These decaying thoughts continue to a point where you no longer have time to go to the gym because you are too busy... Being a baby. This set of events can happen anytime one tries to start into a regular routine, however, it is on a much more grand scale in the early days of a new year. From the perspective of the other guy, it is both funny and annoying to see how packed the gym gets over this short period of time. Funny in the way that there are so many enthusiastic people in the beginning and within a relatively small amount of time the number shrinks considerably until there are maybe a couple of new people still committed. And annoying because the increased attendance results in resolutioners hogging machines and equipment that were previously uncontested, making it difficult to get your routine finished in a reasonable amount of time. Again, I'm not knocking anyone that has the intention of trying to make this life change, but it is not an easily achieved goal and it requires a lot of will power to work through the tough times in the beginning. One thing I learned about my many failed attempts in working out regularly, was if you are new to the gym (especially in the month of January) and you feel unwelcome, you probably are. This situation does improve though, with time and regular attendance and you'll eventually find that those that were the coldest to you in the beginning are often the ones that turn out to be the most friendly and encouraging.

I realize that the new year is a symbolic time, and people genuinely want to achieve the goals they've set out for themselves, but maybe it's time to turn the tables and start using reverse psychology! That way when you likely don't achieve your resolution, you'll in fact be doing exactly what it was you wanted to! I have a few items on the list for 2010 using this new ideology, lets see how they turn out! I want to stop playing guitar altogether and never sign up for lessons. I want to continue to use my camera with little to no knowledge of photography or how my camera operates. I want to leave my house and yard untouched with no improvements. And finally, I want to travel LESS and spend MORE of my money recklessly. That should about do it, now it's just a matter of time until I am on the high-road!

Season's greetings to you all and I wish you all the best in a Happy New Year!

The Good, the Bad and the Massive!

2009-11-02T16:12:00.002-06:00

We are just over a month away from the 5th Annual Shitty DVD Exchange party, and I'll be looking to achieve the unspeakable with a back-to-back "Jeff Foxworthy" award for the Shittiest DVD series (Last year's champ with the much contested Charmed - Season 1). This award is no easy task to achieve as there are often many worthy entries and as such, has been awarded to 5 different winners in its 5 years of existence (Foxworthy Award History). My first experience with this gathering was 2 years ago and it was an unforgettable one to say the least! While the DVD Exchange was easily the highlight of the night, there was also another piece to this event that led to me witnessing something that will forever be ingrained in my brain. You see, this night also marks a time at which I saw three digits representing my weight, that absolutely boggled my mind! Those numbers, were 2-9-7... That's right! 297lbs!!!

My thoughts, in that first instant, were "Holy shit, did I just see that or do I need glasses?" and it was quickly followed by "There has to be something wrong with this scale.". On the other hand, you may find yourself asking: "Why is this guy using a scale at a party?" or "What else does this guy do in his friend's washrooms?", but I assure you, there was a completely logical explanation... As I was new to this themed fiesta, I was not aware of the OTHER annual ritual, where the boys bring out the scale for the "Weigh-in". While I was initially feeling pretty good about this idea as I found it both entertaining and intriguing; I was quick to find out, looks can be deceiving... As the other participants stepped up and weighed in, they all confirmed that the numbers seemed accurate and with each acknowledgment of this, I quickly came to a major realization... I'm a FREAKING MONSTER! I've never thought of myself as being a small person EVER, as I was often one of the tallest in my classes growing up. However, at that moment, I stood there at 6'5" tall, 297lbs!!! Unrealistically speaking, if you were to think of this in terms of the UFC, I'd have 2" height and nearly 30lbs on the freak that is Brock Lesner. While this isn't necessarily an accurate portrayal, as Lesner is a trained beast of a man, and would undoubtedly have me consulting a plastic surgeon or possibly even forcing me into an intimate encounter with paramedics and a little thing called a defibrillator. However, considering when I graduated from high-school back in 1997 (sigh), I was 6'4" and weighed 190lbs... To say I had changed a bit in that ten year stretch would be a bit of an understatement.

I came to grips with the reality, that at that point, I would have blended well in a ring filled with Sumo wrestlers, who from what my quick research tells me carry an average weight of only 326lbs. Alright, that is not a good mental picture... HA! Not to say that I looked that big, but if I had to describe how I felt in that moment, that would be it. Not surprisingly, I was the big boy of the evening and it then became a challenge to get my poundage to hit the next century! I was honestly entertained by this in a twisted humor kind of way, but thankfully, I was able to ward off the peer pressure, as tempting as it was... Yeah, about as tempting as a kick in the balls! Man, that's gotta hurt! Anyway, there were some positives that came out of all this, and it wasn't just the story!

The following day when I had some time to seriously think about the previous night's discoveries, I came to a somewhat obvious decision... I NEVER wanted to flirt with that weight again! The goal for me then became to whittle down a mere 50lbs by hitting the weights and eating better. Seemed easy enough... In theory! Well, it has been nearly 2 years now since I made this "promise" to myself, and I can definitely say that it is NOT easy! Until recently, I had much difficulty in developing a regular routine for the gym and even more importantly, my diet was out of control.

I love food... I love to cook it and I love to eat it! This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I was often guilty of over-eating at meals and regularly dipping into the 5th and most delicious food group, salts and sugars!!!! Mmmmm fatty goodness!!! In some ways, it would feel as though fighting the munchies was/is harder than quitting smoking!!! As ridiculous as that may sound, that would be my opinion on the matter. As a result of these hurdles, my weight has been about as consistent as the lovely streets that align many Winnipeg neighborhoods. I have avoided that nasty numerical nightmare, but hadn't really gotten to where I wanted to. However, in the last 5 months, I have managed to turn things around by trying an unorthodox approach... I started slowly introducing healthier choices and managing my portions more reasonably and magically, my progress has accelerated! It seems that slowly replacing fast food and chips with home-cooked meals and less chips is actually doing something!

As it stands right now, I'm just about half-way to that 2-year old goal as I've currently removed 22 of the 50lbs I was aiming to and 12 of those pounds were shed off in just the last month, with this crazy breakthrough approach on food! I think I've finally accepted that this lofty goal won't be attained without hard work and sacrifice, but when I really take all this into consideration... I wouldn't want it any other way as the fulfillment of the achievement will be that much more rewarding when I'm able to overcome the adversity, and appreciate just how much I did to get there. I'm going to close with a quote I recently found from Mahatma Gandhi as it sums up what I'm trying to say, nicely... "Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory."