Happy Father's/Summer Solstice Day!

Well after my first week of work, I can say one thing for certain; Weekends are much more enjoyable when you work all week. Life is slowly becoming more normal again, although I feel about ten years older and time still keeps moving forward. The house is slowly coming together and is becoming quite comfortable. My office is a complete disaster at the moment however, and I hope to get it a little better organized as my next task.

A couple of weeks back I gave blood for the first time. The wife and I have decided it would be our part to at the very least return the contribution of donated blood that Eoin used in his treatments. I think we calculated that it will take us close to five years of donations. You can only give blood every other month, and sadly I am not even sure if my last donation was even usable. Kind of embarrassing, but about a minute after they put the needle in me, I felt like I was going to be sick. It was the weirdest feeling, I can only relate it to the feeling of having blood squeezed out of me. On the bright side, apparently I am quite the bleeder, as in that short period they had almost a half of a bag, which may or may not be enough to use. I just need to get back into shape, and hopefully that will make donating a little easier.

Now that I have my computer up and running again, I am going to try and get a few more posts in. I think I will make a goal of at least one post per week. Maybe I will try and come up with some interesting topics. Well at least things more interesting than what is happening in my life. Currently I have been watching a BBC show called "Time" by Michio Kaku. It is quite interesting and I will see if I can give it a proper revue when I am done (I still have two episodes to watch).

Well that is all for the moment, I will leave you with this commercial that made me laugh.

Let It Snow.

One of the benefits of living in Calgary is getting to see all four seasons in one day. Today was just one of those days. As Eli stayed with his grandma last night, we woke up this morning to sunlight streaming through the window. Thinking that perhaps the weather had changed from miserable yesterday, my wife was quite anxious to investigate. However as she pulled back the blinds, she emitted a loud gasp, as about three inches of snow had accumulated overnight. The trees looked quite deformed under the weight of the sopping snow and we were both left dumbstruck at the sight of snow in June.


Not wanting to pass up the free time that was allotted to us today, we decided to catch a movie before picking up Eli. So we headed across town and watched the weather slowly get warmer and warmer. We arrived at the movie theater and opted to see "Drag Me To Hell". It was a nice quiet noon show, with only about a dozen people in the theater. As the show was about to start, a mother and daughter walked in and sat down a few rows in front of us. It was quite the sight, as the daughter looked like a miniature version of her overweight, glasses wearing, slovenly dressed mother. However, this girl could of only been ten at the oldest. Let me just say, I remember being about nine or ten and watching "Goonies" in the theater; It terrified the living shit out of me. After the first five minutes into the show, a Mexican kid is shown being attacked and then dragged down to hell by a demon. Needless to say, we hear a kid crying and telling their parents she wants to go home. However this is coming from behind us, not in front. Anyway, to carry on with the story, the movie ends with a pretty disturbing death scene. The lights come up, this girl and her mother calmly stand up and walk out of the theater. Not even a fucking peep, out of the kid. All I can think is "Wow, what a weird kid!".

So we head over to Chapters, buy a couple books, grab a quick bite to eat, head over to grandmas, pick up Eli and then continue our drive home. On the way we experience crazy hail, then rain. Get home and find almost all the snow is gone, except for a small spattering in the yard. And that was pretty much my whole Saturday.

Oh yeah, before I forget, I was also offered a job. As I said before, I would jump at the chance now, and so I will. I start on the 15th, wish me luck.

Baghead

Last night the wife and I sat down to watch this movie after a long day of unpacking. It was an interesting movie, with a lot of subtle little qualities that made it very enjoyable to watch.

A low budget independent film, Baghead was created by the Duplas brothers. It started off making me think that I would most likely regret ever picking it up. It is by far one of the strangest beginnings, as it really seemed to have no bearing on a thriller type movie. As well the characters initially come off as awkward and difficult to grasp. However, quickly the characters start to actually develop and the actors start to seem more comfortable in their roles.

Without delving too far into the movie, I have to give credit to the creators. They really pull off some good scenes that feel genuinely scary. One of the bigest credits of this film is how it eventually feels "real". The creators seemed to put a lot of effort into making a movie that I feel that most of the audience can probably empathize with. Although, the target audience is most likely the type that would enjoy independant film. (An early scene in the show, of the group of friend's driving to the cabin, seems to be an allusion to Sam Raimi's Evil Dead)

Perhaps I am giving the movie too much credit. It could be that I just like to see the independant win out over the multi million dollar crap that holywood tends to churn out. Anyway, I just thought I would recommend this show to anyone looking for something to watch this week. It might not be your cup of tea, but I don't think it will disapoint. Well at least not too much.

And Life Goes On.

Tonight is the second night I have spent in our new home. It is much more spacious than anything I have lived in for years. Currently I am sitting down at the kitchen table, surrounded by things that need a place and enjoying a beer. I am completely for a loss on how things will progress from here, I can only imagine life will get worse before it gets better. I am still unemployed and our small EI claim for my wife's maternity leave doesn't even really cover the rent. Worse still I know that the loss of Eoin will only get more painful as things settle down.

The weekend was filled with relatives coming out to visit. Nothing brings family together like the reminder of our own mortality. For our part we avoided everyone and spent the time unpacking belongings. This house that isn't yet a home, has already become the most comfortable thing I can remember in over a year. I don't even know if the utilities are in our name yet, and the internet I am currently using is actually being borrowed from a neighbour. (I can only hope they left their access open under a utilitarian principle, one for which I am grateful.) So slowly over the coming weeks, we will continue to make this place our home, one small task at a time.

Tomorrow will be another task altogether however. At some time this weekend Eoin's remains were cremated. So at 10AM, we will be retrieving the urn that now contains the ashes of my sons bones. In a small way it will be a bit of closure to a long painful tale. I still don't know how I will react to receiving them. Hopefully it will be less painful then identifying the remains had been, even though that was a bit of closure in itself. I like to think that because most of this last year has been so paiful and difficult, that things will only start to get better. I hope it isn't too naive of me to believe that.

I wish I could share some of my future plans at the moment. Because every plan so far has gone up in smoke, I am currently left in a wait and see situation. The economy has tanked and with it so have most of the job opportunities. About a week ago I had a job interview for a technician position, however I am currently beginning to think that even that opportunity might be closed to me now. Sadly it was for the job repairing military equipment that I had mentioned once or twice before. It wasn't even a position that interested me all that much, but now I would probably jump at the chance.

Well, I might as well end this post here, I am sure it is probably depressing even for me. Hope everyone else is doing alright these days.

The Hunt.

June is fast approaching and I have spent the last month and a bit looking for work. Last Friday was the first time I have heard back from anyone and it just so happens I had two calls in one day. I had a meet and greet today that could possibly lead to a job with the city. Overall I don't think it went as well as it could have. I am always lacking for questions and my interpersonal skills are pretty low with people I hardly know. I don't think I give a bad vibe or anything but there were definitely a few moments of awkward silence. It probably doesn't help that I messed up the first scheduled meet and greet by going to the wrong location and then having to call the guy to let him know I was half way across town. I don't think I exactly inspired confidence in that situation.

Fortunately I also have an interview with another company on the 22nd. It is for repairing military optics; something I have a fair bit of confidence with. It isn't exactly the job I would choose first, but I am sure it will pay decent. Either way, the lack of response I have had has been very surprising. I know that we are supposedly in an economic downturn, but I figured I would have already had at least one interview. The employment hunt has always been something of dread for me and at this point in my life I should be in a much more stable position.

So you say you need to waste some time.

Well that Hungarian game designer known as Gameinabottle has released the prequel to Gemcraft. For a cheesy tower game, it is hours of fun. The new game is similar to the first, but leveling up is a little different and there are a few new treats, like traps that you activate with gems. As well the game seems a little more difficult than part one, and I have found myself stuck on a few levels. Then again I have been trying to play the game with my laptop touch pad.

Anyway, hope you guys can get the same enjoyment out of it that I do. Thanks for the game Gameinabottle.

Cinco de Mayo

Cited as the day of the French Military's unlikely defeat at the hands of the Mexican Military in 1862, at the Battle of Puebla. With 4500 Mexican soldiers defending against 6000 French troops, the battle ended with the loss of 450 French and about 80 Mexicans. Not exactly Dros Delnoch, besides which, when has a French defeat ever been unlikely.

Sorry Mexico, not a great reason to party. Regardless, tequila sucks and Mexican beer for the most part, is only slightly better than Mexican water. If you could just get rid of the swine flu, dirty streets, corrupt policia, junk peddlers and sleazy hotel managers... well you would be left with margaritas, burritos (sans guacamole) and drunk 18-20 year old Americans.

I know I am being too harsh. It is just that the few times I had been to Mexico, I was very underwhelmed. I am sure if you could get away from the tourist traps. Away from where every greedy merchant and other gang affiliated hoodlum is trying to take advantage of you. Well, it would most likely be a nice place to visit. Even still, the next time I plan to catch some southern sun, I think I will plan on taking a trip to Cuba. At least then you can generally avoid the American tourists.