Round 3, and a final post on here.

Well, this will be the last post I make on here.  I've got a new spot where I'll be posting from now on.  Not that anyone has been reading this one. lol

That new spot will be at doug.fun which I can't believe was an available domain to register.  But that's where you can find me from now on.

So, September 2021 I bought myself a little house, as I mentioned.  Little as in 672 sq ft.  So yes, very small, but perfect for just me.  Then October 2021 was Grandma's 100th birthday! We were able to have an outdoor get together for her, so that people could get together since she wasn't able to have everyone visit at once inside at her home.  November then saw my housewarming, which was a fun night where I'm happy people were able to make it.

The start of 2022 was pretty quiet, but I got it in my mind that I wanted to book a trip to Toronto in late March to watch Canada's final home World Cup qualifier.  At this point they were almost assured to qualify for the first time since 1986.  It looked like they would either qualify that day, or it would have happened on the road prior to that and it would be their first trip home after qualifying.  I said yep, let's do this.

Turns out they could qualify on March 27, 2022 with a win over Jamaica in Toronto.  A resounding 4-0 scoreline sent Canada to the World Cup.  And sent tears down my cheeks. lol  It's when I turned to my friend Chris and said I'm going to go to the World Cup to watch them.

I debated it internally, mentioned it to my parents, and my mom said the one thing that sealed it for me.  Because I had to be chosen from a lottery to attend, if I didn't put my name in I'd always regret it, but if I put my name in and didn't get chosen then at least I'd know I wasn't lucky enough to get drawn and would watch from home.  So, in my name went and I waited for May 31 to find out if I was going to have that opportunity.

Sure enough, I get the e-mail stating that my application was successful!  I will be going to watch Canada play at the FIFA World Cup in person!  So after a period of disbelief, and a period of more tears (lol) I dropped $3600 on plane tickets and $4700 on accommodations.

Unfortunately, just two weeks later my grandma passed away.  I never got the chance to tell her I'd be going.  I know she would have sat in front of the TV watching in the hopes that I might show up on TV for her to see.    The whole thing was heartbreaking, and still hurts even today.  Sure, she was 100, but it was still somewhat of a shock.  Instead of watching for me on TV she watched down over me the entire trip.

So the lead up to that trip was bittersweet.  I continued to grab tickets to matches other than Canada.  Still didn't know where my seats would be, though.  I could be 10 rows up, or I could be sitting in the very last row.  There was no way to know.  Then one day in the app seats were showing up.  At first only for the matches that weren't Canada.  I had a couple decent seats, and one way, waaaay up.  Then... There they were.  Against Belgium?  In the 5th row.  Against Croatia?  Even closer, 3rd row.  And against Morocco?  FRONT ROW!!!!!  That set off some more tears (lol) and I seriously couldn't believe it.

Finally the time arrived where I left, connecting through Montreal and then straight to Doha.  From there, 16 days in the desert, 8 matches in total.  It was just an experience like nothing else I've ever had.  Probably will never feel the same again.  It truly isn't something that I can put into a blog post.  I could talk about it for days and days.

And just like that, I was at home.  Got to join friends to watch the great World Cup Final match at the pub.  Then it was the Holiday season.  Rolling into 2023, work started to go downhill and hasn't really recovered.  Changes going on that seem to be the opposite of what the company espouses as its core values.  I'll admit the whole of 2023 was a bit of a letdown after the highs of my trip to Qatar.

That brings me to now, where I'm headed to Jamaica to watch Canada yet again, on November 17, and will be back to Toronto a few days later to see the return leg.  This could determine whether Canada plays in Copa America next summer, which is a huge deal.  The one time Canada was invited they had to turn down due to issues in South America.  So that's exciting, but doesn't match how great the trip to the Middle East was.

So, this is me signing off from Blogger.  As I mentioned, any future posts will be made at doug.fun along with a bunch of galleries of my trips to bars, beaches, and stadia!

Back for Round 2? 15 Years in a Nutshell

I'm somewhat surprised that I've come back to do this today.  Maybe I really want to let everything out.  Maybe nobody will even read this.  Maybe it will just be therapeutic for me.  It will probably be good regardless.

So, I'm back in Winnipeg after a few year hiatus, with my new job starting in August of 2016 at the place where I still am working.  Over 6 years is probably a record for me working anywhere!  Not probably, it is. lol

I start in a pretty tame, but incredibly low stress phone jockey type job.  It was such a welcome change from the constant anxiety brought on by working in banking.  However, the pay was a bit less.  And in Winnipeg I didn't (still don't) have any roommates so I wasn't sharing the bills anymore!  But my new apartment was within walking distance of work.  It was very handy.

Less than 2 years later, my manager (which was already my 2nd manager with the company) asked me how much interest I might have moving into a different area of the company, though still with the same general area.  It would be dealing with another type of software that I had marginal experience with already, and would come with an increase in pay.  Of course I'm interested in learning more!  No more phones all day everyday?  Sign me up!

I have a conversation with that manager, who is currently my manager, and it seemed to go very well.  My big bank experience, small business and financial knowledge seems to be appealing for what they're trying to accomplish.  Along with the customer service skills, of course.  She encourages me to apply.  After some contemplation, some bouncing of thoughts off of my parents, friends, and co-workers, I take the leap.  Very quickly I've got one of the recruiters reaching out to me at work.  She'd like to set up a time to have a conversation, and then do one of those ridiculous personality tests.  Fine, of course I'll do it.

That leads to an interview of sorts with two other managers.  That conversation seemed to go very well.  The recruiter reached out a few days later and confirmed that they felt the same.  She'd be back to me by the end of the week.  Sure enough, the reply was, "We'd like to offer you the new position."  I'll take it!  Along with the 20% raise! lol

I find myself a new role with a substantial raise on October 1, 2018.  In this new role I quickly become a go-to person.  Results in a promotion and another raise (only 13% this time!) just over 2 years later.  Mind you, the job stays basically the same, but I'm more relied on for other situations.  And of course, this is during the pandemic.  I had a lot of time to sit alone and wonder what I should do.  I'm not spending money anymore, should I think about buying a condo?  Maybe I should crunch some numbers?

So, that's what I do. I crunch some numbers.  I take a look at what's been saved to date.  I take a look at my budget and see where I can save even more.  Can I come up with a 5% down payment?  I think I can!  I have no debt, so it opens some other doors.  So I casually look on the MLS website, let's see if there are any condos out there worth further looks.  A couple, let's keep an eye on them!  It somewhat goes on the backburner until summer.  Then I realize, "I don't want to be renewing this lease in October, so let's get serious!"  I reach out to my good friend/divorce lawyer, her husband happens to be a realtor.  And we go to task.  Except I never once look at a condo.  Not once.  Everything I viewed was a house.  I saw one that was quite appealing, but gave me cause for concern.  I was going to offer, then didn't.  But I'd have been outbid anyway.  A couple weeks later another one.  They wanted quick possession which I wasn't overly thrilled at the idea of.  But hey, let's try anyway.  Yeah, that place was wildly underpriced.  My bid wasn't even in the ballpark, and I expected as much.

One night I decide to go out for a walk.  I take a much different route than I'd ever taken before.  I spot a for sale sign a block or so away, so I keep walking in that direction.  A little pre-war house for sale within walking distance of where I'm living.  I didn't notice it on the alerts that the realtor had set up.  I wonder why?  Overpriced?  Underpriced?  What's the scoop?  I look it up on the web while I'm standing in front.  Oh, it doesn't have a couple features I had listed as "necessary."  But it looks decent, the pictures inside look decent.  It has a lot going for it.  I can probably handle the lack of central air.  We didn't have it when I was a kid, only when I was a teen did my dad get it installed.  Let's point this one out and get a viewing!

That Saturday the viewing was set up.  Foundation of the house looks great.  No cracks.  Not the best exterior, but that can be changed.  Eavestrophs etc. need replacing, but that's always likely going to happen at some point.  And it's nothing needing immediate attention.  We go inside.  It felt familiar, even though I've never set foot inside before.  Hardwood flooring over the whole main floor, including in the kitchen.  The kitchen and bedrooms actually appear to have some very old hardwood.  The living room is obviously newer, different type of wood, but still, it's lovely.  Kitchen is... dated, but functional.  No dishwasher.  I really wanted a dishwasher.  That's fine, I can handwash my dishes.  I've had to do it in the past!  They do have a window unit air conditioner.  It's not a big house, so it likely cools the place off just fine.  And I already have another of my own.  Two of them will be plenty.

We walk down into the basement.  Wow, it's a finished basement.  New electrical panel.  This means the knob and tube wiring, if it ever existed, has to be long gone.  Fairly new water heater and furnace, too.  This place is looking better and better.  Off to the back yard.  An old, old, old two car garage.  There are no outer handles on the doors.  The floor is wooden, and rotten.  Wood floors, I learned, were a thing when this garage was likely built.  Okay, no big deal.  Those doors don't look like they open, though.  We don't even try.  The garage likely needs to come down at some point.  That's fine, it's not like I have two cars to park!  I could knock it down and have a smaller one in its place.  Great idea!

We look at another house after this one that same day and couldn't run away fast enough.  That's the house I want to put my bid in on.  My last bid.  I want this house.  I come up with my number, realtor says why not add 2k to it, in case someone else decides to bid the same number?  Sure, done.  Bids go in.  Nothing else I can do but wait.  Everyone asks me if I'm nervous.  Why would I be nervous?  There's nothing I can do.  If someone has outbid me, then they're going to get the house and I keep looking.  Except, if someone did outbid me, they must not have had as favourable conditions.  Dougie had become a homeowner!  Possession on September 1, 2021!

And I think here is where I'll cut it off.  Maybe I'll be back three nights in a row to finish off the story?  At least the "business" side.  There's plenty left.

Back after 15 years?! Round 1 of 15 Years in a Nutshell

Don't ask me why I decided to do this.  I was busy sitting on my computer looking at simple ways to add another couple hundred dollars a month to my income without having to resort to driving delivery services or prostituting myself out in other ways.

Speaking of that, I've learned a new term which describes me and my professional life perfectly.  I'm a Personality Prostitute.  I give great customer service, "Inspiring" is how it's described in my annual review, but I hate people.  I have no use for about 99.9999% of people out there.  But I fake it for money. It's a perfect description.  Who else is a Personality Prostitute?  Sure, I have other skills and knowledge, like of finance, payroll, etc.  But what makes me shine is the how I treat the people who I would rather never talk to.

So, what's new with me since 2008, you ask?  I'm certainly no longer selling shoes.  My Al Bundy moment has passed.  I went from there to RBC.  That took me to a small town, Russell, MB, which I hated every moment of.  And which brought out my inner demons, although I wasn't quite realizing it yet.  After about 15 months I was back in Winnipeg.  Another year and a half later, my demons were really starting to come at me and take over.  I figured, "Hey, let's find a new job in Calgary!"  So I did.

I loved living in Calgary while I was there, although it wasn't helping out my demons any.  I started to drink a whole lot more.  That's never, ever good for those demons.  Or at least for keeping them in check.  After about 8 months, those demons reared their ugly head, and I was back to being taken over.  This time, at least, I acknowledged that maybe it was an issue that needed some help.  Notice I said maybe.  But acknowledgement is the first step, I guess.

So, after another period of time, about 18 months maybe?  I ended up being fired without cause.  The regional manager for whatever reason decided he didn't like me.  It made me feel somewhat better that the location had a mass exodus of people not long after that happened.  They thought if I was being fired after getting great annual reviews, that anyone could be.  Karma is a bitch, though, and that regional manager was fired about 18 months later.  Something about impacts on employee morale that resulted in financial impacts.  Banks and Credit Unions don't like it when your performance falls.

So, for the first time in my life I was off to learn about the Employment Insurance system.  At first I was convinced I'd never qualify for it, so I didn't apply.  But I took a closer look at my Record of Employment and I wasn't listed as Dismissed, but "Other."  I figured what the hell?  I'll apply and worst case scenario is they will decline me.  Turns out I wasn't declined, and they even paid retroactively to when I was eligible on my first pay.  Until that point I was much like a lot of other conservative types, where social programs are for the devil and anyone who uses them are scum of the earth.  I couldn't help it, that's how I was raised.  Prairie living is full of it.  Okay, maybe I wasn't that bad, but it was one of many eye openers I've had over the last decade and a half.

Anyway, fast forward and I've found another job.  The job itself was actually quite decent.  The environment was less so.  I didn't last long, it was right in the middle of the oil downturn of 2015/16 and a lot of people in downtown Calgary were losing their jobs, and that's what's brought me back to Winnipeg.

It's time for bed now, it's after midnight.  I'm shocked I've got so wordy in this post today.  I'll continue the next story after work!

Hmm

I'm really beginning to wonder what life has in store for me. It seems like everything I planned and hoped for is basically impossible. And now I don't even know if I know what I want. And I don't like how it feels. Do I need a change of direction? Of scenery?

Lou's Stag

Oh my...What a night last night.

Well, we started out golfing at 2 pm, at River Oaks. Let me start by saying the treatment, the cost and the course have prompted me to never, ever go anywhere near it again. The table I was at got cut off of alcohol after one drink, simply because one of the guys went up to buy everyone a round. Is that not the biggest joke you'll ever hear? It's a decent course, but you can golf for less at nicer courses in and around the city, so I'll be avoiding it from now on.


Anyway, we had the course marshall come and tell us the "advice" he gave someone who wasn't shooting too well. Told him to "just think about a nice pussy...FULL of hair," which proceeded to be our joke for the rest of the afternoon. That and someone having a cart tip over. And someone busting up a cart.

Typical mayhem ensues with the rest of the night. Obligatory strippers. Father of the groom not allowed into the Pal, which ended up causing a fight outside. So we went to the Silver Heights lounge, which was small, but decent...With good drink prices, too.

We get back to his house, now, and he's forgotten the keys in someone else's truck. So off a couple of them go to get them, but he breaks the door down. Dead bolt still in the frame. It was that moment that made my mind up that I was going to go home and not crash on a couch. I had no interest in being around for him getting in shit for doing that. Especially since I think I may have slightly encouraged him to break the door down.

That was the end of the eventful night, though, as at that point everyone began to show up, and then crash.

It's been a while...

I just haven't felt compelled to write in here, for numerous reasons. I almost would feel guilty, then I remembered that Google were a bunch of cunts, and took down my ads for being a "risk." So I can't make money off them for doing nothing. heh But then reading Q's Vegas Blog (http://qsvegasblog.blogspot.com) gave me the itch to write here, I guess. Plus, I know how much people have "loved" reading up on my footie club, so I figured I'd update.

Anyway, things are going alright. Don't mind the job most of the time. Footie season is going more or less as planned, as we have won all three league matches so far. Our first round match in the MSA Cup is this Sunday at 5:30, at the Winnipeg Soccer Complex, so feel free to come watch!

It's pretty sad, though, when my life basically consists of going to work, coming home. Especially now with the playoffs being over. At least I'll have footie highlights from the European Championship starting Monday to come home to. But nothing else, it seems.

Hopefully I'll start heading up to the cabin more often soon. Or find a Monday-Friday job so I can spend most of my weekends there. lol Of course, with the horrific gas prices, I may be better just sitting here in Winnipeg and going to the golf course once a week.

Definitely looking forward to Lou and Ang's wedding in July. Of course, maybe not so much if there won't be hotel rooms, which is how it's looking right now. Maybe we'll have to sleep in our cars. lol

Anything I'm missing? Anything you want to know? Ask away.

Concert

So, I get home to a message saying I can go see Raine Maida if I want. So I went. It was a pretty good concert. His opening act, some chick, was okay, but her voice never seemed in tune, so I hope it sounds better on her album, which Maida is apparently producing.

Sucks that I have a long day at work tomorrow, but I do! Stupid product meetings after work. At least it's not an 8 am one like this past Saturday!

Not much else to say, I'm pretty boring.

Oi

Okay, someone tell me what makes me think I can function on four hours sleep? Pretty stupid of me! Oh well, at least the social was a good time.


So, not much new going on here. I need someone to come along and make my time more exciting. lol

Ouch

So, it was great of work to pay for a bunch of us to go go-karting last night. Not sure how or when it happened, but sometime last night I ended up bruising the inside of my elbow. Ah well, the go-karting was fun either way.

Now I have a couple days off, and not a whole lot to do! Hopefully something comes up!

I guess I'll go find something to do around here, now, since I haven't typed anything in here for quite some time now!

Oh Lord Won't You Buy Me...

...A Mercedes-Benz. Since when did I talk about Benz, or any German cars for that matter? I thought Google was supposed to put up ads about things that related to my content? Not that I'm complaining, I DO like Mercedes. I'd love to get one...After my Porsche. :D

I know this is boring, but PC brands have two great condiments, I've discovered. If you want to give them a shot, go for it! The first I discovered was "Sweet with Heat" mustard. It's more of an orange tint, and it's very spicy, and great! The second I found this past week, it's curry mayonaise. I absolutely love it on my sandwiches! It will probably be great in any number of other things, too! Why didn't I shop at Stupidstore all these years?


Is there a better TV game show out there than MXC? I can't believe this made it onto the air, but it's just hilarious!

I think I'm more and more becoming a Flames fan. I just love the way they play.

Is there a funnier actor out there right now than Will Ferrell? Just when you think he can't outdo his last movie, he comes out with something that looks even more priceless. Semi Pro actually looks worth seeing, unlike a lot of movies playing right now.

Okay, that's all for my random musings. Perhaps I'll write again before bed. Perhaps not.

...

So, I decided, and I'm now a supervisor at work. We'll see how it goes. I'm going to really find out in the next few days, I think.

Not much else to say for now, but I figured I'd write that out. Yes, I'm exciting, I know.

How Do People Do This?

How can any of you write something like this daily? Nothing even happens in my life that makes me write about myself daily. And I don't really keep up on anything enough to be able to write about daily happenings, either.

But, I should at least keep this updated a bit better than I was before. Which was monthly. lol

Well, I didn't win anything on the 6/49 last night, so I'm not rich. lol

I also realize why I don't watch TV. How boring it is! How do all of you people sit and watch it every night?

I guess all of this really makes me atypical. I hardly do anything that everyone else does. Like Facebook, watching TV nightly...Well, that's all I can think of, so maybe I'm not THAT atypical.

Well, I'll come back and write more if something happens to me in the next couple hours.

Feeble Attempt

There really isn't much to write today, since I didn't do much. Worked. Went to the store. CRAZY line up at the check outs there today. But the aisles were empty. Even the girl ahead of me in line was talking to me about that. And I was only stopping in for a few things! So, a 35 minute trip to the store later, and I was finally at home.

So, this is my attempt at actually writing in here daily, or close to.

I had an incredibly exciting night afterwards. I sat on my lovely MacBook, and I watched hockey. Wow is Iginla ever an impact player. Even though he had no real offensive chances until his winning goal, just the little things he did along the boards are wonderful to watch. It's like he always comes out of the corner with the puck.

Can someone tell me what the huge deal with Facebook is? It's like all people seem to do online anymore. I'll admit I log in more often than I used to (two or three weeks at a time) but basically all I do is click ignore on all of those applications that come up. So, apologies to anyone who I don't accept those "How you know this person?" deals. It's nothing personal, I just don't care. :)

I guess it's about time to head to bed, seeing as it's closing in on 1 am! Time for some Prime Time Sports with Bob McCown to help get me to sleep.

Life Updates

So, here's what's gone on through February so far:

Work suggested I should become a supervisor. I'm seriously considering it. It doesn't change much, I'll still do the same job, but when the managers aren't there, I'd get paid more, and have to sell less. The downside is I'd have responsibility. lol

Spongee playoffs started last weekend (Feb 9 & 10) and we failed to score a goal in two games. lol It moved us into the C-Side, where we won our next game by default, as the team we were meant to play hadn't showed for their first game of the weekend, and were promptly removed from the tournament.

That meant our playoffs were extended, this time to this past weekend, well this past Sunday. We needed to win our first game in order to play in the C-Side final. What a crazy game it was! We went down 1-0 about 10 minutes in. Really nice play, nice give and go. We ended up tying it on a late power play. Poopsie fed me a great back door pass, which I didn't get a great shot from, but Tyson banged home the rebound. The cheering was incredibly loud, probably mostly out of relief, because we had been snake bitten. No more scoring meant that we had to go to overtime. Jon made some huge saves for us, and we failed to score on our only real good chance of the OT period. And off to the dreaded shoot out. We went to 10 shooters, with me missing a WIDE open cage with the 7th shot. Neil kept us alive, thankfully, and Jon made some huge saves. I happened to shoot 10th, as well, and this time made no mistake, burying it five hole. Again, Jon shut the door and we were off to the C-Side Final! Playing for a free beer!

So in this game, we again go down 1-0, except it was early. They made it 2-0 on a power play goal, the first we allowed all season. Sadly, it was after a fine save by Jon, but the guy shelfed the rebound over his shoulder. Scott takes a feed from me on a 2 on 1 and beats their goalie high glove side to make it 2-1 with about 5 minutes left. Next shift, Lou whacked in the tying goal on a goal mouth scramble. The other team was none to happy about it, but no clue why. They were whiners though, so it was no surprise. So, here we are with a faceoff deep in their zone with 30 seconds left. We win it, get a shot off, but they start clearing it out of the zone. Scott and I end up winning a puck battle along the boards, and Scott dishes the puck to me, while I'm complaining that Scott's leg was being hooked by their player. So I take the puck in, look to see that Tyson is covered, I look back to see if I can drop the puck to Scott, and he just yells "NO!" So we're now inside the final 10 seconds. I don't really see the net, but I think that's a good thing, maybe I can use that screen. So I let it go...

And it dents twine! Four seconds to go, and we've gone up 3-2! FogDuckers are C-Side Champs!

So a few of us head for our free beer, and meet up with a couple other guys at Tavern downtown, since our normal drinking establishment was busy with WWE or some crap.

We then end up playing Guitar Hero and foosball at Blaine's for a few more hours.


And yesterday was Manitoba's first ever Louis Riel Day. A stat holiday to give us a long weekend in February. Louis Riel, for people who don't know, is considered the "father of Manitoba." Of course, he was also hanged for treason.

So, that's all of February, in a nutshell. Oh, I also have actually started to log into Facebook almost daily. Anyone who reads that will probably be shocked. I know I am. Still don't see why people spend hours on it, though.

Everyone in Manitoba stay warm! It's a cold one out there! Be like me, and stay in and watch some hockey! Or download yourself some mp3s (legitimately of course, iTunes is a wonderful spot for that!) and listen to some tunes while doing some housework. Or do all three, which is likely what I'll do tonight!

Hockey Blog

Well, I am boring, so I decided to spice things up a bit. Kind of. If you're into hockey at all, check out my new blog. I decided to make my own rumours up! hah Who knows, it could be fun, and any of you are welcome to pass your suggestions along, as well! Please don't take it seriously, regardless. I definitely don't have connections in the hockey world.

So, if you want to, visit it at http://dougsnhltraderumours.blogspot.com/

If anyone is wondering, spongee is almost over, only one more game until playoffs. We're apparently sitting in second, but this new league is all screwy. Whatever, it's something, at least. And it's only three months until footie season begins!

I should be sleeping, since I work at 10, but I'm not, so I'll write a bit since I haven't in a month!

Sadly, not much new going on. Playing Guitar Hero a lot, though I'm noticing it's much, much more fun at Blaine and Leah's than it is at home by myself, even though I'm better sober!

Speaking of, I'll be playing that a bit tomorrow, at the aforementioned house, thanks to the Nog Party. Hopefully the lactose intolerance won't be too much of an issue with having some egg nog. I'll have to remember my lactose pills, I guess. It was weird at work, talking to all the people who have never even tried egg nog before. Have they been living in caves their whole lives or something? Really! Even the crappy stuff you buy in cartons at the store is tried by most people, or so I thought. Mind you I can't stand that shit.

On a positive note relating to the season, I seem to be completed my Christmas shopping already, and even begun the wrapping portion. One gift a night, and that should get me sorted up until just before the big day. I bought new tree lights, too, since I went to three stores which were all out of replacement bulbs. Besides, nothing wrong with the new LED lights, which use less power, and really, look nicer, too.

Well, I think I'll get myself into bed. Merry Christmas, everyone, since at this rate I'm pretty sure I won't be blogging again before then! hah

Can't Sleep

So, I can't sleep, and thus here I am laying in bed tapping away on the good ol' MacBook. Has everyone heard how much more I prefer Mac OS X to Windows? Granted, I haven't used Vista yet, other than for about two minutes.

At least I've got my Bob McCown podcast to listen to. Too bad it's started out about baseball, what a waste of time. Maybe the Simpsons episode that's on tonight will be a good one.

So, we finally won our first co-ed spongee game. And it was dominant, too.

Wow, am I ever a boring guy. Nothing goes on in my life at all.

Can someone tell me what the big draw of Facebook is? I've even tried to get into it, and it's just boring.

So, what's up with that Taser video?!? While the guy was a bit agitated, our national police force REALLY dropped the ball on that one. Is that how things are now? If you can't communicate with someone, you shock them into submission? Those officers should all be charged, let alone suspended without pay. With everything that's gone on with the RCMP, with troubles from the top down, maybe it's time for a total rework of how the force is run.

And I thought this device was supposed to save lives, not take them? Isn't there a way to lower the voltage while making it effective still? Or better yet, maybe we should teach all the police recruits how to use lassos for when lethal force isn't necessary? At least it shouldn't kill, even if it does injure if they're caught by the neck.

And did anyone see the story about the guy in India who married a stray dog? To atone for his stoning of two other dogs, according to Hindu customs, he needed to marry a dog. Marry? God, I hope that doesn't get consummated. *shudder*

What should I get my mom and grandma for Christmas? Any ideas? Please, please, please send them my way. Either a message/comment on here, or on Facebook if you came from there (no need to point out the irony), or MSN/e-mail if you have either of those.

Well, I'm going to try to get some sleep again. Smell like you're worth exploring!

Oops

I probably should have written in here a little more, but, really, there hasn't been a lot go on, so even this probably won't be long.

We'll start with footie. We lost in the semis on penalties. Controlled the match but really had very few attempts at goal. It doesn't count as a loss, technically, just a draw, but it's painful to lose on penalties, no matter what.

Spongee has also started, now. We haven't won yet, but unlike last year, we've been right in every game, and it's just a matter of time before we take away two points.

It's nice to have my car back, too. Though, after driving around the courtesy car I got while it was being fixed, it made me kind of want to buy a new car. haha

I guess that's all for now. Hopefully I'll have more to update people on at some point in the future.


Haha...I just noticed someone actually voted on my poll. That's great. lol Someone tell me who it was!

Oh, that poll...

The pouring my heart out thing was a joke, why does everyone vote for that? If you know me at all, you know that's not me! I don't pour my heart out to anyone. :)

More News, etc.

So, the car has more damage. After the body shop tore it apart, they found that the fender will also need work. Not the biggest surprise, mind you. So, I'm guessing that my car will be written off, but that still remains to be seen, and MPI sure isn't about to hurry for me, that's for sure.

In other, more positive news, I've got a new job. I'm selling shoes now. :D haha Best part about it, no evenings, straight days. Even though I'll be working Saturdays and the odd Sunday, but that's fine. It's still a job, still income, and I'm a fan of shoes.

I guess that's all for now, this has sat here for 15 minutes and I haven't even come close to finding more to add, so I'll let you all go for now.

Car News and Other Stuff

So, had my car in to be looked at by MPI today. Just under $2400 damage, and it's straddling the line about being a write off. It might be, it might not be. Have to wait and see, there are a few factors, one of which being the shape it's in, which is good for its age (1996), and the mileage is just over 102,000 km, so it's low on that scale. Let's hope there are cheaper used parts around, as that will bring down the costs.

Puts a damper on the fact that we won our game tonight, and finish the season undefeated with 15 wins, 2 draws, and 0 losses. Playoffs are ahead, but not for another couple weeks. I even scored tonight, which means I've scored more than last season.

Played soccer on the weekend, too, in Brandon. Played for Minnedosa, though. Ended up losing in what would be called the quarter finals, I guess. After the last game on Sunday, I went up to the lake, enjoyed the skits that get put on every September Long. Some of them were priceless.


I guess that's about all for now. More to come about the car!

Pics of My Poor Car

Just in case anyone wanted to see the poor damage my car suffered, here's the link to the album on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=12846&l=e9277&id=501915991

For Crying Out Loud

So, for those of you who didn't know, my car has broken down twice on the highway this year. Once on May Long on my way to the cabin, immediately after $1600 worth of work was done to it. That cost me an additional $1400. Then my alternator died, and my battery ended up drained about half way to Brandon, from Winnipeg, on a weekend in June, on my way to my 10 year high school reunion.

So, I get myself to Selkirk last night for our game, late of course. We did end up winning 8-2, however. So we went to BP after that for a bite to eat, as I was starving after not getting the chance to eat before the game. So, I'm driving home, and it's about 10 after 10. Night has fallen. And then, lucky me, a deer darts out at me as I was looking down to check my speedometer, after speeding up where a curve requires you to slow from 100 to 80 km/h. Reaction time for moving my foot from the gas to the brake wasn't fast enough to avoid him or her, and sure enough, there's damage to the front of my car. Every time I walk past, I notice more and more of it. A cracked bumper here, a damaged grill there, and, well, a fairly substantially damaged hood.

Luckily, I have extended insurance which will cover any wildlife damage, thus I won't have to pay any deductable. However, the appointment isn't until next Tuesday. So that creates a dilemma. Do I take the damaged car out onto the highway for the weekend? It's only to Brandon, and perhaps the lake. But what if there's more damage than I can see? Argh. Stupid deer. I just hope I won't have to end up filing a police report.

A New Beginning

So, I had a blog previously on MySpace (you can read it by clicking on that link) that I really haven't bothered with much in the last few months. People read it, shockingly, but I felt it was too much of a chore to bother with MySpace all the time, and the ridiculous amounts of people who want to add you to their lists for whatever reason, even though you have no clue who they are.

No, you're not going to find anything complex on here. I'm not a Lonelygirl15, who will look pretty on camera, nor will I likely end up doing any video blogging at all, unless I really get bored. You'll likely read a lot about the various teams I play for, one of which I'll mention later. You may occasionally hear about my opinion of events happening locally, nationally and internationally. I'll likely occasionally complain about my dating/sex life (ie. lack thereof lol).

So, what's going on in my life? My summer job is soon coming to an end. Need to find another. Bills to pay. I play soccer during the summers, my team, Triumph FC, is in the 3rd Division of the Manitoba Major Soccer League, which is made up mainly of Winnipeg teams, with a few from surrounding communities. However, we won't be in the 3rd Division for long, as we just secured 1st place with a 5-1 win on Friday night (August 24). That means we'll be promoted to the 2nd Division for next season. This is our second straight division title, since we won the 4th Division last year. It's a bit misleading, though, because there was a restructuring of the league over the winter, and a number of teams were moved up along with us to the 3rd Division. We also advanced to the final 16 in the provincial cup, pretty good for a lowly 3rd Division side!

This is Doug C in Winnipeg signing off until next time!