It has been a pretty busy couple of months at the Prosk/Theriault household. Sheila has been busy gobbling up extra hours at work, staying late after shifts and going in on Saturdays to catch up. I have been trying my best to keep up, working a couple of extra shifts last week, and another one again this week. Sheila and I have joked regularly about how she is the family breadwinner, even more so now after she earned herself a significant raise recently. I don't mind in the least, and have made a concerted effort recently to step up in the domestic duties department. I have been doing the grocery shopping for most of 2014, and even Sheila will admit, I have done a bang up job. The basement freezer has gone from empty to overflowing, as I am not afraid to buy volume if the price is right. I have made more dinners, washed more dishes, vacuumed more floors, and folded more laundry then I ever have before. Let's not get carried away, I went from not nearly enough helping to almost enough helping, but progress is being made.
When I am not busy with the tasks of keeping the house liveable, Asher, Jasmine and I have been more than busy soaking up the spring sunshine and playing every sport imaginable. When I ask Asher what he would like to do, the answer almost every time recently is: "Dad! Let's walk to the high school and play baseball!" We walk the kilometer or so to the high school diamond, not forgetting to pack our bat, our gloves, our baseball, and our most recent acquisitions: an elbow pad for batting, and an umpire's brush for sweeping off the plate. My son, who is not quite 3 and a half, can throw a strike from 20 feet away. Now, I don't know how crazy that is really, but most children his age have no clue how to hold a ball in order to throw it. The actual act of throwing it is far beyond the scope of possibilities. Last night, Asher was figuring out how to squeeze his glove when the ball goes in, so he doesn't drop it. He managed to hold on a number of times before getting bored with baseball. The last time we were at the diamond Asher squared up a number of hits, including one he hit so hard that the grounder made it past me and all the way to the outfield grass. Oh, and it's not just baseball. That last trip to the school, we brought along our football and a soccer ball as well. Asher thought it was pretty cool that we were going to play all 3 sports before coming home. Unfortunately, during our spirited game of soccer, I was defending Jasmine pretty hard (next goal was the winner), and due to us being in bare feet she bent her big toe the wrong way, leaving her pretty badly incapacitated.
While Jasmine hasn't been and won't be as sports obsessed as her dad or her brother, she also loves to be active. In the past week she and I have had a chance to toss a football a few different times, we stopped and played basketball at the school, we bounced on the trampoline together, she joined Asher and I for a game of baseball, she regularly rides her bike to school, not to mention the ill-fated soccer game on top of her regular soccer sessions with her team. Toss in a couple of trips to the swimming pool and I think Jasmine is doing a decent job of staying active. Her toe injury has laid her up a bit for the last couple days, and she will likely have to miss her second soccer game tonight, but she should be as good as new before long. Of all the casual sports activities she has been doing, it's her skill with a football that has been most impressive. She is a rather tall 11 year old with long arms and legs, a rather ideal build for both throwing and catching the football. And wow, throw the ball she does. Again, I have no idea how a typical 11 year old throws a football, but my girl has a pretty serious arm. She can hit me from 15 yards no problem, and even at 20 with a little less accuracy. With more practice her already solid catching ability will only get better. I started out jokingly suggesting she try football, but as we have played catch more and more she has warmed to the idea. I have made it clear to her that she is pretty good with this throw and catching, it's the whole tackling and blocking thing that she may find tough. She is not exactly a violent person. We are still contemplating the idea of joining the football league, Jasmine's one condition being that I need to coach in some way. It made me all warm and fuzzy knowing that she still wants Pops be her side when she jumps into these things. If she ends up playing, I have told her that yes, I'll be there to try it out with her.
Aside from all of our backyard sporting activities, we have been more than busy with organized soccer. Since the start of May we have been at the fields on Monday night, Tuesday night, Wednesday night and Saturday mornings. I have had a lot of fun coaching Jasmine and Asher's teams, unfortunately both teams have played at 9 am Saturday morning for most of the season. This past Saturday was a rare chance to coach both teams as the games were scheduled for 9 and 10 o'clock. I love see the little guys every Saturday, all so very cute in their too big jersey's, and their shorts and socks that cover every inch of their legs. We only had 5 boys this week as it was a busy weekend for many families, and the blustery wind may have kept a few away too. The boys have a hard time having any kind of a game at this age, but this week both teams did really well. The game went for over 20 minutes, easily the longest game of the season. Asher is always engaged in the game, but this time a few others joined him, and between the 2 teams there was only the coaches and 1 or 2 other parents on the field, also a big accomplishment in the under 3 division. My son, without being too dramatic, is far beyond the level of the other boys. I didn't realize that our frequent goofing around sessions in the basement and in the yard would lead to him being a "Ronaldo" of sorts. With his uncle Ian and his cousin Charlotte at the field watching Asher managed 11 goals, 10 of them on the right net. After high fiving all the boys for their effort, Asher and I made our way over to the bigger fields where Jasmine's team was getting ready to start their game.
The game was set to start as we arrived on the sidelines. My co-coach Brady was finishing off the warm up with the girls, and I joined in to run sideline to sideline a few times with the girls. The turnout was notably sparse. Jasmine was pitch side, but in her clothes, sitting in a lawn chair due to her previously mentioned injury. The 11 and 12 year old girls play on a 3/4 sized field, 8 players on at a time instead of the standard 11 players on the full sized field. Looking around, we only had 7 girls. Bizarrely, the turn out has been better for our Wednesday practices then it has been for games. We had 12 girls at our last practice. This day, we would play without Jasmine, without Autumn, without Payden, without Kate, and without Nyiesha. The Remax Balloons (as the girls coined themselves) did have 7 players ready to go, including our 2 first year players Ariel and Kyrija, as well as our best player Taylor, and our best defender Kayla. We also had a goalie, Taryn, ready to go. We also had Katie and Carah who would fill out the 3-3-0 formation that we were set to play. Yes, we had to go without a forward due to being short a player. Most of the girls are not prepared to play the whole game, so this would be quite a monumental ask of them. Oh, did I forget to mention that of our previous 10 games, we had lost all 10 of them? To top it off, for some reason, the girls are at their worst on Saturday mornings, Brady having had to witness a 9-1 dismantling and a 10-2 debacle the previous 2 weeks. On this day though, something special happened.
The Remax Balloons didn't have just one or two girls working hard and playing their best, all 7 girls decided that it was time to see what they were capable of. Taylor is the straw that stirs the proverbial drink. She has significant amounts of skill, but her main advantage is her aggressive and constant pursuit of the soccer ball. On this day, we were asking her to play centre midfield, striker, and even help out on defence. And she did.
The girls started the game very well, and Brady and I quickly took note of the level of aggression that Carah was playing with. She hasn't made it to too many of the games, so we still didn't have a good idea of how she played. Carah has played many different positions this season when she has been at games, but this week, she was playing left defence. Wow! As they say in soccer, she plays a "heavy game". Every other girl on our team suffers from simply being "too nice" on the soccer pitch. Even those like Taylor, Autumn and Payden who play quite aggressively will slow down or take it easy when they think that a collision or physical confrontation is approaching. Not Carah. At times on Saturday, she even appeared to enjoy the physical part of the game. Now, we as coaches are not about to encourage the girls to commit fouls or to play dirty, but Carah's approach to the game leaves us in a limbo of sorts. She is fairly new to the game, so if we tell her to slow down, she may slow down too much. We don't want her to hurt anyone else or herself, but the way I saw it, she was providing the muscle for our team that had been so sorely lacking. The referee was on his game and called a few fouls, which were warranted as Carah was around the ball constantly during the game. She combined with Kayla, who always plays a very steady centre defence to smother the other team. Kayla's game is quite the opposite of Carah's. Never one to commit a foul, but also never one to give up on a play, Kayla plays a smart soccer game. She is the stay at home defender who covers for her teammates who stray out of position. So steady is she, that often she is taken for granted by myself and Brady (her dad). Katie rounded out the defensive group with a very good effort herself. She is one of our regular defenders as well, and she was at her best Saturday making smart safe passes away from our goal and up towards our midfield attackers. Our goalie Taryn only had a couple of shots, and they were slow rollers that she easily picked up.
The key to the Remax Balloon's first win of the season was not the steady and always reliable play of Taylor, or even the stout and impenetrable defence provided by Carah, Kayla and Katie, it was the effort put out by our two first year players, Ariel and Kyrija. Now, when the season started I'll admit that I was pretty surprised that of the 12 girls on the roster, 2 of them would be playing for the first time. When I met the girls, and saw them play for the first time, neither of the new girls would be considered "a natural". I immediately took a liking to both girls, but for different reasons. Ariel struck me as bit hard headed, she has a bit of a tough attitude, and she demonstrated this famously by quipping towards the end of our second game: "I f---ing hate soccer!!" After I inquired as to why, she pointed out: "I'm only playing because my foster mom made me! I wanted to sign up for karate!" Oddly enough, she had put forth a strong effort in the game, and I was more then happy to point out to her how well she played. "You may hate it, but this soccer might be your thing," I replied. Kyrija her aunt told me was trying out sports for the first time. She and her mom had encouraged Kyrija to step out of her comfort zone and try a few new things, and soccer was one of them. Kyrija is quite a small girl, and due to her unfamiliarity with soccer, she is nervous about being run into, she is worried about being hit with the ball, and she has no clue what to do as far as positioning on the field goes. Brady and I have continued to assign her a position, but for the most part we just ask her to try her best. A few weeks ago, she was running around the field doing what appeared to be a form of interpretive dance. Some games, the game is the furthest thing from her mind. On this particular Saturday morning, Ariel did not hate soccer, and most certainly Kyrija's mind was focused on soccer.
The first goal of the game came due to a herculean effort from Ariel. I have been more than impressed all season by her willingness to give maximum effort on the field. Many girls in this age group never sprint full out. They refuse to kick the ball as hard they can, perhaps worried about hurting someone. Not Ariel. She has become our throw in specialist simply because she rears back and throws the ball with all of her strength. On this play, she fought to take the ball from a defender, then made a solid pass to Taylor. Taylor played a lead ball down the pitch, too far for Ariel. As the defender went back to collect it, she was surprised when she looked up because Ariel and sprinted down the field and applied pressure. The defender rushed, and made a dangerous pass towards the middle of the field. Taylor got to the ball first and after a strong first touch she slotted the ball into the back of the net. Brady and I were beaming. This was the first time all season that we had been ahead! I was happy for all of the girls, but Ariel most of all. She simply isn't aware of what she is capable of. The game continued, and Carah and Kayla continued to play stifling defence giving the other team very few chances to score. I pointed out to Brady that Kyrija was way more involved in the play than she ever had been before, even getting her foot to the ball on a few occasions. Already having touched the ball more times than she had all season, she got herself involved with a bit of traffic in the other teams box. The ball squirted out to her where she put her foot to the ball and hit it towards the net. As the ball slowly rolled towards the far post, I momentarily convinced myself that it was headed in. Alas, it lacked the power to elude the goaltender, but that didn't stop Brady and I from celebrating another victory for the team. Moments afterwards, perhaps buoyed by the effort from her less skilled teammates, Taylor took advantage of a loose ball and blasted in a second goal. This one from at least 25 yards out, a distance that most of the girls wouldn't even think to be shooting from. As the minutes wound down, and a win became more and more a possibility, I couldn't help but smile uncontrollably. Jasmine had provided a cheering section from the bench, and she quite enjoyed the win despite her injury. We got a chance to celebrate afterwards, 2 of the girls winning a soccer game for the first time in their life. Tonight we get a chance to do it all again, maybe those who missed the game Saturday will be inspired to get a win of their own. All I know, is that I am still beaming with pride from the last game.
That about does it for me. I hope you have enjoyed my rambling account of a pretty fun Saturday morning at the soccer field. I had a great Father's Day yesterday even though I fell asleep during the family movie. I dozed off on the sofa before 8 pm only to wake up 7 hours later and crawl upstairs and into bed. We have another busy week ahead before soccer ends for the summer. Take care Mom, Sheila, Elizabeth and my other three readers!
Monday, 16 June 2014
Monday, 12 May 2014
Lists: Here is where I tell you what you should like, cuz well, I like it.
This edition of lists was inspired by the super cute movie "Good Burger" that Jasmine, Sheila and Asher and I watched last night. The movie was released in 1997 though I never saw it at the time. It will find a place in my "Favourite family movies of the 1990s" list that includes a few of my all time favorite movies. Enjoy.
Matt's Favourite Family Movies of the 1990s
20) Good Burger
19) George of the Jungle
18) Heavyweights
17) Toy Story
16) Beauty and the Beast
15) Angels in the Outfield
14) The Santa Clause
13) Casper
12) The Lion King
11) The Little Rascals
10) Space Jam
9) The Sandlot
8) Simon Burch
7) Hook
6) The Secret Garden
5) Aladdin
4) The Mighty Ducks
3) Free Willy
2) Matilda
1) Harriet the Spy
notes: I actually had a hard time narrowing this list to 20. The top 4 rank among my favourite movies ever. Some of these I haven't seen in at least 15 years, and will enjoy watching them again with Jasmine over the next few months. Some of these I have seen dozens of times. Free Willy probably has the most viewings out of the whole bunch. We wore that VHS tape out at Mom and Dad's.
Matt's Favourite Autobiography/Biography Books
12) Man In The Middle - John Amaechi
11) Tales of a First Round Nothing - Terry Ryan
10) Heart For the Fight - Brian Stann and John Bruning
9) Leon Trotsky: A Revolutionary's Life - Josh Rubenstein
8) Roseannearchy - Roseanne Barr
7) The Call Me Baba Booey - Gary Dell'Abate
6) Cheech and Chong: The Unauthorized Biography - Tommy Chong
5) Bossypants - Tina Fey
4) Open - Andre Agassi
3) Nerd Do Well - Simon Pegg
2) Paddle Your Own Canoe - Nick Offerman
1) Last Words - George Carlin
notes: Funny people often write funny books. Currently reading Nick Offerman's book, and the man is quite frankly a wordsmith.
Matt's Favourite Sports Right Now
8) Lacrosse
7) Golf
6) Football
5) Basketball
4) Running
3) Hockey
2) Baseball
1) Soccer
Matt's Favourite Family Movies of the 1990s
20) Good Burger
19) George of the Jungle
18) Heavyweights
17) Toy Story
16) Beauty and the Beast
15) Angels in the Outfield
14) The Santa Clause
13) Casper
12) The Lion King
11) The Little Rascals
10) Space Jam
9) The Sandlot
8) Simon Burch
7) Hook
6) The Secret Garden
5) Aladdin
4) The Mighty Ducks
3) Free Willy
2) Matilda
1) Harriet the Spy
notes: I actually had a hard time narrowing this list to 20. The top 4 rank among my favourite movies ever. Some of these I haven't seen in at least 15 years, and will enjoy watching them again with Jasmine over the next few months. Some of these I have seen dozens of times. Free Willy probably has the most viewings out of the whole bunch. We wore that VHS tape out at Mom and Dad's.
Matt's Favourite Autobiography/Biography Books
12) Man In The Middle - John Amaechi
11) Tales of a First Round Nothing - Terry Ryan
10) Heart For the Fight - Brian Stann and John Bruning
9) Leon Trotsky: A Revolutionary's Life - Josh Rubenstein
8) Roseannearchy - Roseanne Barr
7) The Call Me Baba Booey - Gary Dell'Abate
6) Cheech and Chong: The Unauthorized Biography - Tommy Chong
5) Bossypants - Tina Fey
4) Open - Andre Agassi
3) Nerd Do Well - Simon Pegg
2) Paddle Your Own Canoe - Nick Offerman
1) Last Words - George Carlin
notes: Funny people often write funny books. Currently reading Nick Offerman's book, and the man is quite frankly a wordsmith.
Matt's Favourite Sports Right Now
8) Lacrosse
7) Golf
6) Football
5) Basketball
4) Running
3) Hockey
2) Baseball
1) Soccer
I'm Proud
It's Monday morning and for me, as has been the case for more than five years, the dreaded day of the week for most is the one the signals the end of my work week. I enjoy my job for many reasons so I don't usually celebrate the end of the work week like some people do. It means I transition to my other job, caring for my kids. Now, I do some of that "work" on the weekends too, but Friday through Sunday, Sheila most certainly takes the lead in that regard. It's a rewarding task, and on most days, not one that I find the least bit arduous. Monday through Thursday I get to spend lots of quality "men's time" as Asher so eloquently puts it. When Jasmine arrives home from school, and most certainly when Sheila arrives home from work, the time turns into more traditional "family time".
Last week was busier then normal for our family as we jumped head first into the soccer season. We also reached a pretty significant family milestone as our little girl was getting her braces installed at the orthodontist. All in all, I made 3 trips to the soccer field, 2 trips to the orthodontist, 2 trips to the swimming pool, 1 trip to the library, 1 trip to the city park downtown, 1 trip to Masich Place Stadium, 1 trip to the grocery store and a couple of trips over to the school. Rewarding is the word I suppose. This week should be a little less hectic, but soccer is rolling on, and the orthodontist will need to do some repairs on a loose bracket. When life is busy it can be easy to just participate and not allow for the events that are happening to be fully appreciated. Allow me to take a moment and truly appreciate.
Until this past weekend I had not experienced the event that is the "Relay for Life". For those like me who are in the dark about this wonderful event, it is put on in hundreds of cities and towns across Canada and is a fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society. It takes place on different weekends in different cities, but the goal is the same. Raise money, raise hope, inspire, participate. Prince George does it up real big. Of the 487 Relay events that took place in 2013, only 1 raised more money than Prince George's event. As far as I know, our fair city hosts the only 24 hour event in the country. I was most certainly inspired by my time at the event, a mere 2 hours on Saturday morning. The whole spectacle was a sight to see. Most of the big companies in town were involved. Starbucks and Van Houtte were selling coffees, Save On Foods were giving out fruit to the participants, Prince George Taxi employees were serving samosas, numerous teams were having bake sales, selling trinkets, all in the name of Cancer research. Did you want to enjoy a massage? Pay by donation. Did you want a temporary tattoo? Pay by donation.
Sheila, Jasmine, and Asher were much more dedicated than I. Sheila and the kids were at the event from 9 am Saturday morning until 1230 am Sunday morning. They came home for a quick nap and were back at it by 730 am to finish off the event. At some point during this past year Sheila decided that Bandstra Transportation, her employer, she get involved with the Relay for Life. Sheila, like myself, had not attended any of the previous events, but she wanted to get involved on behalf of many of her family members who have battled Cancer. Some won, some lost, but Sheila wanted to honour all of them. Sheila approached management at Bandstra and got the go ahead. She recruited team members, she organized a bake sale and then later a hot dog lunch, with all proceeds going to the Relay team. Bandstra also made a very generous donation to the team as well. Sheila spent time signing everyone up, collecting funds, organizing the time slots and much more. I was inspired because she was so dedicated to the task. Sheila spent the afternoon yesterday napping, relaxing and getting a Mother's day massage from her daughter, all with a noticeable glow about her. She is already looking forward to next year. I'm proud.
As I mentioned, Jasmine has been proudly sporting braces since Thursday afternoon. I was pretty taken aback by how excited Jasmine has been about the whole process. It is hard for me to fathom that my barely 11 year old daughter was getting braces, and it was even more difficult for me to understand the excitement surrounding the event. Jasmine's teeth are to put it bluntly, whacked. It seems that every tooth she has decided to head off in a direction other than the one it was supposed to go in. The braces have a difficult task at hand. They were bothering her teeth quite a bit the first day, but she didn't whine and complain, she took a few pain pills and was fine. To be honest, Jasmine does very little whining, partly because Sheila and I have established that it just won't work with us. We will be back this week to get them fixed up, and Jasmine was worried that I would would be mad about the bracket that came loose. I reassured her that these things happen to people who get braces, and it was no big deal to go and get it fixed. She has been sporting her blue and green and aqua and purple braces for 4 days with about 800 more to go. Jasmine has handled the whole situation with maturity that I wasn't quite ready for. I'm proud.
I have come to realize something in the past few weeks as far as raising children goes. Have gaps people. Embrace them. The gap in age between Jasmine and Asher is nearly 8 years, and it really is a great thing for so many reasons. I can appreciate all of the little things that Asher does as if I have never experienced them before. I know part of this is that I am older and more mature, and in my youth I was too stupid to realize all of the cool things that little kids are capable of. Jasmine was and is a very well mannered and fun child who I am lucky to spend time with every single day. Asher doesn't need to do much to entertain me, or remind me how lucky I am. Sheila got a great video of Asher dancing at the relay, he was giving her bright and early yesterday morning without a care in the world. He strolled into the backyard yesterday to find me laying on the trampoline surfing the web. "Dad!! What you doin' there? Laptop not supposed to go on tha trampoween!! Thas funny!!" So very observant he is. I had no chair. For dinner we splurged and got take out from our favorite Prince George restaurant, Dana Mandhi. Sheila loves it, Jasmine loves it, I love it. Asher eats every kind of food we have ever offered him, but yesterday's order was "medium spice" and his only hang up is when something is "too picy". No sweat, he went ahead and ate his dinner, even stopping to ask what the name of each thing was, then giggling at Dad's poor pronunciation attempts. We ordered a dish called malai kofta that we hadn't tried before and the "delicious face" he made was priceless. After eating our tasty dinner we all laid down in bed to watch "Good Burger" together. Asher enjoyed it, but Jasmine was really into it. It was a really fun family movie, and a great way to finish off Mother's Day even though I couldn't keep my eyes open for the climax. Hey, it was nearly 9! I am looking forward to another fun week of soccer, Strong Start, swimming, and general farting around with my kids. I'm sure Asher will say and do many more things that will have me shaking my head in amazement. What can I say? I am proud.
Last week was busier then normal for our family as we jumped head first into the soccer season. We also reached a pretty significant family milestone as our little girl was getting her braces installed at the orthodontist. All in all, I made 3 trips to the soccer field, 2 trips to the orthodontist, 2 trips to the swimming pool, 1 trip to the library, 1 trip to the city park downtown, 1 trip to Masich Place Stadium, 1 trip to the grocery store and a couple of trips over to the school. Rewarding is the word I suppose. This week should be a little less hectic, but soccer is rolling on, and the orthodontist will need to do some repairs on a loose bracket. When life is busy it can be easy to just participate and not allow for the events that are happening to be fully appreciated. Allow me to take a moment and truly appreciate.
Until this past weekend I had not experienced the event that is the "Relay for Life". For those like me who are in the dark about this wonderful event, it is put on in hundreds of cities and towns across Canada and is a fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society. It takes place on different weekends in different cities, but the goal is the same. Raise money, raise hope, inspire, participate. Prince George does it up real big. Of the 487 Relay events that took place in 2013, only 1 raised more money than Prince George's event. As far as I know, our fair city hosts the only 24 hour event in the country. I was most certainly inspired by my time at the event, a mere 2 hours on Saturday morning. The whole spectacle was a sight to see. Most of the big companies in town were involved. Starbucks and Van Houtte were selling coffees, Save On Foods were giving out fruit to the participants, Prince George Taxi employees were serving samosas, numerous teams were having bake sales, selling trinkets, all in the name of Cancer research. Did you want to enjoy a massage? Pay by donation. Did you want a temporary tattoo? Pay by donation.
Sheila, Jasmine, and Asher were much more dedicated than I. Sheila and the kids were at the event from 9 am Saturday morning until 1230 am Sunday morning. They came home for a quick nap and were back at it by 730 am to finish off the event. At some point during this past year Sheila decided that Bandstra Transportation, her employer, she get involved with the Relay for Life. Sheila, like myself, had not attended any of the previous events, but she wanted to get involved on behalf of many of her family members who have battled Cancer. Some won, some lost, but Sheila wanted to honour all of them. Sheila approached management at Bandstra and got the go ahead. She recruited team members, she organized a bake sale and then later a hot dog lunch, with all proceeds going to the Relay team. Bandstra also made a very generous donation to the team as well. Sheila spent time signing everyone up, collecting funds, organizing the time slots and much more. I was inspired because she was so dedicated to the task. Sheila spent the afternoon yesterday napping, relaxing and getting a Mother's day massage from her daughter, all with a noticeable glow about her. She is already looking forward to next year. I'm proud.
As I mentioned, Jasmine has been proudly sporting braces since Thursday afternoon. I was pretty taken aback by how excited Jasmine has been about the whole process. It is hard for me to fathom that my barely 11 year old daughter was getting braces, and it was even more difficult for me to understand the excitement surrounding the event. Jasmine's teeth are to put it bluntly, whacked. It seems that every tooth she has decided to head off in a direction other than the one it was supposed to go in. The braces have a difficult task at hand. They were bothering her teeth quite a bit the first day, but she didn't whine and complain, she took a few pain pills and was fine. To be honest, Jasmine does very little whining, partly because Sheila and I have established that it just won't work with us. We will be back this week to get them fixed up, and Jasmine was worried that I would would be mad about the bracket that came loose. I reassured her that these things happen to people who get braces, and it was no big deal to go and get it fixed. She has been sporting her blue and green and aqua and purple braces for 4 days with about 800 more to go. Jasmine has handled the whole situation with maturity that I wasn't quite ready for. I'm proud.
I have come to realize something in the past few weeks as far as raising children goes. Have gaps people. Embrace them. The gap in age between Jasmine and Asher is nearly 8 years, and it really is a great thing for so many reasons. I can appreciate all of the little things that Asher does as if I have never experienced them before. I know part of this is that I am older and more mature, and in my youth I was too stupid to realize all of the cool things that little kids are capable of. Jasmine was and is a very well mannered and fun child who I am lucky to spend time with every single day. Asher doesn't need to do much to entertain me, or remind me how lucky I am. Sheila got a great video of Asher dancing at the relay, he was giving her bright and early yesterday morning without a care in the world. He strolled into the backyard yesterday to find me laying on the trampoline surfing the web. "Dad!! What you doin' there? Laptop not supposed to go on tha trampoween!! Thas funny!!" So very observant he is. I had no chair. For dinner we splurged and got take out from our favorite Prince George restaurant, Dana Mandhi. Sheila loves it, Jasmine loves it, I love it. Asher eats every kind of food we have ever offered him, but yesterday's order was "medium spice" and his only hang up is when something is "too picy". No sweat, he went ahead and ate his dinner, even stopping to ask what the name of each thing was, then giggling at Dad's poor pronunciation attempts. We ordered a dish called malai kofta that we hadn't tried before and the "delicious face" he made was priceless. After eating our tasty dinner we all laid down in bed to watch "Good Burger" together. Asher enjoyed it, but Jasmine was really into it. It was a really fun family movie, and a great way to finish off Mother's Day even though I couldn't keep my eyes open for the climax. Hey, it was nearly 9! I am looking forward to another fun week of soccer, Strong Start, swimming, and general farting around with my kids. I'm sure Asher will say and do many more things that will have me shaking my head in amazement. What can I say? I am proud.
Monday, 28 April 2014
I Remember....
Hello out there. It's been a while. I have been reasonably busy, but for the most part this space has been silent due to a lack of inspiration. Well, inspired I am this morning. There has been a few recent triggers for this post, most notably was a photo that Sheila found yesterday while doing a huge cleanup of our basement. The photo is of a young me (I believe I was in grade 5 but I always was so small and youthful I could have passed as age 7) in my official hockey photo. Asher instantly fell in love with the photo. He found it very amusing that I was using a wooden stick (I did have an aluminum stick at the time but not in the photo), and he was also pretty impressed by my San Jose Sharks style gloves that his Grandpa had bought me for Christmas that year. The photo brought back a number of memories for me, and planted the seed for me to gets to typin'. I bring to you, a random collection of youthful memories.
(1) E.T.F. (Estimated time frame): grade 5
I was tiny throughout my adolescence, usually the smallest in any class, tiniest on any team, in both height and weight. I had proven myself a decent hockey player mostly due to my Dad's extreme dedication to getting me on the ice. I was skating regularly from the time I was 2. I still remember the Cooper brand helmet shaped like a sphere. The atom division was made up of grade 5 and 6 kids, and to start the year they did a series of evaluating ice times to determine if you should be in tier 1 or tier 2. Keep in mind I was the smallest of the grade 5 kids, so obviously the grade 6 kids were also bigger. I also worked my ass off at any sport I was involved in, but I would bet that neither I, or my Dad thought I had any business making my way to the top tier where the biggest and best kids would be playing. As it turned out, less than 10 first year atom players made the top tier, and to everyone's surprise, I was one of them. I ended up playing much of that season on a forward line with Chris Oakley and Pardeep Sunner, both a year older, and both at least a foot taller and 50 or 75 pounds heavier. There wasn't a whole lot of tangible highlights in the season, with only 4 goals scored in total, but one glorious Saturday morning I managed to score 2 of those goals on the same shift.
(2) E.T.F.: grade 1
My Dad deserves most of the credit for my modest prowess when it comes to hockey, but when it comes to soccer, he could and should take all of the credit. You see, for as long as I've been living (and likely long before that) my Dad has lived and breathed soccer. It has led to some pretty cool bonding trips in my teenage and adult years as we have witnessed many high level soccer matches together including a really exciting Vancouver Whitecaps match this past fall. In the late 1980s in Quesnel, you couldn't register your child for the youth soccer league until age 5 or 6. That didn't stop my Dad. He went ahead and created a program for younger kids so they could play at age 4. I started there, so when organized soccer came into my life, I was miles ahead of most of the other kids. I scored goals. Lots of them. In fact, there wasn't a soccer season that I can remember that I didn't get at least 20. Okay, I slowed down when I was older, but this statement holds up until age 15 or 16. In grade 1, playing for the green team "Sign Stop" patch proudly displayed on my chest, I had a particularly notable game. The best goal came when I really loud plane buzzed over the field (airport nearby) and all of the other players stopped to stare skyward. I knew what an airplane looked like, and more importantly, I knew how much I enjoyed scoring goals. So, with little resistance, I dribbled the ball up the field and deftly slid it into the net. My Dad was always my coach, and while he has instilled many values in me that I hold dear, I don't recall too many times that he told me to "slow down" or to "share the ball", though I did do a fair bit of that. My airplane assisted goal was my 5th one that day.
(3) E.T.F.: grade 1, 2, 3, 4
Being that I was raised by two elementary school teachers, it should shock no one that the rules and guidelines that me and my siblings were raised by were rather strict. One thing I can appreciate now is that these guidelines weren't based on religion nor were they set in place solely to make my parents life easier or more free. My Mom often joked that our bed times were early because she and Dad wanted free time in the evening. I'm sure that was part of it, but getting a proper sleep was also good for us. Doing our homework first before going outside to play, just smart (didn't help that Pops was my teacher for 3 years, couldn't lie about my homework load). Not being allowed to play outside after dark? Just being safe. I don't recall being disciplined too often, but I think that was a result of my Mom being very good at her role as a disappointed but concerned parent. One thing that drove me crazy as a young boy was the strict guidelines placed on television programs and movies I was allowed to see. Having younger siblings did nothing but make these guidelines even tougher to live by. Professional wrestling? No way, even when I was 20 and home for the summer. The Simpsons? Get real. Home Alone, when literally every other kid breathing saw it? Not likely. Jurassic Park? Them there dinosaurs could cause nightmares. Did this mean I never saw these programs? Well, for some of them, yes. I still haven't seen Home Alone in its entirety, or Jurassic Park for that matter. But, thanks to a few friends, I did get to experience some of the contraband footage. There was some television that passed my parents rigorous screening process, and the most memorable was the Friday night ABC lineup called "T.G.I.F.". The block of 4 shows ran from 8 pm - 10 pm starting in 1988 and running until 2000. The lineup that I most remember consisted of the shows: "Family Matters", "Boy Meets World", "Step by Step", and "Hangin' With Mr.Cooper". The first 3 shows were enjoyed as a family and it was a big deal that we were still up at 930. I didn't see that time of night any other day of the week. Most every show that we watched as a family was wholesome and message-filled, two things that often limit the quality of the product. As a child, that was not the case with the above shows, "Family Matters" in particular. There was nothing funnier as a kid than Urkel and Carl's hijinx. Reginald VelJohnson's "Carl" was simply awesome. If you didn't see his "anger management" techniques, you are missing out. I also have very fond memories of watching "Road to Avonlea", "Wind at My Back", "Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman" and a few more very appropriate shows, with my mom and dad right there with me and my sisters and brother.
(4) E.T.F.: grade 9
Darcy and Ryan, who lived down the street from us for most of the time I was a kid, shared nearly every one of my interests. At times, Darcy and I were inseparable. At other times, Ryan and I were best buds. Lovers of all things sports? Check. Soccer above all others? Check. Wrestling fans? Check. Backyard swimming pool fans? Check. Darcy and I would compete annually to see who would lead the soccer league in goals. He was often on a different house league team, but we were teammates for every one of my most memorable soccer moments. Every Quesnel all-star team, high school team, and as 13 year olds, we were 2 of the 4 boys from Quesnel to make a zone team that went to the B.C. Summer Games. I remember only a few specific moments on the soccer pitch, but one that is as vivid as the day it happened was a goal that I scored after an incredible set up from Darcy. We were 14 or 15, and it was the final game of the Zone play downs. We were up against Prince George, and needed to win (tie wasn't good enough) in order to move on to the Provincials. Darcy beat a couple of guys on the right side, then laid a pass across to the left where I always played. It was ahead of me, which enticed the goalkeeper to come charging out of the net. I was about 30 yards out, and the goalie had made it about halfway out when I caught up to the ball. I sent the ball first touch, and curled it around the goalie into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead. Screaming, we were both mobbed by our teammates in one of the biggest celebrations I can recall being a part of. The joy was cut short with a few minutes left when Prince George scored to tie the game and claim the berth in the Provincial Tournament, but that moment will stay with me forever.
I hope you have enjoyed my little stroll as much as I have. Have a great week Mom and Sheila!
(1) E.T.F. (Estimated time frame): grade 5
I was tiny throughout my adolescence, usually the smallest in any class, tiniest on any team, in both height and weight. I had proven myself a decent hockey player mostly due to my Dad's extreme dedication to getting me on the ice. I was skating regularly from the time I was 2. I still remember the Cooper brand helmet shaped like a sphere. The atom division was made up of grade 5 and 6 kids, and to start the year they did a series of evaluating ice times to determine if you should be in tier 1 or tier 2. Keep in mind I was the smallest of the grade 5 kids, so obviously the grade 6 kids were also bigger. I also worked my ass off at any sport I was involved in, but I would bet that neither I, or my Dad thought I had any business making my way to the top tier where the biggest and best kids would be playing. As it turned out, less than 10 first year atom players made the top tier, and to everyone's surprise, I was one of them. I ended up playing much of that season on a forward line with Chris Oakley and Pardeep Sunner, both a year older, and both at least a foot taller and 50 or 75 pounds heavier. There wasn't a whole lot of tangible highlights in the season, with only 4 goals scored in total, but one glorious Saturday morning I managed to score 2 of those goals on the same shift.
(2) E.T.F.: grade 1
My Dad deserves most of the credit for my modest prowess when it comes to hockey, but when it comes to soccer, he could and should take all of the credit. You see, for as long as I've been living (and likely long before that) my Dad has lived and breathed soccer. It has led to some pretty cool bonding trips in my teenage and adult years as we have witnessed many high level soccer matches together including a really exciting Vancouver Whitecaps match this past fall. In the late 1980s in Quesnel, you couldn't register your child for the youth soccer league until age 5 or 6. That didn't stop my Dad. He went ahead and created a program for younger kids so they could play at age 4. I started there, so when organized soccer came into my life, I was miles ahead of most of the other kids. I scored goals. Lots of them. In fact, there wasn't a soccer season that I can remember that I didn't get at least 20. Okay, I slowed down when I was older, but this statement holds up until age 15 or 16. In grade 1, playing for the green team "Sign Stop" patch proudly displayed on my chest, I had a particularly notable game. The best goal came when I really loud plane buzzed over the field (airport nearby) and all of the other players stopped to stare skyward. I knew what an airplane looked like, and more importantly, I knew how much I enjoyed scoring goals. So, with little resistance, I dribbled the ball up the field and deftly slid it into the net. My Dad was always my coach, and while he has instilled many values in me that I hold dear, I don't recall too many times that he told me to "slow down" or to "share the ball", though I did do a fair bit of that. My airplane assisted goal was my 5th one that day.
(3) E.T.F.: grade 1, 2, 3, 4
Being that I was raised by two elementary school teachers, it should shock no one that the rules and guidelines that me and my siblings were raised by were rather strict. One thing I can appreciate now is that these guidelines weren't based on religion nor were they set in place solely to make my parents life easier or more free. My Mom often joked that our bed times were early because she and Dad wanted free time in the evening. I'm sure that was part of it, but getting a proper sleep was also good for us. Doing our homework first before going outside to play, just smart (didn't help that Pops was my teacher for 3 years, couldn't lie about my homework load). Not being allowed to play outside after dark? Just being safe. I don't recall being disciplined too often, but I think that was a result of my Mom being very good at her role as a disappointed but concerned parent. One thing that drove me crazy as a young boy was the strict guidelines placed on television programs and movies I was allowed to see. Having younger siblings did nothing but make these guidelines even tougher to live by. Professional wrestling? No way, even when I was 20 and home for the summer. The Simpsons? Get real. Home Alone, when literally every other kid breathing saw it? Not likely. Jurassic Park? Them there dinosaurs could cause nightmares. Did this mean I never saw these programs? Well, for some of them, yes. I still haven't seen Home Alone in its entirety, or Jurassic Park for that matter. But, thanks to a few friends, I did get to experience some of the contraband footage. There was some television that passed my parents rigorous screening process, and the most memorable was the Friday night ABC lineup called "T.G.I.F.". The block of 4 shows ran from 8 pm - 10 pm starting in 1988 and running until 2000. The lineup that I most remember consisted of the shows: "Family Matters", "Boy Meets World", "Step by Step", and "Hangin' With Mr.Cooper". The first 3 shows were enjoyed as a family and it was a big deal that we were still up at 930. I didn't see that time of night any other day of the week. Most every show that we watched as a family was wholesome and message-filled, two things that often limit the quality of the product. As a child, that was not the case with the above shows, "Family Matters" in particular. There was nothing funnier as a kid than Urkel and Carl's hijinx. Reginald VelJohnson's "Carl" was simply awesome. If you didn't see his "anger management" techniques, you are missing out. I also have very fond memories of watching "Road to Avonlea", "Wind at My Back", "Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman" and a few more very appropriate shows, with my mom and dad right there with me and my sisters and brother.
(4) E.T.F.: grade 9
Darcy and Ryan, who lived down the street from us for most of the time I was a kid, shared nearly every one of my interests. At times, Darcy and I were inseparable. At other times, Ryan and I were best buds. Lovers of all things sports? Check. Soccer above all others? Check. Wrestling fans? Check. Backyard swimming pool fans? Check. Darcy and I would compete annually to see who would lead the soccer league in goals. He was often on a different house league team, but we were teammates for every one of my most memorable soccer moments. Every Quesnel all-star team, high school team, and as 13 year olds, we were 2 of the 4 boys from Quesnel to make a zone team that went to the B.C. Summer Games. I remember only a few specific moments on the soccer pitch, but one that is as vivid as the day it happened was a goal that I scored after an incredible set up from Darcy. We were 14 or 15, and it was the final game of the Zone play downs. We were up against Prince George, and needed to win (tie wasn't good enough) in order to move on to the Provincials. Darcy beat a couple of guys on the right side, then laid a pass across to the left where I always played. It was ahead of me, which enticed the goalkeeper to come charging out of the net. I was about 30 yards out, and the goalie had made it about halfway out when I caught up to the ball. I sent the ball first touch, and curled it around the goalie into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead. Screaming, we were both mobbed by our teammates in one of the biggest celebrations I can recall being a part of. The joy was cut short with a few minutes left when Prince George scored to tie the game and claim the berth in the Provincial Tournament, but that moment will stay with me forever.
I hope you have enjoyed my little stroll as much as I have. Have a great week Mom and Sheila!
Monday, 24 February 2014
Bitcoin Blogger Freeroll
Hi there. For those who have never met me this may come as some sort of revelation. For everyone else, no shock should be induced. I like poker. I at times obsess about it. The opportunity to play in a free tournament is always a good thing. Even better when prizes are awarded. I have been considering playing on this site for a while, but I have not had to the ability to deposit. I am still not sure if I can play, as I am in Canada, and this site seems to be populated mostly by Americans. At the very least, this will serve as a small promotional post for a poker site that is generously putting up significant prizes for a bunch of bloggers who love poker. Please consider joining us on Wednesday at 5 pm pst, the site can be found at the link below.
Check out Poker Meister's blog for more info. Located here.
Check out Poker Meister's blog for more info. Located here.
Thursday, 13 February 2014
The Boys and Their Parts
Thursday morning is generally reserved for plenty of lounging and relaxing at our house. Today is no different. Sheila is at work and Jasmine is at school. The men? We are about as relaxed as can be. Those who know really well won't find this revelation shocking, but some might. I hate clothes. Not certain kinds, or certain styles, just all of them. I put them on to leave the house, but this is only out of a desire to conform with social convention. My reasonably new hobby of lifting weights has only made fully clothed at home time even more rare. Honestly, who wants to lift weights with sweaty clothing draped all over their body? So, I sit at my computer between sets in my skivvies. No, I don't recommend others use my computer chair. Asher has picked up the habit to some extent. He seems to be okay wearing clothes around the house for some activities. Others, not so much. Carpet hockey simply cannot be properly enjoyed with clothes on. When he has settled on playing, he will quickly strip his shirt and pants then holler: "Naked boy!" His tiny little dinosaur or pirate briefs are much cuter than when a 30 year old man sports the look. Today, in an attempt to obtain the pinnacle of relaxation, Asher is going with the shirt only get up. No pants, no socks, no underwear either. There is something bizarre about looking over and seeing a toy helicopter "fly" through the air, steered by a little guy while his little bird dangles in the wind. We also played baseball, had a game of hockey, then raced our hot wheels cars, all while we were free and easy. I told you, Thursday is for relaxing.
While Thursday is almost always for relaxing, we are even more tired today then normal. You see, "us mens" had a busy day yesterday. Getting out of the house by 9, we went to Strong Start to play a little basketball in the gym. After basketball, we spent time painting, playing store, building a train track, having a snack, singing songs, listening to a story and getting a stamp. All of which are important to a good time at Strong Start. We came home and ate and napped, as one is wont to due after all that excitement. Asher woke in time for us to go and pick up Jasmine from school. Off to the swimming pool where I chased Asher around for over an hour, while Jasmine did her thing. We had just enough time to come home and have dinner before Jasmine went off to her friends house (she was meeting up with Sheila at the pool to swim again). Asher and I made our way to the CN Centre to catch the Prince George Cougars against the Portland Winterhawks. We walked around the rink before the game, during the intermissions and after the game. Asher started asking to go home during the second period, even though he was into the game somewhat. He was playing hockey against himself during the game, drawing plenty of smiles from other fans. If you haven't seen a hockey player fight himself you don't know what you are missing. I laughed pretty hard when not long after standing and swaying while listening to the 2 national anthems, Asher decided to sing O Canada again himself while the game was on. It was a small quiet crowd so all those near us could hear what he was up to. Some of the little things he notices during the game are very cute, and they let me know just how much Asher is going to love the game. He is mildly irritated when the Portland goalie didn't sway back and forth during the anthem. He pointed out the distinct lack of pucks caught in the safety net, as he had scored a puck once when it was jostled out of the net at a game. In his most profound moment, while sitting on my lap he let me know that "none of these guys has dads". Referring to the players. They were unlucky enough not to have a dad with them while they played. "But he has his dad", pointing about 50 feet away. Asking him to clarify, he pointed again. Asher had noticed a man about my age with an older gentleman of about 60. If I was to guess, he was probably right. There was some resemblance. I thought this observation to be much too astute for a 3 year old. Not to worry, I assured Asher that the hockey guys most likely had dads, they just weren't on the ice with them. He was content with that thought.
I've had my mind somewhat cluttered lately while I try to find a balance between time with my children, and earning enough money to provide for my children, and also trying to find leisure time for myself. My leisure time is complicated by the fact that poker falls into both the trying to earn money category and the leisure time category. Asher and I have lots of time on my days off to fart around and be guys. In any given week we play hockey in the carpet, hockey in the driveway, we watch hockey on television, we attend live hockey games, we consume hockey in any available form. We wrestle regularly, and we also like to watch wrestling (go Daniel Bryan!). In a scene out of those extreme parent shows, I was counting reps for Asher as he performed shoulder presses yesterday. This was all his idea, but I have to admit, his form was pretty good. Unfortunately, as Jasmine gets older, she seems to be getting less interested in spending time with Dad. I'm not sure it can be helped, as this is likely pretty common with girls. She still likes to go places with us, swimming with Asher and I yesterday and attending a movie Tuesday with Sheila. Her hobbies are important to her to some extent, but time with her friends is definitely priority number one. I just want her to be happy, so I will have to kind of play it by ear. I want her to be able to confide in me, so I need to maintain a friendly relationship with my big little girl. At Strong Start yesterday, I had another adult mention how well Asher was eating his snack. I thought, um, well, it's an english muffin with honey, who the hell wouldn't eat that? As the discussion continued, I mentioned that the only thing Asher turns his nose at, is if something is "too picy". (sic) As a consequence, onions are the only thing we won't go for. This drew astonishment from the two ladies at the table, one who's daughter refused a muffin with jam on it (she doesn't like jam, what?!?) This led me to mentioning that my 10 year old daughter likes everything. I could not think of a thing that Jasmine won't eat. She tasted a bit of Brussel Sprout at Christmas. She recently told her Grandma " I don't really like zucchini, but hey, if it's mixed in with other things." Mom and I both found this both funny and profound. Last night, as I prepared omelets for dinner, I mentioned to Jasmine that I was going to add bean sprouts and bok choy to make an asian style. Jasmine actually got excited. No child has ever had their heart race when hearing about bean sprouts. "Dad! It's been a long time since we had Bok Choy!" "Mmmm, I forgot had good bean sprouts are!" Said while shoving bite after bite into her mouth. Jasmine also shares my affinity for Indian cuisine, going so far as to claim the same favourite restaurant as me "Dana Mandhi". Perhaps food can be the hobby that keeps us close as she enters her difficult teenage years.
I mentioned finding a balance between earning money, spending time with my children, and relaxing. It seems my children have taken over, and I don't regret that for an instant. I have a few hobbies that really enjoy. During the winter months, hockey in all its forms provides hours and hours of entertainment. This week alone, I went to the Spruce Kings game Friday with one of the guys from work, I played hockey Sunday with Sheila and the kids watching, and last night Asher and I went to the Cougars game. Tonight, a friend is coming by to watch the first game of the Olympic hockey tournament. I am entered in no less than 5 hockey pools. Sheila and I like to watch sitcoms together, and lately we have found some time to enjoy a few movies together. We have watched the Butler, Dallas Buyers Club and Fruitvale Station in recent weeks, and we thoroughly enjoyed all of them. I like to read, though most of my reading time is when it is quiet at work. I have almost gotten through "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" which has been one of the most challenging reads I have ever tackled. James Joyce is just not going to be a favourite of mine.
One of my more time consuming hobbies doubles as a money maker for me. Poker for me is part hobby, part job, and part obsession. Lately, it has become more job and less hobby. This has consequently led to it becoming less fun. I want to enjoy it, but it has become boring over time. I have played a lot in the 8 years since I learned the game. It was an absolute obsession for many of those years. I didn't play hockey in the winter, or soccer in the summer, or have a toddler to entertain, or weights to lift, or runs to take. All of my free time was spent playing poker. I made more free time by not committing to anything. Last year, 2013 was quite a drop off as far as result are concerned. I've identified a number of reasons above. I often would chose a 5 km run over a poker session. I'd lift weights instead. I'd play with Asher out in the yard. Sheila and I would watch a movie instead. Ultimately, I spent about half as much time at the tables in 2013. I think my casino time only totaled about 180 hours all together. Online, I got away from playing my best games, settling for whatever I had time to squeeze into my schedule. I don't win playing online cash games, and I am a breakeven player in sit and gos. I am a modest winner in the tournaments, but I rarely had the time to sit down and play. The schedule for tournaments is pretty undesirable after 9 pm, which is when I would be able to sit down. This had all become quite frustrating as I knew that I needed to make a little money to supplement my income. Even with all the negative feelings surrounding my money making hobby, I still managed a winning year at the live tables, averaging around 8 dollars an hour. That said, while I am confident in my abilities, its hard to have high expectations when the other players are spending considerably more time than you are practicing their craft. Even bad players will benefit from time spent. I'm too dedicated to my family and my own health to devote the amount of time to poker that I used to. At the same time, there is nothing stopping me from making the most of the time I have. I have an extensive library of poker books that I can re-read. I can access the myriad of advice available online for study. Ultimately, I would like to play 10-12 hours a week. There is more money to be made at the casino then on the computer, but I also must risk considerably more to win said money. The days of the week that I am available are not the best ones, and on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays most opponents will be of the heavily seasoned variety. Online, again, Friday and Saturday night play would be best, but I work. Perhaps I could play 2 sessions during the week, periodically replacing an online tournament session with a trip to the casino. My confidence found a boost last week when I scored two decent results. On Monday I made the final table of a 11 dollar 6 max tournament, finishing 4th of 272. On Wednesday, I bested myself, scoring 3rd out of 278 in the same tournament. I played a few more sessions since, so I currently sit at about 400 dollars more than I had a couple weeks ago. I have now final tabled this tournament 5 times in the last year, which has me focusing on tournaments again. Lucky? Yes, to some extent. I made a number of really good plays that surprised myself. I had lost my swagger, and these results will hopefully bring some of it back. I don't expect to get rich. Just to survive.
That's enough for me today, Asher and I have some eating and napping to do. What? I told you we were relaxing.
While Thursday is almost always for relaxing, we are even more tired today then normal. You see, "us mens" had a busy day yesterday. Getting out of the house by 9, we went to Strong Start to play a little basketball in the gym. After basketball, we spent time painting, playing store, building a train track, having a snack, singing songs, listening to a story and getting a stamp. All of which are important to a good time at Strong Start. We came home and ate and napped, as one is wont to due after all that excitement. Asher woke in time for us to go and pick up Jasmine from school. Off to the swimming pool where I chased Asher around for over an hour, while Jasmine did her thing. We had just enough time to come home and have dinner before Jasmine went off to her friends house (she was meeting up with Sheila at the pool to swim again). Asher and I made our way to the CN Centre to catch the Prince George Cougars against the Portland Winterhawks. We walked around the rink before the game, during the intermissions and after the game. Asher started asking to go home during the second period, even though he was into the game somewhat. He was playing hockey against himself during the game, drawing plenty of smiles from other fans. If you haven't seen a hockey player fight himself you don't know what you are missing. I laughed pretty hard when not long after standing and swaying while listening to the 2 national anthems, Asher decided to sing O Canada again himself while the game was on. It was a small quiet crowd so all those near us could hear what he was up to. Some of the little things he notices during the game are very cute, and they let me know just how much Asher is going to love the game. He is mildly irritated when the Portland goalie didn't sway back and forth during the anthem. He pointed out the distinct lack of pucks caught in the safety net, as he had scored a puck once when it was jostled out of the net at a game. In his most profound moment, while sitting on my lap he let me know that "none of these guys has dads". Referring to the players. They were unlucky enough not to have a dad with them while they played. "But he has his dad", pointing about 50 feet away. Asking him to clarify, he pointed again. Asher had noticed a man about my age with an older gentleman of about 60. If I was to guess, he was probably right. There was some resemblance. I thought this observation to be much too astute for a 3 year old. Not to worry, I assured Asher that the hockey guys most likely had dads, they just weren't on the ice with them. He was content with that thought.
I've had my mind somewhat cluttered lately while I try to find a balance between time with my children, and earning enough money to provide for my children, and also trying to find leisure time for myself. My leisure time is complicated by the fact that poker falls into both the trying to earn money category and the leisure time category. Asher and I have lots of time on my days off to fart around and be guys. In any given week we play hockey in the carpet, hockey in the driveway, we watch hockey on television, we attend live hockey games, we consume hockey in any available form. We wrestle regularly, and we also like to watch wrestling (go Daniel Bryan!). In a scene out of those extreme parent shows, I was counting reps for Asher as he performed shoulder presses yesterday. This was all his idea, but I have to admit, his form was pretty good. Unfortunately, as Jasmine gets older, she seems to be getting less interested in spending time with Dad. I'm not sure it can be helped, as this is likely pretty common with girls. She still likes to go places with us, swimming with Asher and I yesterday and attending a movie Tuesday with Sheila. Her hobbies are important to her to some extent, but time with her friends is definitely priority number one. I just want her to be happy, so I will have to kind of play it by ear. I want her to be able to confide in me, so I need to maintain a friendly relationship with my big little girl. At Strong Start yesterday, I had another adult mention how well Asher was eating his snack. I thought, um, well, it's an english muffin with honey, who the hell wouldn't eat that? As the discussion continued, I mentioned that the only thing Asher turns his nose at, is if something is "too picy". (sic) As a consequence, onions are the only thing we won't go for. This drew astonishment from the two ladies at the table, one who's daughter refused a muffin with jam on it (she doesn't like jam, what?!?) This led me to mentioning that my 10 year old daughter likes everything. I could not think of a thing that Jasmine won't eat. She tasted a bit of Brussel Sprout at Christmas. She recently told her Grandma " I don't really like zucchini, but hey, if it's mixed in with other things." Mom and I both found this both funny and profound. Last night, as I prepared omelets for dinner, I mentioned to Jasmine that I was going to add bean sprouts and bok choy to make an asian style. Jasmine actually got excited. No child has ever had their heart race when hearing about bean sprouts. "Dad! It's been a long time since we had Bok Choy!" "Mmmm, I forgot had good bean sprouts are!" Said while shoving bite after bite into her mouth. Jasmine also shares my affinity for Indian cuisine, going so far as to claim the same favourite restaurant as me "Dana Mandhi". Perhaps food can be the hobby that keeps us close as she enters her difficult teenage years.
I mentioned finding a balance between earning money, spending time with my children, and relaxing. It seems my children have taken over, and I don't regret that for an instant. I have a few hobbies that really enjoy. During the winter months, hockey in all its forms provides hours and hours of entertainment. This week alone, I went to the Spruce Kings game Friday with one of the guys from work, I played hockey Sunday with Sheila and the kids watching, and last night Asher and I went to the Cougars game. Tonight, a friend is coming by to watch the first game of the Olympic hockey tournament. I am entered in no less than 5 hockey pools. Sheila and I like to watch sitcoms together, and lately we have found some time to enjoy a few movies together. We have watched the Butler, Dallas Buyers Club and Fruitvale Station in recent weeks, and we thoroughly enjoyed all of them. I like to read, though most of my reading time is when it is quiet at work. I have almost gotten through "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" which has been one of the most challenging reads I have ever tackled. James Joyce is just not going to be a favourite of mine.
One of my more time consuming hobbies doubles as a money maker for me. Poker for me is part hobby, part job, and part obsession. Lately, it has become more job and less hobby. This has consequently led to it becoming less fun. I want to enjoy it, but it has become boring over time. I have played a lot in the 8 years since I learned the game. It was an absolute obsession for many of those years. I didn't play hockey in the winter, or soccer in the summer, or have a toddler to entertain, or weights to lift, or runs to take. All of my free time was spent playing poker. I made more free time by not committing to anything. Last year, 2013 was quite a drop off as far as result are concerned. I've identified a number of reasons above. I often would chose a 5 km run over a poker session. I'd lift weights instead. I'd play with Asher out in the yard. Sheila and I would watch a movie instead. Ultimately, I spent about half as much time at the tables in 2013. I think my casino time only totaled about 180 hours all together. Online, I got away from playing my best games, settling for whatever I had time to squeeze into my schedule. I don't win playing online cash games, and I am a breakeven player in sit and gos. I am a modest winner in the tournaments, but I rarely had the time to sit down and play. The schedule for tournaments is pretty undesirable after 9 pm, which is when I would be able to sit down. This had all become quite frustrating as I knew that I needed to make a little money to supplement my income. Even with all the negative feelings surrounding my money making hobby, I still managed a winning year at the live tables, averaging around 8 dollars an hour. That said, while I am confident in my abilities, its hard to have high expectations when the other players are spending considerably more time than you are practicing their craft. Even bad players will benefit from time spent. I'm too dedicated to my family and my own health to devote the amount of time to poker that I used to. At the same time, there is nothing stopping me from making the most of the time I have. I have an extensive library of poker books that I can re-read. I can access the myriad of advice available online for study. Ultimately, I would like to play 10-12 hours a week. There is more money to be made at the casino then on the computer, but I also must risk considerably more to win said money. The days of the week that I am available are not the best ones, and on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays most opponents will be of the heavily seasoned variety. Online, again, Friday and Saturday night play would be best, but I work. Perhaps I could play 2 sessions during the week, periodically replacing an online tournament session with a trip to the casino. My confidence found a boost last week when I scored two decent results. On Monday I made the final table of a 11 dollar 6 max tournament, finishing 4th of 272. On Wednesday, I bested myself, scoring 3rd out of 278 in the same tournament. I played a few more sessions since, so I currently sit at about 400 dollars more than I had a couple weeks ago. I have now final tabled this tournament 5 times in the last year, which has me focusing on tournaments again. Lucky? Yes, to some extent. I made a number of really good plays that surprised myself. I had lost my swagger, and these results will hopefully bring some of it back. I don't expect to get rich. Just to survive.
That's enough for me today, Asher and I have some eating and napping to do. What? I told you we were relaxing.
Sunday, 2 February 2014
It's Been a While (Super Bowl, hockey, movies and fitbit)
As I type we are less than 9 hours from the start of the holiest of American Holidays. I guess you could call the whole day a holiday, or perhaps even the week should be set aside. The National Football League really is in a class all its own when it comes to marketing. Most of us are aware at least to some extent the kind of money involved in the Super Bowl and all of its accompanying pageantry. A short 30 second commercial spot during the game today will likely cost 3 or 4 million dollars. Players who the casual observer have never heard of will be "made famous" for a variety of reasons today, both good and bad. Any other television show mentioned during the big game will get a huge boost. This is actually how Survivor was originally marketed. It didn't hurt in the ratings game when millions of snack covered sweat pant warriors were unable to emerge from their food comas to turn the channel, hence the Survivor viewing numbers. What I find most impressive about the job that the NFL does, is how they manage to get millions and millions of people to care about a game that they have no rooting interest in.
I have a weird relationship with the sport of American Football. As a child and teenager, I never watched. My dad wasn't interested, my small handful of friends were hardly interested, and I was more than occupied with my own hockey and volleyball interests in the fall and winter months. When I had free time, I spent it watching hockey, or playing various forms of carpet hockey once my brother was old enough to provide adequate fodder. I watched some NFL action during University, particularly on Sundays when I was feeling lousy from whatever stupid things I did the night before, and my interest intensified if I had assignments deadlines looming. I think my interests picked up when I discovered the rush of sports betting. I had some fun for a few seasons, but this year my only ties to the NFL were in the form of a couple of fantasy teams that I shared with a friend. The fantasy season wraps up in the regular season, so my interest in the playoffs has been very limited. I watched the Seattle game last week, taking a number of short naps while the game was on. Will I be watching later today? Probably. I feel like I am suppose to. I'm battling an illness, so I won't be surprised if I end up napping my way through parts of the longest sporting event of the year.
At our house, we had a trying week as our little Asher went through his first illness of his life. He has had a cold once or twice, but last Monday heading into Tuesday we could tell something was wrong. Asher went to the walk in clinic with Sheila on Wednesday night and ended up with a prescription for antibiotics. He had been diagnosed with bronchitis. While we dealt with plenty of whining from our little guy, it soon became clear that Asher had no idea how to deal with being sick. For most of the week, he laid in bed watching "teetee", hardly eating. We knew he was really sick because his hockey gear lay idle. Three morning in a row he asked me if he could have a bath. Asher loves having baths, but he has never asked me to run a bath for him early in the day like that. They seemed to pick up his spirits quite a bit each time, but it was back to laying down and cuddling after each one. He was very upset about taking his medicine, unable to make the connection between the liquid and the idea of getting better. For that matter, he kept insisting that he wasn't sick. Yesterday, recovery seemingly well underway, Jasmine asked me if she and Asher could go and play outside. Keep in mind, she asked while I was in the shower. Clearly not thinking straight, I called out a fatherly warning to dress very warm due to the cold spell we are currently enjoying. After a few more gallons of steamy hot water hit me I hollered back to Jasmine. I had changed my mind after remembering that although Asher was feeling better, it wasn't a good idea to send him outside. This reversal of fortune was traumatizing to the little guy. He was hearing none of my reasoning and had to be bought off with a snack and an episode of Sponge Bob. A little later we were talking about all of the activities he was going to get back to next week, now that he is feeling better. He couldn't decide what he missed the most, but he is looking forward to going to daycare, Strong Start and the swimming pool next week.
Sheila and I have decided to combine Valentine's Day and her birthday into one date. Hey, as parents of two on a shoestring budget, we are lucky to have a night out at all. Sheila is still on could nine about our engagement and told me not to bother with gifts for the two special days coming up. I know better than that, so will be on the lookout for something she will like. Pretty much anything will be a let down after "the ring", so I'm pretty much sunk. It is cute that Sheila seems to have taken on some of my spend thrift ways. The date night planned falls between Valentine's and the birthday, on Tuesday the 18th. We can avoid the Valentine's crowds (i'm working Valentine's evening anyway), we can visit the theatre on cheap night, and best of all, we can use the gift card Sheila has for the Keg. Of course, if I am polite enough not to mention sports, poker or any other of my annoying guy hobbies, she won't probably won't care that the date is being paid for with pocket change. It's the time spent together that really matters, right?
The gift card that I mentioned above was one of quite a few that Sheila has been given by her manager at work recently. It seems that he gives these to her as a token for all of her hard work and dedication to her job. Sheila works at a transportation company, and a few weeks ago they took on a significant amount of new business due to the closure of another company in town. This has led to considerably less down time between tasks, and also has had Sheila working the last couple of Saturdays. The manager at the company is a very nice guy from what I can tell. Sheila enjoys working for him, and these tokens of appreciation are a solid gesture. She works her ass off because that's just how she is, and also because she wants to be considered for advancement and raises like most due. For most people, it's just talk. They want to advance without working for it. Sheila has gave her company the best effort she has for over 5 years. Actions speak louder than words as they always do, and I know Sheila takes pride in what she does. As the company grows and new opportunities arise, I have no doubt my lady will be there to "carpe diem" as they say.
I think that part of my blase attitude towards watching or caring about football is that I have spent the last number of months totally immersed once again in all things hockey. With my little man getting more and more into the sport himself, it has only given me more reason to get carried away. I have spent much time cursing my Oilers on the television, enjoyed 10 or so live Spruce Kings games, caught a few live Cariboo Cougars games (15-17 year olds), attended 2 WHL Cougars games (once with my friend at work, the other with Asher), participated in 5 different hockey pools, played nearly 20 games for my rec league team, also played pick up hockey a few times, gone skating with the kids a few times, played hours of basement hockey, and also i've watched dozens of NHL that didn't involve the Oilers. It seems finding new teams to enjoy is one way to keep from going off the deep end. Edmonton has driven me to begin calling the New York Islanders, the Dallas Stars, the Winnipeg Jets and the Tampa Bay Lightning my "other favourite teams". I also follow many players that find themselves scattered throughout the league due to their presence on one or more of my pool teams.
I most enjoy watching hockey when Asher watches with me. He will curl up with me on the couch or bed to take in the "Oilahs". Humourously, he has taken to saying that they "suck" recently, something he likely picked up from me during one of their many losses. Before a recent game he asked me "is the Oilahs losing Daddy?" I told him the game hadn't started, but he just responded with "they suck Daddy." Sure enough, I was able to confirm that they were indeed losing just a few minutes later. Asher has even started figuring out some of the other teams. He knows the Canucks, and his Mom and sister's mild affinity for them. He surprised me last week by calling out the "Blackhawks" name. He knows that Montreal is his Uncle Patrick's team, and that Toronto is Daddy's friend Jason's team. Definitely the most fun we have had recently, was our father and son trip to the Cougars game a couple of weeks ago. Asher brought along his gick and a puck, which kept him busy for the most part. We found a seat 3 rows up right behind the net, and we even switched ends each period so we could see the Cougars goals with little chance of missing them. Asher sat with me for most of the third period, and we had a lot of fun cheering for each goal. We already have plans to go back for one more game, in a couple of weeks they are playing mid-week again, and he is raring to go.
Lately, I have been able to view a number of really, really good movies. Sheila had been itching to watch "The Butler" and we finally had a chance to check it out. I was skeptical about my chances of staying awake for a 3 hour drama film while laying in bed tired. As it turns out, I had no problem keeping my eyes open. The film is moving and heartfelt. Its put together in a way that really showcased Forest Whittaker's acting talent. Oprah played a supporting role as the butler's wife, and she's no slouch in the acting department either. I am lucky enough to go to the movies at work fairly regularly, and in recent months I have seen "American Hustle", "Lone Survivor", and "12 Years A Slave" at our local theatre. Sheila and I also got a chance to watch recent release "Dallas Buyers Club" the other night. I tell you what. That is a hell of a collection of movies right there. Hustle, Buyers Club and 12 Years A Slave are all up for Best Picture at the Oscars. It's extremely difficult to rank these movies as far which was my favourite, but that is what I do, I make lists. So here it is.
5) Lone Survivor is probably the best movie Mark Wahlberg has ever done. The movie is almost entirely made up of a gunfight between al Queda fighters and 4 American soldiers. The action during the fight feels so real and genuine, it's easy enough to get lost in its authenticity. 3.5/5
4) American Hustle was great as expected. The cast is filled with superstars from Christian Bale to Bradley Cooper to Jennifer Lawrence. It started to drag on a bit towards the end, but that took away from the movie only a slight bit.
3) The Butler Definitely one of the best movies for couples to come out recently. A love bio pics, as it seems to add an element of importance to the story being told. Add in the previously mentioned performances from Whittaker and Oprah, and you have a really well done movie.
2) Dallas Buyers Club I have raved to anyone who would listen about how good Matthew McConaughey was in his last movie "Mud". I went so far as to list it at #2 in my favourite movies of 2013. He has outdone himself with this one. Everyone is talking about his losing 50 pounds for the role, something I find amazing considering the physique he already had. There was no fat to be dropped, losing 50 pounds of mostly muscle is pretty incredible. His character, Ron Woodruff, is so complex, but McConaughey seems to handle it with ease. Coupled with the supporting performance by Jared Leto playing a transgendered woman who becomes Ron Woodruff's business partner, I was hooked from beginning to end.
1) 12 Years A Slave Words simply can not do this movie justice. Everyone over the age of 16 should see this film. The unique way in which the director Steve McQueen shot the film, captures even small details and makes you realize that they are all part of the bigger picture. Incredible acting performances by everyone in the film. Engaging subject matter that left me unwilling to look away. Heart wrenching scenes, culminating with Lupita Nyong'o's character getting a violent beating that the slave owner forced her friend to administer. This is likely one of the best movies I have ever seen, and I am still shaken from his powerful force days later. Do whatever you can to get out and see it, it's a life changer.
Before I wrap this up, I can't neglect to mention a most awesome gift I was given by my sister Erin for Christmas. She was lucky enough to pull my name for our family secret santa this year. She was very generous, and one of the things she gave me was a fitbit flex. It's a little wristband with a tracking chip inside of it. You wear it, and it tracks your steps taken, distance traveled and calories burnt throughout the day. It also can track sleeping patterns though I haven't sued it for that. It does work as a silent alarm as well, though my habit of smashing the sleep button leads me to worry that the fitbit won't wake me up. Sheila is such a light sleeper that the silent vibrations at my wrist wake her up. I digress. Erin is well aware of my affinity for all things fitness, and while I had heard about the fitbit, I knew little about it. As it turns out, it has done wonders to motivate me to keep active. I find it very hard to have a lazy day when I have this readily available visual reminder about how much or how little I have done on any given day. Even when I am having a lazy day, usually falling on Sundays and Mondays due to sleep deprivation, I find that my fitbit gets me to at least do some physical activity. The lights on the wristband let you know how close to your daily goal you are. I have mine set to 10,000 steps taken, so for every light it's 2000 steps. I haven't had a day under 6000, even when I am "taking the day off" so to speak. I have knocked it out of the park a few times, culminating last week in a day when I hit 18,000 steps. If I remember correctly, that day consisted of 3 different walks, a jog, tons of work around the house, taking the dog out in the yard, a hockey game and more. When choosing something to do, I find that the fitbit has me leaning towards the most active option almost every time. Thanks Erin, it's definitely one of the coolest gifts I have received.
With that, I bid adieu to my small gaggle of loyal readers. To my mom, hang in there, I'm looking forward to visiting with you soon. To my most loyal reader Sheila, thanks for lighting a fire under my blog neglecting posterior. To Elizabeth, I hope your recovery is going well, please take it easy. To the rest of you, take care, I shall be back soon.
I have a weird relationship with the sport of American Football. As a child and teenager, I never watched. My dad wasn't interested, my small handful of friends were hardly interested, and I was more than occupied with my own hockey and volleyball interests in the fall and winter months. When I had free time, I spent it watching hockey, or playing various forms of carpet hockey once my brother was old enough to provide adequate fodder. I watched some NFL action during University, particularly on Sundays when I was feeling lousy from whatever stupid things I did the night before, and my interest intensified if I had assignments deadlines looming. I think my interests picked up when I discovered the rush of sports betting. I had some fun for a few seasons, but this year my only ties to the NFL were in the form of a couple of fantasy teams that I shared with a friend. The fantasy season wraps up in the regular season, so my interest in the playoffs has been very limited. I watched the Seattle game last week, taking a number of short naps while the game was on. Will I be watching later today? Probably. I feel like I am suppose to. I'm battling an illness, so I won't be surprised if I end up napping my way through parts of the longest sporting event of the year.
At our house, we had a trying week as our little Asher went through his first illness of his life. He has had a cold once or twice, but last Monday heading into Tuesday we could tell something was wrong. Asher went to the walk in clinic with Sheila on Wednesday night and ended up with a prescription for antibiotics. He had been diagnosed with bronchitis. While we dealt with plenty of whining from our little guy, it soon became clear that Asher had no idea how to deal with being sick. For most of the week, he laid in bed watching "teetee", hardly eating. We knew he was really sick because his hockey gear lay idle. Three morning in a row he asked me if he could have a bath. Asher loves having baths, but he has never asked me to run a bath for him early in the day like that. They seemed to pick up his spirits quite a bit each time, but it was back to laying down and cuddling after each one. He was very upset about taking his medicine, unable to make the connection between the liquid and the idea of getting better. For that matter, he kept insisting that he wasn't sick. Yesterday, recovery seemingly well underway, Jasmine asked me if she and Asher could go and play outside. Keep in mind, she asked while I was in the shower. Clearly not thinking straight, I called out a fatherly warning to dress very warm due to the cold spell we are currently enjoying. After a few more gallons of steamy hot water hit me I hollered back to Jasmine. I had changed my mind after remembering that although Asher was feeling better, it wasn't a good idea to send him outside. This reversal of fortune was traumatizing to the little guy. He was hearing none of my reasoning and had to be bought off with a snack and an episode of Sponge Bob. A little later we were talking about all of the activities he was going to get back to next week, now that he is feeling better. He couldn't decide what he missed the most, but he is looking forward to going to daycare, Strong Start and the swimming pool next week.
Sheila and I have decided to combine Valentine's Day and her birthday into one date. Hey, as parents of two on a shoestring budget, we are lucky to have a night out at all. Sheila is still on could nine about our engagement and told me not to bother with gifts for the two special days coming up. I know better than that, so will be on the lookout for something she will like. Pretty much anything will be a let down after "the ring", so I'm pretty much sunk. It is cute that Sheila seems to have taken on some of my spend thrift ways. The date night planned falls between Valentine's and the birthday, on Tuesday the 18th. We can avoid the Valentine's crowds (i'm working Valentine's evening anyway), we can visit the theatre on cheap night, and best of all, we can use the gift card Sheila has for the Keg. Of course, if I am polite enough not to mention sports, poker or any other of my annoying guy hobbies, she won't probably won't care that the date is being paid for with pocket change. It's the time spent together that really matters, right?
The gift card that I mentioned above was one of quite a few that Sheila has been given by her manager at work recently. It seems that he gives these to her as a token for all of her hard work and dedication to her job. Sheila works at a transportation company, and a few weeks ago they took on a significant amount of new business due to the closure of another company in town. This has led to considerably less down time between tasks, and also has had Sheila working the last couple of Saturdays. The manager at the company is a very nice guy from what I can tell. Sheila enjoys working for him, and these tokens of appreciation are a solid gesture. She works her ass off because that's just how she is, and also because she wants to be considered for advancement and raises like most due. For most people, it's just talk. They want to advance without working for it. Sheila has gave her company the best effort she has for over 5 years. Actions speak louder than words as they always do, and I know Sheila takes pride in what she does. As the company grows and new opportunities arise, I have no doubt my lady will be there to "carpe diem" as they say.
I think that part of my blase attitude towards watching or caring about football is that I have spent the last number of months totally immersed once again in all things hockey. With my little man getting more and more into the sport himself, it has only given me more reason to get carried away. I have spent much time cursing my Oilers on the television, enjoyed 10 or so live Spruce Kings games, caught a few live Cariboo Cougars games (15-17 year olds), attended 2 WHL Cougars games (once with my friend at work, the other with Asher), participated in 5 different hockey pools, played nearly 20 games for my rec league team, also played pick up hockey a few times, gone skating with the kids a few times, played hours of basement hockey, and also i've watched dozens of NHL that didn't involve the Oilers. It seems finding new teams to enjoy is one way to keep from going off the deep end. Edmonton has driven me to begin calling the New York Islanders, the Dallas Stars, the Winnipeg Jets and the Tampa Bay Lightning my "other favourite teams". I also follow many players that find themselves scattered throughout the league due to their presence on one or more of my pool teams.
I most enjoy watching hockey when Asher watches with me. He will curl up with me on the couch or bed to take in the "Oilahs". Humourously, he has taken to saying that they "suck" recently, something he likely picked up from me during one of their many losses. Before a recent game he asked me "is the Oilahs losing Daddy?" I told him the game hadn't started, but he just responded with "they suck Daddy." Sure enough, I was able to confirm that they were indeed losing just a few minutes later. Asher has even started figuring out some of the other teams. He knows the Canucks, and his Mom and sister's mild affinity for them. He surprised me last week by calling out the "Blackhawks" name. He knows that Montreal is his Uncle Patrick's team, and that Toronto is Daddy's friend Jason's team. Definitely the most fun we have had recently, was our father and son trip to the Cougars game a couple of weeks ago. Asher brought along his gick and a puck, which kept him busy for the most part. We found a seat 3 rows up right behind the net, and we even switched ends each period so we could see the Cougars goals with little chance of missing them. Asher sat with me for most of the third period, and we had a lot of fun cheering for each goal. We already have plans to go back for one more game, in a couple of weeks they are playing mid-week again, and he is raring to go.
Lately, I have been able to view a number of really, really good movies. Sheila had been itching to watch "The Butler" and we finally had a chance to check it out. I was skeptical about my chances of staying awake for a 3 hour drama film while laying in bed tired. As it turns out, I had no problem keeping my eyes open. The film is moving and heartfelt. Its put together in a way that really showcased Forest Whittaker's acting talent. Oprah played a supporting role as the butler's wife, and she's no slouch in the acting department either. I am lucky enough to go to the movies at work fairly regularly, and in recent months I have seen "American Hustle", "Lone Survivor", and "12 Years A Slave" at our local theatre. Sheila and I also got a chance to watch recent release "Dallas Buyers Club" the other night. I tell you what. That is a hell of a collection of movies right there. Hustle, Buyers Club and 12 Years A Slave are all up for Best Picture at the Oscars. It's extremely difficult to rank these movies as far which was my favourite, but that is what I do, I make lists. So here it is.
5) Lone Survivor is probably the best movie Mark Wahlberg has ever done. The movie is almost entirely made up of a gunfight between al Queda fighters and 4 American soldiers. The action during the fight feels so real and genuine, it's easy enough to get lost in its authenticity. 3.5/5
4) American Hustle was great as expected. The cast is filled with superstars from Christian Bale to Bradley Cooper to Jennifer Lawrence. It started to drag on a bit towards the end, but that took away from the movie only a slight bit.
3) The Butler Definitely one of the best movies for couples to come out recently. A love bio pics, as it seems to add an element of importance to the story being told. Add in the previously mentioned performances from Whittaker and Oprah, and you have a really well done movie.
2) Dallas Buyers Club I have raved to anyone who would listen about how good Matthew McConaughey was in his last movie "Mud". I went so far as to list it at #2 in my favourite movies of 2013. He has outdone himself with this one. Everyone is talking about his losing 50 pounds for the role, something I find amazing considering the physique he already had. There was no fat to be dropped, losing 50 pounds of mostly muscle is pretty incredible. His character, Ron Woodruff, is so complex, but McConaughey seems to handle it with ease. Coupled with the supporting performance by Jared Leto playing a transgendered woman who becomes Ron Woodruff's business partner, I was hooked from beginning to end.
1) 12 Years A Slave Words simply can not do this movie justice. Everyone over the age of 16 should see this film. The unique way in which the director Steve McQueen shot the film, captures even small details and makes you realize that they are all part of the bigger picture. Incredible acting performances by everyone in the film. Engaging subject matter that left me unwilling to look away. Heart wrenching scenes, culminating with Lupita Nyong'o's character getting a violent beating that the slave owner forced her friend to administer. This is likely one of the best movies I have ever seen, and I am still shaken from his powerful force days later. Do whatever you can to get out and see it, it's a life changer.
Before I wrap this up, I can't neglect to mention a most awesome gift I was given by my sister Erin for Christmas. She was lucky enough to pull my name for our family secret santa this year. She was very generous, and one of the things she gave me was a fitbit flex. It's a little wristband with a tracking chip inside of it. You wear it, and it tracks your steps taken, distance traveled and calories burnt throughout the day. It also can track sleeping patterns though I haven't sued it for that. It does work as a silent alarm as well, though my habit of smashing the sleep button leads me to worry that the fitbit won't wake me up. Sheila is such a light sleeper that the silent vibrations at my wrist wake her up. I digress. Erin is well aware of my affinity for all things fitness, and while I had heard about the fitbit, I knew little about it. As it turns out, it has done wonders to motivate me to keep active. I find it very hard to have a lazy day when I have this readily available visual reminder about how much or how little I have done on any given day. Even when I am having a lazy day, usually falling on Sundays and Mondays due to sleep deprivation, I find that my fitbit gets me to at least do some physical activity. The lights on the wristband let you know how close to your daily goal you are. I have mine set to 10,000 steps taken, so for every light it's 2000 steps. I haven't had a day under 6000, even when I am "taking the day off" so to speak. I have knocked it out of the park a few times, culminating last week in a day when I hit 18,000 steps. If I remember correctly, that day consisted of 3 different walks, a jog, tons of work around the house, taking the dog out in the yard, a hockey game and more. When choosing something to do, I find that the fitbit has me leaning towards the most active option almost every time. Thanks Erin, it's definitely one of the coolest gifts I have received.
With that, I bid adieu to my small gaggle of loyal readers. To my mom, hang in there, I'm looking forward to visiting with you soon. To my most loyal reader Sheila, thanks for lighting a fire under my blog neglecting posterior. To Elizabeth, I hope your recovery is going well, please take it easy. To the rest of you, take care, I shall be back soon.
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