Still slogging on...

26 Jan 17
05:30 hrs

     Good Morning Dear Readers!

     And isn't it a lovely day? As long as you're not vomiting or purging from any other orifices.

     There is a very nasty bit of intestinal viral infection going around. The whole country is being hit in random locations. Humber College had 200+ cases of Norovirus but they administration did not shut down the school. My Lobster was hammered with some icky kind of bug the day after returning from the Nation's Capital. The same nasty critter touched on Loin Fruit #2 and the Sr. Couch Monkey who has been curled up in his  residence since Sunday. Yours truly? I had gas pains but that could have been a pickled egg. As a kid, I ate dirt. Go figure.

     Have you ever watched the Border Security shows? No? Well, if you want to see stupid people - and I mean really STUPID PEOPLE - give it a look see. I used to watch it with my Lobster's father. Good laughs all around. I'm not trying to racially profile anyone but just about every Asian landing at an airport will be bringing in food stuffs. Beef, chicken, pork. Dried or raw in leaky plastic bags having been at room temperature for a ten hour flight. Yes, they, like all travellers coming into the country, have to fill out a Customs Declaration Card indicating what monies, meats, fruits, veggies, etc. These cards are, to my knowledge, in the the two official languages only. Maybe they should be printed in Mandarin or Cantonese because the travellers routinely say "Oh, I did not understand the question."

     "Tough Titty", said the Kitty, when the milk ran dry.

     And a lot of these scofflaws are international university students. You know what it is? Their mom's have pushed  it on them with the notion that "there's no good food over there. The Gwai Lo don't know how to cook like your momma. You will bring good food with you. You will get sick if you eat too much Gwai food." And as a dutiful subservient child you do as you are told. And as a dutiful criminal you will pay your penalties when you get caught.

     Education is the key. The students and their international travel coordinators should be brought up to speed on the rules. It sure would make things easier and less embarrassing when customs officers tear apart their luggage. Maybe education isn't the key. Why deny CBSA officers their fun?

     Have you heard of Snow Washing? A massive money laundering scheme that is  taking place right here in the Great White North. Surprise surprise surprise! From all indications it is quite elaborate too.

     My project for my Lobster's birthday is moving along well. She knows what it is. In fact, I was instructed to build it. Once completed pictures will be posted on the blog and on the Facebook pages as well. Stay tuned.

    

Are You Ready 4 This?

20 Jan 17
05:15 hrs

     The question is : Are You Ready for  This!

     Are you really?

     Up here in Lotusland we are content with our socialized medicine, the lack of gun toting hot headed low brows in our midst (they're still there but are invisible because they aren't allowed to open carry), the mediocrity of our politics. But South of the 49th today will be the start of the Great Un-doing. Anything and everything even remotely progressive or empowering to those who are marginalized will be erased or reversed. The Stone Ages have returned with the horde of club swinging pussy grabbing Cavemen now occupying your Capital.

     I drove to Hub City yesterday to pick up Loin Fruit #1 and he asked if I was ready for the end of the earth. He may not be far off. But, I do have the ability to feed my family (and I hope they like rabbit). I'm not into this whole prepping thing but I do believe that some basic skills and supplies should be on hand if for nothing else but when the Big Shake happens,  a zombie apocalypse or if The Donald torques off Kim Jun IL who launches his missles at Seattle and they fall short into Victoria. No big deal, as long as the wind is an off shore breeze.

     A friend of mine, who lives overlooking Marina Park, has been documenting some  weird buildings being constructed on the western side of the park. When I asked what they were he replied that it was a "Tim Horton's Walk Through!  LOL". I haven't heard what it will be. Speaking of buildings going up the condos / apartments behind the government offices by the Courtenay River are well on their way as well. And the new hospital is still underway. It's all the interior work left now. I'm sure the landscaping will be finished this spring too. There's been a pause on the new road on Headquarters over the Tsolum River.  The east side is constructed but not paved.  I would expect that the west side has to be done before the bridge is built. Maybe, that's the next step, to build the abutments. Hey,  I'm not an engineer. Anything after Lego is beyond me.

     My Lobster is back from the Nation's Capital. The weather was just terrible while she was there but other than that she was able to meet with a number of relatives, friends and ex-coworkers. Lots of visiting and lots of running around.

     I'm still looking for people to review portions of my new tome. After the last one I think people got scared off. If anyone is interested in a little light reading give me a shout.

Batch-N It

07 Jan 17
08:05 hrs

     At 0700 hrs my phone started ringing. It was my Lobster.  "Sleeping in?"

     "YES!"

     After a week of 10+hour days at work and being up at 0-Dark 30 to toss her on the plane to The Nation's Capital I figured I might just take in the luxury of waking at a natural pace. Nope. Oh well.

     Yes. My Better Half has returned home,  surprising her mother yet again. We have both done this a number of times over the years. As time goes by our parents are going to need more assistance and it is important that we return the love we recieved over the years. Yes, there are groups and organizations to help but if they do not reach out for help, and most seniors do not ask for help, it is up to the direct relatives (that means you) to help or find help for them or pay for help for them. It's your duty. They gave you life. You will ease their life. If you can't do that, you Dear Reader, are a waste of skin.

      So, Loin Fruit #2 and I are the sole occupiers of the Wayward Inn. We work well together. I hope he becomes a teacher some day. He would be fantastic as a history prof. His passion could make it live again.

     I don't know if you are following the new season of Alone. The "contestants" are in Patagonia of all bloody places and despite the puma and numerous wild boar there is plenty of food and lots of building materials. It can't be too rough their in Day 43 and there is still seven people left. If you have watched the two previous seasons you will realize two things. First, some You-all production company has taken over or maybe it it is just being filmed differently. There's no Canadianism  conversions for the You-all viewers. Celsius to Farenheit, Kilometers to Miles, C'mon Dog for Intelligence, etc. Second, and most importantly, Patagonia is no where near as rough as Vancouver Island! Forty Three days and there are still seven people left. In the first season, after 43 days there were three guys and it had rained for half of the duration! If the show gets any softer I'll have to stop watching.

     Just watched an interesting movie called WTF. It's about a female war  correspondent in Afghanistan. Good movie. Very Gritty.

     My Better Half has taken another Distance Ed course and has passed with an A+. Huge congrats. I took the same course about a year ago and finished with a B+. Regardless of the grade the point is that we have never stopped learning. Courses for self improvement, courses for work or courses for general interest. I hope our two Couch Monkeys take the hint.

08 Jan 17
21:05 hrs

      What the hell is all this white shit falling from the sky? It looks nice on the mountains but I sure don't want it in my driveway. Kinda screws up my outlook on the Valley. That's okay Loin Fruit #2 and I cleaned out the parking area once and if they cancel school for him tomorrow then we'll just do it again. I'm supposed to be patrolling tomorrow but I doubt if I'll get very far in the patrol vehicle. Another day on call will give me the opportunity to do some more work on my Lobster's Bday present. She wants me to make a Book House (née a lending library) to put out on the front lawn of the Wayward Inn. I think I have figured out a means of putting in some unique features too. I fired up the band saw that was given to me by a former neighbour. Haven't used it since he gave it to me. The fact that I have it and not his son in law is a story all by itself.

     Speaking of stories...the current book project is really coming together. I'm trying to finish off the chapter on 435 Sqn and I am working on my notes for the final chapter. There are two areas that I am not covering and they are my deployment to Egypt and my time in the reserves. Not that they are not interesting but want to focus on just my time in the reg force. Still looking for someone interested in proof reading it. Any takers?

     I figure if I can get four books published they might provide enough income to fill the Ram with gas at least twice a year. It would be nice if I could get it into a major distributor or a high traffic location. Currently, Wood Knocks and Tossed Rocks can be found at two places on the Island. There's a knick knack shop in Bowser and at the Black Rooster Mercantile in Black Creek. Of course I try to keep some on hand to flog to people I meet. But for the most part it is in fits and starts. I'll have to start posting on all the Bigfoot Facebook pages again. Maybe that will generate some sales. For those of you, Dear Readers, who have bought a copy I thank you and ask that you show it to your friends and family.  Copies are available on Amazon and Kindle.

Some days it pays to stay in Bed!

02 Jan 17
05:30 hrs

     The past couple of days my tinitus has lessened a wee bit allowing me to stay snuggled longer.
     Oh joy.
     Oh bliss.
     Oh rapture.

     But, yesterday it was not to be. It was work that called and in true diligent form I responded. What should have been a routine call first went sideways and the went South. It should have taken maybe two hours tops which would allowed me to go home and have the Big Breakfast with my Lobster and the Loin Fruits.
     Nope!
     Would you believe five and a half hours and then another couple more for the paper work. All of which could have been avoided if the advice and counselling offered was followed.
     But no! Some people just want to follow their own rules and as a result they had to pay the piper and in this case the ferry man. On a personal level, it will take some time for me to get over this and may have hardened my resolve as well.

     We are all going to take the Senior Couch Monkey back to college in Hub City. Lunch, book store, maybe a restaurant supply store too. A well rounded road trip. Chef Blaine has a couple of seasoned pork tenderloins for the Flame Pit when we return. Thank goodness that the holiday landed on today otherwise I would be back at my other position. Starting Tuesday I'll be on for 12 days out of 14, which will be help pay off the Christmas bills.

     The Sages are coping with heavy snows in the Interior that only compound the ongoing medical issues. There is nothing that can be done except to follow the advice and adhere to the regimen that has been prescribed. It is my hope that the inevitable be delayed for a few years more. It certainly is not time yet. Lord knows that I will be a bloody basket case when it does happen. Probably just head out to a lake alone and howl my displeasure at the moon. 

     The losses of 2016 just kept piling up until the bitter end. My father in law, public figures (Bowie, Prince, etc), Heads of State (who would have thought Castro would finally drop), entire cities (Aleppo) and finally my Better Half's parish priest. At every turn of the calender somebody dropped. In all in was a shit year. Let's all hope that 2017 will he better.

     If you are into some serious comedy there is the upcoming SNOWED IN COMEDY TOUR at The Sid. I attended last year with the Senior Couch Monkey. This year the Junior Loin Fruit and I will be having our ribs tickled. It should prove to be an enjoyable evening.

     Oh, before I forget. The Chapters are being finalized and compiled. With any luck I may be able to get this off for a review before publishing. I think I'll test the waters by sending a couple of chapters to an interested party for their review and blessing. And I think I'd better get an Official Okey Dokey from a Public Affairs Officer too.