to be continued

Selecting the death, God shrieks.

2005-11-12T19:04:00.000-08:00

So I was doing some cleaning a few days ago and came across this poem that I had transcribed from a movie. The movie was about a group of inner city high school students troubled lives. They put on a talent competition. In it – some of the students recite a poem, which must have struck me as meaningful, because I copied it down and typed it out. I was going through some old papers and found it (dot matrix printout… kinda weird looking!).

If anyone can think of the name of the movie, I would like to know. It was from about 1989-91ish.

Anyhow... here is the poem.

Selecting the death,
God shrieks.
The battered child.
Someone else yelps for mother in the middle of the storm.

The palm readers pulled down their shades today.
The children held out their hands,
Feeling for the rain.
No lifelines on those palms,
Just smooth, unmarred, shiny skin.
Like pearls, or wax.

A pigeon ate a man’s heart today,
And the sun rose miles of half-dead shellfish.
With crazy stalked eyes,
Piled knee-deep on the avenue.
Today.

A blind beggar died today,
And a pigeon ate his heart.
The birds are flying into buildings today.
That’s today, today, today, today!

Someone else yelps for mother in the middle of the storm.
“Ma…”
A lonely apartment silenced.
You remember the roar of the dinosaur?
The woman’s Scotty craps on the floor.
Bad Scotty, bad.
Oh, the woman so sad.
She washes her hands, and then waits by the door.
Today, yeah today!

I heard a French prophet say,
There will be “Ah”
And there will be “Ay”
And he predicted it exactly to the day.
Today that is. Today!
How did he know?
What did he say?
Why did he give it all away?

The whole sky is an orange moon.
Blood swells the veins.
Rush of the river,
Bursting out of its bed.
Kind of familiar thinks sweep by at fantastic speeds.
Was that a chair?
Or was that an ice cream parlor?

Selecting the death,
The child whimpers,
The battered God.
Someone else yelps for her mother.
“Mother, are you here today?”
“Mother, do you care today?”
“Mother, is today the day?”
“Or was that yesterday, when we had that terrible storm?”

doctors appointments....

2005-10-27T17:24:00.000-07:00

So I had my specialist appointment the other day. Of course my knees are currently just fine, so he really had nothing interesting to recommend. The main reason I kept my appointment was to find out about whether he suggests I run a triathlon next year. He said if I was to lose about 40 lbs he thinks maybe it would be ok, but said I should not run because it puts too much stress on my knee joints.

Bummer. I am going to do it anyway. I figure that I will train at the gym, swimming, weights, exercise bikes, and elliptical machines and stuff, when the summer comes I will ride a (real) bike, and not actually run until the day of the event. I know that would mean I might not be able to do it (the running part), but I will give I my best shot! My wife a while ago said she would train with me for it too. She isn’t putting much effort forth to work out much. That bothers me a little. Part of me wants a partner to train with, to push each other harder, on the other hand – if I push her too hard she would just say “forget it.” So I don’t know if she would be the ideal training partner. The other aspect is that it is kinda hard to schedule training together because of the kids – the eldest can look after himself… but the 5 year old…..
Anyone out there need a training partner? Haha.

On a similar note, I had a family doctor’s appointment the other day also. Doc wants me to come in every three months to get my blood pressure checked. A year or so ago it was getting close to almost high. Three months ago it was 132/82 – which is good. This time – 128/82 WOW!! Yeah baby!!!!!! My goal next time is to get just a little better even.

I haven’t really dropped much weight since I started working out about a year ago. Only about 8 pounds or so overall. I have lost a few inches (2 pant sizes) and have a lot more muscle mass, but I am still not too happy about the stomach. I still would like to lose it. I am not frustrated yet though, I am not about to give up.

OK. I got some work to do before I can catch the last period of the hockey game.

Till we meet again!

It has been a while....

2005-10-21T15:52:00.000-07:00

Wow… it has been almost 3 months since my last entry. Where to begin……

My knees are feeling much better these days. I don’t know what happened to them, but I am back to working out regularly. My family joined the YMCA, so I try to get out at least 3 days a week. The youngest has swimming lessons, so that gives an opportunity for both wife and I go have a short workout one day during the week. I am actually off in a few minutes for a swim with the kids.

Funny thing about my knees though. Originally when I injured myself in July, it was my right knee that hurt. After a while it seemed to get better, but my left one hurt (really bad). Then they would alternate back and forth for a bit, the discomfort getting less and less. Go figure. Now they are pretty much back to normal. During the last few weeks there has been a lot of rain and they have been aching a little, but nothing like before. I have that appointment with my specialist next week, and I am going to ask for an MRI just to make sure there isn’t anything seriously wrong. I know it may take a while, I am willing to wait. I also want to make sure that it is ok to plan to run the triathlon next year without doing any long term damage.

On a totally separate note - I had my class reunion last weekend. It was fun. It had been 14 years since I had seen many of the people I saw on Saturday. I am also quite glad it is over. I was kind of the head of the organizing committee for the event and it was a lot of work. We owe a debt of gratitude for one of our alumni, who was our audio-visual man for the event. He has his own business (www.odc-av.com) and supplied all the equipment for music and powerpoint presentation. He prepared the show also and it was absolutely AMAZING! We have our own reunion website with a guestbook (not going to give that out – sorry), and I have been raving about Nick’s abilities and help – but no matter what I say it will never be enough. If anyone out there ever needs any sort of audio visual stuff done for an event or the company, I encourage you to seek him out. Apparently he travels all over Canada and the US for shows.

The event itself took 10 months to plan. It seemed that nothing really got done before the last 2 months though. Most of the time was taken calling people and finding our alumni. We had about 150 people in our graduating class, and I think about 40 people (alumni) showed up at the reunion. I was a little disappointed, but we had fun nonetheless. I was a total wreck on Saturday morning. By about 5pm, when I was pretty sure we were going to cover expenses I was feeling a little better. It was really weird to be inside the school for the first time in 14 years.

Christmas is coming soon, I have been starting to think about what gifts to get for people. My brother, sister and I, along with our respective spouses draw for gifts every year. I always get my sister, which really stinks! She is THE HARDEST person to buy for. Over the years, as I have matured I have found that it isn’t the size of the gift you get for someone, it is the thought that goes into it. That may not sound very profound for some people, but it is a marked change from what I used to be like. I used to think the more money I spent on people the more they meant.
I am a little disappointed in what Christmas has become. It isn’t even Halloween yet within a week all the stores will have the Christmas music playing and will be pushing Christmas. To me, Christmastime isn’t about the gifts, but being with family. Both my parents and grandparents and my wife’s parents and grandparent aren’t getting any younger, and we don’t all get together as a whole family very often. Christmas is virtually the only time.

So anyways…. I have written lots, I am off to the gym for a swim (ha – I rhyme!).

I will leave with a quote I saw on the shirt that a teenager was wearing at the gym the other day.
The good you do today
Will be forgotten tomorrow.

Do good anyway.

Till we meet again….

It is over.

2005-08-03T13:45:00.000-07:00

The dream is done. For 2005 anyway.

My hopes for running in the triathlon are officially over. My knee still is still painful, and I have a sneaking suspicion that I will have to have surgery again, to clean up any cartilige floating around in there.

I am so frustrated. I haven't been able to do any workouts at all for the last 3 weeks. I tried the exercise bike again for a few minutes yesterday. It didn't hurt, but it didn't feel right. So I stopped immediately.

So now I wait. My specialist is Dr Luba in Scarborough. He did both my knees the last time (7 yrs ago and 3 yrs ago). Hopefully the tear isn't serious and whatever he thinks I should do I will do asap when I see him in October. Then I will start rehab and get it up to a level where I can enter a tri in 2006.

I got to thinking a while ago why exactly I want to do this anyway. The only thing I can think of is that my whole life I have been overweight. Not obese or anything, just a little more than stocky. About 7 or 8 years ago or so I played a little pickup hockey. Man was that a killer! I was heaving and coughing and chocking. I blamed it on smoking. "I gotta quit smoking man!" I said, totally believing that if I didn't smoke I would have great stamina.

Well 6 years ago I did quit smoking, and believe me - I was out of shape. Smoking may have had something to do with it. But I was terrible!

So maybe my wanting to compete in an event like this is to show myself and the world that I am no longer that out of shape stocky guy. I don't know.

I recall hearing a quote on a television commercial for something or other that said "it isn't the shape you are, it is the shape you are in." Maybe I wanted to prove to myself that I can be a little overweight and still be healthy. Does that make sense? Does anyone else feel that way, or am I this total freak who needs to go on prescription drugs?

take care.... till we meet again...

Bank Mergers

2005-07-26T19:26:00.000-07:00

I read an article in the paper today that the topic of Bank mergers is again being discussed.

It has been said that proponents of bank mergers argue that Canadian Financial Institutions need to join in order to compete against the big global banks.

Internationally, this may be true. Mergers may help banks break into the US and overseas market, where legislation in those countries allow for competition. In Canada, however, our financial services oligopoly restricts competition. There are no big global monster companies that compete with domestic banks here in Canada.

Currently we have five major full services banks: Bank of Montreal, TD CanTrust, Scotia, Royal Bank, CIBC. All are extremely profitable. All have high monthly service charges. In my experience all have very poor customer service. The reason - no competition. Our banks know we have to bank somewhere. There are only five choices so there is no incentive for them to compete.

Bank mergers in Canada will result in less competition, higher service charges (gouging), greater profits, and even poorer customer service.

People need more choices. It is time to allow more competition in Canada. Allow American banks to open up shop here, and watch what happens with competition! Fees come down. Service goes up. More money in Canadian's pockets.

The government of Canada has a responsibility to do what is right for Canadian citizens. Allowing Canadian banks to merge may be good for Canadian Banks, but not for the people of Canada!

injury!

2005-07-23T05:55:00.000-07:00

So last Friday I started my new morning routine, and went for a bike ride early in the morning – 8 km. That went well, and then I put my bike in the backyard, replaced my helmet with a ball cap and started a jog. My jog itself is only about a half- two thirds of a km (I still have to work on that part of my routine).

So I finish that and go have my shower.

At some point I hurt my knee. I don’t remember when exactly, nor do I know what I did to hurt it, but it hurt like hell! I have been taking Ibuprophen like it was candy this last week, 800 mg every 4 hours. Just yesterday (one week after the incident) did it even start to feel better. I went to my family doctor, who is setting up an appointment with my specialist who has already operated on both knees.

I am starting to doubt whether or not I will be able to take part in my triathlon. I told my GP that if it is just dealing with the pain, I can live with it, but if running will further deteriorate the cartilage I my knee, I will have to do some thinking…..

I am to purchase some new walking shoes. I was at a few stores yesterday and found a really nice pair of Rockports, which seemed really comfortable, but am going to confirm the choice this morning before I commit to $150. As an FYI – the Softmoc warehouse sale over by the Hopkins Street AMC is closing till October at the end of July. Better get there quick to get some good deals!

Later all!

training update

2005-07-13T13:49:00.000-07:00

My triathlon is one month away. I am getting a little nervous. Up till just recently (within the last week or so) I have been doing my training in my house on exercise equipment.
Well, I bought a bicycle the other day. Just a second hand mountain bike. I went for a leisurely ride on the Whitby bike trail on Sunday. It was nice. Except for falling once.... but the guy at Bicycles Plus said "everybody falls" - so I don't feel so bad.
I guess I should qualify the fall before everyone thinks I am this total clod....
I put baskets on my pedals for the first time. You have to get used to those before getting special pedals and a shoe that clips into it. Well I was slowing right down to manoeuver between some posts and slowed down to a little too slow. I lost balance and didn't get my foot out of the basket before I feel over. I scrapped up my knee and my elbow, but was fine other than that.
So. The ride was fun. It was about 15-16 kms - leisurely. After I got back I went for a bit of a jog for half a km.
OMIGOD!
I was killing myself! I have been training for over 6 months! How can I be this tired? All these thoughts of failure went through my mind.
I spent Sunday night in pain and ate Ibuprophen like it was candy.
Monday I felt good. Went swimming at the Civic, and did about a kilometre in the pool. Then went home and rode for over 6kms. My legs were like jello, but I felt good.
This morning - the same bike route and then 10 minutes on the elliptical.
So there is my training update.... I am starting to put things together.
I am a little frustrated at my weight issue. I broke the 220 lb barrier many months ago, but cannot get past it. My goal is 200 by the end of the year, but I have been stuck at the same place for 4 months. Oh well.

As for my next entries in my blog here. I haven't been feeling very motivated to write much, as I don't know if anyone is reading. Help me stay motivated to write my life down! Let me know someone is out there! I don't know if I can continue to write to no one....

home from hospital

2005-06-07T17:11:00.000-07:00

It has been a long day.

After getting the kids off to school, we went to the hospital. Wife had her surgery. It was only about 40 minutes late. Not bad. I was told to be back at the "prepping" area after about 2 hours, so I went for a walk down Simcoe Street. As I was crossing Adelaide Ave, I saw a vehicle on the west side parked and waving cars to go by her. I approached this woman and asked what the problem was. Out of gas, she suspected. Seems she never pays attention to the gas gage because her husband always puts it in. I kind of chucked to myself and offered to push her into a church parking lot which was right on the corner. She called her husband with my cell phone but he apparently was still on the golf course.... She said she would be ok and her house wasn't too far to walk. We tried to get into the church to let the priest or whomever might be there know that the car was having vehicle troubles, but the doors were locked. So anyhow, I feel kind of good about doing my good deed of the day.

I had a bite to eat and went back to the hospital around 2:30. Wife was back in one of the holding cubicles - sound asleep. I sat beside her for a while as she came in and out of conciousness. We had to stay there till about 5:30 or so. The hospital staff were fantastic! They have a pretty stressful job and my wife and I appreciate all the great job they did.

Wife is sleeping now. She has taken 2 Perks and is out of it. Her stomach pretty sore from the incisions, and her shoulders are a lot sore from when they hang you almost upside down to move your organs out of the way....

All things considered, however, the procedure couldn't have gone any better. I made sure I didn't book any appointments over the next few days so I will be here if wife needs me.

Oh yeah - one more thing I thought of as I mentioned the woman who ran out of gas.

Many years ago when I was in high school I had a Mazda GLC hatchback. It was white with a brown passenger door (remember the days of it is works, it is good enough!!). Well it was MY car, meaning my mom and dad had three cars and I was the third driver.... One day one of the other cars that my parents owned went belly-up, so I had to share the Mazda with my dad.

It seems that he always thought I checked the oil, and naturally I always thought he did.
No one checked the oil.
One day I got off work from The Bay, and as I was driving down the parking lot, the car stalled.
I am sure you can guess what happened... the engine seized because their was no oil left in the place where the oil goes.

I thought of that experience those many years ago when this woman mentioned how she never looks at the gas gage. Still makes me laugh at myself. Anyone else have any similar experiences?

Till we meet again....

surgery today

2005-06-07T06:08:00.000-07:00

This morning my wife has her gallbladder out. She is downstairs talking to her mom right now, and we are leaving in about 45 minutes. It is funny…. I am not nervous, and neither is she (she has said that if she can have brain surgery while she is awake, this is nothing….-note, she had a brain tumor removed when she was an early teen).

So. We have gotten the kids off to school and are getting ready to leave. I just thought I would write a quick note here, I haven’t done so in a while.

We're back!

2005-05-17T16:34:00.000-07:00

Well. We are back. We have been for over a week now.

I guess I should apologize to my big audience (haha) for not writing sooner, I haven’t had time to write much. I realize now that taking a week off to go somewhere really means you take more like 3 weeks off.

The week before I left I tapered down my appointments – that way I wouldn’t be stressing the whole time I was in Cuba about “I must do this… I must do that” etc.
Then the week off. Then when I come back – I come back to very few appointments. The week after the vacation is working hard to book meetings for the following week.

So now life has settled back into the normal routine. It was funny… the Monday following my return I recall waking up and saying “who is going to make my coffee.” I had gotten so used to getting up and going for buffet breakfast and coffee.

So…. Cuba.

Cuba is HOT!

On one day it was 43 degrees in the sun. Way too hot for me. So we stayed in the water a lot.

Let me start at the beginning……. The panicky beginning.....

Boarding:

Our plane was scheduled for take off at 6:10am Sunday. We got to the airport around 3:30ish (and I was NOT happy about getting two hours sleep!). We all got our boarding passes together, then my wife and I went to the information desk to get a “tourist visa” because we screwed up the one the Travel Agent provided. Everyone else when..... somewhere.

I figured we would meet everyone at the boarding gate.

Ten minutes later, we get the paper completed and go on thru the entrance into the Gates. We have our carry on’s X-rayed and they wanded us and let us go. We walked what seemed to be a mile or so, and got to Gate 30-something). We sat down and waited for everyone else to join us.

An hour later, no one else was there.

At about 5:10 I started to get a little panicky, so I ventured back into the main area of the airport, and went to the previously mentioned information desk. The clerk looked at me and said “your father is looking for you!”.

Oh great! I run around looking for the group.

Not easy, considering I think half of Toronto decided to board airplanes that day. I ran around for two minutes before giving up and venturing back through the metal detectors and join my wife at the gate. I was going to board the plane! To heck with them! Fortunately on the way back I met up with them. Apparently they were waiting for us outside the Gates for an hour, all the while we were waiting inside for them.

Oh well. I don’t understand why. We are all adults and don’t need to have handholding. But it all went off without a hitch. We got to the gate with lots of time to spare.

Departure:

Did I mention that we were scheduled for takeoff at 6:10?

We are all on the plane, tucked in nicely and strapped down with our seatbelts, when the captain comes on the P.A. system. He welcomed us and all that wonderful stuff, and then said that we will be taking off at 6:30am, because the airport doesn’t open then.

It doesn’t open till 6:30?
Why were we scheduled to depart at 6:10?

Interesting. But oh well. Go figure.

So anyhow. The rest of the week was fun. I did learn some good information for the future, however, like not to bother take workout shoes on vacation, because they will NEVER be used. I also learned that it isn’t necessary to take a pair of jeans and a sweater “just in case” it is cool at night. It isn't! Well, it is cooler, but not cool enough!

It was nice being away from the normal day to day. Many of my friends and clients have actually told me that I came back looking very relaxed. I did find it relaxing, but I also realized I couldn’t spend more than a week on vacation at a time. By Thursday both my wife and I were ready to come back. If we knew that we would be there for more than one week we would have been scratching our eyes out. Perhaps that has something to do with there not being much to do off the resort, no museums to see, no towns to visit, but I also think that it has something to do with not having a purpose.

Let me explain…

I am an early riser. My wife is not. I would actually sleep in down there, and get up around 7:45-8. I would often go for a swim, which was very serene as there was never anyone in the pool. I would do my laps for about 10-15 minutes and then go back to the room and have a shower. Sometimes my wife would get up then and we would go to breakfast together, but sometimes I would go alone and meet up with some of the others from our group. After breakfast and once my wife got up and fed, we would do whatever we wanted to do. There was no responsibility. No children to feed and get off to school or the sitters. No meals to cook. No clients to contact or financial plans to make. At first it was great! Sit by the hotel pool and drink Hoochie Koochie’s (lime slurpies with Blue Curaco and Rum), or go out on the ocean on a paddleboat. Or go to the Villa Pool and drink Blue Waves (Sprite, Blue Curaco and Rum). (FYI – although I drank a lot, at no point did I get drunk, which is more than I can say for my sisters brother-in-laws!!!). Note – Boco rum means “little rum”

So we had nothing to do. Great at first, but the problem lies in that I enjoy having responsibility. I crave having deadlines and client meetings and putting my kids to sleep.

Bottom line – I was really glad to go, and really glad to come back!

I have written over two pages in MS Word…it is time to sign off. I welcome comments from anyone who strays by these pages – let me know I am being read by someone!

Till we meet again…
Mark

leaving tomorrow

2005-04-30T06:11:00.000-07:00

Well.

Here we are. The day before we leave. Saturday, almost 9am. We are going to have to go to bed really early today, to get up around 1am and get ready to be on the road by 2:15-2:30. The plane takes off at 6am tomorrow. Ouch. My mother in law is here colouring with my youngest downstairs. The oldest is still sleeping, as is my wife. My parents are coming up around supper time. It is easier for them to come up part way and rest here and we all go to the airport together than if they are coming all the way from Kingston at 2 in the morning.

I am antsy. Although I have packed most stuff already, I still haven’t finished. I haven’t had a shower yet this morning so I have yet to pack the toiletries and the last minute things. I had my workout this morning already – so my workout shoes are ready to go.
Yeah…. Workout shoes. That is another thing my wife has been nagging me about. Shoes. I am taking the following footwear: Workout shoes (old running shoes that my orthotics don’t fit in), water shoes (for the ocean), dress shoes (for the wedding), walking shoes (in case my feet hurt) from the sandals which I am taking. (not the best quality sandals, and I am used to walking with orthotics for the last 10 years).
5 pairs of shoes. Is that too much? You tell me!

Another thing- I reread that last post I made a few days ago, and it sounds like my brother and I don’t really get along very well at all. That isn’t true. We hang out whenever I go down to Kingston (which isn’t often), but we don’t have the same sort of relationship that other siblings have. My sister and I are closer, maybe that is because we are closer in age (I am older by only 3 yrs) and are in similar stages of life (have kid(s), own a house etc). Anyways, I just wanted to clarify that even though I am not really close to my brother, I still love him and we get along ok. My goal is for us to be great friends as well.

RE: Antsyness.
Maybe I am nervous about the plane. Hmmm. I don’t know. My wife has some adavant (sic?) that she was prescribed a few years ago I an considering taking. I have never been on a commercial aircraft before. The only other times I was in an airplane was when my sister had her pilots license and took us up in a little 4 seater for half an hour, and then when I jumped out of one last year. (I was terrified that time!). I don’t know.

Workout update:
My elliptical is awaiting repair. It needs a new belt. It has been out of commission for about a month now. So I have been only using the exercise bike recently. I started experimenting with the preset programs. I used to only to “manual” and just keep the tension on very little, but have recently begun adding resistance. I have been doing the “fat burn” program, which starts off really easy for 3 mins, then ramps it up a notch. It takes 9 minutes to get to the max, then it holds it there for 12 minutes when it starts to ease off back down again. At first I couldn’t maintain 12 minutes at level 8, but now I am doing it ok. I haven’t weighed myself in about a week, but last I checked, I was only down 11 pounds since I started, although all my dress pants are falling off me. I have to either go get some suspenders or get a new wardrobe. I still haven’t decided what to do.

Ok. I have written a full page in MS Word. That is enough for me. Time to sign off.

Till next time… my life is… to be continued!

Mark

nothing eventful

2005-04-26T17:44:00.000-07:00

Nothing really going on these days.

I have been pretty busy with clients, so I haven't had much spare time. I am getting ready to go to Cuba this weekend so I have been trying to finish financial plans for a couple of clients before I go. That is pretty much done now, and I have one more to present.

On another note, my mother-in-law is coming to stay at our house while we are gone (yes - it is a kid free week!). So we have also been cleaning, cleaning, cleaning! My mother in law is the type of person that doesn't allow any dust or disorganization in her house. So naturally, when she comes up to visit, our house must be the same. No, she doesn't say it outright... but you know the thoughts are there nonetheless!

Packing is going well. My wife says I am going crazy taking too much.

I might be. But you never know - I could have a few accidents and spill drinks or stuff on 8 pairs of shorts. Then I would only have 3 left to choose from! My sister is getting married over there, so almost my whole family is going. My brother won't fly, so he will be left all alone in Kingston by himself. That is a bummer. I have never really been that close to my brother. My wife says I picked on him when we were younger (I am 5 yrs older). He is the quiet type who keeps everything in. It would have been nice to get to know him better.

Anyhow. That is all for now. I wanted to get some sort of post in here before I leave for a week.

Take care everyone....

Resolution

2005-04-05T10:56:00.000-07:00

If you haven't already.... you might want to read the post of earlier today before you read this one (for continuity purposes!).

Resolution:

It is over.

It is done.

I win.

The evil god’s of home repair have been defeated.

Let me explain….

I went to Canadian Tire earlier this morning. My intent was to purchase a new fixture. Standing in the faucet aisle, looking at all the choices I was overwhelmed. Which one do I pick? What do I do? A panic began to grip me and I could sense that I would be forced to call a plumber.

I approached a woman who was stocking some shelves and asked her if she knew anything about plumbing. I showed her the parts I removed from my bathroom and explained my problem. I was in luck, she said. She had the solution! Halleluiah!!!

At the desk, she brought out a replacement cartridge. That was all I needed to replace. It should only take a few minutes to complete. The cartridge was even free!!!! Wow! I love Moen – when they say lifetime… they mean lifetime!

To make this long story a little shorter… I go home and insert the new cartridge as instructed.

It doesn’t fit in all the way.

I push, and push harder, and push while twisting.

It isn’t going it!

Then I try and pull it out.

Nope!

Finally I twist and pull….. and out it comes…. Broken.

It seems that some remnants of the old cartridge was left inside the pipe. I cleared it out… and went back to Can Tire to get a new one.

Once back home again… I put the cartridge in nice and neatly. I turn the water valve back on…. No leaks. Almost done.

Now to the actually handle. It is too hard to explain the specifics, but suffice it to say, a piece inside the handle was supposed to come out, and it was fused together from years of corrosion.…. It was all messed up…. I had to go get a new handle piece. $35 bucks.

I can live with that.

Shower is working again. Time for me to have a shower.

Take care everyone! If you need any plumbing work done at your house…. Don’t call me!

As usual... my life is... to be continued!

A Handyman I am NOT!

2005-04-05T10:41:00.000-07:00

So my eldest son goes into the bathroom to have his morning shower, with my wife and I both telling him to move a little faster, as we are waiting too, when he says in a bit of a panic “come in here quick!”

In a panic we rush in, thinking… well not really knowing what to think, and he is holding the nozzle to the shower faucet in his hand. His hand is not anywhere near the wall that the faucet should be attached to.

Oh boy, it is going to be one of those days.

So off to work my wife goes, to the sitter goes the youngest, and the eldest to school- leaving me to address the problem.

Did I say problem – NO PROBLEM, I am super-Mark! Out comes the orange Home Depot book “Home Improvement 1-2-3” (whose pages are currently soaking wet – but I move too quick…).

Now before I tell how we get from broken faucet to wet pages, let me tell you a story – partly because I need to make this entry a little longer, partly because I like to tell stories, but mostly because I haven’t really replaced the faucet yet, and I am delaying the inevitable.

Once upon a time a young couple purchased a 45 year old house. Many things needed to be replaced in this home and the young couple (that would be my wife and I for the ignorant reader) – were loaded down with debt (as most young couples are) - so this couple had to learn how to do things themselves. More specifically – the husband had to learn to do these things.

Upon moving into the dream abode, several renovations had to be made. The front door coat closet had to be removed. Why? Because it was obscenely big and took up too much room in our kitchen and the wife wanted a bigger kitchen. The destruction of the walls of this box was the most enjoyable part of the renovation.

Unfortunately it only took a few short minutes.

Upon completion of tearing this structure down, we discovered that the kitchen flooring never quite extended to under this closet. We also discovered that there were 3 layers of linoleum flooring in our cooking room.

After removing 40+ Years of flooring, we discovered a subfloor that badly in need of repair.

THAT’S OK… SUPERMARK TO THE RESCUE!

One Saturday afternoon I worked tirelessly installing a new subfloor in my kitchen! My first foray into the world of home renovation! A world which always seemed a little out of reach had just gotten just a smidgen closer! My wife helped by taking the eldest (only at that time) to Kingston for the weekend.

Over the next few years we made several improvements to our home, including minor things like replacing the laundry tub (my very first experience with plumbing) and putting linoleum in our downstairs bathroom. Might I make a suggestion when installing linoleum for the beginner do-it-yourselfer: Wear old clothes so that if they get destroyed – it doesn’t matter!

Last year we refinished our hardwood flooring - a tedious weeklong task which caused us to wake up every morning aching all over. We are quite happy with the results though…. Much better than the carpet that used to cover the wood.

Recently our kitchen faucet succumbed to the corrosion which had been eating away at it for 40 plus years, and it too needed to be replaced – another plumbing experience, but this one took 8 trips to Home Depot and at the end I had to have my mouth washed out with soap.

So I state all our accomplishments in the home not to brag – but so you know that although I am not a handyman, I am not a complete handy-dolt. But given my past experiences, I should have known better…..

Fast forward to this morning.

I am alone in the bathroom, the house void of all others except myself and my dog Max, who is curled up on the sofa, not caring about me or the frustration or horrors that I was about to experience. (I am trying to be dramatic here… can you feel the tension?).

I am holding the handle of the faucet in my hand, so I unscrew the chrome do-hickey cover thingy so I can see into the piping of the shower unit. I slide it off and I am confronted with the fleeting thought: “what now?”

The book! I sprint downstairs to retrieve the indispensable previously mentioned Home Depot repair book. I look for the plumbing section for single cartridge shower faucets, and read the instructions. Hmmmm.

I look at the diagrams….. hmmm.

OK. I have no idea what to do!

No problem – I think to myself… that is usually how these things start.

In the wall, I see copper piping, which the diagram says to unscrew. The problem is that it looks like the piping doesn’t unscrew. So, what can I take apart, I ask myself….

Inside the pipe there is a plastic thingy. (listen up folks… this is pivotal). Keeping in mind I have already had a coffee this morning, and so I have no excuses for my clarity of thinking… I think something to the effect of “well if I can remove the plastic plug like thing, I might have an idea where to go next.” -I didn’t really know what I was doing. I figured that I would take it apart completely and what to do next would naturally “show up.”

So I take some pliers and pull…. Nothing. I take a screwdriver and try to pry….. nothing…..

Think Mark think!

AH –HA! I will take some pliers and try to unscrew it!

It worked.

It released the water flow.

I now have water streaming everywhere -all over me, the bathroom mirror, the toilet, the floor, and of course the orange Home Depot Home Improvement 1-2-3 book. After a wasted 3 seconds of trying to stem the flow of water, I shut the shower curtain and sprint downstairs to turn of the water to the house.

Emergency over. Mop up done.

So with the water off, the plastic do-hickey thingy (which incidentally is called a ‘cartridge’) was easy to unscrew the rest of the way and pull out.

And that is where I am now. I will shortly be off to Can Tire to pick up a new faucet and then back to attempt to put it back in working order.

Wish me luck! I will do my best to update you all on how this turns out.

Easter is over!

2005-03-28T13:45:00.000-08:00

Happy Easter everyone!

We went to Kingston this weekend to visit our parents. It was fun. We don’t get down to visit as much as we would all like. My wife would like to move there. I feel the same way sometimes. Sometimes I don’t.

My wife’s parents and my parents are totally opposite.

My house – a zoo. A madhouse, a zoo - People talking loudly.

Wife’s parents house. Calm, quiet, neat.

Since I have moved away from home so many years ago, I too have become a little calmer, a little more reserved. It is during these visits home that I see the old me start to surface again. No opinion on that… just an observation.

I don’t remember if I mentioned in a previous post that my parents have a treadmill. Well… they do. So during our stay away from home I was able to work out at least once – which is better than most times when we go away! This morning I pushed the envelope a little. Wife worked, so I was up early too and did 32 minutes on the exercise bike (just an itty bitty bit of tension), then after running upstairs to get son some breakfast, I went down and did 33 minutes on the elliptical too.

It felt GREAT!

I wasn’t dying by the end of it. I could have done more, but had to prepare for some meetings, and play with Son for a bit. I did manage some sit ups (I don’t like them at all!), and did 4 push ups. Four is good, considering that the last time I tried to do it, I did 3.

Anyhow…. I must go do some research. Take care all! To be continued….

Cough

2005-03-24T14:54:00.000-08:00

I had a physical today.

I was prepping myself all week for the “cough” part of it.

It never came.

Because I am training for the tri in August, I figured it would be a good idea to go to the doctor’s office and have them tell me that I am in ok shape to do it. The secondary reason it that it has been more than 10 years since my last tetanus-dyptheria (sic?) shot, and I am going to Cuba in a few weeks. I figured I should get the shot.....

Back to the “cough” part. My doc asked me all the health questions, listened to my heart, took my blood pressure, but never asked me to drop the drawers. Was I disappointed? No way…. No guy that I know enjoys that part of it. But all week I was getting mentally prepared for that. Oh well ... enough said about that.

So I am back on track with the training. I went swimming on Tuesday, followed by almost a week of inactivity because I wasn't feeling well. Then on Sunday we went to the pool to do some laps. I managed to do about 400m non-stop, then later that evening I did my 40 mins of riding the bike. It felt good to be back in form.

Sorry for not updating earlier… finding time can sometimes be difficult for this. Part of my profession means my time is my clients time! Most people find it easier to meet me in the evening, which is mostly when I get my creative impulses.

I haven’t really talked about my career much yet. I love my career. I love being able to look at people’s faces when they realize that it won’t cost them as much as they thought to retire, or that by saving just a little bit every month they’re child will be able to go to college or university.

I met with a new client the other day who didn’t work. Her husband was the sole breadwinner for their entire marriage. He had a little bit set aside for their retirement, but she didn’t. We talked about putting some into a spousal RRSP so that when they do retire, they will end up paying thousands of dollars less in taxes. That translates into thousands of dollars that they get to keep.

What a good feeling!

Anyhow. I have probably blabbed on a little too much. Do you really want to hear that kind of drivel? I didn’t think so! Is there anyone even reading? Let me know if you are out there!

Till we meet again! To be continued…..

Setback

2005-03-18T10:28:00.000-08:00

I am sick.

Not horribly sick with the flu or anything like that. But I have a cold and my throat hurts and I have a little shortness of breath.

So much for training for my triathlon.

I didn't end up going swimming on Monday as I mentioned in my last post. I went Tuesday instead. My wife was sick (same cold) so she stayed home and I did some laps. I lost count after a while, but I figure I did about 450-500m over the course of my time in the pool. Unfortunately once the triathlon starts I won't be able to stop and rest for 5 minutes between laps. I checked out their website again and found that the swimming part of it is actually in the lake! HOLY CRAP! I know - I know..... where did I think it was??? I guess I never gave it any thought. Gonna be pretty cold I bet! Oh well I will muddle through.
So I did about 100m before I had to stop for a rest, which is pretty good for the second time in a pool in about a year. When this (chest) cold I have decides to move itself to a different part of my body I will be able to get back into the pool and start exercising again. If I can get an extra lap in each "training session" before I have to rest I will be happy.

Anyway... it is Friday and I am sitting here in my office and should be working. I have to go see a client in a few hours, and must finish getting ready. Take care world... I will talk to you later!.... to be continued!

My fitness goal

2005-03-14T13:54:00.000-08:00

I have been working out almost every morning for the last few months. I feel great and have noticed a little more room in my pants. But I have been missing something. I am currently working towards getting in better health as a number one priority, but there are also a few other reasons I am doing this.

1. Cuba. My sister is getting married in a few months in Cuba and I wouldn’t mind getting in a little better shape for it.
2. School reunion. My high school reunion is in October and naturally I would like to be slimmer and trimmer.

But there is something else. I know a guy who has run at least one full marathon (42.2 km) and one half marathon. WOW! I think that is quite an achievement. Unfortunately my knees would never allow me to run that far. But I would like to do something like that – some sort of physical achievement that I have to work towards and be proud of myself for doing.

Anyways….

I was reading this article the other day which was talking about how triathlons are no longer just for the “super-fit.” For the life of me I can’t find the website listing all the different events this year or I would post the link. (but do a google searche for Ontario triathlons and you can find some if you like). Anyhow, I did a little research and found that there are many difference classes of them. The ironman triathlon is like swimming 3.8km, biking 180km, and running 42.2km. YEAH!!! Right. But there are ones that are significantly more “reasonable.” I found one that is in Cobourg on August 14th of this year. It is 400m swim, 10km bike, and 2.5km run.

I am doing it! (link: http://www.multisportcanada.com/ms/events/cobourg/description.cfm)

It won’t be easy I am sure. Riding an elliptical is different than running on pavement. My knees will have to be strengthened a lot, even for only 2.5 km. Riding a recumbent exercise bike is different than riding a real bike (which I don’t even own), and then there is swimming. I was in a pool last week and did about 350 metres over the course of 45 minutes, stopping half way between the laps to give my wife a chance to do some laps. Before last week the last time I was in a pool was over a year ago!

So it will be interesting training for this. All the while building my business and raising a family and being a husband.

The good news is that my wife said she would do it too. That in itself is going to be interesting.

My wife isn’t exactly the kind of person who likes to get up at 6am to exercise. But she promised to try, so we went to Value Village yesterday and purchased a crappy tv that I could plug my Ms PacMan into so I can play it on the crap tv while my wife watches the news in the morning.

This morning was our first workout together. It went as well as can be expected.

I will keep you all updated. I now have to go walk the dog and get supper ready. Then we are off to the pool again!

To be continued…

turning over a new leaf

2005-03-09T17:20:00.000-08:00

Well, a few months ago I decided I was going to get in shape. Actually I decided that a long time ago - but never did anything about it. I purchased an Elliptical machine from Sears about a year and a half ago. I used it for a bit, and then it sat there and became a clothes hangar. Around November of last year I decided I was going to start using it. Every morning I got up early and “ran” on it. When I started I could only do 7 minutes. Now my target is 30 minutes each morning and I often do more. Getting up early during these winter months is hard, but I love how I feel after a good cardio workout and that helps motivate me to get my butt out of bed. The other thing that helps is the fact that a) - I am going away in May to Cuba for my sisters wedding, and b) I am helping to organize a class reunion for October of this year. It will be tough keeping the motivation until October, but I will try!

To add to our basement gym, we purchased a recumbent exercise bike in December. There is a big long story to this, and I won't rant on and on about it, but to make a long story short- we bought it from the Fitness Source in Pickering, and the bike broke down after owning it for 4 days. After about 2 months of no one returning my calls to make an appointment to fix it, it went back. We then bought a new one from Costco. It is a Schwinn recumbent made by Nautilus (don't know the model off hand) - It is a fantastic bike. All the bells and whistles! I now try and ride that for 30 minutes every evening (I usually only manage to do it about 3-4 days a week though).

It feels good building up a sweat in the morning. I think it helps get the day started off on the right foot.

You know when you are getting old when you start worrying about things like blood pressure and eating enough vegetables and stuff!

Anyhow... later all.... to be continued!

My first post.....

2005-03-07T17:20:00.000-08:00

My first post.

What is the purpose of this blog? I don’t really know. I won’t be one of those people who post stuff every day. I don’t have the time for that. Hopefully I don’t turn into one of those people who only make one post a month. I have been reading that blogs are the trendy thing to do – not that I am trendy or anything. Not in the least. Perhaps this diary will take on a direction of its own. Maybe I should just start off and see where things end up.

My name is Mark. I am 32 and I live in Oshawa Ontario. I have two kids, both boys. I will not be mentioning their names. I will name them son1 and son2. Son1 is in grade 9. Son2 in JK. Having two children so far apart in ages is advantageous in some respects, yet it also presents its own set of challenges. Having a babysitter is nice. When we go out for an hour or so it is nice to say “Going to the store…look after your brother… see you later…”. I am sure you understand.

I have a wife. She keeps me grounded in many respects. We have been married for what seems like forever – long enough anyhow for each of us to know what the other is thinking most of the time. She claims that she knew the first week that we dated that we were going to end up marrying each other. What is remarkable about that is that she didn’t really like me too much when we met.

So we live in Oshawa. We are working on our seventh year here! Wow. I never realized how long it has been. We both grew up in Kingston.

Many people that I know say that Kingston is a really pretty town. I say to them that apparently they didn’t grow up there! Not that I have anything really against it, I am just not into camping, prisons, or boating, and I have outgrown the university stage!

My wife works in a call centre. She tried the stay at home mom thing and babysat some kids for a while. That didn’t work out and while she wanted to stay home with Son2, situations forced her to find outside work.

I am self employed. I am an independent financial advisor. I could go on and on and on about my chosen career – I just love it so much, but I won’t as that will be a sure fire way of making sure no one ever comes back for a repeat visit!

So that is me – actually it is US… as in my family too. Just boring old us!

I will write more later…. My life is…. To be continued!

testing

2005-03-05T11:31:00.000-08:00

Testing one two three....

To be continued at a later date!