Took the kids to PEI this week.  I figured that since it’s taken me nearly 40 years to get over there, I might as well ensure that they don’t have as long of a wait.  Everyone seemed to have a great time.

We stayed at a nice little motel, Abby Lane, which was conveniently located directly across from the Sandspit amusement park. It meant that didn’t have to deal with parking, although I don’t think that would have been a problem.  They appear to have sufficient space, especially considering we were there before they opened at 10am.

We were lucky enough to have a family pass to the rides, and good thing too, because the kids loved them!  I see that they didn’t inherit Daddy’s dislike of fast moving, high velocity spinning, incredibly high death-defying rides.  I never thought that they would ever like the ferris wheel, but they went on it several times.  Thankfully, I didn’t have to go on with them, or else it would have been a very short day! As is, our day was cut short by a torrential downpour that came virtually out of nowhere in the afternoon.  I don’t remember the last time that I’ve been caught out in rain like that.  What a great decision it was to walk to the park!  We were soaked to the skin.

I did manage to take some pictures and video.  I might get adventurous and try to figure out how to upload some video.

I used to get that greeting around this time…  7:01 am like clockwork.  Now… not so much…   I look at the old ones from time to time and they still put a smile on my face.  Ah well. Can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

Vacation time is over!  Out of bed, ya lazy ass!!

Yup, that’s right.  Early to bed last night.  Early to rise.  Next thing I knew, I was walking on a treadmill wondering what the hell happened to me.  This doesn’t seem right!  Shouldn’t I be sleeping?  But no.. there I was.. left, right, left, right… listening to a podcast on WordPress of all things.  I try to vary my iPod listening.  I’ve got a lot of great music on there, music videos, podcasts.. even a movie…  Definitely Maybe.. yeah, yeah, I know….  I’m still a sucker for that one.  I’ll throw it on sometimes and watch little clips of it.  Even on the iPod Nano screen, it doesn’t look too bad.  I wouldn’t watch a movie on it if it was something that I REALLY wanted to see, especially for the first time.  But overall, it does a pretty decent job.

Oh, that’s right.  I never did update that previous post on my iPod woes.  It started to work again for some strange reason.  It must’ve heard me grumbling about throwing it in the garbage, and decided to come back to life.  Odd.

Tomorrow the gym doesn’t open until 8am, so I won’t be starting my day quite as early.

And I ate breakfast today… what on earth is this world coming to?

215lbs and dropping!

Ahh… 300…  I remember the movie well.  It was one of those visually stunning films that I wish I had seen on the big screen, rather than my tiny little TV.  I tried watching it again late last year, but didn’t get very far into it.  There was some laughter about the close resemblance of those hunky Spartans and my six-pack abs.  Then we decided that was enough of that!    :0)

I’m in the middle of packing up again to head back over to PEI.  I’ll be taking the kids this time.  It should be a fun experience for them, assuming the weather cooperates.  Nothing worse than going away for a few days and being stuck inside with a pair of restless kids who want to run through the puddles in search of mudfish.

Goodie.

Last night was one of those great nights that apparently comes along only once every 20 years… I got to spend a few hours with two of my oldest friends, and relive memories of a simpler time… long before marriages and mortgages, divorce and child support, promotions and stress leaves… We laughed at some of the things we’ve done, talked of people we haven’t mentioned in eons, and wished that one of us had’ve come up with a way to at least slow down time, if not have stopped it entirely.

Ah, the good ole days.

Many things have changed over the years, but I’m happy to say that one constant has remained true… friendship.

Thank you.

Let’s hope that another 20 years doesn’t pass before we do it again.

This afternoon I woke up and relaxed.  I’m on vacation!  It’s been awhile since I’ve been on vacation.  I opted to use most of my vacation time to squeeze in completing my business degree with a day here and a day there.  I didn’t even think that I would have any vacation time left, but I managed to save a week’s worth, and now… I’m going to enjoy it.  What am I going to do?  No idea.  I don’t have the money to pack up and go everywhere I want to, so that narrows my options a little.  Next year will be different.  Next year I will have even more vacation time, and if everything goes as planned, more money to allocate toward it.  But for now I’m quite content with sitting back and kicking my feet up.  I think that I’ll head over to PEI next week, and take the kids with me this time.  They’ll enjoy that.

Now if I could only convince Mother Nature to cooperate.  Enough with the rain already!

As part of their ongoing fund raising efforts, MGAP (Maritime Greyhound Adoption Program) is selling tickets for a brand new ThinkPad laptop.  I told Mum that I would take a book of tickets and do what I could to sell some of them.  It looks like a decent laptop, so I’ll be picking up a couple of tickets myself.

As I’ve said before, I’ve seen first-hand the dogs that are saved by this group, and know it to be a very worthwhile cause.  This is a great way for them to raise money, and help find homes for even more retired Greyhounds.

The draw is being held August 16 in Moncton, as part of the Greyhound Picnic.  (rain date is August 23)  You don’t have to be present to win.  You do have to arrange to pick up the laptop, but I don’t think that would be much of a problem.  There is a note that if fewer than 175 tickets are sold by the draw date, that they will hold a 50/50 draw instead.  I’m hoping for a laptop!

If you’re interested in purchasing a ticket, don’t hesitate to send me a note.  Thanks!

1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor

2 GB RAM

160 GB Hard Drive

13.3 in LCD

CDRW/DVDRW

802.11 a/g/n wireless

Modem / Ethernet Card

Fingerprint Reader

Windows Vista Business

Communication is vital.  Correction.. EFFECTIVE Communication is vital in every aspect of life.  Whether it’s your personal life, a relationship, or running a business… effective communication between all parties is essential to the overall success of whatever it is that you’re trying to achieve.  That’s why it’s so frustrating at times when there are blatantly obvious breakdowns in communication that lead to chaotic outcomes.  I’ve been guilty of this on more than a few occasions myself, so I don’t exempt myself.

Still doesn’t it make it an easy pill to swallow.

Before we left for PEI, I said “I don’t want to eat anywhere that I could eat in NB.”  I’m getting so sick and tired of fastfood restaurants, and I didn’t want to waste my time and money over there on something that I could get here. 

As we were driving past Moncton the munchies started to hit.  I could have stopped before the Confederation Bridge, but I wanted to push through and get something on the other side.  I didn’t know what, but I knew that I wanted something from PEI. 

We stopped at the first place we came across. The Starlite Diner.  Maybe it was the giant icecream cones that caught my eye.