Quick Update

Hola, Amigos, I know it's been a long time since I rapped at ya, but things have been crazy at the Embracing the Lifestyle house. First, Jenn has been doing homework. Then I've been writing my thesis. Well, that's mostly it. Oh, I have also been going to flute recitals and the Opera this one time. That was pretty cool. La Bohem. Next year the EOC season is going to rock, with Don Giovanni, The Barber of Seville, and MacBeth. Wikkid. We are definitely getting tickets again. Time is clicking down towards Jenn's recital, now less than two weeks away, so we are busy getting ready for that, and we hope to see as many of you there as can come. Anyway, back to the grind.

Lot's of Notice...You ALL Had Better Be There.

OK everyone, I have been working my butt off for the last 11 years, and most specifically, the last month and a half, to prepare for a recital for all of my wonderful friends, family and adoring fans and so I am pleased and excited to invite you all to come and hear me play on April 9th, 2006 at 3:00PM. I will be performing at First Mennonite Church, 3650-91st Street, admission is free (so no excuses) and there will be a short reception to follow. Anyone who wishes to contribute is invited to bring squares, cup-cakes or cookies etc, to share at the reception. See you all there!

A la Recherceh du Temps Perdue

Just now I was listening to the Mahones and drinking Molson Canadian, and I had a total Proust moment, flashing back on concerts, days, festivals, bars, quiet moments, and karaoke sessions from times past. Funny how that happens. Anyone ever get that"remembrance of times past" feeling? Post your comments below!

Happy St. Paddy's Day

Those of you who have had the pleasure of knowing me for the last several years know that if St. Paddy's day falls on a Friday, it will involve a great deal of drinking and dancing and listening to loud live Celtic music. Not this year, unfortunately. I just don't have the energy. Really there is nothing that I would like better than to go out to a bar and hear a really loud band with a name like "Drunken Whiskey Louts" while knocking back shot after shot of rye chased by pints of beer, but I just don't feel like leaving the house. Meh. Oh well, I'll just put the Mahones on the stereo and go to bed early. Call it "Whiskey Ennui". First goes New Years, then goes St. Paddy's Day. Next thing you know, I'll be sober on Canada Day. Oh Well. Cheers, Slainte, ta.

Another Sleep Related Post

For those of you fortunate enough to have slept in the same bed as me, Owen, for extended times, you may know that I occasionally wake up screaming with horrifying nightmares. Not often, just about once a year or so, I get a really bad one and bolt awake in a cold sweat screaming and clawing at the covers, trying to leap out of bed. Well, I had one last night, and the super-sympathetic response I got was, "Chill out." mumbled half heartedly from the side of the bed with all the covers and my wife on it. So this morning, I mentioned that I had woken up screaming with nightmares, and the response was, "Nightmares? I thought you were screaming at me for waking you up." Apparently Jenn had been woken up by the violent shaking and moaning which happens before I start screaming and trying to escape, and was in the process of waking me so that I would stop disturbing her sleep. She assumed that the incoherent terrified screaming was in fact me yelling at her for waking me up.

Two problems with this theory:

1) When someone wakes me up, I do not have the energy to start screaming, you'll be lucky to get, "Mrmhghmmmmmrhtphhh." before I roll over and go back to sleep.

2) If I have enough energy to scream at you, I won't just go, "Aaaaaaauuuuuuuugggghhhhh," I'll really tear a strip off you in an overly verbose manner. I use my words like a big boy.

Hopefully future night terrors will be met with more sympathy than abuse. Let's all keep our fingers crossed.

A good night's sleep

We jerry-rigged a setup that prevents Koda from clawing the carpet under the door in an effort to get in to sleep with us, and blacked out the windows with foil so that the security light in the parking lot wouldn't make it high noon at midnight, and finally I got a good night's sleep. It was glorious. It doesn't seem to have adversely affected my relationship with the cats either, since Mandy is purring away in my lap even as I type. In fact I have to type one handed because she has pinned my hand with her paw and is in the process of grooming my fingers. Stripey ones are not evil.

Last night I made some apple crisp, which was fairly tasty even though the crust came out of a box that we had lying around for some reason. This made me especially happy, since apple crisp is one of my favorite breakfasts. Tonight we will be having leftover roasted turkey breast with stuffed potatoes and Caesar salad and later on for a post-concert snack we will have hummus and pita. The concert is Jenn's flute class recital, but she doesn't have to play because she is doing her own recital in April.

Mmmmmm, VOIP!

Today, the cable guy came and spent two and a half hours installing Digital Phone and High Speed Internet. The phone went in easy, but the internet was messed up for reasons of him not being able to tell what the hell was up with the rats nest of cables under our computers. It all got hooked up in the end, thanks to Jenn. Today, we are experimenting with locking the cats out while we try to sleep. This may lead to significantly less butt attacking and more sleeping, but more crying on the part of the cats. This may also have the side effect of teaching my cats to use doorknobs, although I hope not. As soon as they have that figured out, they're one step closer to deciding that we are no longer useful to them and killing us in our sleep.

Mmmmmmm, Pizza

Today I treated us to Pizza at the Lendrum Strip mall at the brand new outlet pizzeria Prego. It was awesome. You can chose from 4 different crusts, and way lots of toppings, for not too much money. And you can tell the cheese is real. Also, the ingredients are high quality. Real, freshly sliced mushrooms, spulumbo sausage, I ordered a pizza with bacon, and it was pea meal back bacon. That's a nice pizza. I had enough left over for lunch tomorrow, too. I highly recommend this place to anyone who has a hankering for pizza in the Edmonton area. It moves the Lendrum strip mall one step closer to being a one-stop gourmet shopping centre.