no name

Hello all once again, live from my computer.
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Lots of issues to pour through once again so glue your rear end to your chair and crack out the chocolatey-chip cookies and milk. Then, digest a modest 185 g bag of Sour Patch Kids, available at Wal-Mart for $1.59. Do it, do it now, and don’t question me ever again.

So why are we still behind schedule in our society for full implementation of automatic doors to enter washrooms? How this is not a priority of our local, provincial and federal governments I do not know. If there is no appetite in the respective budgets for a conversion, at least remove all doors outside washrooms. Fire codes be damned: We don’t need no doors, let the motherf*cker burn!

If this is still not deemed realistic, at least install hand-sanitizing stations outside washrooms that have the nice smelling foam cleaner.

How is my iphone going you wonder?

Pretty good, pretty pretty pretty good. I quite enjoy itunes and have spent over 50 bucks so far. I like the surfing the web from all areas of the apt with my wi-fi. The device is fast, sleek and absent of too many wrinkles. It would be nice to have a separate volume for the ringer and text/e-mail alerts however. Even with my old phone I was able to achieve this. It results in me setting the phone to vibrate at work, since I like to have a loud ringer for at home. If I didn’t set it to vibrate at work I’d have to constantly adjust the ringer volume.

I should go on the record and say that I think my iphone could be haunted. I’ll explain. I was texting friend Sunny and then put my phone into pocket and went to washroom. When I came out and sat back down I got the vibration signalling a text. However, when I checked my phone it was not a received message, rather it was text that was put into my compose box directed for Sunny. Never have been more confused in my life. Here is what it said in exact words:

“Call the extended hours for me not Smitty I don’t want to tweet do not want a threesome is going to let me know about that”

What the hell is this I do not know? I am not making this stuff up



Well after seeing my yogourt disappear from two different stores (first Food Basics, then its sister store Metro), I have given up on Astro Balkan Style Original Plain Yogourt. I briefly moved on to Liberté Greek Fruit on the Bottom, as I could get 8 for a reasonable 6.99. However, in the end I think I will make a full conversion to Yop, the drinkable yogourt. Another two grocery items that can not be found in stores anymore are the chocolate covered smores bars made by Quaker (they have caramel and chocolate chip that are chocolate covered but not smores) and the Hot version of Tostitos Salsa.

I am really impressed with McDonalds lately. I always liked them growing up, and then for a few years when I discovered pizza pizza, we drifted apart. The food is not special but it has a certain homely, consistent and oily flavour that I take to. I have really taken a shine to them in the last couple of years, mostly due to their coffee line offering and their ability to offer value in a tight economic reality that many individuals and families face. Offering wi-fi and renovating the interiors with leather seats and fireplaces doesn’t hurt. I am looking forward to getting the Cadbury Crème Egg McFlurry. I will only need a small though since I consider a large McFlurry akin to killing yourself off slowly.

I don’t like newer-model cars that have big blue headlights that overpower my eyes. Overkill.

Below are some youtube video links of people flipping out. One is the OC driver, the others are some memorable sports coaches.


We need little smart cards to load money on that can be read by cellphones to pay off friends. Alternatively, we could deposit money from our phone to someone else’s phone. Should be doable. This is ideal in awkward group meal situations when bills start coming and we have either shared food or shared the bill. Cash is not feasible anymore for this and never was much as the right denomination of bills and coins often eludes us.


As the pending budget is soon to arrive, with looming cuts to the public services, this is an opportunity for me to reflect and realize that I don’t really take advantage of my office jobs one bit. I don’t surf the net, I have minimal chit chat with people in my office and I do not take dumps ever, which consume a quarter of an hour to half an hour depending on the size of the animal you have to slay. All this makes me a pretty good office worker.

I think I need to get myself an unlocked GSM phone so I can take it to the states if need be and just to have a spare phone around. Wouldn’t be a bad idea. It would be my future travelling phone as well. It is also important to have a trash number that you don’t care receives telemarketing calls or what not, yet at the same time you can access the messages in case it turns out to be something worthwhile. ON the otherhand, if you have a good, unpolluted number, keep it safe and secure and only share to friends and family.



I am no longer opposed to fluoride mouthwash. It is good stuff I suppose although it may rot out your brain. The trade-off is that your teeth are not rotten.


I have been joking for a few months now about how someone at PC Mastercard must have missed a meeting since everyone around me has the new credit cards with the chip, which requires entering a pin. As the months and years dragged on (this was implemented maybe 2 years ago), I started feeling left out and frustrated whenever buying something, since most merchants had switched over their pay terminals and were expecting cards with a chip. Myself and the cashier would usually argue and debate whether I was doing it right since when they saw me with a swiping intention with my card, they’d interject, claiming I was doing it wrong. At last, I made a call to PC and they mailed me out one. So it turns out that someone didn’t miss a meeting after all; it was simply a case of my last expiration occurred just before the roll-out of the chip program. I would have received one at the end of 2012 regardless.

A new issue on my radar is that all these Chinese made shoes and winter boots come at a cost. It seems that it is not uncommon for the dye on the inside of the show to leach to white and other light-coloured socks. This has destroyed my socks but fortunately I was due to buy some new ones anyway. To avoid this, I could either avoid China boots, spray the inside with sealer, or buy dark socks and not care what happens. Have not decided yet.

Every so often I get an explosion of energy where I feel like talking and doing stuff. This happened for 20 minutes when I picked up Mark from the airport. Not coincidentally, this was also on the same evening where I had coffee. This encourages me to look into feasibility of making coffee at home in small batches (1 or 2 cups) and drinking it. I may even get a coffee grinder.

Hands up if you knew that comptroller is the Canadian equivalent to controller. How silly that this distinction exists.

At long last, I reveal to you, the faithful readers a list of movie franchises to avoid. There is no better way to piss away time then watching series’ of movies where the sequels never stop and there is always a plan to add a movie through a prequel, sequel, or reboot.

-Lord of the Rings

-Harry Potter

-Chronicles of Narnia

-Twilight

-Final Destination

-Resident Evil

-Transformers

-Indiana Jones

-Paranormal Activity

-Saw

-Fast and Furious

-Shrek

-Spiderman (both Toby Mcguire and upcoming Andrew Garfield)

-Bourne Legacy

-X-men

-Mission Impossible

-Underworld


I have noticed a quasi-disturbing trend where some men don’t like to do things in pairs with another guy. They always try to involve other people or something so as to not have it just be two people doing something. I dunno, perhaps these individuals are insecure about some matters in their life. If they are doing something 1 on 1, they feel as if it is a date? I am all for the bromance! When it is a group dynamic I find myself drifting off after the first couple of hours of the evening as I figure other ppl will pick up slack and some of the conversation bores me.


I could use a spittoon in my office. It would make our offices feel like a good old Western saloon.


Never has it been more depressing eating lunch. The cafs at work really have given up and so I am trekking over to a place nearby. It was annoying in the winter but better months are ahead. Anyway I just find there are mostly unhealthy options around work and the value is bad. Since when is processed meat bad for your health?

For the first time in, well…ever the squash court was taken a few weeks ago when I went down at 11. I figured 11 was a safe time on a weeknight. I was incorrect. I heard two male voices, with one person saying “Game Set Match”. I have no idea if this is what is said in a squash game but those words sounded golden to me. I merely went back up to my unit and came back down in 20 minutes.

Ogdensburg continues to inspire and reward me, both in that order. I made another weekend trip to get a couple of things from Amazon as well as vanilla coke and some other items. I filled up on gas despite the price per gallon going to 3.97. Here is a perfect case I’d make to kids on why they need to understand math. If we know that 3.89 L goes into 1 U.S. gallon, we can figure out which side of the border it is cheaper to buy gas and buy how much. Now if you haven’t been under a rock for the past few years, you would well know that gas in the States is cheaper, but the question is, by what margin. At what point do you reach the break-even point?

Price in Ottawa – 1.24 per L

Price in Ogdensburg – 3.97 per gallon


Assuming parity between the loonie and greenback, and taking the conversion above, we multiply 3.89 by 1.24 (price in Ottawa) to get the Ottawa price per gallon. We then multiply this by the amount expected to be purchased (by gallon). We multiply 3.97 (price in Ogdensburg) by the amount expected to be purchased (by gallon). Subtract one from the other and you get your total savings. Please note this does not factor in the conversion of currency done by your credit card (2.5%) nor the bridge tolls (2.75 each way).

Anyway, as I said I picked up some Amazon stuff. Beware that even if you select ship items together, Amazon screwed me by sending the two items separately thus making me incur and extra cost when picking them up at the UPS store.

I passed some good time in Oggie, did my rounds at Price Chopper, Wal-Mart, Walgreens and the last but most rewarding stop, McDonalds. Oh how I love sitting in there with a big coffee and eating some French fries and then donuts I bought at Price Chopper. Nursing that coffee and people watching is a delightful combination.


I am strongly considering the need to fire my pants. What the hell does this mean you wonder? Well firing one’s pants is just a cool way to say I no longer want them and will replace them with more amenable pants. Both my grey chinos from Eddie Bauer and my blue Rocca Wear jeans really are tight on the ass, belly and crotch and should be removed from my apparel. But it is not just the tightness persay that bothers me; it is the phenomenon that happens when one sits down with tight pants with shallow pockets. The result is that the pants ride up and whatever is in the pocket can fall out. I nearly almost lost my toothpicks and I will not risk that again. I will look for cargo pants I guess if those are still sold. I know the fashion trend was about 10 years for them. So yes I will fire my pants and interview for some new ones.

I recently went to the movies and was disappointed to see they had raised the price to $7.99 on Tuesday. Even worse was the concession prices continue to climb to insane levels. 5.99 for nachos and faux cheese I can probably handle but $3.19 for a bottle of water? No thanks, Eff off. So I drank in three different interludes water from the water fountain near the john. This was refreshing and I thank Cineplex for not being so greedy as to rip out their fountain. They have no legal obligation to provide a water fountain though. I wonder if it would cause a stir if I were to show up at the theatre with my own bottle of water. I have gone in with a coffee before with no issues but this could be allowed only because no coffee is sold there. But what about a bottle of mineral water? They don’t have that. Could I use this justification?

But back to the price increases. Is this justified? Is the theatre really squeezed by the movie studios in Hollywood for a profit. And how is it done? Do the theatres have to remit a percentage from each ticket sale or do they pay a lump sum to buy the film reel (or rent it for a period)? A great mystery in life.


Chicken Noodle Soup with no chicken? Is this allowed. The caf and food place near work has been offering this up. Don’t get me wrong: the broth is delicious but me want some chicken pieces too.


I think this is what I need to live in. Just rent a spot on someone’s lawn and run an extension cord to their house. I could even put it close to an express bus route.

Nothing like a novel of my life

This blog entry has been in the making for a long, long, long time and I credit my friend J Biz in TO for encouraging me to continue posting my bulls hit stories and idiosyncrasies. So if there ever was a dedication on a blog – as there is in books and film – this is it. Thanks brother.

Now, given that it has been around 14 months since my last entry, you may want to put on a pot of coffee and take ‘er easy. Of course don’t drink so much coffee that the end result is a ‘bathroom incident.’ Just you know, relax, kick off your shoes, put your feet up and enjoy the hilarity, or weirdness…I don’t care what you call it. By the way, I am offering a good tip here for any occasion where you need to shut someone down if they are railing on you for any number of things: tardiness, declining an invitation, peer pressure etc. You simply respond, “uhhh uhh (clearing throat), there was a bathroom incident.” (see below youtube clip)

So where did I go for the past while? Have I been bottling up all this insidious rage inside me, just waiting for an opportunity to join the nearest Mixed Martial Arts gym? Not exactly, no. The truth is I have been expressing a lot of my thoughts in sort of agenda-like forum discussions with my friend sunny at our lunch time meetings. I believe that has come to an end however (not our lunches but just the idea of writing up an agenda) and I am once again looking at a therapeutic medium to release various thoughts, ideas and yes, my good ally, the idiosyncrasy. Now, I can’t promise exactly that these blog postings will contain as much private and confidential material as the 1 on 1 sunny lunches, but it should still prove to be stimulating reading, right? Please agree to that last part in order to continue, as part of your consent form.

First, allow me to say I have no idea which direction my life will take in three different avenues – marriage, work, and travel. All three of these variables could be very much in play in the coming years for good, bad, and wild. This of course contradicts the 30 year plan my Ma had for me and preaches about on a weekly basis. One must be a free spirit, however, and I cannot bow to the pressures of suburban living, 30 year job security, sensible safe travels and the like. Where is the adventure, the spontaneity, the gumption? I mean, damnit, without these, you might as well put me in the sleeper hold (first WWF reference of blog post) and choke me out.


Utterly miscellaneous:

-I find it annoying when I try to combine a request with a statement. Observe the following:
“Would it be possible to forward this inquiry to her as I do not have her e-mail.”
Now, what do I do here for punctuation? The question part is at the beginning, so would a question mark at the end make sense? And for you smart cookies that say to use a semi-colon, well you can just go fly a big old kite.

-I have an inelastic demand for the following items in life: coca-cola, bananas, and my Rogers services (internet, cable)

-I enjoy cds from artists such as Steve Tyrell, Phil Collins, Enya. So what, big whoop, wanna fight about it?

-In my job, when I have to write to outside clients that are women, I never put Ms. or Mrs. and just use their first name. For men, however, I sometimes put Mr. instead of their first name. Truth is I don’t want to offend women by putting Ms. (offends the single spinster who always wanted to marry but for some reason it didn’t happen) or Mrs. (single spinster who is a serious feminist and says death to men, I don’t need a husband). Can’t really win one way or another.

-At work, I now say merci and not thanks when people hold doors for me or let me go first. I figure I am covered either way.

-I find there aren’t enough bars or places where you can go and relax and have a quiet drink. Most places are full of idiots or the tables are so close together. Downtown I expect this, but in the suburbs where rent is lower, I’d expect some quiet time.

-Things to think about before having kids. You got to have these two decisions nailed down before the kids arrive. At what age do they stop wearing sweat pants and cheap clothing and get to look respectable (much to the demise of your bank account btw)? And at what age are they given cellphones? Don’t come talk to me about the little sandwich grabbers until those things are squared away.

-I am glad I bought three things this year: my new camel Dockers winter parka, the iphone, and snow tires, which have made driving a whole lot easier in winter. Sorry pa, I got to say this is one case where I am glad I didn’t listen. For more on the iphone purchase, see below, or stop reading now and live a cursed existence, aha.

-Two interesting websites I have found recently are 123people.ca and ratemyemployer.ca. Now while the latter is self-explanatory, the first was a real eye opener. This website will assimilate all the crap on the internet that has ever come of your meagre existence. Just type in the person’s name and cue the ‘Are you Afraid of the Dark’ theme music. This stuff has letters that I have wrote to the newspaper years ago…

-How do permutation/combinations work. For you math people, this harkens back to the days of ‘Finite Math’, which ceased to exist in that name following the OAC year. Where this applies is my curiosity about how safe 4 digit pins are. Ie. If you have dust and went around blowing this on garage door openers and some phones, could you figure out the code? Depends I guess on how much time the criminal has. I hope there is a sufficient amount of combinations that it is nearly impossible.

-P.S. I am well aware that the pro-wrestling industry’s premier company is now WWE, and not WWF. But I just don’t like animals enough to give the default WWF to the World Wildlife Fund.

-I continue to make quarterly trips to Ogdensburg, NY, where things just work and life is good. Recent success stories include a few cds and a nose/ear hair trimmer shipped from Amazon, as well as my usual gorging at the local McDonalds and donuts at Price Chopper grocery store. I mean, the UPS store was even closed when I went, but the guy saw me from inside and unlocked it and went to get my packages. Nice folks.

-How much importance do you place on manners and civility in society. I myself place a large emphasis on this and can be seen on the town being generally helpful and kind to people. One bad interaction can ruin my day, however. For those people who insist on being goons, they should be pushed, or at very least, spoken to.

-I find my neighbourhood humorous. The scuz level is unmistakeable but this adds to the charm of the neighbourhood as the people are generally harmless. It isn’t like the old Vanier, Byward Market area where your safety and property are compromised. With my neighborhood you just sit back and enjoy the ride. The people can be quite friendly as well. Two stores are the epitome of this character. One is Loblaws at Carlingwood Mall where the lessons of capitalism and economics seem lost on them. They actually are the only grocery store I know that has rails on the outside of the store so you cannot take a shopping cart to your car. Hmmm what does this engender? Well the answer is light shopping loads, which translates to less revenue for the store. “ NO no, don’t buy too much now. You’ll have to carry whatever you bought from the door to your car.” This isn’t NYC either. People brought their dang cars to the store to do some shopping! The other store is the Metro/Wal-Mart which is a unique combination of stores that share the same rental space – an old style mall with an inside, as opposed to the new age street-front malls that discourage loitering and other public mischief. Of course I like me some loitering, so you can assume I am not a fan of this new architecture.

-My new office is quite cool to the touch and I mean this literally, and not figuratively. They are not heating it too well. The bathroom is the most frigid place, next to outside. It is like the Port Authority. So to my amazement, I sometimes arrive at a sink to find that the person before me has set the switch to all cold, rather than all hot. This person should be tracked down.


Now back to the meat and potatoes of this blog posting. I bought a god d amn, effin’ iphone. What do you think of that? After many months or grueling research and pestering of my M, my bro-in-law I finally pulled the trigger. No word yet if I can expect Telus to screw me on the bill. So far so good. Anyway, I enjoy the phone quite a bit and factor in that I am only using like 10% of its capable features, and it was a good move. Soon, I will get my itunes on, and maybe even my desktop comp on from Apple as well. I actually feel richer with the phone, which is maybe a snobby thing to say, but that’s what apple users are, let’s face it. We are a bunch of fan boys running amok in a hoity-toity society.

I find a big calamity of modern living and communications is that there is too much info out there and not enough time. I enjoy listening to podcasts of cfra news (‘The Chatroom’) and Tvo news (‘The Agenda’) and even though they have removed the commercials, it is hard getting through a combined 10 shows a week. Factor in e-mail, texting and sports columns, along with local news and issues, and one barely has enough time to show up at work. I basically need to set limits and cut things out of my daily routine.On this topic, I find that many people cope by not replying to e-mails and I for one do not intend to take this path. Unfortunately, 2011 was a real bad year for ratio of e-mail sent to received, and 2012 is not going well either. I blame Sunny for this mostly.

So I hear that a trade organization is recommending that service staff in restaurants and the like receive greater tips; they want people to move from a 15% average to 20%. I wonder if this will gain traction and if it does, are we set to collapse as a society? Do people have the extra cash prepared to start spending more money on food. I mean, people are now borrowing 1.5 x their disposable income. Just recognize that a tipping increase to 20% would represent a rise in living standards for servers. They want a bigger slice of the pie since higher menu prices already reflect a cost of living allowance increase.

Now for a fun activity. How do you allocate your national budget these days? You really should have one, you know. And it’s too bad if you haven’t laid it out like I have done. I present below my 2012 national budget!

2012 will be a year of rationing on some items and splurging on others. While 2011 saw some financial flexibility for experimentation of many different hygiene products, 2012 will see a more even-tempered allocation for this dept. I have more or less learned what I like, what works etc. I speak of things such as shampoos, gum, moisturizer, soap, sunscreen, toothpaste.

2012 will see significant expenditures on travel and we should expect to see this show up in the income statement towards the end of the year, crossing over into 2013

2012 will see a rather steady amount allocated to food and restaurant expenditures, keeping in line with the amounts forecast and realized in previous years. McDonalds, Loblaws, Metro and Wal-Mart will be key drivers.

2012 continues to see constant spending allocated to transportation, as my monthly car payments continue until April of 2013. This is the epitome of a fixed cost.

2012 has seen a slight increase in monthly telecom fees, as Rogers has upped their rates $2 a piece for cable and internet, which is acceptable. Most notable, however, is the acquisition of the iphone, which carries with it a $50 monthly plan before tax. This could jump to $58 if I am not able to renew the free caller ID feature in 2013. Negotiations for a new contract on this particular clause will begin later this year when I call Telus. In any event, I was paying a combined $44 with my PC mobile and Bell home phone line, both of which are at the end of their terms.

While in 2011 I underwent some moderate spending on boots, coats and summer clothes, in 2012, I will be looking at investing in some quality pants (Eddie Bauer hopefully if they have the right fits and sizing and colours) that are versatile and most importantly comfortable. Who wants to wear tight-ass pants that chafe the crotch? Not I.

2012 could see some variation in housing expenses, depending on whether I stay at Ambleside or find a more posh domicile whether that be in a townhome in suburbs or a condo/apt more central.

2012 will be a year for investing in technology. It could see a new desktop computer, new speakers and if the lodging changes, a possible violation of the personal contract established with the 27 inch CRT Panasonic TV. This is unlikely though, as it would be prudent to align some other pieces in the budget before acquiring such a large ticket item.2012 will continue to have a small petty cash account for pharmaceutical aids such as aspirin, Tylenol, sinus medication etc. No large cash outlays expected.


That is all. So long all.

"Born in the U.S.A."

Off we went to the good old U.S. of A this past Saturday! My ma and pa and I had ourselves a trio reunion as we rode in the BMW down to Ogdensburg, NY for some cross-border shopping! I sat in the front of the car, which was a deviation from the usual trio set-up of me riding in the back. You may recall that this was the case for those 4 summers in between school years when I didn't have a car, nor was I driving.

Anyway, the goal of this day trip was to load up on stuff at good prices as the dollar was near parity and Dad needed a tank of gas. I had in mind the wonderful soda pop and breakfast cereals that the Americans seemed to stock so much of. Specifically, I was seeking Black Cherry Coke, Vanilla Coke and if I was real lucky with the Gods smiling down on me, I would find Tahiti Treat or Tahitian Treat or C-Plus Fruit Frenzy (what it was re-branded as in the end).

Upon arrival in Ogie, NY, we headed immediately for the Price Chopper. This was a prudent move in hindsight as we were still early enough to capture an item that had not even crossed my mind. This one thing had pre-occupied much of my spare time in 2009, so it was relatively surprising that I was taken for a surprise that Sat morning. Staring me at the face in the Bakery section of Price Chopper was freshly made, large donuts, in all the flavours and concepts one could dream of. Just rows and rows of the gooey soft dough shapes protected in freshness by glass cases! It was then that I exclaimed to myself, "America, land of the donut; these Americans don't f*** around when it comes to satisfying their fried dough cravings." All at once, I felt shame for being associated with a culture that endeared itself to people for serving coffee and donuts, while turning around and selling partially baked, flash-frozen baked goods at all their establishments. Yes, I am calling you out Tim Hortons, you bastion of corporate greed and excessive concentration of the donut market. So a big up yours to Tim Hortons and grocery stores in Ottawa who chose to get out of the fresh donut business and give me old, stale donuts baked in Southern Ontario Central Bakery Warehouses that are already 3 days old when reaching my local stores.

And kudos to American Chain Price Chopper. Now, there is a Price Chopper that exists in Ontario but the association between the two is not clear. For instances, on the Price Chopper website (.ca), it says they are Sobeys owned. The reason this matters is that I am trying to determine if this is the same store as it pertains to product offerings and departments - of most interest to me is, you guessed it: Bakery for the donuts.

After spending $40 at Price Chopper, we went over to the local Wal-Mart where we enjoyed ravaging American capitalism in the form of processed foods even more. There I was to find lots more breakfast cereals than our equivalent Wal-Mart had. Also, I loaded up on the pop I had described above. I noticed overall the store was better laid out than the Canadian Wal-Marts. Things were labelled and clear and there was more space between aisles and such. Now, you may say that Ogdensburg is a small town with cheap land, but I will reply by saying that Barrhaven isn't exactly the priciest piece of land around.

I also splurged on the $1 travel items section, where I found such things as toothpaste, hand sanitizer and first aid kid plastic cases. Only in America, baby.
You will see some enclosed pictures of my exploits. Unfortunately for my audience, the donuts were long gone before I realized I should have documented them with a photo. They were just so goooood!

As for the soft drinks, the appeal here was not the price (although cheaper than back home), as it was more of a situation of availability. You see, cherry and vanilla coke are not sold back home. IN the end I struck out on 2 of my wishes as I couldn't locate the Tahiti Treat and the Vanilla Coke was all sold out at Price Chopper and not available at Wal-Mart.

Actually, the truth is that my first stop at Price Chopper at noon saw lots of Vanilla Coke on the shelves. I tried to play it to smooth, however, by saying I'll come back for it after seeing what Wal-Mart offered, knowing that their prices were better. Well their prices were better but they didn't stock the Vanilla Coke.
So, I had to haggle a bit with the other 2 members of the trio to go back to Price Chopper. Reluctantly we went, as my mom and dad lectured me on the merits of being healthy, and not drinking so much bad soft drinks. I am not sure my mom understood the concept of stocking up; I was not going to go home to drink this all in one shot.
Anyway so I sashayed myself up to the store confidently only to discover an empty shelf. I returned with a s***-eating grin on my face and proclaimed to my wide-eyed parents, "Well, the people of Ogdensburg have spoken - there was no more Vanilla Coke."

As for the breakfast cereals, I splurged. In my cart was the foreign to Canada, Rice Krispie Treats (known as 'squares' when they were in Canada) Trix, Cocoa Puffs, Fruity Pebbles, Shredded Wheat squares with frosting, Apple Jacks etc. Yummy
Pa was getting restless and ma had just dropped big coin on clothes for the toddlers so to close out the day in Ogie, NY, we went to the cool place in town - McDonalds. Now, even here, the race between Canada and USA wasn't close. Not only did I get bigger portions for my Chicken Nugget combo meal, but I got it all for less than $7.
It was damn good too.

We drove back and I was a happy lark with all my stuff. In conclusion, I really do value the American experience when it comes to eating and shopping. Good job USA.
I also would like to say the people are quite polite and friendly. I am not sure if this is a small town effect or what but people are just generally very chill. I detest the negative stereotypes that the media tries to perpetuate about the spirit of Americans. Perhaps I have not seen them at their worst, but these people at their best are just dandy.

I will be back to Ogie, NY! My first time was a full-fledged success.

p.s. THe cereals I came home with were: Fruity Pebbles, Cocoa Puffs, Trix, Shredded Wheat (lightly frosted), Apple Jacks and my most beloved, Rice Krispie Treats.

On the left and right side of the Macaroni Cheese is the Canadian version and American version respectively. They taste different too

Catching up on past promises

It has been a while since I made up an agenda of topics to discuss on my blog. Some of these I did intend to follow up on. See below.

Baseball:

-Omar Vizquel has signed a 1 year contract and will be back for 2011 with the White Sox, but how much more after that. Already the talk is negative with the articles I read framing it as such that this would be a nice year to transition into coaching. Bollocks! Vizquel is at 2799 hits and must go for another 200 games or so to get those 201 hits.

-Jamie Moyer at 268 wins is so close to the magic mark of Hall of Fame acceptability for a pitcher. 300 wins and you are an automatic inn as the feat is getting more rare and rare. But he has hit a stumbling block with his arm. It appears he may need career ending surgery. I thought Moyer should have gone for Tommy John surgery at the mid-point of the season and aimed for a longer recovery time. He opted to try to go without surgery.

-Trevor Hoffman is the only closer to ever reach 600 saves, topping out the season at 601. For a while, it was looking dicey if he would get to that mark, as he had lost his job as closer and the confidence of his manager. In the end he got there, but his margin for safety is only down to about 50 as Mo' Rivera of the Yankees will look to close in and surpass this record. Not surprisingly, Hoffman is done, as the Brewers declined a $7.5 million option.

-I am watching like a fly on a wall the ongoing negotiations that are going on with Jeter. I think both sides realize they have to come to an agreement here. It doesn't make sense for Jeter to leave a place where is value is so much more than anywhere else. His sponsorships and media coverage is tied to being in the New York market. The Yankees on the other hand don't want to risk a fan backlash and in this season where Jeter will hit the 3000 hit mark, why part company? For as storied a franchise as the Yankees are, they have never had a player in uniform get to 3000 hits!
I say Jeter should accept if the Yankees come up with 3 years at 21 million per (his rate the past years). Jeter should be guaranteed to be the starting shortstop for at least one more year but then be open to changing positions in 2012.

Summer Road Construction:

-God d amn the gov for doing this big stimulus road construction season all at once. Ottawa looked like we were building the city for the first time. Carling was the bain of my existence in the summer and I don't even use the road; however, it impacted the parallel Richmond Rd quite a bit. Also my runs to the Coliseum movie theatre were encumbered by this delay.

Baseball hats:

-At last I have figured out the Lids system for ordering hats! They have free shipping to any store in Canada (unlike last year when they wanted to charge $20). Thus I ordered two hats (Buy 1, Get 1 1/2 off), a Blue Jays and an Expos one in size Medium. They are pretty nice but I may try a Large next time. See pics below.


Who I met recently:

-Tom Green, at a fund-rasing show for Rene Ficher, a man who lost his ability to walk in a hockey game. Tom was totally chill and made us all laugh. I get the feeling he is pretty unlike his persona when he is off stage. Good local boy. See pictures.

-Jim Watson, at the Remembrance Day ceremony in Carlingwood Shopping Centre. Jim is totally engaging and is the type of guy/politician to leave you with that warm fuzzy feeling after. I said Congratulations and wished him good luck on his term. He appreciated this.

-WWII veteran Len H. from Moose Jaw Saskatchewan. He said he was 15 and a half when he fought and if he entered the war in 1940 for instance, I placed him at about 85 today. He was a tall man who was still very mobile. He left with his wife. Len said that maybe a third of guys were under the permitted age of 16 when they enlisted. I thanked him for his service and he told me to, "Take care, son."

Sick of:

-I am absolutely sick of egg salad sandwiches at work for lunch but it is the most cost effective thing and probably healthiest unless I just start eating salad. There is a Subway now nearby so I could get into that. The foot long would be a bit too much in both food and money to have everyday. Unfortunately Subway got rid of the sub card and now have some points program.

The movie theatre on Tuesday:

-It is not as busy as I made it out to seem in the summer, when the crowds looked like evacuations from disaster areas and holdover groups from Canada Day downtown. I still try to schedule my show either really early (around 4) or late at night. But I ensure that the movie has been out for some weeks before I attempt. There is nothing worse than sitting scrunched in between strangers as I don't have the courage or ferocity to take the arm rests away from people, whether they are alpha males, emo hipsters or just little kids. Sometimes I get the drink and popcorn combo when I am there and that will substitute as my dinner. For some reason they charge $1 for adding butter to the popcorn but you can get 'butter flavouring' for free where the napkin station is. You just keep pumping the nozzle for more - unreal!

Movie rentals:

-I have settled on a place nearby work where I am renting my movies. Videoflicks (but not the same exactly as when I was little) is my place, and weird enough, there are many locations across the city but all unrelated to each other. I always get the same deal - 3 (non new-release) movies for 7 nights for $6. The only issue here is that this place is slow to move movies to the 7 day section. Movies that are still 1 day rental include 2008 titles such as Cloverfield, Bruno etc. Now, with a movie deficit of 40 titles to work through, that policy is just not going to cut it.

Around Ambleside:

-As the seasons change,some residents pass away and others who are a few years younger move in to fill their place. The big news here is that my building had the whole entire lobby re-done and it looks like a real nice thing going on. With the help of my dad, I finally got my bed up to respectability again. If you recall it had all collapsed on me one evening and for the past two months I have been forced to sleep on the mattress and boxspring on ground level. We put the supports back under the spring and mattress and raised her up. "Still no jumping on the bed, however!"

Haircuts:

-I am still going strong on doing my own hair. With the introduction of HST, I estimate I am saving big bucks. It is doubtful I will ever go back to getting my hair cut, unless I try to grow my hair longer. Buzz cuts for now, and for the interim.

Commute time to work:

-I am getting in in about 15-17 minutes and then a walk of 10 minutes. This ends of being a little bit longer than it took with the bus but the comfort level is much improved. Plus, I can blast Simple Plan to and from the office.
Area code:

New 343 area code coming:

-Apparently, Ottawa is getting a new area code - 343 - to be issued to those who get new numbers. To me, this is absolute horses hit. We are a small city and if anything we need to re-align the area codes. Ottawa and Kingston should not be sharing the 613Things have changed since 1960's ok. Just make a big switch and launch an information campign - All of Ottawa gets 343 and let the outlying areas use 613 as there will be enough to last decades and infinity beyond for these sparsely populated areas. I don't care if these people get weird phone calls for up to 1 year after from people trying to reach Ottawa people's former phone numbers. It is a sacrifice we all will have to go through. I can't stand the idea of having two area codes in the same region for a city of this size.

-Another option is to start purging unused fax, pager and cell phone numbers. Or rationing them off and charging families who have more than 2 cell phones, or individuals with more than 1 cell phone. Anything is better than 2 area codes.

Switch in milk consumption:

-I am on 2% milk now and loving every minute of it! See pics.

Recognizing our farmers' good work

This is a letter I sent to a farmer this past summer. I always say to myself how great it is that we get this local fresh produce shipped in to our grocery stores in the summer and I finally wanted to thank someone for it.

So when a basket of peaches arrived with a stamp on the side of the carton, I knew I had my chance!


Edward Araujo
R.R. *
Kingsville, ON
*** ***

Dear Sir,

After picking up a 3 lb basket of Ontario peaches from my Ottawa grocery store in the month of July, I couldn't help notice your stamp on the side. I just wanted to express how much I enjoyed them - so juicy and tasty. I wanted to say how I really appreciate you and others in your profession.
Keep up the good work and have a nice end of summer.

Thank you
Anthony

I want to hear from you!

It appears as if my blog has some friendly, healthy competition with Uhrblock trying to get back in the running with his blog. He originally started it all but then betrayed the blogging community by joining some start-up that never really blossomed into anything - Twitter, it is called?

Anyway, I realize to beat the best I have to be the best, so my blog will maybe be a little more structured in format rather than jumping around from topic to topic - unless this is what my fans desire?!

Please let me know in the comment section of this blog your first name and how you know me so I know what sort of readership I have going these days. As always I promise not to change at all in content. If I offend you in any way, I apologize in advance, but I must hold nothing back when I get behind the keyboard.
Hope to hear from you in the comments!

Topics (and this could just be skimming the surface) to be explored in near future include:


-Another profile on Omar Vizquel with a sidebar on Ivan 'Pudge' Rodriguez
-My solution to watching movies
-The place a 'be rockin': how the movie theatre on Tuesdays turn into crowds resembling Katrina evacuations or Canada Day downtown
-My gripes with finding a good deal at places only to have supply exhausted before I get there to take advantage
-Congestion on city of Ottawa streets during this high stimulus spending construction season
-My steadfast commitment to egg salad sandwiches at lunch
-My commute time to work
-My Fall 2010 agenda
-Haircuts
-Baseball Hats for Expos and Jays
-My quest for Poutine around the city and how much I love it

More gravy

Last Sunday I had Jones, F.B and Simone and Sacha over for a pool and pizza night. Everyone had fun, including the lamp which simone toppled. One thing it did force me to do was to clean up my apartment. I swiffered quite a bit and put stuff away!
I really have learnt the key is to not put stuff off because it burdens you mentally I find. Just tackle s*&% as it comes up and hopefully things will be ok.


Baseball:

Ah the sport I love! I have been good to her but she has not necessarily been good to me. Without even considering the injury I sustained a few years ago, I have always managed to suck nicely at the sport. A slow, weak arm, a poor slap hitter, poor on ground balls. I do shag balls nicely though.
Unf. I am prob not good enough to play in the NCBL - the only league around town for baseball, but I still follow the Jays closely.

Regardless I invested nicely in two bats this year - my first maple and an ashwood plus bought a new glove. I broke in the bats when playing with friend Andy at beautiful Faulkner Field off Fallowfield Rd. This field is like what the pros play on, including a pond in the back of the field. Hopefully I can get out there again soon. In fact, a guy from work named Frank may try to get ol' purdy (who is now in Barrhaven) out and we could have fun. No word yet on whether Uhrblock will come. I think he is too busy tweeting or restricting access to tweets that is.

My interest in baseball also lies in buying a Montreal Expos hat from lids.com, which now offers free shipping to Canadian stores. This is much more appealing than paying $30 for shipping which was the case last year. I didn't buy it though.

I am also following 3 old timers in the twilight (and beyond) of their careers. They include Jamie Moyer, Ivan Rodriguez (39 years old) and Omar Vizquel (43 years old).
These guys truly inspire me as I-Rod and Vizquel are still hitting around .280 and both are within range of 3000 hits. I-Rod should hit 2800 by season's end with Vizquel only 20 hits or less behind. Both would have to play at least 2 more years I think to get it done. I-Rod is signed for next year buit Viquel will be combing the classifieds trying to find work. It is not the money at all - he is only making 1.375 mil, but it is the fact that teams don't want to give a roster spot to an old guy. Truthfully though, this guy can flat out play and is prob a better middle infielder than 3/4 of the league. Funny that Vizquel was always known for his glvoe, however, when he managed to rattle off almost 3000 hits. A first ballot hall of famer I say.
THe other guy I mentioned, Moyer, is a starting pitcher and is 47 years old! He has 268 career wins and is one of the few pitchers to win 100 games after the age of 40. Also he went to his first all star game after age of 40. Moyer's problem is that he has to undergo season ending surgery and will have to attempt a comeback next year if he wants those last 32 wins. Now, even if he does manage to comeback from an arm injury and the Phillies (or some other team) are willing to give him a spot, he has to be a starting pitcher and win on avg. 16 games for 2 years to make it to the big 300 plateau. The odds are against him but I would love to see him make it happen!
In fact, when I went to Philly to see a ball game, it was Moyer who pitched.
Other players to be watched are Ichiro who will attempt to make it to his 10th straight season with 200 hits. He is presently at 147 with 45 or so games to play. he should do it.
Also, Chipper Jones has to have season ending surgery for a torn ACL in his leg and this sucks cause Chipper was moving in on 500 homers (at 436 now). He will be hard-pressed to hit another 64 homers in the pro's at age 39, but his career batting average of .306 and personal accolades shoudl be enough to give him a Hall of Fame spot.

Nothing else going on. Saw Inception, Sling Blade, The Matrix sequels (finally).

I continue to seek someone to assist in helping the fine game of billiards/pool but I have given up on cold-calling instructors at algonquin. I will now be posting on craiglist. This should work out better (sarcastic tone).

One movie I did see that was hilarious in its randomness was Hot Rod with Andy Samberg. It was actually a touching story as well. I am going to for sure bring it up when I next see J.B. Yo Bower Bower.

My father's summer project continues to move along. I help now and then when I can but this man is amazing. At his age he puts up a beautiful project, does most of the lifting by himself. He truly broke the mold I think.

My donut search continues. I have contacted Carling Bakery who does wholesale donuts and they seem like an option to try out. While wholesale donuts usually can't be the best, it won't hurt to try them out; plus they are close to home. The downside again is you have to order ahead of time since it isn't a traditional storefront.

Remember I posted about CTV news having a competition to see what was the best chip stand? Well it turns out that Tommy's was featured on the news and it is the one I frequent. I score a large poutine with extra cheese for $6 and this can last all night. On the night I went to see Inception with Mark, I had this at lunch and I was good until 10 o clock, at which point I had some dark chocolate at home.
Anyway, after coming through over 800 comments, I compiled this list of chip wagons in the National Capital region and Eastern Ontario. You will never be without some yummy fries.

-Crispy Chips (Canadian Tire at Hunt Club and Merivale)
-Glen’s (Richmond Rd and Kirkwood
-Wes’ Chips (Arnprior)
-The Magic Fryer (Canadian Tire on Coventry)
-Calypso Water Park (Limoges Rd and Calypso)
-M & G’s Chipwagon (Bank and Sunnyside)
-Snack Shack (Wilfrid-Lavigne in Alymer)
-Pink Poutine Queen (Almonte)
-Fritomania (St. Joseph Blvd)
-Jean Burger (Wakefield)
-The Village/Town Fryer in Merrickville
-S & G’s (Carling and Maitland)
-Claude’s (Ogilvy and Cummings)
-Mom’s Kitchen (Alexandria)
-JP’s Chips (Baseline and Clyde)
-Chipmunk Chippery (Perth)
-Five Span Spuds (Pakenham)
-S & S Fries (Canadian Tire in Barrhaven)
-Fritz’s Fries (Manotick)
-Li’l Mom’s (Vars off of 417)
-Mike’s Fries (Carleton Place)
-La Patate Dorée (Eddie Street in Hull)
-The Chipwitch Wagon (Merrickville)
-Long’s Patate (Civic Hospital/Ruskin St.)
-Frenchy’s Fries (Pembroke)
-Willy’s Wagon (Almonte)
-Vanier Snack Shack (Deschamps and Hannah)
-Mom’s Kitchen (Alexandria)
-Double Decker Diner & Dairy Bar (Manotick)
-Tony’s (Richmond)
-Woody’s (Highway 7/Innisville)
-GJ’s (Trim Rd between 174 and St-Joseph)
-F & B Doghouse (South Mountain)
-Geatan Patate (Alexandria)
-Jack’s Mobile Kitchen (Rideau and Friel)
-Chantal Fries (Albion Rd. and Mitch Owen’s in Greely)
-Potato King (Carleton Place)
-The Jolly Fryer (Eganville)
-The Sweet Potato (Carp)
-Fryz Guys (Montreal and Blair)
-Glen's Fries (Canadian Tire in Kanata)
-Brian's Spuds (Arnprior)
-The In and Out Eatery (Perth)
-McCan's Chips (Quyon)