Since I am a connaisseur of the movies, I thought I would present you with some can't miss Christmas classics. They are rated based on my enjoyability:

1) Scrooged.

Some say this is the movie that cemented Bill Murray's reputation as a solid star (after his initial hit with Ghostbusters). Others point to it as a bleak and depressing film. While it does have a dark menace to it, it is equally full of hilarious moments and really does embody the true Christmas spirit we all aspire to realize each year. Oh did I mention that Bill Murray delivers huge in this one. This modern day rendition of a Christmas Carol will serve as a good Christmas Eve flick. Just don't watch it alone!

2) National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

The third in the series of Clark Griswald family adventures, this one stays close to home. Rather than the Griswalds travelling, extended family comes to them in this hilarious "nothing can go right" picture that paints a cynical side to hosting the holidays. You will laugh hard at this - especially if it is your first viewing - but in a sort of jerky, ass**** way. Probably because you are watching one of the biggest jerky, ass***** protaganist/antagonist character in comedic history. Save this annual ritual for Christmas Day...better make that Boxing Day.

3) A Christmas Story.

This is a good old fashioned story about a boy wanting one gift and one gift only for Christmas. It is done in the third person narrator sense as the man looks back at that oh so desirable childhood enthusiasm that builds up towards Christmas Day. This one is good for anytime around the holiday season, preferably daytime and maybe a week before to build up the Christmas anxiousness.

4) Miracle on 34th Street.

Not to much to say on this one. It was thrown in more for historical likeability and the good moral it tries to bestow on us! Take your pic of the classic version or the remake starring Richard Attenborough (before he died). This film gives a warm feeling on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Actually, it is also pretty gripping when you are riding a Greyhound bus for 5 hours.

5) Tie: I'll be Home for Christmas vs. Home Alone

Two child stars at their peak. Jonathan Taylor Thomas vs. Macaulay Kaulkin.
Both are good movies for kids and adults alike. Both have laughs and are surprisingly captivating. The plots differ however greatly but share the common element of being separated from one's loved ones on the big day. In I'll be Home for Christmas, Taylor is trying to get home in time for Christmas dinner and goes through 'hell in a handbasket' to do so. In Home Alone, we have Kaulkin stranded at home after his family rushes off to their trip without realizing their forgotten family member. He then goes on to ward off thankless thugs Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv from breaking into the house. Both have their corny moments, what what Hollywood titles don't? THese two movies are good anytime on the Christmas holiday.


As the year draws to a close, here are some people you wish would just go away / die due to the incessant stories pumped at us by the media:

-Pamela Anderson
-Britney Spears
-Ashlee Simpson, Jessica Simpson, whoever else named Simpson not starring in the cartoon sitcom
-David and Victoria Beckham
-Don Imus

Special mention goes to George Strombolouplpupoppspppoouss, whose faux attitude, stoner look, dumb piercings, and general trashy show are not welcome anywhere close on a public network funded through my tax dollars. Why didn't we let ABC keep him?

updates

Well x-mas is here and part of the family is shipping out to AB. Unfortunately, with our current gift system in place, it means we needed to move around the date when the presents are exchanged. This year, we will open presents 6 days late. I couldn't care less though. Presents are so passé for me at this stage in my life.

The jays have done absolutely nothing to prepare for next year and have even complicated things by bringing in more scrappy "role" players. The opening day line-up is a joke and it is amazing that fans are calling this a contending team.

Good news is that baseball is back in the capital next year with the Can-Am League. I will be there at the first game.

I plan to upload a whack of pics to Shutterfly and Facebook. For those of you who don't have facebook, here is my Shutterfly link:

http://anthonypictures.shutterfly.com/action/

My charity situation was taken care of recently and am happy I contributed to a few local charities.

I am waiting to get the paint and will then paint the inside and outside of the kitchen cabinets. I can then put stuff away, opening up room for things, which will allow for some entertaining.

In other news, ma ended her long distance monthly contract. THis means I will to set myself up with a calling card or something to keep in touch with people in Southern Ontario.

Willy's continues to produce legendary pies. I brought donuts again but one of the brothers (the main one) was not there so it was pretty funny handing over a dozen donuts to one guy. I hope he didn't eat them all and get sick.

I could b**tch and complain about Sportsnet Regional blackouts and bus fare increases to Octranspo but I will abstain. My secret guess is that Octranspo wants to cut back on expanding infrastructure (bc the city wants to keep their budget from growing) so this is in a way rationing demand. Less riders maybe but stable revenues and costs.

So far, I have no plans for New year's. Sob Sob.

"Now I can eat my fruity flakes!"

I have just come back from Canada's best and most exciting city, Toronto. Aside from the great atmosphere on the streets, the best thing I noticed was the Metro Subway; it was clean, safe, sparsely populated and extremely useful. This is the exact opposition of how you would describe Ottawa's public transit with the buses.

The occasion was a vist to my friend Josh, who actually surprised me with the location of his house. I didn't know he lived in an urban downtown setting. His house was just off Eglinton West. It made for a short walk to the subway station. We had a ball together and did many things: eating, wathing our flicks, seeing the raptors, seeing live comedy, walking around, playing sports, old nintendo even. We ate like bastards and drank cream soda until it was coming out of our ears. I left Thursday and came back Sunday. I am not yet sold on the train. For the price, I was disappointed that the train was delayed 30 minutes on the way back Sunday. I wouldn't have minded so much perhaps, except for the fact that I missed my 3:30 departure single-handedly due to the Santa Claus Parade which paralyzed a good section of the downtown core.

I would say that I have lots of picture - and rest assured I took some - but they will likely not be appearing on my Shutterfly account. I have realized how annoying and time-consuming this whole storing picture thing is. I have a bunch of pics to upload, and I have to decide between facebook and Shutterfly. I wish I could do both at once, but it's not the same thing. Facebook seems to be winning the struggle for my picture albums.

Everything else is the same. I am running out of time to do some things though. Priorities include investing, charity, job search or not, entertaining at my condo/organizing all my stuff/painting the kitchen cabinets.
Ah well. Bye internet users.

Shop-a-holic

I could star in a new tv series, entitled "How to Build a wardrobe from scratch." If the camera followed me around, this is what people would see:

-You show up at a large indoor shopping mall at 2 pm.
-You stay until 9 pm
-You make friends with the retail people
-You don't eat or drink anything during this 7 hour shift
-Unlike the people working retail, you have not sat down for these past 7 hours.

That was me this past Saturday. I went beserk and blew about 600 easy. I completely revamped my starting line-up however. I have a solid 1-2-3 pant rotation and the bullpen (shirt) is versatile. There is no designated closer (an A-1 shirt) so it will be bullpen by committee doing the saves. That night I came home and rifled up some chicken burgers at 10 pm. I had to call Mark to see what the deal was with the soggy chicken burgers. The obvious solution: just cook them longer! I passed out pretty good between a replay of HNIC and the movie Speed in french. I slept in the next morning and hung around the apartment, recovering from my extravaganza. Then I took off to Basics and then to FB and Jonesies, who had us all over for dinner and football. While I took a slight interest in the football - I can't remember who played off-hand -- it was francoisies Ribs that captivated my attention and my appetite. Good work frasco! I followed that by 2 or 3 kit-kats (who counts anyway) and then apparently did a beer walk to clean up some spilt tea. Ella was particularly cute and good, while Simone was fussy that evening. I never used the word fussy until recently. It will exit my vocab I figure soon, and then re-surface when my juniors are running around.

I should mention that my shopping was really facilitated by Omar (actually there were two Omars but that is another story) he was so helpful at the Men's department. He was the next best thing to having a woman's opinion. I was so pleased with his dedication to service, that on monday when I re-visited Bayshore Shopping Centre -- and ran into him again -- I wrote up a nice long story about how great he had been to me on the customer feedback forms. Conveniently enough, his supervisor happened to be walking the floors that moment and he instructed me to give it to her. I happily obliged! I think I made her day when I presented her with the comments. She lit up like an x-mas tree. I just hope it pays off and that guy goes straight to the top. He definitely deserves recognition for his good work.

I think I am done with Bayshore for now. I will re-evaluate what I have and need. One thing about A-train, when he goes out shopping, he goes big. I told Mark I was ready to drop some serious coin - and I did just that. My proudest purchases are a sweet parka, and some shoes.

I also did another good thing on Sunday. I actually completed a survey over the phone that took 15 min for York University Health Sciences dept. I figure if anything else, I've built up some good karma from my actions of the past few days.

Tip of the month...or maybe the year: If you find your hair sorta heavy and clogged, add to your favourite conditioner a teaspoon (vary amount with length of hair) of baking soda. Apply, wait a minute, then rigoursly scrub hair and sculp for a couple minutes. Wait another minute for it to settle. Then wash out with cold water. It is supposed to remove build-up from shampoos, conditioners, and gels or mousses. I def noticed a diff. I figure it could be effective for no more than a month though.

Wed seems to be amateur improv night down (held in a community centre) on Somerset. I think I'll be taking the #2 there.

I am now a 23 year old man. To summarize, I am not a little kid anymore. The birthday was held with as much fanfare as I can remember in recent years. First, I went to lunch with Mark (the greatest parallel-parker I’ve seen). He treated me to a big salad and had a seedy bun hamburger himself. He lamented a couple of times on how seedy the bun was. I was happy and continued on with my day. Nowadays, thanks to facebook, people actually can know it is your birthday without you having to tell them. Glorious I say. That evening was fun. The cute babies came and captured our collective attention. Ma produced a choco cake and featured spaghetti for dinner. It was a vintage meal. I then stopped at Abe’s on the way home for milk. They did not have 1% so I was forced to go 2%. Oh well not everything can go right.

I thank all involved for their effort in making my b-day a special day. From the chicken burgers to a grill, to a framed diploma, to some good quality cash., it was a good yield. I must have the best family around I figure. Special mention of course to Ma, who hosted it all. She has been a stalwart in that kitchen and we appreciate it.

First thing I will use my foreman grill for will be to cook some porkchops. I hear Mark likes them.

Time is running out for me to get new winter/office clothes. I dress like July. I also have to make good on some baby gifts and a certain gift certificate for a person at work.

Review

I have a chance at last to catch up on some happenings.

Last night Heidi and Mark came over and enjoyed a pizza with me. Willy announced big news of opening up more locations. This should bode well for Mark, my Dad and other Barrhavenites who make the drive out for pizza. We watched some playoff baseball as well. Since I didn't eat a whole pizza for myself, I figure I deserve to have a mid-week pie next week. I keep meaning to try other things on their menu, but when that times comes, I just want a pie.

Simone is sleeping quite a bit, and we wait for Heidi's baby. Work is fine overall. I have been applying to some jobs lately. I'm certain that I won't hear back for many of them.

My Rogers cable is turning out great. I get all the baseball and can watch the Office at midnight on Thursday night. The set-up is sweet.

The Lynx fiasco is a disaster. They won't officially announce their move to Allentown, yet the Iron Pigs have launched a website and use the statistics from last year's Lynx team. Pathetic. Luckily, I attended the second last game.

I have my gum now - all 70 plus packs. I am now shifting my energy to tracking down slush puppies.

Last week, I hit balls with Mark. He lamented on how playing with only two peeps is tiring. That is where Francois comes in. I don"t mind it with only two people though. It means no ball is off limits in the outfield. I can go as hard as I want without worrying that I run into someone. Neither one of us can hit it over the fence yet that. That has to change for next season. That is all for now I suppose. Have a nice week bloggers.

Simone

Johanna has had her baby! A baby girl! What excitement. Congratulations Jones and François. Heidi will follow shortly. Call me Unkie train.

WOOH Baseball

Colorado and San Diego. Never before have I seen such a game! It pulled at my heart strings, captured my attention and will never leave my mind. To me, it was the single most exciting ball game ever played in my lifetime. Both teams gave it their all; both bullpens came up huge. In the end, it was Hoffman –the career saves leader- blowing a game which should have been wrapped up. Two blown saves in consecutive appearances which cost the Padres a playoff birth may be enough for Hoffman to retire, or for the Padres to not invite him back next year. You have to feel for him though. It’s a case of a pitcher getting older and not having the stuff he once had. His heater is now ineffective making change-ups his primary pitch. Unfortunately, this proved to be his downfall.

But enough about Hoffman! My Colorado Rockies, yes MY Colorado Rockies are heading to the postseason for the first time since 1995, and only the second time in franchise history. It will be a first for heart-and-soul guys like Jamey Caroll (long-time Lynx player, god bless him) and Todd Helton. I am quite jubilant at the moment for these guys. They won 14 of their last 15 games to make it in! Unbelievable. The game ended on an unbelievable note. The Padres looked to have dashed the hopes of Rockies players and fans alike with a 2 run bomb by Scott Hairston, son of pro-baller Jerry Hairston. This came in the top of the 13th. Then the rally started: double by Matsui (Hideki’s estranged brother); double by Tulowitzki; triple by Matt Holliday off the scoreboard in right field (and an attempt by Brian Giles that dazzled me; his 5’10 frame be damned as he just missed the ball climbing up the scoreboard). Then the next player to come up, Jamey Caroll, who had lost his mother to cancer earlier on in his career – but not before she was able to see him finally in the Major’s. Caroll, principally a utility player in his Major League career, could feel the importance of this. He promptly punched a ball to right field on the first pitch – a liner it was. At first it looked like it would drop in. On next glance, it appeared as if it would even go over the glove of the outfielder. Neither was the case. Giles, and his beauty grade 8 highlighted mushroom cut caught the ball on an absolute line and then, without so much as a running start, just cannoned the ball to home, in anticipation of Matt Holliday tagging up. Giles tried to make up for his mediocre arm by getting rid of it as soon as possible. He sort of air mailed it actually, but it still bounced before the plate. Michael Barett seemed to block off the plate perfectly but couldn’t come up with the ball. Holliday had slid head first into his cleat. Both players sprawled out for what seemed like an eternity. Then Barrett got control of the ball and as he was reaching to tag Holliday (the umpire had not made a call up to this point), Tim Mclelland made a safe sign. Totally blown call though! The game should have continued as the play was not complete. Either Holliday had to touch the plate, or Barett needed to tag Holliday. Anyway, what a game and what a night. I woke up to “Don’t go breaking my heart” on my radio station and reflected on how I had just witnessed two teams giving it everything they had. I was happy for Caroll, a good guy who deserved to make it to baseball’s second season.

Last night, other things happened. The Escort popped a wheeley so to speak. Repairs are needed. I needed to get to Barrhaven for dinner and groceries and game, so Mark came and got me at fallowfield station and we proceeded to Food Basics. He forgot his $10 chicken though. Then after I watched some game with him, pa drove me back to Ambleside. Thanks guys!

Job interview gone awry

I hit the bottle hard tonight - black cherry vanilla cola that is! That, some dubble bubble, a litre of milk and these tiny Lemon Crunch dutch cookies (original butter recipe) took care of my professional employment sorrows. I couldn't build up a rapport with the people as I was greeted by some Admin guy at the lobby. I thought he was a little young to be interviewing me, but I gave it a chance - only to find out that my original suspicious were correct. I was led to a room, then another room. I wish I had executed better. I wish had had more interview experience in the last 3 years. I wished a lot of things during that fateful 1.5 hrs; someone putting me out of misery would not have been out of line. But alas, I gave it the old heave-ho and now I play the waiting game. I will ramp up job search efforts though in the mean-time. Maybe even start cold-calling. Yes the dreaded cold-call. Calls that steal your soul, and drain your energy.

I signed up to something tonight also. Can the 3 people reading this blog guess what that is?
hint: not playboy magazines
hint: not an annual subscription to the dubble bubble grape club

Johanna's baby comes soon, and soon after, Heidi's. This is def something to look forward to. I will be on call this upcoming weekend, and the phone will be on. My guarantee. Provided of course that I'm not tied up with pa's hedge-trimmer doing a number on 36 lang's hedges. After that, I will hit dough-boy's.

Tonight, as I look out the window, I see a crescent moon. How awesome. The stuff you see in movies.
I have to take care of laundry tonight. If time permits, a movie will be watched using streaming video. I saw Number 23 (2 out of 5 stars) recently and am interested in seeing the following: Death Sentence, 1408, Superbad (again), Knocked up.

Bye bloggers

Update

Not much to say. I have settled in nicely to condo life and am now taking Willys for granted. They know my name it seems and I don't know theirs. hmmm. The escort is still working. I will have to decide whether to cash in my 6 month graduate discount and buy a new car (in the fall sometime). I probably won't.

I did go to a wedding (Aron and Stephanie) last weekend in Southern Ontario! Me, me, pa drove to Hamilton where we stayed with grandma. Then on Friday, I rented a car from Enterprise and drove to Listowell where I met Aron. From there, we did some errands and made it eventually to Stephanie's house. Then the rehearsal, then onto Aron's house for mingling and table snacks. In the morning all the groomsmen took showers and changed into their tuxedos. We all looked super! A limo came and fetched us and we cruised around in style. The driver had to stop a number of times on request of some of the guys - including once to fetch a pepsi from the trunk so one boy could enjoy his rum drink. We took pictures in the long hot sun and did other things up until the big ceremony at 4 pm. As best man, I took it all very seriously. I had the rings in my inside breast pocket and fetched them with ease when asked by the minister. Although, I am not in too many pictures, I did take a lot myself --the exact number being 164.

That night I had some champage and wine with dinner and one beer. Later I didn't have any drinks and wanted to keep in tip-top shape as I had to take Aron and Steph to their hotel. My contacts began killing me as I had them in for quite a while that day (14 hrs) A small headache ensued, but nothing to spoil my evening. My speech was a veritable hit it seemed. This marks two times where I've engaged the audience well when speaking at a wedding. This comforts me coming off the heels of a disappointing school year in terms of public speaking. I continue to long to play baseball, and to a lesser degree squash. I hope to get tennis in tomorrow with andy clapson. Tonight I am going with some ppl from work to a club. This time, I am going at 10:30 rather than 9. Earlier today, I spent a great afternoon in Costco with jones. I bought a fall shirt, a winter jacket, and ordered up a pair of beauty glasses. I also almost bought some calvin klein cords, and a smart looking leather jacket. Costco has really expanded their clothing section and i like it.

bye

Meet the lynx! Come on and meet the lynx

Well I would never want to actually meet the Lynx, but Friday marked the 3rd time in four weeks -and 4th time overall this year- that I've taken in a ball game. It was the best one yet as the Syracuse Skychiefs, Toronto's farm team, were in town. The crowd was unbelievably lively and raucous. A lot of players who had spent time with the Jays were there that night, including: Russ Adams, Adam Lind, Sal Fasano (and his big moustache), John Hattig, Chad Motolla, and Ryan Roberts. The personal attacks on Sal Fasano and his facial hair were relentless. I called out Ryan Roberts on his hideous tattoos that covered his arms. I think we called him escaped prison inmate as he batted. Another line was, "When did you get out of the joint?" The beauty of all this is that it was televised by rogers cable 22 and I realize that I want to acquire a tape as you can clearly hear all the heckling on those telecasts. Lastly, I bugged Adam Lind who had struggled with a .230 average at the major league level before being sent down. As he sat watching the game from the dugout, I asked him if John Gibbons was a jerk, and if he had fought him. This was an obvious reference to the incident last season that Gibbons had with Shea Hillenbrand (now ex-jay).

The night was amazing as I enjoyed a Beavertail at St-Laurent Shopping Centre before-hand. My first in years and it was a Killahoe Sunrise. I then enjoyed the small size beer ($5 vs 10$ = easy choice for this fella) in the warm weather, all while heckling my guts out. The company was good too as people from work came. I am debating going to Monday's game as well as A.J. Burnett is throwing his rehab game. I have waited a long time to bust AJ's balls on his career .500 performance. This will be a great opportunity! Ideally, we would be fighting eachother on top of the dugout by the 5th inning and our infamous security friend, Robocop, would have to intervene.

Today, I cruised around with H doing errands in the awesome blossom CR-V. I found a likely source for new glasses (Costco), bought a baseball from Canadian Tire, almost pulled the trigger on buying a digital camera, and developped an unhealthy obsession with finding a Dockers polo shirt from Sears in a certain light denim colour. The ones in the store were all large and my search online yielded nothing as the colour I wanted couldn't be found. Further confounding the problem is that I couldn't find it on Dockers' website. My prospects now involve visiting the Sears store at Rideau Centre, visiting a Sears store in Hamilton this upcoming weekend, or looking in the Sears printed catalogue and ordering it. It's safe to say that I'll be channelling a lot of energy into this. Oh well, I'm sure my best man speech won't take long to write...

This long weekend is packed with stuff to do and I am trying to make the best of it. Talk to you later, bloggers.

back in business

Tonight I used the pool in my building for the first time ever. It was awesome. There was nobody there when I went - which was close to 11, the closing time. While it has a closing time, the door doesn't actually lock. And since no one supervises, it looks like I can throw parties down there. Paul, the maintenance guy, will find us all passed out, bottles leaking beer into the pool. Anyway, I enjoyed my swim and hope to go more in the future.

The name of this blog entry is pertaining to the awesome bp session I had with Mark on Wednesday evening. We found an un-occupied ball diamond and made the best of it. Mark was doing quality work and hit some high fly balls that I settled under nicely. Unfortunately, on one of his first fly balls (which was falling quickly), I pulled something in my left leg. At that point, I had to mail-in my running game pretty much. I also couldn't put as much on my throws to the plate. At least 20 runners must have scored on me. I had a blast and it felt great to get back on the diamond for the first time in a year. Earlier in the evening, H and M had me over for dinner. It was wonderful and I stuffed up on watermelon afterwards. I would have eaten more but I was trying to get rid of an 'air' headache.

Tomorrow is a b-day for FB. Willy's is getting an order for two pies! People in the family can hardly wait. Too bad I'm going to have to restrict access to the pies for the first 5 mins; this is in everyone's best interests as it is too unstable right away -- not to mention the scolding of the top of the mouth from the sauce under the cheese.

This weekend, I hope to play some more tennis and may make it down to the market on sat. Who knows though. I don't....Do you?

Double-header blog update

A new development occurred after I had written the first entry. Mark and I hit the squash court at Ambleside and I played my first ever match. He was kind to me and let me serve again and again. Despite all the friendly spirit, I still lost all 3 games by the scores of 1-11, 3-11, 2-11. I did have fun though.

I learned two things today: my squash ball is a fake, sold to me by Sports Experts; and my stamina hits a wall after two matches. When I got back up to my apartment, I noticed that my face was red as a beat, while Mark had barely cracked a sweat. It is a shame he has a property to maintain and a job to attend to, as he should be on the Canadian squash circuit.

While I had assured him that I would only be picking up take-out from Swiss chalet later that evening, I folded like a cheap tent and sat down for me meal. The main reason for this was that I was desperately hungry and out of energy. I honestly didn't think I could drive back to the condo. So i sat and ordered a half chicken with fries and an extra roll. I had to settle for Pepsi, and then ordered a gingerale. It was difficult sipping the drink without a straw (bc of the ice wading at the top of the glass) so I merely spooned the ice out of my glass with my bare hands. I gave a very un-scrooge like tip and was off. Dessert was a bowl of cinnamon t. crunch.

Something tells me I'll be feeling the lingering effects of this squash for a couple days. I regret nothing!

Below are some links I will address in a later post. Let's just say that everyone who thinks they have a good pay as you go plan (i.e. me) is getting hosed real good, reeeal good.


http://www.7-eleven.com/products/docs/SpeakOut_Brochure_can.pdf

http://www.7-eleven.com/products/product_detail.asp?catalog%5Fname=7ElevenNew&category%5Fname=Canada&subcategory%5Fname=Canada&product%5Fid=2002&thumb=1

On Friday, I was able to enjoy the fine display of Triple A baseball as the Lynx took on the Norfolk Tides. It was quite amusing as the Norfolk players were the nicest athletes I've ever seen up close. They were giving away balls by the bunch - something the lynx players never did anything of when I sat behind their dugout last time. IN addition, the players being heckled by belligerant Lynx fans (some guys behind me) actually went along with the act. It was quite fun; at one point they tried to invite Kurt Birkins, a pitcher who had spent some time with the Orioles, to a strip joint. He expressed interest and I can only speculate as to what happened as the four heckling buffoons approached him at the end of the game. On a down note, attendance once again sucked. It really is a shame that the Lynx will be moving to Allentown, Pennsylvania for the 2008 season. Frankly, it is embarrassing that this town (the size of Kingston) will be able to better support the team - especially considering the bleak picture wikipedia paints of the town. Observe here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allentown,_Pennsylvania

Some of the highlights of Allentown include:

-The median income for a household in the city was $32,016, and the median income for a family was $37,356. Males had a median income of $30,426 versus $23,882 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,282. 18.5% of the population and 14.6% of families were below the poverty line. 29.4% of those under the age of 18 and 10.3 percent of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

-In 2006, the known criminal offenses in Allentown, as reported to the F.B.I., included around 800 violent crimes and over 7,000 property crimes. With the exception of aggravated assault, Allentown exceeded national averages in all criminal categories. Cases of arson in Allentown were nearly double the national average[1]. Other crimes in Allentown that substantially exceeded national averages were robbery, murder and forcible rape.

-The city's crime statistics have been heightened over the past decade by growing gang-related crime and gang rival violence. The city also has seen a growth in drug trafficking and prostitution.

-The largest employer in Allentown is Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network, with over 7,800 employees. [10][11]


I have started a new fiction book which I am enjoying to the fullest. I also spent some time on french this weekend. Tomorrow I am going to dinner at my parents' with special guest Larry Hobbs.

This weekend I went to a friend's cottage. It was nice of josh and his dad to have me. We all had lots of fun and every night there was a campfire. I made lots of marshmallows and smores. We were fed quite well.

I was sort of fatigued and sickly unfortunately on monday, the day of my parents' anniversary. While everyone else feasted on chinese, I was trying to force myself to bring up so that I could get on with my night. Yesterday, I did make it to my parents' house for dinner, then did some groceries and settled in for the MLB all star game. It did not disappoint in terms of a good game, but I turned it off in the 9th with 2 outs. Boy, was I surprised to learn that the NL almost managed a huge come-back! I always have felt that baseball's all-star game is the most watchable of the 4 major sports all-star events. Hockey is a big-time joke when they get the stars together.

A warning to all those who openly mock people who fear warm water temperatures for their clothes. I put my favourite khaki docker's cargos in a perm press load and noticed that they are 1/8th to a 1/4 of an inch shorter. I always use cold water, but I strayed for some reason this time.

- More un-returned e-mails from Rogers Sportsnet. Don't both giving them feedback. They don't want it! I hate Scott Carson -- a fatso optimist -- and Jamie Campbell --he will forever look 14 years old.

-I am now the least seasoned squash player ever. With no games under my belt, I figure my racket will last until the end of time.

-Kudos to the Canadian media for painting a heroic picture surrounding Crosby's new contract. All our media outlets are telling us that Crosby did good for others and his team: he only signed for an annual salary of 8.7 something million. What a sacrifice! "Kids you see that; don't get greedy now. Look how Sidney handled his contract negotiation, that's class." A true 19 year old multi-millionaire martyr, Crosby is. Please. If they feel so strongly that the Pittsburgh organization "got a steal", then Kypreos, Alan Adams and the rest of those hockey assholes should send around a collection fund to make up the remainder of what they think "market value" for Sid the Kid is. How high will the salary cap climb? Am I really to believe that this business is fixed? Absolutely not. What sort of effect will rising interest rates have on people's disposable income.? Will fans be squeezed a little tighter for those ever-increasing ticket prices. And where is the magical tv contract from a major american tv network? It's non-existent because none of them want to carry hockey. Same old story. The salary cap is climbing because owners have found a way to extract more money from the ticket holders.

update

Things seem to be rounding into shape at ol' Ambleside. I am using the exercise room quite a bit now and also watching late jays games while I'm at it. I've been 3 times past 9 pm and no one has been there. I now consider this exclusively my room past the hour of 9 pm and will remove anyone from the premises who tries to come in. How dare they!
I say who needs cable tv when you have an exercise room. Truth is I wouldn't mind cable or satellite tv but my expenses are high enough monthy with phone and internet. I am quite interested in LOOk tv who offers a healthy channel line-up (better than Rogers basic cable) for only 35$. The hitch is you got to ante up 100$ for the receiver and $50 for the installation. So it is something for the long-run.

While on the subject of Rogers, i am really starting to enjoy doing business with this company. They really are a jack of all telecommunications trade. Even paying a bill is a pleasant experience. I talk to an automated man and give him my credit number. He talks just like a normal fella - unlike that loser Emily from Bell who is far too chirpy for my liking.

I also am mastering my cell-phone. I got rid of the annoying start-up greeting and all is well.

Taking the bus to work sometimes proves annoying but I should be thankful that it is such a close commute.

Willy's pizza is fabulous as usual and I am ready to serenade the guy who runs the one near my condo. Everything is so consistent and well-done. When it is ready, he says: "Here you go, my friend." What a pleasant customer-client interaction.

My never ending quest to get back into baseball continues. I am too young to throw in the towel and start coaching; I feel I have many good years still in me. From the last time I played in a league - which was about 7 years ago - I had excellent wheels and a strong passion for the game. It even led to my infamous ejection one game.

My other quest is becoming french capable. I am making some strides with it and can even see the light at the end of the tunnel.

What did I do today you ask?
Not much I answer! I got a haircut, cleaned my bathroom (removed the soap scum built up on the shower) quietly reflected on matters, wrote this blog, and will now work on my french and then watch tv or a movie off you tube.

A safe and Happy Canada Day to all.

Hello. I have two homes of late; I sleep at the condo but eat most meals and watch tv at headquarters. While this is not a bad thing, it does seem to involve some commuting. Ah well.

On thursday, Jake w.p. came over for the first time to the condo in at least a year and since the regime change took place. He loves the balcony and was able to enjoy it to the fullest - especially since there was a Willy's pizza to boot. He was ingenious as usual as he used my coke can for the purposes of an ashtray. We then shot the ol' crap around and decided to take a look around the basement. The billiards room looked closed up (with a sheet over the table); the children's playpen was locked; the tuck-shop was closed. The only things up and running at 9 pm were the pool and the squash and exercise room. It turns out there is no big tv lounge common room, so we went into the exercise room and turned on the overhead tv to watch the tail end of a jays game. It was good that no one came to actually exercise.

Later today (sat) I am heading over to the apt of someone I work with. They were nice enough to have some people over. I plan to bring a couple things. While I could bus, I think I will drive. Right now, I am going to do a solid vacuuming through the condo.

Take care all

Willy's is by far the greatest pie maker I've ever seen and tasted. It raised my spirits when my battery didn't start on Thursday and I couldn't go and pick my friend up. Instead I walked to the near-by Willy's and brought it home before my dad came out to give me a boost.

Facts about Willy's:

-It is the greatest thing since sliced bread
-It is very filling and offers great value
-Each pie is made with love and care and this is reflected in how heavy the box is
-If I had to choose between the internet and Willy's, I would take WIlly's.
-If you eat it twice in one week, you will likely die from: a) the happiness you get from eating it; b) the heavy cheese

My new place and job are going fine except for a few snags. I plan to take up some new hobbies this summer, including - but not limited to- skating lessons, squash and perhaps biking or jogging on the parkway.

Increasingly, I find the simple things hard to find. Things change so fast that when you go back to get boxer shorts that you bought 4 months ago, the place doesn't have them anymore. Also, some light cotton pants have been hard to track down. Everywhere I go either has strictly pleated cotton dress pants or stupid ones with flowers and other designs embedded onto the leg. I hate the two extremes and I wish I could find the same ones I bought from Warren's two years ago - these light Maxi pants they offered in different colours.
I do care for the Dockers brand but they charge a pretty penny. In the States they are far cheaper. Same old story there.
ALso, no one cares to make navy pants no more. In my humble opinion, pant companies should realize that people want some stability in their pant buying experience. Four colours should be mandatory: khaki, navy, olive/green, and white. Grey would be an added bonus.

Hello blog people – if there is any of you left out there. I have taken some time to reflect after finishing school before writing it up in blog format. So far I’ve had three full weeks off: one of them back in Guelph after I finished exams, shared with my friend and dubbed the “week of fun” – this consisted of 4 trips to East Side Marios in 6 days as well as a host of other activities; and two weeks back home where I’ve been focusing my energies on getting a car road worthy and securing employment. I have also been brushing up on my grasp of the french language and have been moderately successful in doing so. In addition, not to be forgotten are my efforts in the kitchen, where I have been shadowing my mom for cooking techniques and recipes. I think she enjoys having me hanging over her shoulder, following her every move and asking annoying questions, to which there are obvious answers. Today I may learn how to prepare a roast pork loin before it goes in the oven. Hopefully, next week, the lesson will be bun dough. I also made a pizza pie on Friday, and although it was pretty darn good, it was no Willy’s or Marino’s.

As my employment prospects are inching closer and closer to realization, it appears as though I no longer have any need for ‘Blah Blah’s. While I enjoyed demeaning myself – with my familiar hunch and all – for the masses, off and on for the past 8 years, it is time to hang it up. Of course, I will not quit until absolutely necessary and will probably dangle them on strings until I find out for sure of my future. The only returning role I could see myself in is buggy boy, but even then, one has to question if it is worth it. The answer is definitely not.
Another pet project of mine is my eye situation; I am trying again my contacts (down to my last pair now). I will ask my optometrist once again if she can prescribe me a better pair, but it looks like I am in a helpless state. The problem is that my contacts are rotating in my eye and it causes blurred vision. After looking into corrective laser eye surgery, I am a little scared. However, the cost will be enormous if I can’t secure proper contact lenses. I will need immediately a pair of regular glasses, a pair of prescription sun glasses (since I now will be driving), and more likely than not, a pair of “rec-specs” – a pair of prescription sport goggles so that I can continue on with my life.

I have also caved and finally bought a cell-phone. I am happy with it and my provider is President’s Choice mobile. It is a Samsung speakerphone – a phone owned by a prominent Mechanicsville deadbeat. Next on the list could be such items as a camera, a flat computer screen. I will likely hit Best Buy for such items.

Lastly, I can not forget about Guelph. I miss a few things from the city of 100 000 people, including: having Domino’s pizza less than 6 minutes away from my house and getting the sweet walk-in specials; having an East Side Mario’s less than 6 minutes away from my place; the excellent one floor mall right by my place; and a few special friends. I vow to return and my first visit back will be my convocation ceremony on June 12th.

This blog may be updated once every two weeks. Bye for now and god speed.