Making It Up As I Go Along #351

An early Update in reverse order... story before the week for those that have been e-mailed about the story who’d have no interest in the daily gibberish.


Season’s Greetings!
Tis the season to wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. So from me and mine... well... no kids yet... umm... and the wife isn’t on the scene either... girlfriend... umm, no... girl I’m sort of dating?... well... no, not that either... and even if there were, wouldn’t that be the perfect way to end any possibility of more. Go to a movie with a nice young lady then include her in wishing my friends and family a Merry Christmas... "From me and the girl I just met..." I’m not crazy! Alright... so... from me and... the dog? Nope. Cat? Uh uh. Turtle? Fish? Hamster?... Plant? HD TV? Oh dear oh dear.

Alright, let’s start this over again. Merry Christmas to you and yours... from... ME... and... my... Surround Sound Stereo Home Theatre System (that’s as good as I’ve got. Crazy I may not be... but loser... here I am!).

It’s been a year of firsts and changes. I am still living in Ottawa. And I’m still in my cookie cutter condo out there in Orleans. Orleans... the land that’s at least twenty kilometres from everything. Where I’m able to go to a hockey game in Montreal quicker than Ottawa. Where you legally are obligated to drive to anything (as sidewalks have been removed for added driving space).

With all the Orleans dissing, there is still a pleasantness to my place. To be able to come home at night and hear the crickets chirp. To see the carefully cultivated ‘forest’ at the edge of my suburban pond getting destroyed by a beaver. And to walk the neighbourhood late at night, and only come across rabbits in my travels. This is all rather nice. Although beats me how on earth a beaver made it’s way into the Avalon subdivision and slipped into the man made pond. Either way, I’m routing for the beaver to hold on to his home and keep the interest for the neighbourhood on the upturn.

I’ve been looking at other homes. Houses in Vanier, Houses in the west end of town, and condos all over. Almost made an offer on a cool condo with a view of Parliament. I tried to be wise and responsible by talking to friends and family first. My talking cost me the offer as the place was gone hours before my call to the agent. Maybe I’ll be moved by this time next year... maybe not. We’ll have to see.

I’ve had changes at work. When the rest of the office rejoiced at the thought of ditching shift work for straight days, I asked to go straight evenings. And there I stayed for a good six months, working the evening shift happily. It didn’t do much for the social scene but it did wonders for the sleep routine. At the tail end of the straight evenings, I was joined by another. Annick kept the evening interesting and made me the envy of many a male co-worker. Dayshift almost came to an end from the male side of things when Annick joined the evening.

From there I put my name in to leave AFIS and go to CPSIC. To my surprise, they said “yeah, good idea.” And off I went to CPSIC. Don’t ask me what CPSIC means... I’m on holidays and have pushed such knowledge out of my brain. But it remains on the same floor in the same building and includes some work with fingerprints. Only now, where a mistake in AFIS was frowned upon with a little scolding, a mistake in CPSIC has the potential of execution or deportation. We deal with INTERPOL and the FBI. We even deal with America’s Most Wanted! Lots of phone calls about priority work... phone calls where us new guys can say “umm, let me see... I think... can you hang on a minute?”

In truth, CPSIC has been fun. I’m picking it up slowly but surly. I have gone from a member of a team in AFIS... to a loner in AFIS... to a partner in CPSIC. Phil, who I had spoken with probably six times in the last five years is now the closest thing I have to a wife. Poor Phil to be included in such a comparison. But he’s my partner and we have to co-ordinate time off and share daily duties. We’re together twelve hours a day, four out of every eight days. For yes, my week is now eight days long. CPSIC means you work four straight twelve hour days followed by four days off.

Enough work. I’ve traveled this year as well. Three times I’ve flown from Ottawa. Three times I’ve flown to Newfoundland. It may not be James Bond like excitement. Perhaps Cairo, Baghdad and Hong Kong would sound more impressive than St. John’s, Rocky Harbour and Red Bay... but it has still been good.

In May I was due for a ten day trip to St. John’s. Time to lay low in the home town with the parents. Air Canada decided ten days was too much and, after a cab ride to the airport with bags in hand, I’m told to go home for two days... then I can go. Bless Air Canada for taking care of me so.

In July I return to Newfoundland. This time to a house full of family. Edena, Duff and the girls are there awaiting me. And with mom and dad in tow, we take two cars and drive across the island, and up to Labrador. No summer road trip is complete without a cold. So while others wear shorts and t-shirts in mid twenties weather, I’m fleeced and jeaned with a fever. Drugs get me through and all I really miss is supper in St. Anthony. No disrespect meant for St. Anthony, but little, if any, sleep was lost over that sacrifice. I ended up losing a fleece on this trip though. Probably left it somewhere in a feverish daze. Poor fleece, I miss it so.

I return to the world of softball this year. Everyone around me calls it baseball... but it isn’t. It’s far from baseball. It’s very softball. Very slowpitch softball. Very recreational slowpitch softball. And five games into my softball comeback, even recreational slowpitch is too much for me. I sprain my hamstring legging out a triple.

The doctor told me that such an injury on an 18 year old would keep them off for two days. A 28 year old would miss two weeks. And a 38 year old would be out of action for two months.

Two months later, after a round of physio, I return to full time action. So I’m a 36 year old in a 38 year old body. Excellent. My wonky shoulder reminded me of age when my hamstring got better. But still softball in the summer was fun. Running around (or limping around in some games) the field was good. And the glove didn’t have too much rust after seven years away.

The fall has continued with softball. We played under a dome, on field turf... so it was a brand new game. My hamstring problems were well behind me and I was able to help guide the team to a 2 and 11 won/loss season. At least we get a good draft pick.

In other sports news, the Beijing Olympics gained a spot of worldwide dominance. I vowed to watch none of it. It seemed the torch relay was a sign of the horror to come. When torch relays include orders such as shoot to kill, you know the vision of peace among men that the Olympics is supposed to embody is long gone.

But watch much of the games I did. Swimming events and wild Chinese architecture drew me in. I’d sit there waiting for the next footage of an Olympic venue. The Swimming Cube, for one, was mesmerizing. So while others tuned in for national glory, I tuned in for Chinese architecture. Typical guy I am. I at least refused to watch the pretty Chinese girl lip syncing while the ugly Chinese girl was taped singing. Olympic Milli Vanilli... it’s what the dream’s all about.

In politics, Hillary Clinton made me cheer for Barrack Obama, and Sarah Palin made me cheer for Tina Fey. While, in Canada, Stephen Harper made me... well... he made me hate Stephen Harper. Most politicians lie. They’re mostly two faced. Stephen Harper has shown such a gift for lies and two facedness that it actually made Canadian politics interesting. What would Harper do next? Who would he slander and bully? Tune in to find out.

So that brings me to now. In Newfoundland on my third trip home in the year. Bringing the Ontario snow with me and taking it easy in my home town. Hoping this letter finds you and yours well.

Merry Christmas
Chris, and the Home Theatre System.


FRIDAY...
— Downtown for lunch and some shopping with mom and dad. Gifts bought for all... not much surprise involved for Christmas day as we all tried on things that ended up bought... but it’s still good and a nice day.
— Take it easy around the house in the evening. It’s cold for St. John’s... wind chill in the -20s.
— Only three spam e-mail today. New record as of late. Nice to hear the e-mail notification and have it actually mean a real person has gotten in touch with me.

SATURDAY...
— Pretty quiet day. Do some laundry and go with dad to pick up some A&W for supper. We play cards with Wince and Brenda in the afternoon and the just among the three of us in the evening. A fire in the fireplace as well... and a bit of hockey on TV to end the day.

SUNDAY...
— Lazy day... sleep until around 11:30... watch some TV... have a bath.
— Out to supper with mom and dad at their friend’s place. Good food and some cards to end it.
— 2nd straight 2 spam day... yee ha.

MONDAY...
— Pretty quiet day. Wake to snow and wind and rain... so it’s not a day that makes you want to go out doing stuff. Lunch with Morrissey is delayed to supper and the weather isn’t too bad by the time that happens. We go to Boston Pizza and catch up. He’s actually the first of my friends I’ve seen since coming home. I’ve been a hermit.

TUESDAY...
— Feeling a bit under the weather. Throat nearly scratchy... nose almost congested... energy slipping. The battle’s not yet lost but it feels like a fight is brewing when it comes to my health.
— Shopping... a little downtown... a little at the mall... a bit at Chapters... then home for KFC supper and some TV.