An Honorary Inkling

Council Olympics

2008-06-08T13:08:00.003-04:00

I was talking with a teammate of mine after a ball game who had just been elected as an elder in his church. We were discussing the shortcomings of the system; that it is still much of a "popularity" contest. He felt that one of the reasons he was elected was that he was better known in the church then some of the other nominees. There is no question that this is a bit of an issue, as some of the quieter people in the church who display excellent leadership qualities do not get the opportunity to serve because they are not as well known.
Many ideas were bandied about, such as the casting of lots for council elections. I understand the theory behind it; the Lord is in command of the entire world, and He would display his will for the council elections through the results of the lots.
I wasn't satisfied with that idea however. Although it had been used in the biblical era, it still seems a bit hokey to me. However, that means I need to come up with something better.
With the spirit of the '08 Olympics in mind, I propose a performance based system; one in which nominees must complete a number of competitions to see who is most worthy of the position.
In order to determine the nominees, the candidate should go through an evaluation. Attendance, volume of singing, participation in litanies and whether or not the candidate follows along in his Bible during readings should be taken into account. Marks should be lost for dancing while singing (in my opinion). If these practices are followed, they can be nominated for office.
Election should take place after a series of grueling competitions which display the qualities needed for office bearers. For example, the candidates would have a week to bring as many non-believers to church as possible. Extra points would be given for people who come back. Deacons would be given a week to fundraise as much as possible. An exam could be written, with case studies provided on what would be done in situations needing leadership. Nominees would also be required to go on a number of house visitations, and those being visited could be interviewed for evaluation of knowledge, compassion and leadership.
The panel of judges would be compromised of the minister, clergy and other respectable members of the congregation, but not only the senior members.
The idea of council olympics may be new and non-traditional, which is not usually my style, but using this system would cancel out the issue of popularity in the voting process of council members.

Shit

2007-08-27T21:48:00.000-04:00

I like words. I really like the word shit. It makes me laugh just about every time I hear it. Is it a bad word? Probably. Is it a funny word? Definitely! Makes you wonder where a word like that comes from. I read something on the internet about the origin of the word shit. I realize that alot of times the people who post these things are full of shit, but whatever, it's interesting anyways.

Ever wonder where the word SHIT comes from?

Well, here it is:

Certain types of manure used to be transported (as everything was years ago) by ship.

In dry form it weighed a lot less than when wet, but once water (at sea) hit it, it not only

became heavier, but the process of fermentation began again, of which a by-product is

methane gas. As the stuff was stored below decks in bundles you can see what could

(and did) happen. Methane began to build up below decks and the first time someone

came below at night with a lantern, BOOOOM! Several ships were destroyed in this

manner before it was discovered what was happening. After that, the bundles of manure

were always stamped with the term "S.H.I.T" on them which meant to the sailors to

"Ship High In Transit."

In other words, high enough off the lower decks so that any water that came into the

hold would not touch this volatile cargo and start the production of methane.

Bet you didn't know the history of that word.

Hope it was enlightening!

I'm back

2007-08-26T21:57:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been a while...I haven't posted since February or something but now that school is just around the corner I have to get my brain into action once more. I think a quick update on life is a good idea.

- I am starting my last full week of work before school starts. I will be working part time while studying, but no more full weeks till may.

- I just saw David Wells, a 44 year old fat pitcher beat out a bunt against the Mets. Unbelievable.

- I was told that I am one of the quickest learning apprentices at my company. Still to be determined is if that's good for me or bad for the rest of the company.

- My road to recovery is pretty much over, as I was able to play baseball pain free for the first time since surgery.

- The expansion pack for Civilization 4 called "Beyond the Sword" is amazing. They even have the Dutch. I took over the whole world as the dutch.

- Too bad my laptop isn't really powerful enough for that game. Its so slow.

- I wonder if anyone even bothers to check my blog anymore. I'm not expecting comments.

- I need a haircut. I'm starting to look homeless.

- What's with facebook applications? Do not invite me. I will not join. Unless it's a really cool one. They usually aren't though.

Well, that's all I have to say for now. I used to not be able to shut up. I wonder what happened to me.

a shout out

2007-02-20T17:26:00.000-05:00

This post is dedicated to Ray White, my 5 foot 0 redneck co-worker from Turnay. For those who do not know Ray, he likes snowmobiles, nipper tips and country music. For fun he looks for chicks online and goes mudding in his bad-ass Bronco. If I could sum up Ray in 3 part words, it would be "Git'r done". Ray has a life basically straight out of Jerry Springer, yet he has an outlook like Oprah. If you want to see some pics of Ray's life, just look at the previous post.

you might be a redneck if...

2007-02-18T00:07:00.000-05:00

This post is not to disparage my country roots by any means, but you've gotta be kidding me. I realize Hagersville is not the cultural center of the world, but it definately isn't Texas! Check out these pics...

Zap!

2007-02-08T16:18:00.000-05:00

So I have a new job. I've actually had it for over a month now, but I now feel safe enough that I won't get fired so I can announce it. What, you ask, can be so thrilling that it would cause me to abandon the life of doing nothing and getting paid nothing for doing that nothing? I am now and electrician. "How did you get such a job?" you may ask. "Don't people go to trade school for that sort of thing?" Well, it ends up that my boss was under the impression (I had no part of such fraudulent doings) that I was 2 years into my apprenticeship. Oh well, no biggie, I still have the job. I am working for a company called Turnay Electric, based out of London. My jobsite, however, is in Brantford, so that's not too bad of a drive at all. I found out that the work I am doing is what I would have learned in trade school, so it seems I have skipped that step. In case any of you was worried that I loved the work and was awesome at it and I wasn't going back for my B.Ed and the OACS was going to lose the most wicked awesome teacher in the '09 draft, do not fret. I don't mind the work, and I haven't screwed up yet, but it's not a career calling for me. It's just something to pass the time until I get into teacher's college. And to answer seemingly everyone's question, No, I have not been shocked yet. I did trip over an extension cord and fell on my face and hurt myself that way, but not from electricity. Oh yeah, and that was a joke...no injuries yet!

facebook

2007-01-28T16:05:00.001-05:00

This is hilarious...and so true...

Night Without End

2007-01-07T23:12:00.000-05:00

Night Without End

Night without end. I cannot sleep.
The full moon blazes overhead.
Far off in the night I hear someone call.
Hopelessly I answer, “Yes.”

“Why don’t you sleep?” The voice quietly asks.
“The night is too dark, too still and too cold.”
“Then draw back your curtains” the voice calmly speaks
“and enjoy the splendor the moon still keeps”

“The moon is too close” I reply.
“The brightness from which hurts my eyes”
“Do not hold the moon in such disdain,” the voice gently says
“For it cannot be both ways”

“The moon was made to pierce the dark;
Light on the gloomy path.
It gives comfort to the weary soul,
And beckons the traveler Home.”

“Be still, my child, and embrace the night,
For soon it will turn to day.
The moon is a foreshadowing of the sun,
so sleep, and be refreshed, for your journey is not through”.

Morning has arrived. I am renewed.
The sun peeks over the mountains.
Far off I hear the song of birds,
and silently thank the Lord.

by Daryl DeBoer

I've been tagged

2006-12-26T21:15:00.000-05:00

My good friend Jake has tagged me to tell 5 things about me that no one knows. Anyone who knows me at all might know these things, but this is what I've got:
1 - I absolutely hate having my picture taken. Even though I have a digital camera, I'd be lucky to have 20 pictures of myself. I will devise any scheme possible to get out of having my picture taken, and I refuse to smile when I have to have it taken.
2 - I don't really like the taste of beer. If there is something other then beer to drink, often I will take the other. I don't understand how people love it so much. A cold beer on a hot day is nice, but other then that I can easily do without it. That works out nicely, since I can't drink much due to the meds I take for epilepsy.
3- I have been called "Diesel" for the past 8 years or so by my baseball friends back home. I don't know where the nickname came from, but it just happened to stick. Maybe they think I am loud, or smelly, or slow, or maybe (hopefully) powerful. That would be the best of those adjectives. The name has also been altered to Deej, Deez, and many other variations.
4- I don't mind, almost to the point of liking, the smell of cow shit. It reminds me of my parents' farm. I guess that is the only place that I will smell cow shit, which is why I would partner that smell with my parents' place.
5- I am absolutely petrified of talking about my feelings. I'd rather feign being in a good mood then explain for a half hour why I'm in a bad mood. It scares me almost as much as dancing does. I refuse to do either of those things, so don't even bother trying!!!
I hope this helps shed some light on the mysterious entity that I am. I guess I need to tag some people. I'll tag Piet, Rachel, Buju and Aaron.

I hate JFJ

2006-12-16T13:38:00.000-05:00

Sorry to all those who do not like sports, but I have to write about those crappy Maple Leafs. I realize the timing is bad, as they just beat the reigning Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes last night, but this sort of anomaly does happen every once in a while. For example, I have been to one Toronto Raptor game, in their expansion season, in which they beat the Chicago Bulls in overtime. These were the days when the Bulls still had Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. So it can happen. The Leafs do not really care about putting a quality team on the ice, but just putting a team on the ice. Ownership knows that the revenue is going to come in, no matter how badly the team performs.
The problem with the Leafs begins right at the top, which their useless general manager John Ferguson Jr. He's an idiot. He let two of their top scorers leave this past off-season, when scoring was already a problem last year, overpaid for Pavel Kubina, and picked up Hal Gill, who is useless as well. I do still like the Andrew Raycroft trade, as it rectifies his previous blunder of resigning Ed Belfour. However, the Leafs are floundering in mediocrity, which will not change in the next couple seasons. Compounding the problem of JFJ's incompetence is the exemplary jobs that his local counterparts in baseball and basketball are achieving.
The Toronto Raptors signed a new GM this past offseason, named Bryan Colangelo, previously of the Phoenix Suns. He had won the executive of the year award last year for turning around the Suns, and his fingerprints are already all over the Raptors. One of the worst teams last season, Colangelo changed the roster immensely, bringing in 9 new players, (of 15 on the roster), many of who were previously international players. He completely turned around the philosophy of the team, modeling the fast-break offense after his previous employers, the Phoenix Suns. The Raps have a long way to go yet, but they are on the upswing, and are a very entertaining team to watch this year.
That brings me to J.P. Riccardi, the GM of the Toronto Blue Jays. This guy has done an amazing job over the past few seasons in reshaping the Jays. They are a very exciting team to watch, have drafted well in his tenure, and have shown the ability to attract premium free agents to Toronto. This was evidenced last year with the signing of B.J. Ryan and A.J. Burnett, as well as being able to convince Troy Glaus to waive his no-trade clause, facilitating his trade to Toronto. He continued this by signing future Hall of Fame shoo-in Frank Thomas this season, and his crowning moment occurred yesterday when he was able to ink Vernon Wells to a 7 year, 126 million dollar contract, which is significantly under market value for a player of his caliber. I realize that sounds ridiculous, but Vernon is the face of the Blue Jays, the best player ever to come out of their system and one of the top 10 all-around outfielders in the game. Most experts were convinced Toronto would not be able to resign him when he would be a free agent after this season, and expected him to sign a contract in the neighborhood of 10 years, 200 million dollars. Yet JP was able to sign him for 74 million less then that. No doubt it was a great coup on JP's part.
Why can the Leafs not make any headlines like this? When was the last time they signed a significant player? Like I said, while the Raps and Jays are working hard to put fans in the seats, the Leafs coast along, assured of sellouts every home game. And the worst part, Leaf's ownership recently re-upped with JFJ. We want his head!! Maybe the Leafs can ax him, and Colangelo and Riccardi could combine efforts to turn around the flagship of Toronto sports. It doesn't matter if they don't know much about hockey, I'm sure they could do a better job then JFJ.

hello world

2006-12-14T21:50:00.000-05:00

So I'm back. I realize I have not blogged in about a month, but I haven't really had much to say lately. I'm not working right now, instead I am living off of your hard-earned money through EI. I have been reading a bit, trying my hand at some writing, which I eventually will post on here, watching lots of James Bond movies and searching for other work.
I did not lift my self-imposed cyberspace silence to tell my audience how boring my life is right now however. I have two things to say.
First, I saw something funny today. I was at the Walmart/Canadian Tire at the corner of Highways 2 and 53, and I left via the newly paved road behind the Walmart. There is a new subdivision going up there, and the catchphrase on the sign proclaimed "Own a piece of Ancaster history!" What the deuce?? How can one of those brand new cardboard boxes that people call homes nowadays be considered a part of Ancaster history? Or do they mean you can be a part of destroying the farmland? Maybe there is an Indian village or burial ground underneath that you can be a part of ripping up...(cough cough Redeemer). I can't believe anyone would fall for that catch phrase. It wouldn't make me spend 400,000 on a crappy house.
Secondly, I am asking for some audience participation. I am writing a story. Let me set the stage for a second. I was talking with my good buddy the Jupe Box (Jon Bokkee) about my writing, and I said "I could have wrote Harry Potter, but J.K. Rowling came up with the idea first." Jon replied "Well, write another one. You can call it Mark Harry Depotter." (For those that do not know my family, my younger brother's name is Mark Harry DeBoer). So I'm going to give it a try.
However, I need some help. I am looking for some ideas as to what Mr. Depotter can do in this story. I am proposing that I post the character development, and you all can give me suggestions for some plot, which I will work into the story. I think that could be fun and can help me fill my days.
So, That's all I have to say for now. I am still alive, in case any were wondering, and I promise to blog more. Although I have promised that before and haven't lived up to it. See y'all later!

don't mess with a man's car

2006-11-13T21:49:00.000-05:00

On Saturday night I went out exploring King Street with my good buddy Jake. We went to a coffee shop and chatted, at which time I expressed how although I enjoyed living in the downtown area, it would only be for a year, at which time I would look into moving back into suburbia until I could buy a place out in the country. One of my major reasons for this is the lack of parking. I hate having to leave my car out on the street, as who knows what can happen, especially being around all the drunks of Hess Village. It was a good evening out, and we parted ways around midnight.
Shortly after Jake left, however, the phone rang. It was Jake. "Do you know your passenger mirror is hanging by a thread?" "No. Shit. I'll be out there in a moment" I replied. It seems some idiot thought my car looked too nice or maybe they thought it would look better with a mirror dangling beside the door instead of protruding perpendicular to the door.
Why do people do stuff like that? I don't get it. I really don't. What benefit is there in destroying someone else's property. If the mirror is there, I like it there. It helps me see what is going on to the right of my car. I depend on that mirror.
Now the mirror will not be that expensive to fix. I went to Parts Source and purchased some apoxy which cost me $9.11. To the casual observer, the mirror will seem normal, but I will know different. What angers me the most, however, is there is nothing I can do about it. There is nothing anyone can do about it. A car, for most of us, is the most expensive thing we own, and yet it sits lonely on the street, subject to any sort of abuse a drunk or punk passerby can hurl on it. From now on, my car will seem tainted, or less then whole, because some 14 year old wanted to impress his friends. I like my green Grand Am, and yet there is nothing I can do to protect it. All I can do is fix my mirror, and hope that people stay away from it for the duration of my stay at King and Queen.

Introducing...

2006-11-07T22:44:00.000-05:00

Jasmine Marie DeBoer, my beautiful new neice, who was born on November 5, 2006.

Here she is with her proud Uncle Daryl,And proud Uncle Mark

And just in case he reads this blog and feels slighted, I thought I should include a picture of Jasmine's older brother, Lucas. Don't worry Lucas, there will be lots of love and attention for you as well!! Jasmine will be in good hands when these two grow up.

Jean Altena

2006-10-07T15:17:00.000-04:00

Jean DeJong was born in Molkwerum, Holland on September 22 1929. She grew up on a farm, where she enjoyed going to school and sewing (which would come in handy later in life). In her early 20's, she took up writing with a pen-pal who was serving in Indonesia. His name was Flippus (Philip) Altena, and after he returned to Holland after his term, they fell in love and were married on March 13, 1952.
Soon after marriage, and full of doubt, Philip and Jean (Pakke and Beppe to me) moved to Canada with the blessings of their parents. They lived for short periods in Jarvis and Caledonia, after which they settled on Mount Hope. They then moved to Caledonia once again for their retirement years. Pakke and Beppe were blessed with seven children; Jessica, Eileen, Anita (my mom), Margaret, Joanne, Bart and Esther. She also had 17 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren.
Beppe had a great love for her family, the Lord and for life. She was very warm-hearted, full of laughter, and always at the ready to help those in need. She volunteered for many church events and activities as well as the Bibles For Missions store.
Almost 2 years ago, (on the same day I had my second seizure actually) Beppe was diagnosed with brain cancer. She recovered well enough to return home, although she could not walk and was confined to a wheelchair. In August 2006 the cancer came back, and she was back in the hospital, where she would stay for the rest of her days.
When Beppe was in the hospital, she would never complain about how she was feeling, but asked how others were doing, and made sure her grandchildren got a candy or chocolate that was stocked up at her bedside.
Beppe passed away on October 5, 2006 and laid to rest October 7 2006 in York, Ontario. We love you Beppe, and will miss you deeply.

Matthew 25:21 - "Well done, thou good and faithful servant:.. Enter Thou into the Joy of the Lord"

I'm back!!

2006-09-26T20:34:00.000-04:00

Hello all.
I realize that it's been a while, a long while, since I have blogged. I do have some excuses, but I don't feel like writing them down. Instead, I will just let y'all know what is going on in my life.
- I have a new place! I have moved out of the Hovel to live in an apartment with Jeremy (Jiggy) Visser. The apartment has a cool location (King and Queen), a cooler price, and it's huge. Names being thrown around include The Bullpen, or The Clubhouse, or something baseball-y themed that reflects the interests of its residents. It should be ready for visitors in a couple weeks, at which time anyone is more then welcome to come visit.
- I had two successful baseball seasons. Both teams that I participated on this summer won the championships! The win by the Lions was quite dramatic and special as it is the first year we have played together, while the win by the Hicks was impressive as it officially commemerates a dynasty.
- Work still sucks
- I have discovered the joys of Curb Your Enthusiasm. For those of you who do not know, Curb Your Enthusiasm is a show on HBO starring Larry David. Larry David is one of the co-creators of Seinfeld, and George Costanza's character is based on Larry David. Larry plays himself, and gets into all sorts of mischief and quandries because of his George-like personality. It is hilarious.
- On a more serious note, my Beppe is not doing well. She has brain cancer, but does not want treatment as the last bout of chemotherapy was very tough on her. Prayers for her are appreciated.
That's about all that's new for now. As I am connected to the internet again, more frequent posts can be expected.

book quiz

2006-08-23T22:01:00.000-04:00

Todd, by tagging me, has given me the green light to participate in the latest trendy quiz on books.
One book that has changed your life: Mere Christianity by Clive Staples Lewis
One book you have read more than once: So many to choose...The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkien.
One book that you'd want on a deserted island: The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien because I know it doesn't suck and I could read it over and over. Or the Bible.
One book that made you laugh: The book of Men by Garrison Keillor
One book that made you cry: The last book to make me cry would have been Old Yeller by Fred Gipson.
One book that you wish had been written: How I beat Tiger Woods at Golf by Daryl Deboer, Paying off your student loans in one year or less by Daryl Deboer etc etc.
One book that you wish had never been written: For this answer I would like to say the Koran, but I do not want to offend the extensive Muslim readership of my blog. And you are not supposed to offend your audience. And I could be put under a fatwa, which would suck. I don't want to end up like Salman Rushdie. So maybe I'll say the Bhagavad-Gita by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, as Hare Krishnains are less scary then Muslims. Or I will say the Koran and take my chances. But probably I'll be chicken and say the Bhagavad-Gita.
One book that you are currently reading: The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
One book that you have been meaning to read: Oh man. Bad question for me...there's so many. I guess the next one on the reading list for me would be Moby Dick.
Now tag 5 people: Whoever actually reads this blog and has not been tagged can consider themselves tagged.

happy trails gysberses

2006-08-10T22:15:00.000-04:00

So my good friends Aaron and Erica Gysbers are headed out to live in Vancouver. I am really sorry they are going as they have been very fun people to be around for the past couple years. Here are some pics of my newly prodigal friends:

Best of luck in British Columbia, guys, and enjoy it! It's been alot of fun, and I'll see you in 2010 for the Olympics!!
p.s. Sorry Erica, I didn't have as many pictures of you as of Aaron

an update

2006-08-03T20:53:00.000-04:00

- I am in motel in Windsor right now
- The last 3 days have been like 50 degrees out
- I've got a new place for next year...I'm living with Jeremy (Jiggy) Visser near King and Queen
- Tommorrow is Aaron's last day at AP
- I'm sporting a killer tan now...last few days have helped big time
- I think we are going to call our new house "The Bullpen" or "The Clubhouse" or something basebally-themed
- I'm still sick of my job
- Aaron has been my roommate for this trip...he's a loud snorer.
- Aaron and I are watching a show called "101 More things removed from the Human Body"
- I watched a performance of Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew" on the roof of Jackson Square with Todd
- I missed both my baseball games this week...that drives me bonkers
That's all that's new with me...see y'all later

anyone need a new driveway? Call Burlington Paving

2006-07-29T15:40:00.000-04:00

I know this is long, but worth the read...
As many of you know, I am less then satisfied with my profession. "Well" I thought, "this is something I should change." Someday I hope to get married, but as I like to say, "Good job, then good wife". Therefore, it is time to leave the blue collar sector for something with a challenge (other then waking up at 4am), something with fulfillment, something that I could use my brains for. After a couple failed inquiries and applications, I had an interview. The company was looking for a salesperson with construction experience. I had grown up on a farm, worked at a woodshop for almost five years, did landscaping for 2, framing for one and worked with asphalt etc for the past two. It seemed like a natural progression; use what I know to springboard into something i would enjoy more. It seemed like fate; the secretary called me on Friday morning when we were rained out anyways, and the boss wanted to see me that day. So off I went to his house to meet him.
So I get to this guy's place, and he's full of tattoos etc and dressed like a complete bum. Within the first 10 words out of this guy's mouth the Lord's name was taken in vain; which I hate more than just about anything. We chat for a while, after which a client comes, and he invites me to sit in on the meeting. "This is an important client" he says. "They flip houses every month". To flip houses means you buy a house, fix it up a bit and re-sell it. Everything seems pretty cool, he tries to get the client to trust him, talks about saving them money, etc. Everything goes successfully, and he was a 7000-10,000 job. Good for him. She leaves, and he takes me on the road to talk about the job.
We climb into his absolutely filthy Jeep Cherokee, and he begins to tell me about the job. "I want you to make lots of money which makes me alot of money" he begins. "What I did with that client is what you will do. That job will cost 5000 dollars. However, I tell her 10,000, so 7,000 sounds good. Therefore, I have 2000 to play with."
Hmm....I think...sounds kinda sketchy.
"We want to attack the asphalt market" he continues in his French accent. "We have a great deal on asphalt right now. An average driveway will cost a few hundred dollars to pave. Then we try to get the curbs, landscaping etc. The goal is to get into the house, renovations are where the money is." Now I am pretty sure I do not want this job. However, what can I do? I'm driving around with this guy and another guy that started the day before. Little do I know it's going to get worse.
We stop at Home Depot to pick up some 6x6's for a job, and off we are again. "You are given a grid to work" he explains. "What you want to do is drive to a street, and walk up and down the street. Look for damaged driveways, leaking eavestrophes or a roof that needs to be replaced. If you find one, write up a quote and drop it in the mailbox. If someone calls, drop everything you are doing and go see that client. You will recieve 3% commission on all your sales. The first person to $50,000 in sales will get $1000 cash." By this time, I am absolutely sure I do not want this job and just want to get to my car and leave. However, we had just arrived at the jobsite, and he was getting ready to work.
It was 4:00, I didn't want the job, and just wanted to go home. The jobsite was two blocks away from my house, but my car was way up the mountain. This shyster was my only way back up there. "I've been down the next street" he says. "For fun, head down there and see how much work needs to be done". I had the ticket I needed. The other salesperson and I headed down the street talking about what a load of crap this job was and what an ass the boss was. It was then that I had an inspiration: maybe Laura or someone else with a car is at my house! If that was the case, I'd head home then and there. No one was, so we headed back to the jobsite, making up numbers of houses that needed to be fixed on the way. He bought the numbers, and began talking about commitment. I realized I had to tell him I wasn't interested then and there, before he made up buisness cards for me. I told him, and he didn't seem impressed and asked "What made you change your mind?" What was I to choose? It could be his personality, philosophy, quality of work (the retaining wall they were working on was leaning way over) or just the fact I didn't trust him. However, I diplomatically said I didn't realize the pay was based on commission and I needed the security of a steady paycheck. He then took me back up the mountain (they were out of stakes anyways) and we shook hands and went our separate ways. Moral of the story
Do not get your driveway done by some general contractor...most of them will just try to squeeze extra dollars out of you for things you do not need. Call someone like Burlington Paving who will pave the driveway and get the heck out of there.

Chick Hicks

2006-07-08T13:07:00.000-04:00

I was told (off) last night by one of the girls at my baseball game that I have not given enough credit where it is due in my writings of the Hagerville Hicks. Therefore, I am dedicating this post to our Chick Hicks. We have four dedicated and talented women who show up to play every week, and yet do not get the publicity from this humble scribe that their masculine teammates elicit. I would liken the contribution our women make to the Hobbits of the Fellowship in "The Lord of the Rings". The Hobbits, who ensured the success of the Quest, did not recieve the recognition that Gandalf, Aragorn and Legolas recieved, but were essential in destroying the ring. In the same way, Leanne, Sarah, Mel and Brandy do not receive the attention that Mark, Ryan and Kevin do, but they truly are what sets our team above most others. The girls that play on most teams are know as rally-killers, sure outs, however, the Hicks' female participants are more apt to start a rally then end one. Without further ado, introducing the Chick Hicks.
Leanne DeBoer (The Cannon)
Leanne has played with the Hicks since the young age of 14, and is one of our team's most solid contributors. She is the youngest of the three DeBoers to don the Hicks jersey, and one of the team's most dedicated players as well. She will not miss a game for anything it seems. Over the past couple of seasons Leanne has blossomed in her hitting, showing the ability to go the other way, dropping shots over the first baseman, which has improved her batting average dramatically. Leanne excels in the field as well, especially at first base. The attribute that sets her apart, however, is her arm. I think she throws harder then me, and is very accurate. Many times I have seen her make the force play at first, and fire the ball to home or third to try to catch a lazy runner. She is also my favorite of the girls because she is my sister.
Sarah Postuma (The Complete Package)
Sarah began playing with the Hicks 2 years ago, and we have no regrets about asking her to play. The most athletic of the Chick Hicks, Sarah is a rare five-tool female ball player. Sarah can hit for average, hit for power, throw, run and defend. Her strongest position is rover, where she is able to use all these defensive tools. I am convinced that Sarah will park the ball someday, as she has hit the ball to the fence on a number of occasions. Every atbat is exciting; we all wait to see if this is the time it goes over the fence.
Mel Eising (Stretch)
Being left-handed, Mel brings some nice balance to our line-up. Without Mel, we would only have one lefty on our roster, and it's nice to be able to mix it up a little more. A spray-hitter, Mel hits for a high average, and is a very tough out. She is able to make many key two-out hits with runners on base, and has the highest runs-batted-in total of the Chick Hicks. Being left-handed also makes her our strongest first-baseman, and often makes the stretch to dig balls out of the dirt or track wayward throws. Her glove has saved many outs. Mel's bat and glove will be missed when she goes to Australia.
Brandy Gibbons (The Original)
Brandy was the first of the premiere Chick Hicks, and still displays many skills as an old, married, 24 year old. Brandy is the vocal leader of our team, keeping moral up when we are losing and a loose atmosphere on the bench. Brandy is a good line drive hitter with the ability to hit the holes. She is a good defender at all three positions, and with the exception of a few baserunning mistakes, a very steady ball player.
I am mortified that I have not given the accolades required to keep this talented group of females appeased, as we would not be nearly the team we are without them. People take notice of the high level of play of these Chick Hicks, but I was blinded by the flashy play of our male participants. These girls have really turned a group of hick ball players into the Hick baseball team. No team we have ever faced can match the girls we put on the field, which gives us an unfair advantage, both offensively and defensively. These are the types of intangibles that breed success, and without our Chick Hicks, our undefeated seasons, our trophy wins, and our love of the game would not be possible.

New Liskeard

2006-07-03T09:01:00.000-04:00

We did lots of fishing while in New Liskeard, and this was the biggest fish caught, by the next Bob Izumi, better known as Aaron Gysbers. It is a small mouth bass, but as it is only 10", we were not allowed to keep him, but had to throw him back.

This is the Wabi Bay on lake (something that starts with a T and has lots of vowels and consenants). Even though the name was ugly, the scene was incredible. There were many other lakes on the way up with similarly spectacular views. It is definately God's country up here; completely different then what we are used to. We had one morning that was 3 degrees, and the weather did not get over 22. Also, although we did not get to see any meese (that the plural for moose, right wayne?) we did see a bear, which ran across the road in front of us on our drive up.

This is Wayne Gooch buying a beer from the corner store in Quebec. He was pretty excited that he was able to do that. He then drank it in the truck with the help of a couple of co-workers. Wayne has been working at Ancaster Track and Tennis for 11 years now. He enjoys smoking pot, drinking beer, blasting rap music at 5am and hitting on every girl that breathes. He really hates getting dirty at work, which is why he sits in the truck all day while we are spraying the track. I want to be like Wayne someday, he's kinda my hero.

This is Joseph Lionel Daniel Cote, known affectionately as Danny or French-Fry. As the nickname indicates, he is French-Canadian. Originally hired as the truck driver, Danny has rose to the rank of foreman. Danny is very difficult to understand when he speaks, as he speaks a hybrid of English, French and who knows what the rest is. For the first month working there, the only word I could understand was the F word, which he gets lots of practice with. Danny likes 1962 Ford Thunderbirds, going to the Navy, working, swearing and fishing. However, he hates to touch the fish. He's a pretty good guy, and not as handicapped as his picture here would indicate. He also wears some killer shirts.

We also did do some work up there, but who cares about that? The work is pretty easy and boring, and I would go bonkers if i didn't have my Ipod with me. So please, if you don't want me to end up acting like Wayne or talking/looking like Danny, let me know if you know of any career type jobs available.

The Millgrove Massacre

2006-06-18T20:06:00.000-04:00

We knew this time would be different. And different it was. Instead of a dreary May Saturday wedged between a hockey arena and a rock quarry in Hagersville, the tournament took place at the ball diamonds nestled between a library and some farm land in the quaint town of Millgrove. We had lost some of our swagger due to previous failures, instead arriving with some trepidation, as once again, our ranks were fractured, and the competition was going to be stiff. Even worse then just missing members, we even had to face 2 of them. Even though we may have had some doubts, motivation was not a problem. The tournament was our chance to reassert our place on top of the slo-pitch hierarchy, and more importantly, the tournament was held to celebrate the engagement of Suzy Ellens and Kevin Groen, the only man with enough talent to displace Farmer as our shortstop. Most importantly, however, the spoils of this tournament included an ice cream cake. And now, time to play. Our first game in the sweltering June heat was against our prodigal son and daughter, Lucky and Bran, who opted to enter with a team of family instead. The massacre was on. We ripped through the competition like Alexander the Great destroyed Tyre and Sidon, compiling 103 runs in 5 games, while surrendering only 22. The ice cream cake was ours. The incredible part was that we only hit 2 homeruns in those 5 games. We demolished the competition, playing the best baseball we had played in years. Our pride had been restored, our sweet tooth was satiated, and Lucky and Bran learned their lesson, and will not break rank again.

a monthly update

2006-06-09T23:23:00.000-04:00

So it's been a month since my last post. I realize I have neglected this site, to the point that I almost feel guilty about posting again, although I have probably lost the only 2 faithful readers I have anyways. Nevertheless, I will give an update of my life for anyone that cares.
- We won our baseball game 35-6 tonight
- I am totally obsessed with Civilization 4, and I don't obsess over games too often, but it's wicked awesome
- I hate my job
- I haven't seen Todd in too long
- I see too much of Aaron
- It's old news, but I haven't announced it yet: I graduated a while ago
- I want to go golfing
- I'm completely sick of those friggin Indians and their roadblocks
- I'm bored
- I hate my job, anyone know of something that I would enjoy?
- We are watching xXx...what a crappy movie, but it's fun
that's all I've got for now...some day I'll rant about the Caledonia situation...cheers!!

Alas, how the mighty have fallen...

2006-05-07T22:21:00.000-04:00

We strode to the diamonds; unified, confident, some would even say cocky. We have conquered this foe before, with style and authority. We were not as much a team as a baseball mashing, leather flashing, bunch of rednecks that have all at one point called Hagersville home (except for our ringer, Todd Guthrie). We had no need for practice, some of us had just found our gloves that morning. Multiple digit differences were not foreign, but the norm. However, we had no idea what lay before us on that cold, wet May morning. After struggling through 2 wins against less competent teams, our first loss occured. "No problem", our wise-beyond-his-years coach, Mark "Farmer" Deboer said. "Losing is okay. Losses build character." "Yes, Yes" we agreed. Collectively we rubbed our hands in glee, licking our lips in anticipation of the beating we would put on the next poor souls who dared to step in and face us. We would put that loss behind us, and emerge victorious, somehow pulling the victory from somewhere in our neather regions for the next two games and claim our birthright on top of the slowpitch world of Hagersville. An hour later, the dust had settled, and a giant had fallen to its knees. The Hagersville Hicks, the rabble group of farmers and rednecks, had failed, missing the finals in a tournament for the first time in at least 4 years. What had gone wrong? With players named Farmer, Grizwald, Brewer, Lucky, L'il Kev, Smell and Deisel, the trophy should have been ours. Yet we failed, and a steady line of pickups signified the departure of our squad from the trophy. Did we miss Squeeze and Jupe? Was it ambivalence? Or were the farmers distracted by the outcome on their crops because of the native standoff in nearby Caledonia? We may never know what happened on that fateful day in early May, but it did, and I pity the teams we will be facing over the next couple of weeks.

grrr

2006-04-30T22:17:00.000-04:00

Time for a little bit of a rant...
This evening I went to play tennis with Jake at Redeemer. We were having a jolly good time, when we were visited by a man in black I am not talking about Johnny Cash, but one of our institution's flunky security guards. He asked us if we were affiliated with the school, which we are, and he confirmed with the parking pass in Jake's car. He walked off, but returned a couple minutes later to ask us to leave. What the deuce is up with that?? How can Redeemer students not use the facilities?? I have spent over $40,000 at that place, and now would be considered alumni, and the alumni association paid to have those courts built. He said that the school was closed for the summer now, but the school seemed open, as the parking lot was full of cars. What about the people in the apartments; are they not allowed to use them either? I guess a case could be made that it is Sunday, but once again, the school building was obviously being used. The bottom line is I am pissed. I doubt that this is a school policy, but probably just some moron on security that has no clue what he is doing. Why do they even have the security staff? They are useless!! They couldn't help figure out who hit Jake's car, or who broke into Nathan Sarloos' truck when it was parked right infront of the security office. It is obvious this idiot didn't know what he was doing, as he walked away, turned around and came back. After visiting Aaron and Erica, I drove by, and the lights were on for the complex, which, if it was closed for the summer, would be a pretty big waste of money, plus the door was wide open. Redeemer has a beautiful facility there (built by Ancaster Track and Tennis btw) so why not let the students use it? Get rid of those morons and spend money for competent security guards or get rid of them. All they do is make life frustrating for students...kinda like computer services!!

cd challenge

2006-04-25T21:44:00.000-04:00

From Jake:
How many cd's do you have?
around 50 I think

What's the latest cd you have bought?
I bought 2 at once, "Hot Fuss" by the Killers, and "Legend" by Bob Marley

What's the latest peice of music that you've listened to?
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb by U2

Name five cd's that have left a lasting impression on you:
"The Joshua Tree" by U2...by far the number 1
"Parachutes" by Coldplay
"All That You Can't Leave Behind" by U2
"Get Behind Me Satan" by The White Stripes...still new but will be in a couple years
"Offerings" by Third Day

weekend update during the week

2006-04-24T23:46:00.000-04:00

As much of my life and education is based on plagerism, it is time for this handy practice to invade my blog as well. This is an idea of the one and only Buju (Buju, if you don't like the plagerism, feel free to leave an expletive-filled message) which I enjoy, so I'm going to rip it off
Update:

- I just wrote my last exam...Hermeneutics
- Todd and I got street meat when we went to the Blue Jays game
- I am now 28 years old
- To celebrate writing my last exam, I decided to get a couple teeth pulled
- I am excited to go see "The DaVinci Code"
- I've been listening to alot of White Stripes lately
- I still suck at golf but I like it
- The street meat ($4) cost more then our parking ($3)
- Piet Harsevoort still has my Season 1 of 24...I wonder if I will ever get it back
- I showered at Aaron's apartment every day for the past week
- Our bathroom is being renovated
- For my last 2 exams, I've taken coffee in, and won donuts on both
- My nephew finally knows who I am...he's almost 2
- Rachel is really gulible...and sometimes I can be known to exploit it
- Jesus loves me
- I just had to turn down a free Blue Jays ticket
- That's all I have to say for now

facing my mortality

2006-04-20T14:45:00.000-04:00

So I had a birthday today. I'm now half way to 56 years old. Best wishes or large cash donations only please.

now that's fitting

2006-04-16T22:04:00.000-04:00

So I checked out that site where you upload a picture to see what celebrity you most closely resemble. So I put on a picture, and guess who I most closely resembled...the one, the only Jack Bauer, aka Kiefer Sutherland, who is the coolest guy on TV. It was a 60% match. The only way it could have better is if I resembled Bono. Maybe I should start getting into the anti-terrorism field.

best worker ever

2006-04-12T20:50:00.000-04:00

So today I was given the news from a former co-worker Derek Pasma that WorldWide Flight Services, the company we worked for through our university careers has just lost their contract with WestJet, which was their only contract, meaning all the guys I worked with are out of jobs in 60 days. Worldwide was being payed about $305 per plane turned (brought in, unloaded & loaded, stocked with food and marshalled out). They asked WestJet for $500 per plane, and WestJet balked. They then asked for $359 per plane, and WestJet said, nope, see you. This got me thinking though. Two weeks after I quit, they lose the contract. I definately think these two events were in direct corelation with eachother. It's obvious, by the increase in funds needed for each plane turned, that I was doing the work of two people. I always thought Derek and I were the only two good workers there, but I would have thought they would at least make a month without us. Oh well...I do feel bad for my coworkers, but realize it was inevitable without Redeemer students working there. At least this will give them the motivation (through necessity), to go find real jobs, just like I have to.

News

2006-04-10T23:03:00.000-04:00

So I went home on Sunday for my sister-in-law Ange's birthday, which was alot of fun. Both her family and my family was there, and Kevin and Ange felt this was a good time to spring some news on us both. Ange went to change Lucas (my adorable 18-month old nephew), and Lukas came out wearing a T-shirt that read "I'm going to be a big brother" Congratulations Kev Ange and Lukas! The baby is due November 3.

On to less happy things. I did not get into teacher's college anywhere, although I did get on the waiting list at Western University. Ottawa had over 5,500 applicants for 368 spots, and Nippissing had 5,800 for 704 spots. Crazy. I was heartened to hear that a number of other very qualified applicants did not get accepted, so I guess it was nothing wrong with me. Any ideas of what I can do next year now? Thanks.

Ottawa haters unite!

2006-03-02T13:19:00.000-05:00

This may not be applicable this year, but it still makes a Sens hater's heart warm up...Give it a listen!!

funny clips

2006-02-16T18:04:00.000-05:00

this sermon really speaks to me...
oh...
and how dumb are americans? (the second one is rated AA for language)
and
here's one Jake will appreciate

2006-02-15T23:17:00.000-05:00

I hope this is not me in 10 years!

i was tagged

2006-02-15T22:36:00.000-05:00

Because I was tagged by buju, i must reveal all my inner secrets...here it goes:

Four Jobs I have had:
Ramp Agent at the Airport
Building Track and Field Tracks
Framing
Landscaping

Four movies I could watch over and over
Lord of the Rings
Almost Famous
Dumb and Dumber
U2 Go Home

Four books I could read over and over
Lord of the Rings
Mere Christianity
DaVinci Code
Chronicles of Narnia

Places I have lived
Hagersville
Ancaster
Hamilton

Four Places I've been on Vacation
Las Vegas
Vancouver
Quebec City
Darrien Lake

Four Websites I visit daily
ESPN.com
FoxSports.com
BBC news
Google

Four favorite foods
Steak & potatoes
Stumpot
Black Pepper Jack Doritos
Meatlover's pizza

Four Favorite Beers
Corona
Alexander Keith's
Rickard's Red
Tuborg

Four favorite non-alcoholic drinks
Large Double Double from Tim Hortons
Coke
Orange Juice
Apple Juice

Four favorite musicians
U2
Coldplay
White Stripes
Third Day

Four places I'd rather be right now
backpacking europe...especially England
fiji
golfing
at a real job...like teaching

Last 4 books I have read:
Shakespeare: A biography (in progress)
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Angels and Demons
DaVinci Code

Last 4 movies I have seen
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Lord of the Rings
Munich
Wedding Crashers

What's on my dest right now?
various books
my chequebook
my whistle from the SteamWhistle Brewery
my buddhist singing bowl thingy from Tibet

Bunch of Bloggers that I'm tagging
Ivan Stam
Richard Greydanus
Brian Harskamp
Dan Postma
Gayle Doornbos
Laura Stewart
Adam and Jaime Baker

If I were John Ferguson Jr. (Maple Leafs general manager)

2006-01-28T21:54:00.000-05:00

So the Toronto Maple Leafs just lost to the Montreal Canadiens in overtime tonight. It was the first time in 7 games that the Leafs were able to garner even 1 point. Man they are playing terrible hockey lately. The announcers were talking about what the Leafs have to do to shake things up, but said "the Leafs have no tradeable assets." How can a team that has no salary cap room have no tradeable assets?? Of course they have Kaberle and McCabe, who any team would want, but the Leafs could not afford to trade either. They have no defence beyond those two whatsoever. I don't get it. They get Leetch last year, everyone loves him, then they let him go and don't replace him with anyone. There were lots of affordable options...Aucoin, Gonchar, heck, they could have re-signed Leetch for less then he got from Boston. Look at all the Canadian teams that are doing well...the Oilers, Flames, Canucks. They are all loaded at defence. That's how you win games. (Ottawa is loaded as well, but their whole team is loaded...they could win with me on defence) I realize the Leafs are handcuffed by the contracts of Owen Nolan, Ed Belfour and so on, but give me a break...Jeff O'Neil gets 3 mil a year to skate around and not score or hit. That money could have been used on Adrian Aucoin, who plays almost 30 minutes a game and is always near the top of the league in plus/minus and signed for $4 million a year.
That brings me to the other problem with the Leafs. No one has any grit. They don't have any of the Kirk Maltby or Michael Peca type guys...other then Darcy Tucker of course. They had Gary Roberts but let him go...same as Joe Niewendyk...man they could use those guys right now. Instead they have a bunch of old lazy players getting on in their careers who just don't have the fire anymore. Look at Darcy Tucker's eyes when he plays. There is fire in those eyes, and he seems to be one of the only ones who doesn't just complacently put in his shifts.
If I were John Ferguson, the Leafs G.M, I would remake that team for next year. They only have $14 million commited to players, with a $41 million salary cap. Keep Sundin (the captain), Tucker, (the only one who cares) Lindros (he's cheap) Kaberle and McCabe, and send everyone else to Phoenix or San Jose or somewhere else that doesn't really care about their team. Get us some players that want to bring the Stanley Cup to Toronto.

Green is the new Red, and the exploits of Bon Jovi

2006-01-21T22:33:00.001-05:00

Well, it has happened. My dear old car has succumbed to old age, being laid to rest Jan 12, after even the headlights could not work anymore. Here is my new car. It is a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am, with a 3.4 L V6, automatic, with tilt, air, cruise, 16" rims, pw, pdl, power mirrors, and only 96,000 kms. I like it alot. It's fast. Rest in peace, red rocket, but now it's the era of true pontiac power!!
On a completely unrelated topic, many celebrities opt to fly into our little Hamilton Airport in order to avoid the masses and media. It's so much more convenient. However, I think after the ordeal Bon Jovi went through early this morning, he'd pick Pearson any day. He was supposed to land sometime after 2am, but the fog was thick and the runway was a little slippery. His pilot overshot the runway a bit and did not have enough room to slow down. They shot off the end of the runway, buring the front landing gear in the mud, and there the plane sat, with it's rear end sticking way out in the sky. There was no real damage to the plane, and no one was hurt, other then the pride of all the band members. According to Bruce the security guard, who was the first on the scene, every single one of the band members, including Jon Bon Jovi himself, either crapped or pissed their pants. Gross. Something tells me they will be going to Toronto from now on.

Walking the Bible

2006-01-19T22:04:00.000-05:00

The book entitled "Walking the Bible" has intrigued me every time I lay eyes on it while walking through Chapters, to the point that I have almost bought it on many occasions. Not anymore. While suffering through a bout of insomnia late last night, I found the television version by the same person, Bruce Feiler. What a load of crap that was. Feiler takes the viewer (or reader) on what scholars believe is the same journey the Israelites take on the Exodus from Egypt to Canaan. Feiler climbs (what is believed to be) Mt. Sinai, and crosses the desert to Moses' final site on earth, Mt. Horeb.
The most interesting part of this program came early on, where Feiler visits an orthodox (greek i think...) monastary named after St. Cathernine, which is built at the base of Mt. Sinai. This monastary is inhabited by 2 dozen or so monks, including one that hails from Texas...he's a long way from home. This monastary has been untouched for over 1500 years, having never been attacked, and boasts the second largest library of ancient manuscripts, surpassed only by the Vatican libraries. Seeing some of these ancient books was breathtaking, especially a greek version of the Bible, one of the oldest like it known in existence. Feiler also points out the well where Moses meets Zipporah (supposedly) and what is beleived to be the actual burning bush. I don't know how that bush can last over 3,000 years though. I definately have doubts about whether or not the tree is authentic
From here, however, is where the interest ended for me. He leaves the monastary to ascend Mt. Sinai, where he ponders life for a while, and heads out by jeep on the Meribbah and the bitter water, and goes on to another grove where I was most turned off.
He shows a type of tree that secretes a type of sap that hardens and is harvested by the native bedouins. It is then heated up, and can be used to make bread, and yet it tastes like honey. Can you guess what the bedouins call this sap? You guessed it...manna. Feiler insinuates that this was what the Israelites lived on, not a wafer given by God. He even asks the bedouin he is interviewing "When you taste this, does it feel like a gift from heaven?" Give me a break. I'd slap Bruce for this question if I ever meet him. I'm sick of people trivializing the wonders God has bestowed on his people. Oh well...we'll keep on trucking along the desert.
He keeps going, hypothesizing about places the Israelites would have stayed at, which included the temple from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade...you know...the one where the Holy Grail is kept. Feiler ends his journey on Mt Horeb, where God takes Moses from this earth. He asks an (actually) intriguing question: why so many major incidents during the exodus happen on top of mountains. His hypothesis is that God wanted to meet Moses halfway...I can see it in a convenantal way, but this was never mentioned; he made more of the impression of convenience, kinda like you'd meet your buddy between your house and his. However, it was nearing 3am then, so it was time to hit the hay. In conclusion, don't give that book a second look...I won't be

Bono

2006-01-10T22:07:00.000-05:00

Those that know me well, or even those that know me a little, are aware of my affinity for U2, especially their lead singer, Bono. Bono is often misrepresented as arrogant because of his constant sporting of sunglasses and antics on stage. He seems to be completely caught up in stardom, with his own charitable project, DATA, which stands for Debt, AIDS, Trada, Africa. I have just finished reading "Bono in conversation with Michka Assayas", a book that sheds light on these topics among others in Bono's life. I thought I'd share a few excerpts from this book, so if you are a Bono-hater, get out now!!
...you certainly need a lot of humility to depend on others You need to put yourself second a lot of the time, or third, or fourth. The way we function as a band is a real phenomenon, in some ways more than the music. It's not an organization; it is, as they say, an organism. But that's family. Family makes people very strong...
(on tv evangelists and fundamental christianity)
...It was a preacher who was asking his audience in TV land to put their hand against the screen to be healed. So there were people, old ladies with bronchitis, old ladies with broken hips, and probably people with cancer, all over America, getting out of their armchairs and putting their hands on the TV. It broke my heart. But remember I was a believer. Though I understood the power of the Scriptures they were quoting from, and I did believe in the healing powers of faith, I was seeing it debased and demeaned...What's always bothered me about the fundamentalists is that they seem preoccupied with the most obvious sins. If those sins, sexual immorality and drug addiction, comes out of unhappiness, then I'm sure God wants to set people free of that unhappiness. But I couldn't figure out why the same people were never questioning the deeper, slyer problems of the human spirit like self-righteousness, judgmentalism, institutional greed, corporate greed. You only have to look to unfair trade agreements that keep the developing world in the Dark Ages to see the hypocrisy I'm talking about. These people talk about the debasing of culture. What about the debasing of hundreds of thousands of real lives?
(the God of the Old Testament)
There's nothing hippie about my picture of Christ. The Gospels paint a picture of a very demanding, sometime divisive love, but love it is...The children of God are running amok, wayward. Maybe that's why they're so relatable. But the way we would see it, those of us who are trying to figure out our Christian conundrum, is that the God of the O.T is like the journey from stern father to friend. When you're a child, you need clear directions and some strict rules. But with Christ, we have access in a one-to-one relationship, for, as in the O.T, it was more one of worship and awe, a vertical relationship. the N.T, on the other hand, we look across at a Jesus who looks familiar, horizontal. the combination is what makes the Cross.
(What he expects God to say to him when he gets to heaven)
...Err...[laughs] "Looking good. Thank you for beleiving in me." I hope that's what God might say to me me if He can get a word in edgewise: "Come on in, but please stop explaining yourself!"
(what leaves him speechless)
"Forgiveness"
There are many, many other favorite quotes that I could have put on here that help illustrate who Bono is, why he wears the sunglasses, his reasons for getting involved with Africa etc. A great book, and if anyone wants to borrow it let me know.
btw...I also just finished "The Davinci Code" by Dan Brown...another phenomenal book

50!!!

2006-01-09T08:55:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to my dear mother Anita, who as of today has surpassed the half-century mark in her life. Congratulations Mom, and here's to another 50 years!

airport chaos

2005-12-18T14:25:00.000-05:00

I have often told people about the lack of intelligence needed to work at the airport. Many of you probably thought I was exaggerating, but now I have proof. We had our christmas party last night, where one of the supervisors read off a list of most memorable moments in WorldWide Flight Services history. Here are some of the highlights:
57 - Fred Vermeer backs water truck into CanJet plane (yes...this is #57...there's lots to come!)
56 - Jay gets stuck in the De-ice truck bucket high in the air for 1/2 hour in -15 degrees as no one was ever shown how to use the manual controls
52 - Fred Vermeer drives the lavatory truck while full to his house
51 - A WestJet pilot calls Haroon a terrorist and is later forced to apologize
50 - Sam Peierra recieves some heavy petting from Dave Doll's (a supervisor) wife while sitting at a table at a christmas party
49 - John Rooney is caught with his Powerade bottle full of rum by a WestJet CSA in the bathroom
46 - Stu Hannan quits because his paycheck didn't arrive on time
44 - Phil McLellen puts soap in the emergency eyewash station and Rob Z finds out the hard way
43 - Mike Wegner licks the disgustingly black trailer floor for only $17.00
40 - Rob Z. boasts about the bullet he finds in the CanJet plane...it was actually a tampon
39 - Fred Vermeer aimlessly spills a full bucket of blue juice (for the lavs) in the galley of a CanJet plane while passengers are on board
35 - Gord Bailey tries to ride in a cart, falls out while at full speed and rolls along the ramp
30 - Heather Henderson walks in front of a running engine TWICE on one flight...even after being tackled by Jonathan the first time
28 - Shawn White eats two full shrimp rings himself
25 - Rob Z has a feud with Rob L. because Z thinks L is gay
24 - Reuben Deboer (no relation!!!) steals thousands of dollars worth of cargo and is given the option to quit instead of being fired
22 - Rob Z wears snowboard boots on the ramp because he forgot his steel toed boots
16 - Carmine Mancuso has his tear-aways rip off in the belt loader, leaving him sitting in his boxers in pit 1 of the plane
15 - Mitch McCarty threatens to kill CanJet worker who caught him falling off his tug while drunk
13 - Morris drives away with the Ground Power Unit, but it is still connected to the plane
12 - Morris tips a baggage cart, and drives aimlessly around the ramp during the arrival of the Prime Minister
10 - Dan Jackson nearly kills us all by leaving the water truck in drive and getting out. The truck rolls and is only stopped a couple metres from a fuel truck
8 - Heather Henderson, Richard Cheesemen and Gary Lowson send a bag of wands, thinking it's a passenger's bag, on a CanJet headstart to Ottawa. They never return (the wands that is)
7 - Jay Colling chases a number of dogs across the ramp about once a week for the duration of the summer of '03...he got bit probably every other week
5 - Jon Butler Burke drops a transmission out of a tug while trying to squeal the tires
4- Fred Vermeer is soaked with the hose from the water truck by Jay Colling and J.B.B as he stands oblivious on the ramp drooling over the Antonov (second largest plane in the world) as it is taxiing in. He quits that day, but comes back a week later
3 - Fred Vermeer gets his foot run over by a Push tug - (which only goes like 1 km/h)...breaks his foot and is off for 6 weeks
- And the top 2... which could be tied for number 1--
2 - Dan Kwaitkowski and Chris Tytler leave a dead body (that came in as cargo) in the Glanford hangar to keep it out of the summer heat. They forget about it and the body misses his own funeral
1 - Steve Juszel takes a shit bath twice on one flight while emptying the lavs...he even got it on his tongue!! Gross
Wow...what good times. I hope I proved it doesn't take a pilot to run the ground handling of planes. In my next post, i'll include some that didn't make the list.

brain update

2005-12-15T20:13:00.000-05:00

I had an appointment with my neurologist, Dr. Lo, today to get the results from my MRI's that I had done last month. The news was very positive, pretty much as positive as it could be. There is something there, they just called it a shadow, meaning it is something minute, but the good news is that it hasn't been growing. This mostly means that it is benign, or growing very slowly. The only way to truly know would be to go in there and take a biopsy, but as it seems to be under control that is not necessary. Dr. Lo got a number of opinions from radiologists he knows, and they all came back with this answer. I have to have another MRI in a year to make sure this is the case, but everything seems to be as fine as it could be. Dr. Lo told me that this abnormality most likely occured while I was in uetero, at 16 weeks to be precise. This is when the brain is developing, and the cells begin at the inside and move their way outwards. Something, they can't really say what, happened with that cluster that damaged it slightly, but not enough to make a major impact. So what does all this mean? Not a whole lot, I just have to stay on the medication, as if I stop taking it, the good doctor said I'd have seizures for sure. And I don't want that to happen as I like driving. All in all, good news, it doesn't seem to be a tumor and if it is it's benign. Praise God!!

a language lesson

2005-12-12T21:17:00.000-05:00

I felt like deviating from my prior trend of posting international poetry to give a shout out to some of the hip language used in our own fine land. The source of this lesson was found in Rachel Briemer's historiography notes, and as I learned all about plagarism in historiography, I must give the credit for authorship to the esteemed Mikey Arce, who came up with these gems. Without further ado:
"Road dawg" - people you hang out with, otherwise known as "peeps" or "posse"
"Rizight" - right hand
"Lizeft" - left hand
"Pancake"- to use hydralics in a car in order to move said car up and down while stationary
"Nyquil" - cold medicine used for illness
"Axe" - to ask for something
"Kicks" - shoes, often sneakers
"Jakes" - the police...also known as the "po-po"
"All that" - having or possessing good qualities
"Lunch" - to act crazy
What use is all this hip words? consider this story:
My friends and I went to the mall, and when I asked them what they wanted for Christmas, all they wanted was shoes. We went to a store, and upon entering, saw a nice saleswoman. She showed us some shoes for our right feet, and our left feet, which we liked. One of my friends was acting up because she declined a date, so we left before she would call the police.
-Now-
Me and my road dogs took a ride out to check out the new Nike kicks. We took the new ride, which could pancake 2 feet. The chick selling the kicks was all that, and we got some rizight and lizeft kicks tht was all that. My boy ax the saleslady out, got denied and went lunch. She say that if me an my homies don't get out she gonna call the jakes, so I took my posse and headed to pancake the grand am in da parking lot.
I feel cooler and smarter already...thanks mikey

ps...no more historiography!!

more international poetry

2005-12-04T23:32:00.000-05:00

I figured that since I gave the countrymen of a friend of mine some props with my last post, another of my friend's national scribes deserves the same honor. Of course I am talking about the Ukraine, whose poets I have studied over the past month for a paper/presentation. Some of the poetry is very powerful, especially by Ivan Franko and Lesia Ukrainka. The poetry is chock full of nationalism for their country as well as much Christianity. One major reason for this is, of course, the eastern orthodox tradition, which has not allowed for the seperation of church and state, thusly allowing for much Christian context in their writing. The most famous author would be a fellow named Taras Shevchenko, who spent 3\4 of his life in prison, and was still able to paint over 800 paintings as well as many phenomenal poems. He is considered the national bard of the Ukraine, and has had a major impact not only on the literature of the Ukraine, but also the nationalist sentiment. Without any further ado, a poem from Taras Shevchenko:

My Testament

When I am dead, bury me
In my beloved Ukraine,
My tomb upon a grave mound high
Amid the spreading plain,
So that the fields, the boundless steppes,
The Dneiper's plunging shore
My eyes could see, my ears could hear
The mighty river roar.

When from Ukraine the Dneiper bears
Into the deep blue sea
The blood of foes...then will I leave
These hills and fertile fields--
I'll leave them all and fly away
To the abode of God,
And then I'll pray...but till that day
I nothing know of God.

Oh bury me, then rise ye up
And break your heavy chains
And water with the tyrant's blood
The freedom you have gained.
And in the great new family,
The family of the free,
With softly spoken, kindly word,
Remember also me

the chinese can sure paint a picture!

2005-12-01T20:37:00.000-05:00

Just for kicks, I have begun to read some (translated) ancient chinese poetry and have been quite impressed by the work they have done. I enjoy nature in poetry, and chinese poetry is rife with this. I plan to post a number of these poems, ones that I particularly enjoy. Tell me what you think! Consider this poem from Tu Fu:
Brimming Water

Under my feet the moon
Glides along the river.
Near midnight, a gusty lantern
Shines in the heart of night.
Along the sandbars flocks
Of white egrets roost,
Each one clenched like a fist.
In the wake of my barge
the fish leap, cut the water,
and dive and splash.

i can dig it

one year and counting...

2005-11-30T10:26:00.000-05:00

Well, it's official. I've gone a whole year without having a seizure. Woot!!

losing I slowly it am

2005-11-25T16:28:00.000-05:00

I'd like to think that I am a guy that has thing together; not at all absent-minded or anything like that, but two episodes this week illustrate how this might not be the case:
Yesterday, I went to the airport to pick up my paycheque, and returned to the school. I got out of my car, paycheque in hand, when a gust of wind ripped it from my grip and blew it across the parking lot. I chased after it, all the way behind the gymnasium, where it stopped near for a moment. In my haste to pick up my hard earned dollars, I dropped my keys; right in a foot high snow drift. It took me another fifteen minutes to rescue my keys from their snowy grave.
Today, I was in the cafeteria editing my church history paper, and thought some music might be nice to accompany this task. I put on my earphones, started iTunes, and went back to editing. It took me a few songs to realize I forgot to plug the earphones into my computer. Sigh.
I can only think of two reasons for this new affliction of absentmindedness. Either I am going senile already at the age of 27, or these teacher's college applications are actually driving me nuts. I better go check if I left my car running.

milestones

2005-11-17T16:54:00.000-05:00

Milestone A
my car has just turned 300,000 kms! What a survivor...I bought it over 8 years ago with only 83,000. Over these 8 years, it's only broken down twice (just like it's owner!) It has been through alot with me, including;
9 (9!!) moves
6 jobs
my entire redeemer career
2 seizures
3 u2 concerts
raptors games, blue jay games
my first date (an absolute disaster!)
subsequent dates
speeding tickets, no seatbelt ticket, squealing the tires ticket
multiple friends' weddings
2 breakins
and much more!
some of my favorite memories in the car would be all the taillights cutting out in downtown toronto, driving to belleville in a complete whiteout (remember that janelle??), going to gilmore, stopping at walmart where rachel was buying chocolate like it was going out of style with my debit card (haha) and heading out to orillia for casino rama at 9 pm...all good times! I hope that car has another 300,000 in it (although I doubt it!)
Milestone B
this hasn't happened yet, but is coming quickly...near the end of this month will be a one year anniversary since my last seizure! Everytime i reflect on this time, I am overwhelmed by the support and prayers from all my friends! I will not mention people, as I don't want to omit anyone, but the memory I have most is Todd driving me to school every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for 9 am, when his first class wasn't till 1...what a great friend! I am planning to have a party for this event...details will follow!!

Back in the Tube

2005-11-12T11:48:00.000-05:00

On Friday I finished another round of MRIs for the year. This is something I have to go through every year to check up on the scar tissue that was found on my brain, which caused the pair of seizures last September and November. For anyone that has not had an MRI, these things are pretty interesting. You lay down on a table, they basically clamp your head in place, and the table brings you into the tube, which is not much bigger then a person. You stay there for anywhere between 1/2 - 1 hour long as they take different scans of whatever part is ailing. Luckily for me I am not claustrophobic, because I can see how panic could easily set in while in there. Even though the MRI is as technologically advanced as anything in the hospital, it sounds like a piece of garbage that is going to fall apart with me in there. It is extremely loud, and some of the scans will shake the whole machine.
Friday was my second MRI, which included nuclear medicine. Nuclear medicine is a radioactive dye that gets injected into my bloodstream, and the dye courses through my body and to my brain. This causes a contrast in my brain, making it easier for the technicians to detect any scar tissue up there. If it were not for the nuclear medicine, they would not have detected the spots of trouble and it still would be a mystery as to why the seizures occured.
I wonder what the long term effect of this nuclear medicine is. Doctors tell me there there is no long term effects, but it would kinda be cool if there was. Imagine in five years if I would become superhumanly strong, or could fly, or could become invisible. I think any of those three would be an awesome tradeoff for having to go into the tube a couple times every year.

Please remember in your prayers...

2005-11-08T18:28:00.000-05:00

Craig Bartholomew. He has taken an extended leave of absence, due to the extreme exhaustion he has been battling since overextending himself over the summer. To make matters worse, he just recieved news that his mother has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, and she is not expected to live much longer. Therefore, he is flying to South Africa to tend to his mother, and to recover from the exhaustion. We will miss you, Craig, and will be praying for you and your mother.

Not a golf Pro

2005-11-06T22:23:00.000-05:00

For the fourth time in my young golfing career, i took it upon myself to instruct an interested party in the great sport of golf. For the second time in these four attempts, tragedy ensued. I watched in horror as the head flew off of my beloved 3 wood, almost traveling as far as the ball it had struck. A moment of silence would be appreciated for my dearly departed Wilson Deep Red 3 wood, deceased November 4, 2005. Viewing available anytime at 248 Bold Street. Due to the wishes of the family, the perpetrater will remain anonymous to shield her from ridicule. For now. Once all the facts are in, a trial will ensue, and ridicule will be most welcome. Needless to say, I am retiring from the profession of golf pro, due to rising operational costs.

Teaching with Kierkegaard on the Mind

2005-11-03T17:05:00.000-05:00

For the past couple of months, I have had the decided pleasure of studying Soren Kierkegaard in REL\PHL 370 with Craig Bartholomew. It comes as a bit of suprise that I've been enjoying it, because my last two philosophical experiences (121 and 240) have been subpar at best. I added the class as an audit to try to fill up my nearly empty semester, and thought it a good idea to take advantage of Craig's teaching one last time in my Redeemer career. However, the course ended up being in my top three (with Missions 131 and Lewis and Tolkien) out of the 30+ I have taken over the years. The course has challenged me, and forced me to look introspectively, especially with my motivations as to my aspirations of teaching high school English and Bible.
Kierkegaard teaches that there a three spheres one goes through in the course of their life; the aesthetic, ethical and religious. He defines theme as spheres as one can be in these steps for any length of time, and some do not even make it out of the aesthetic in their lifetime.
The aesthetic is the first of these three spheres. Basically, one that is in the aesthetic is completely self-motivated, satisfying urges, with no thought about the transgression or consequences of such satisfication. Eventually, according to Kierkegaard, a person will realize the folly of their shallow life, and notice they have certain obligations to society. This is the ethical sphere, one in which things such as career, marriage, etc are pursued. People will sacrifice just about anything to meet these obligations held to society or "the state". Many people will stay in this sphere their entire life; only a few will go on to the religious sphere. Entering the religious sphere of life is not a spiritual revival or so, as the fear of God can be present in the ethical stage as well. The difference in the religious sphere is there is a confidence change, as a person begins to rely on God, and will turn the aim of their obligations from that of the bettering of the state to that of the Lord's edification. A person will suffer guilt before God, and in that way attempt to fulfill these obligations to Him.
The idea of these spheres Kierkegaard develops has caused me to take stock of where I was, and why I want to get into teaching. Am I just motivated by the fact I (almost) have a university education, or that I am convinced I can be an effective teacher? Or am I doing it because I believe God has called me to teach His children? If the former is true, it would make me no better then any teacher (for example) striking for more pay or less class time. I would not be so brash as to say I'm in the religious sphere, as I know I need to trust in God more, and one of the characteristics of one in the religious sphere is humility. If I were to get on the soapbox and start crowing, my motivations would be directed to society more then to God. However, by learning the distinctions Kierkegaard lays out, I feel more able to aim for the religious, to put my confidence in God, and to make sure my efforts are directed to Him.

here I am

2005-11-02T20:42:00.000-05:00

after much deliberation, and at least a year after most, here I am! a blogger! hopefully i come up with some intelligent or interesting stuff to say