Pumpkins and Superfriends

Hallowe'en - when else can you dress up in ridiculous clothes, put on face paint, get ridiculously drunk with friends, and beg strangers for candy?

Oh wait...I do that every weekend. In any case, this past weekend was the big Hallowe'en party. The several hundred dollars of entertainment included lights and a fog machine, a keg, bobbing for apples, karaoke and a pinata.

As might be expected, things were broken, pumpkins were smashed, and I sang Take on Me. Here are some photos:




The hosts - and stars - of the show, The Superfriends of JC Brown.




Even (read: especially) the Superfriends need some spiritual guidance.







Gene Simmons would be proud.










Preparing for the pinata swing...after being fed beer with a high-speed delivery device.










The hockey stick swinging heard 'round the world...that pinata didn't see it coming. Ok, I didn't actually hit the pinata, I hit the clothesline made of metal cable and snapped it in two. Oops. End of party.

Hug a tree today

I thought of a number of different things to write about today. The first thing that came to mind was that I went about 20 hours without drinking anything other than beer, and then went for a run today. But that would just make me look like an idiot, so let’s not talk about that. The next was that I made two delicious new meals today, but I’m pretty sure nobody reads this blog for recipes. Or maybe the fact that I talked to my great-uncle last week and he imparted all sorts of good life advice. But that is too important for my tired brain. So instead, I will tell a story about someone else.

I was working with this guy just over two years ago. He was probably a few years over 30, skinny guy just under 6 feet tall, in great shape. He may not have looked like a guy you would be worried about if you had a fight or run from him, but when he opened his mouth you knew he meant business. One day he came into work and told us what had happened at his house the night before.

We will call him Al for the sake of the story. So apparently Al had parked his truck, a not-so-impressive old Dodge, in his driveway and gone into the house as he does everyday after work. By about 11pm or so he was gone to bed. Shortly after, he heard some noise outside. Certainly not being the type to wait around a corner with a frying pan in case someone came in the door, he went outside to check it out. There, having just broken into his truck, was a soon-to-be very sorry young man. The kid saw Al coming out the door and tried to make a run for it, evidently having determined he was not going to drive away in the truck before Al got to him. Little did he know that this older man was certainly not letting him get away. Al caught the kid and tackled him. The kid wet himself. He was begging that Al not call the police or his parents. So Al, being the sympathetic type that he is, decided he wouldn’t call anybody right away. Instead he gave the kid a choice. Either the kid would stay in Al’s front yard all night, or he would call the cops. So the kid said fine…he would stay in the yard. Al drags the kid back to his house, pulls some equipment out of the basement, and somehow CHAINS THE KID TO HIS TREE. I mean, serves him right, the kid actually chose that. But he actually chained him up, put on a lock, and went in his house to bed. He woke up in the morning, went out to the tree to the very very sorry kid, unlocked him and let him go.

I can’t say I’m a big vigilante justice guy myself. But I would be willing to bet good money that this particular individual will not be trying to steal any more vehicles.

Better to come

Ok, I STILL don't have the pictures from the obstacle course. And I don't know what's wrong with my profile picture. But on the bright side, I am supposed to be getting internet within a week. On the down side...maybe not. The building I live in is so old, they're sending a tech to check it out and see if I can even get a phone. If I can, my swarms of loyal readers will be able to read much more about my exciting life. I know, I know...you're on the edge of your seats...

Thanks

In honour of our most recent holiday weekend, I would like to give out some thanks. This year, I have more things to be thankful for than I can name or even know. However, I would especially like to thank all of my friends this year.

This was the first Thanksgiving that I can remember being away from my family. In their place I had six co-workers and friends I have made here since January. We went on a “family” shopping trip on Saturday and gathered all of the things we would need for a good meal the next day. On Sunday, after I woke up off the couch in the house where all of them live (and I basically live on the weekends), we had a quick breakfast and prepared the huge dinner. Everyone put in some sort of assistance, except for one guy. We didn’t really expect him to anyway; instead he worked on his forté – entertainment. He set up an obstacle course. Anyway, the rest of us drank a few beers or glasses of wine while we actually managed to prepare an incredible meal. Before we began eating three other visitors joined us, and we all went around the room and each person told every one for what they were thankful.

After dinner we moved on to the obstacle course. I managed to pull lucky number 1, so I was first up. The timed course involved drinking a beer, spinning ten times around a pole with your forehead touching the pole, and then carrying an egg in a spoon for the remaining obstacles. These included throwing a BBQ brush to knock down a can, doing slalom through tiki torches, and crawling under a series of chairs among other things. If ever the egg fell, you had to go back to the beginning of the obstacle. If it broke, you were out. Good times were had by all, and I came nowhere near to winning due to my decision to not shotgun the beer.

So that was my thanks for my new friends. But I also include my old friends in my thanks here, because there is not much that can beat hanging out with an old friend. Since moving away from you all I have seen that sometimes the more important things are the most easily taken for granted. I have also realized that friends are not something you have to lose just because you don’t see them often or talk everyday – in fact it is the real friends who know that this isn’t necessary. So know that you are always welcome to see me here, and please save me a seat when I come by to visit. I’ll bring the drinks.

(Pictures to follow)

Who can sing? And who knew the words?

For anyone who didn’t know, I am taking a French language course fulltime. A few weeks ago, I thought it would be a good idea to learn the national anthem in French, so I asked one of the instructors if he had something on it. He gave me a written copy; here are the lyrics for those of you who don’t know them:

O Canada! Terre de nos aïeux,
Ton front est ceint de fleurons glorieux!

Car ton bra sait porter l’épée,
Il sait porter la croix.

Ton histoire est une épopée
Des plus brilliants exploits.

Et ta valeur, de foi trempée,
Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.

Protégera nos foyers et nos droits!

Ok cool. Now, I am sure you all know that these words go to the same music as the English version, as oftentimes both languages are used in the anthem. But are the words the same? Is there even one single line that is the same? Not even close. The only part that is the same is the first two words. So here is an English translation of the French words:

O Canada! Land of our ancestors,
Your forehead is surrounded by glorious flowerets!

Because your arm knows how to carry the sword,
It knows how to carry the cross.

Your history is an epic
Of more brilliant exploits.

And your valour, soaked in faith,
Will protect our homes and our rights.

Will protect our homes and our rights.

Whoa. No standing on guard there. No love or glowing hearts, either. But keeping in mind that it actually rhymes in French, of course, it sounds pretty good. And they haven’t worried about changing it for such reasons as its “sexist” content like the English version. In fact the French version is still in original form from 1880. And hey…if it has worked for 125 years, it can work for me.