Paul Nicholls' Blog

It's Tough to Make the Time...

2010-09-12T04:23:00.000-07:00

I think making the time to write a blog is tough.

First, it would be nice to write something you think people would like to read, second, making the time to sit down, organize your thoughts, and third, start and complete the writing process. This all requires discipline. For the past year or so, I have lacked that discipline. While I make no promises, I shall try to be more frequent with my posts.

This weekend was a watershed moment for my in-laws, Jill and Lawrence Stewart: they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. WOW. What an achievement! And they seem as happy today as they must have been September 10, 1960.

I've been fortunate to have seen the 50th anniversary of my father's parents, my mother's parents, my parents, and now Jenny's parents. It really is quite a thing.

My wife Jenny and everyone's mutual friend Sue Pardue, worked their butts off getting the party ready and stepping beyond the minimalist ideas of my mother-in-law, and creating an outstanding party event. Jenny even became a movie director. I showed her the core steps to Microsoft Movie Maker, and then she went to town. She must have scanned and cropped a hundred pictures, created the dissolves, aligned them to music and published the finished product. She then added videos from her brother Jeff as well as Jill's brother Peter and his wife Dot, so we had a fulsome and lively presentation for the re-commitment ceremony.

Jill and Lawence now live about four hours drive away in Tobermory, and as a result, we don't see them as often. It was great to see them this weekend, surprise them with the "dialed-up" event, and share with them this all-too-rare acknowledgment to teamwork.

For the moment, I shall continue my quest to see 25 years with Jenny.

Victoria Day?! and BBQs

2009-05-18T05:53:00.000-07:00

Victoria Day 2009.

It’s sunny, but cold. Not just cool…it’s downright COLD.

Since when did we start with the prevailing Northerlies? Geez! This is supposed to be spring! I am stuck thinking that Victoria Day is May 24th. This idea of it being May 18th just sucks. Worse, this year Canada Day is the middle of the week: Wednesday! Ugh!

This year we’re putting in a garden at the front of the house. I have to hand the initiative to Jenny; otherwise I’d never do it. As you can imagine, the job entails removing the sod, shaking as much dirt out of it as possible, then depositing the spent sod somewhere. In this project, I loosened the sod with a spade, and Jenny took the lead in shaking out the dirt. I got to take the dregs to the back 40.

Since we are not gardeners at all, we were ill-prepared for all that might be needed. It turns out that, despite vigorous shaking, the amount of dirt left is inadequate to our desired result. So we have ordered a yard of triple-mix to top up the new garden, so this means a second weekend at this job. Such is life. I hope the final product looks good, but then, it couldn’t look any worse than it does now.

This year we broke down and bought a new BBQ. The old was shedding pieces of God-knows-what on the inside of the grill cover. There’s nothing like taking your next big bite of chemicals with your next big bite of steak.

Our selection was a new three-burner model from Broil King. This also allows one to remove the grates, as it has three separate cooking sections. Now I can effectively duplicate the cooking-show efforts of Bobby Flay, Rob Rainford and Matt Dunigan. Watch out boys…Paul’s on the grill.

When we bought the unit, the salesman talked me into a chicken roasting device from Weber. With the device came a recipe for beer chicken. One puts together lemon juice, soy sauce, garlic and a host of other spices and of course, beer to get the desired finished product. We’ve had two in the past two weeks. Yummy! Moist and delicious.

Last night I went a step further and used a device I’ve owned for years and never used: the rotisserie. We bought a nice roast of beef, and I tried my first rotisserie project, I slow-cooked the roast with Jack Daniels smoke. The BBQ store sells pellets that have been infused with Jack Daniels – one of a wide selection of smoking flavours. We were impressed with the result. The meat was moist and cooked to a tee, and had just a hint of Jack Daniels smoke flavour. Of course I think the meat would have benefitted from a stronger “smoking”, but with the May gale we had going, with winds up to 50 km, I’m frankly astonished we achieved anything.

Today, perhaps I’ll take on some seafood for dinner.

Valentine's Day (AKA "The Stimulus Package") and other musings..

2009-02-15T10:21:00.000-08:00

Another Valentine's Day has come and gone. Do we really need just one day when we profess our love? Isn't it more reasonable to do this just a little more often?

I eschew things like Valentine's Day as being just another in a long series of MADison Avenue methods for extracting more cash from our poor-ass pockets. Love is making dinner without being asked, cleaning up randomly, making the bed, or in my case, preparing my wife's tea cup for morning use every day for the past 6 years: some 2,190 times. Now, don't get me wrong, I do love my wife and I view my contributions to making her life a little easier as simply logical.

The fringe benefits are plentiful, and primary among them is the fact she continues to love me! Woo-hoo!

Now what's going on in the world that's got my attention since the last time we talked?

Obama is visiting Ottawa; forgoing pomp and circumstance for the appearance he's our best bud by making us his first foreign visit as President. I wonder if there is any of real substance to be accomplished in 5 hours. We'll see. Here's a start - fire up the cash machine and spend us out of this recession! Sadly, I'll be dead and gone and my children's children will be paying for this one. Maybe I should become a "Doomer."

I watched the surreal unfold the other day at the Grammys. Watching an old fart like Robert Plant give a hug to Miley Cyrus was, to say the least, odd. The funny thing is I see artists like Plant and say "You know, he's not that much older than me." Truly he isn't - maybe 10 years at the most.

We'll see how the Oscars unfold, the BAFTAs and Golden Globes have been held, and answers are other there for all to see. Jenny and I are thinking of taking in Slumdog Millionaire later today. If we do, I'll provide my feedback here.

Business continues to be a challenge: so much to do, only so much time. I think we are slowly building momentum, but we need a big opportunity to spread the word all at once. I thinking the OMAA would be a good place to start, but that's in May. We'll try and create something prior to that event; as we need to get in solid gear for the budget-setting season this fall.

All I can think of for now.

Ciao,

Saturday Mornings, Get Up and Go, Got Up and Gone; and Does Anyone Really Know the Economy?

2009-01-31T05:45:00.000-08:00

Saturday Morning.

I have a routine I stick to, and frankly, I really don't like it when things are changed - for any reason. Saturday morning I get up at times varying from my usual 5:30 am to somewhere around 7:00 am. (I know - 5:30??!!) It's my circadian rhythm, I can't help it. For some reason, this year I did not make the switch to fall time the way I normally do. Age. ~shit!~

Back to Saturdays. Around 9:00 am I make my breakfast: two sausage rounds, one english muffin, a slice of processed cheese, and two microwaved eggs (we have a little thingy we bought from Linens'N'Things that cooks them into neat little circles). I toast the english muffin, add one sausage round, half of the slice of cheese, and an egg; a little salt and pepper, add a small glass of OJ and a tea, and presto! a tidy little breakfast that will last me till dinner.

When, for reasons I don't control, we don't have one of the ingredients, then that is the making of a bad day. Not so today, I believe we have all the ingredients, and so I shall be partaking shortly (note the time mentioned).

I feel lazy today. I have so much to do, and yet my "get up and go" has gotten up and slipped out the door. It's still winter; and winter still sucks. Maybe that's it. Yeah, that's it. Maybe with the right breakfast I'll show signs of life. We'll see.

Also part of my morning ritual is the daily read of the Toronto Star: right or wrong, agree or disagree, I read it cover to cover (lightly, not everything!). In the course of today's parsing of the paper, I noticed that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says that Canada and the rest of the world is in a depression. Not a "recession", rather a "depression." FUNK! For months politicos avoided use of the "R" word for fear of instilling panic among the populace. As it turns out, they should have been using the "D" world. To my way of thinking, I will return to the place whence I came: back in Macro-Economics in the fall of 1977, when the professor wisely advised us "When you line up all the economists, they STILL point in different directions."

One thing to keep in mind, whether 'tis the 4th or 5th estates you adhere to in terms in informational drivel, remember they ALL need to make money; and that will lead to them postulating the most outrageous of thoughts, just to suck you in. Do what I do: put it all off to one side, and simply apply yourself to your life, the rest is just "sturm und drang." You'll feel better, at least for a little while...

I Hate Winter, Freak'nomics and Marley not Me

2009-01-11T10:39:00.001-08:00

I hate winter.

There. I've said it.

Whether it's my crappy "thick-as-tar" blood or the fact I simply prefer the feel of Tommy Bahama silk against my skin instead of wool, I HATE WINTER.

And this winter is giving me lots to hate. Dear God it's cold. Minus 14!

Christmas is over for another year, another is a mere 354 days away. Start your planning now!

Of course that presumes you have a job by the time the next event rolls around. Don' t we live in a wonderful world? Just a scant 9 months ago, the TSX was flirting with the 15,000 point level and everyone was thinking "Those stupid Americans and their mortgage fiasco...". What a difference a season or two makes. Now the TSX has settled (for the moment) in the 9,000 range. 40% off the top. Sweet. The Yanks catch a sniffle; we catch catastrophic influenza.

What do you think made this happen?

I'm resolute in my contention that a key contributor is IFRS - the new International Financial Reporting Standards - due to be adopted by signatory countries in 2010. All those companies with inflated, bogus assets were about to get caught with their collective pants down; their shortcomings plainly in view. So, in true corporate, C-Y-A fashion, they fix the problem on their financials immediately citing economic times, rather than in the harsh light of IFRS compliance. Oh, and ask the government for a bailout to cover the costs while you're at it. Brilliant!

Consider the case of Satyam Computer Services, who admitted to billions in cash on their balance sheet that simply doesn't exist. How do you do that? What banker or auditor worth a shit would buy into this scheme? I assume they can read financials. Listen, accounting is a pretty basic equation: Assets = Liabilities plus Equity. So if you have an extra billion in assets, you must have an extra billion in either liabilities or equity; one or the other. If you have it showing as a contingent liability (the only place it could go to my knowkedge), then wouldn't a banker say "Gee, this upcoming revenue is going make your year!"

My accountant always wanted to know the details of my contingent liabilities. You know, client name, amount and what it was for. Then the next year he would watch to ensure that liability become a revenue. Although it never happened, I'm sure he would have howled if it had stayed or worse, gotten bigger.

I suppose it will all come down to the auditors. The honourable firm of Dewey, Screwem and Howe will be sued, screwed and tattooed for their complicity or stupidity in this.

At least the CEO of Satyam admitted his guilt, and didn't pull a Garth Drabinsky "I was too busy to notice my books were crap." He couldn't be more full if shit if he had taken a tumble into a Johnny-on-the-Spot.

I for one am not too worried about all this gloom and doom. If one gives too much credence to the fourth estate, you can see yourself lemming off the bridge. I recall a friend of mine, John Ford, who opined "Today's news is tomorrow's fish wrapping." So don't let the Chicken Little prattle of statistical tomfoolery get you down, or worse, cause you to crystallize that temporary loss by selling out.

Freakonomics is just that.

Let me tell you about my university Macro-Economics prof who, after a semester of painting our young minds with vibrant pictures depicting the "elasticity of demand", equilibrium and other such economic phrases, announced to the class that "Of course everything I've taught you is being proven wrong right now." Wonderful. Ever since that day I've taken everything economic with a BIG block of salt lick; a grain simply doesn't cut it.

So sit back, watch our elected officials pontificate, wax Keynesian philosophic, and spend our grandchildren's grandchildren into oblivion.

As a parting shot, for reasons passing all reason, I went to see Marley and Me at the movies. Perhaps it was because my darling wife treated. This is a "chick flick" to be sure. God bless him, I have no idea what Hollywood sees in Owen Wilson. He gave a performance where his emotional range ran from A to B. I don't get it. Not that I'm jealous, I just think that **SPOILER ALERT** if you lost your dog of 15 years, you might summon up some tears.

Enough of a grump for a frosty January Sunday. I have other things to do!

Ciao and happy new year.

I've Been Bad...and I'll Be Better in 2009!

2008-12-24T04:28:00.001-08:00

Imagine this Christmas Eve morning when I opened my e-mail to be greeted by a "Happy Holidays" card from a friend of mine, Shabbir Siraj. In the intervening months since he and I worked on the 48-hour Film Challenge, Ali (as he is known), has made his way to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to write and do photography work for "Destination Jeddah", a travel magazine. In my whole life of some 52 years, I never would have thought I would have a friend in Saudi Arabia. I do. What a wonderful world we live in!

Anyway, Ali reminded me in humorously strong terms that I have let my audience down by not keeping up my blog. He is absolutely correct! Thank you Ali for reminding me of the error of my ways. I shall atone in the new year.

When I look at my blog, it has been almost five months since I wrote last. So much has happened, it seems like a million miles away. Where to begin? Let's see...

I suppose the biggest change has been that of my employment. I left Strategic Information Technology (SIT) for a job with iPLANcorp (IPC). I am their new Vice-President of Sales and Marketing. No idle desk-sitting for this cowboy - two jobs at the same time. IPC is an interesting firm. They were founded by Bob Forhan and a partner as a planning business: primarily acting as consultants to land developers, assisting them to navigate their plans for their properties through the municipal planning maze. Over the years they've had a hand in a number of signature communities, among them CathedralTown and Ballantrae Commons.

During the course of pursuing this line of work, they became deeply involved with Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Over the years they have written software applications to improve and streamline their work. They decided to market this work as a suite of applications: the iQ-Suite. With a blare of trumpets, bring in the wily old municipal veteran (cue: Paul) to help them achieve greatness. I just started this job on November 24th, and already I'm knee-deep in helping to drive changes to bring the product to the level of attention I think it deserves. This year will be busy-busy!

I think that's all I'll say in this blog, save a big "Thank you" and "Happy Holiday" I'll throw eastward to Jeddah to my friend Shabbir for calling me out!

Happy holidays everyone!

The Glory of Food, Drink, and Generally Being Merry

2008-08-13T11:13:00.000-07:00

Do you want to know the meaning of pain?

Being diabetic and loving food and drink. Thanks to a family tree rich in history and the reality that the apple never falls too far from the tree, I was consigned to my life as diabetic courtesy of my paternal grandmother. No doubt my unbridled sweet tooth and the disposition to accommodate it contributed to my current state. Nonetheless.

For the most part I mollycoddle my affliction, but once in a while I "let it all hang out", and go wild! Such was the case just a couple of weekends ago. We invited a friend of mine from the office: Barb and her husband Bruno (whose daughter Alexandra is the same age as Ashley) over for an afternoon of visiting, swimming and food. They arrived at around 2:30, complete with two bottles of the good red vino, and we proceeded to visit. Man did we visit. The next day, I counted that we had calmly dispensed with 5 bottles of wine and a brand-new, large-sized bottle of Bailey's Irish Creme. Four people. Holy crap! Now I must admit, I had little to do with the polishing off of the Bailey's. I think the Jenny and Barb did that all by themselves. Bruno and I had retired to the front porch for a smoke, and when we came back in some 20 minutes later, ~presto~ the Bailey's was gone.

I should also mention my predilection for Dim Sum. For those uninitiated sorts, Dim Sum is a Chinese meal of small appetizer-sized nibbly bits. At the office, Jason, Dave Mac, and bunch of SIT folks go every Friday and partake. Usually there are about 10-12 people, but we get up to 16 or so when the last Friday of the month rolls around. The nice thing? We eat ourselves full, the tea keeps on coming, and the whole affair costs like 11 bucks. We have fun, food and friendship all in the span of about 2 hours. What a deal! I rarely eat dinner on Fridays because unlike other meals, this one stays with you.

Today we went out on a mission. We had been told of a new Chinese buffet here in town. It replaced the old Korean barbecue we used to frequent. Today's repast of all-you-can-eat Chinese fare cost $11. Not bad. We'll see if I'm hungry for dinner.

Anyway, these are the distractions from my disease. I'd love to enjoy these kinds of events every day, but it seems as my age advances I've put more distance between the current me and my metabolism.

Another lamentation.

I need to get in front of a camera, quickly!

Chores Done, Books Read and Audition Ruminations

2008-08-13T11:11:00.000-07:00

It finally dried up enough for me to get some chores done.

These days, Saturdays in my life consist of a few things that simply have to get done: my daughter has her acting class in the bowels of Toronto (Spadina and Adelaide), and pool duties must be completed (vacuuming, filter backwashing and rinsing, bromine re-stocking and the chemical levels tested.) After that, which pretty much consumes the day, I'm free to do whatever.

With the torrents of rain recently, I half-expected to be invited to an ark-building party, but I digress. Today with the rain, I was unable to perform aforesaid pool duties, so I sat on the front porch, cigar in one hand, tea at the ready, and finished John Grisham's "The Appeal". Watching me read is a painful exercise. I am wretched reader. I parse each sentence, taking in the picture it creates for me, and whenever there is an interruption, I re-read the same paragraph. I have a lot of interruptions.

The Appeal is a story about mass tort litigation, set up against the all-American desire to elect everything. As Canadians we sit here, somewhat smugly, and look at the fact so many positions in the U.S. are elected, while the same positions here in Canada are appointed. Like we're superior for not letting money and politics shape our national destiny. No, we elect the politicians who appoint the people to the appointed positions. No chance there will ever be any money or politics influencing those decisions. Right!

Yesterday I had the pleasure of doing an audition with Melissa DiMarco, star of "Out There." Sadly my improv skills are weak when placed in an awkward situation. Not having a great memory, I didn't recall seeing Melissa before, and wasn't sure what to expect. She is tall, pretty, and blonde. She is also, shall we say, put together. I say that because the improv setting I was placed in called upon me to do a scene with Melissa in which I was to be a network "suit", and I had to try and convince her to flirt with the stars on the red carpet. Again, not recalling what she looked like, or getting her confused with someone else, I thought she might be waif-like, and I formulated a strategy to coax her to use her feminine wiles to entice the guys. Given the business, I thought this would make perfect sense. She shouldn't need coaxing, and she wouldn't have to fake it. Geez, the guys would flock to her like a moth to a flame.

Anyway, it was the end of the day, I was the second-last actor to be seen, and I guess I just sucked. Big time sucked. Damn! There goes that appearance! No call-backs there I think. And I really wanted to nail it. Oh well.

Similarly, the other night I had to do an audition for a short film about being a claustrophobic guy in an elevator. I did what I could think of, as I can actually be a little claustrophobic, and simply followed the direction given. Ahhh, but first I had to do a humorous monologue. I wasn't off-book, because I didn't have time to prepare! Tank city. Again.

And so, the only non-work achievement I can reflect upon over the last couple of days is completing "The Appeal."

Slim pickins...

~ sigh ~

Long Weekends, Summer and Film

2008-07-12T05:36:00.001-07:00

Another long weekend.

As my former father-in-law would have said, "another shitty day in paradise".

Yesterday marked my father's 77th birthday. I now look at him and hope my life lasts as long. While his older sister Phyllis in now in her 80's, my dad's side of the family is not known for longevity, all his siblings (save said Phyllis) have passed. Dad is the baby of the family of seven kids. His brother Ray was the first to go at age 69. I suspect a lot of his early demise could be chalked up to his being held prisoner-of-war in World War II. Ray was a big man, somewhat akin to me in bulk. Apparently, when he was repatriated from prison camp, he was a mere 85 pounds. That has to take it out of you, and, in my mind, causes health issues one never gets past.

Regardless of all that, my dad is 77, mom will follow this November, and I'm glad I have them around. Jenny and I went to visit yesterday to take him his present end take them out to lunch. We don't get there as much because we're all busy, and $1.40/litre gas and 407 charges will take a pretty large chunk out of your wallet.

Summer is here and while today (Saturday the 12th) doesn't appear to be any screaming hell so far, there is hope. Tomorrow is supposed to really screw the pooch, so I suspect I will be completing the Star Sunday Crossword fairly early in the day.

Good news on the Toronto 48-Hour Film Challenge. Our group, Team ArtiZen, put together a great little film. I think everyone but me put in the full 48 hours. I put in 32 with about 2 hours sleep. After that grueling weekend, I think we ended up with a quality little picture. It appears as though the judges agree - so far we are in the Top 15 entries. Nine pix didn't make it to that level. Onward and upward!

Our picture is being aired this Wednesday, July 16th at the Innes Theatre at U of T on Sussex Street in Toronto. Start time is 7:00 PM. Tickets are $5. Come on out - it will be a hoot.
I'm told the top 10 will be announced after the presentation.

Should we make that final 10, our film will be re-presented at the Bloor Street Cinema on the 18th, when the top awards will be dished out.

Cool.

Toronto 48-Hour Film Challenge

2008-07-04T10:11:00.000-07:00

When I'm on vacation, I find the time goes far too quickly. I wonder why that is? Could it be that the trials and tribulations of work life take a toll on the clock, making it tick ever so slowly? Hmmm...

This weekend is the 48-Hour Film Challenge. I was invited by my friend Powys Dewhurst to participate. Powys and I have done a couple of projects, and to my way of thinking, they turned out very well. Powys is a wonderfully gifted film director and writer. He has a keen eye for detail, and an outstanding ability to tell a story. Well, that's what we're going to need in this challenge! 48 hours, non-stop. Tonight at 8:00 PM Team ArtiZEN will get our genre, theme, prop, and word, after which we have to create an all-new concept, write a script, shoot, score, edit and submit our project by this Sunday at 6:00 PM. Crazy!!!

Next week we'll see how we did. At stake, is a handsome prize pool.

This will be interesting - to say the least! Primarily because, sandwiched in there, I am working on a trailer project with another friend of mine, Jay Justin. We're whipping up a teaser trailer for his new flick, 1:16. This will be a riot. I like Jay; we worked on his Speed-Dating project last summer. He's a great director and writer too. In fact, the folks over in Guelph are a great crew. They know how to make movies, and I like working with them.

Somewhere in there is supposed to be downtime. A concept I suppose I just don't "get."

For the moment though, I am sitting under the protective cover of the gazebo on the pool deck, my son Ryan tapping away on his notebook across from me, my wife and her friend Marie gnoshing and sipping vino on the upper deck, my daughter Ashley and her friend Amy frolicking in the pool, and me tapping away on my notebook doing this, all amid a glorious summer's day.

Enjoy your Friday all my office-bound chums - I'm enjoying mine!

Aaaaahhh,

Canada Day, Paint Cans, Kids and Vodka Coolers

2008-07-01T06:39:00.001-07:00

First, Happy Canada Day everyone!

It is 9:30 am and I am physically spent.

I arose this morning and said to myself, "In this time of really weird weather, today promises to be sunny and bright all day, why don't you paint the columns at the front of the house?" Like an idiot, I answered "Sure, why not?"

Some background. We live on a 2-acre parcel of land in the country. Our water is supplied from a well, and that water is iron-rich. The lawn sprinkler system had a mis-aimed nozzle, and said nozzle sprayed the columns on the front porch for the past four years. Those columns ended up coloured a fugly shade of piss-yellow. So today, armed with my newly-acquired paint brush and can of white paint, I set about the thankless task of repainting the front columns. I hate painting. Actually I hate doing all chores, but do them I must.

Starting at the bright hour of 8:00 a.m., cup of tea close-at-hand, I tackled each column, from the top to the bottom. the badly stained columns ended up looking pretty good, and the lazy guy in me thought - briefly - "I wonder if I need to do the ones that aren't stained?" I resolved that, yes, it would be only appropriate to do them all. The heat rose, the job seemed to lengthen in time, and my mood become more and more truculent as I progressed. After what seemed like an eternity, I had completed all six columns, and I must say, I think I did a pretty good job!

On to clean up. Don't you find it interesting what life lessons stick with you? I do. One of these is paint cleanup. I recall my grade 7 Industrial Arts teacher, "Scratch McKinnon" teaching us how to clean up after painting - both with spray bombs and brushes. Apparently ol' Scratch knew us kids well. When we thought we had cleaned our brushes satisfactorily, he would look at the brush, look at us, then proceed to wipe the brush on the front of our shirts! We soon learned those brushes had better be pretty damn clean or we were going to lose our shirts - literally!

Today's chore of painting needed to be done. Man, was it hot though. So hot in fact, that now I'm done, I sit here mid-morning drinking a vodka mudshake. That's simply odd.

The balance of the day will be spent relaxing, I assure you.

Yesterday, my son Ryan moved in with us. This will be quite interesting for all of us. We are all happy to help him out in his time of need. My daughter Ashley is particularly excited to have a "big brother" living with her for the first time in her life. Ryan is quite good with Ashley, no doubt because of his experiences with his own sister Kelsey. Ryan is 24 and Ashley is 9, and this difference seems to make all the difference in the world. I look forward to them sharing a relationship as "step-siblings." Kylie will be moving out this summer to attend George Brown, and Ashley will need someone to keep her in check. Ryan is just the person to do this.

For the moment, I'm done typing, and must finish my cooler.

Later.

Sunday Afternoon Blahs

2008-06-29T08:52:00.001-07:00

Actually it was still technically the morning when I started this piece.

Isn't it amazing how we get locked into regimens? That we can actually tell what day it is by the regimen we are following at any moment in time?

When I was a kid, we had chili every Saturday night...bar none. Nowadays its a full bacon and eggs breakfast on Sunday morning. If that is disrupted for any reason whatsoever, I'm messed up for the balance of the day. Part of that could be the fact my doctor has limited me to six eggs per week, and Sunday is my day to enjoy two of them. Saturdays and Wednesdays are the other days. This has led to what we refer to as "egg days."

Now that we're done breakfast, we'll carry on with the rest of our Sunday: nothing.

A little TV, a little reading, perhaps a nap...depends on the weather.

Today I felt a little different. I am supposed to be vacationing, so I haven't shaved yet. Wow. Radical. I had a full beard for 25 years, and all of a sudden a day's worth of stubble is something to get worked up about. Many guys in our office miss a day routinely. For the most part they are younger guys. Us older folks tend to stick with the shaving ritual.

I see out my office window that there is blue sky for the moment, so perhaps I should get off my arse and do some chores.

Vacation?

Maybe not.

More Sunday afternoon blahs?

Well it's now 12:01, let the blahs begin.

Initial Blog

2008-06-28T12:13:00.001-07:00

All journeys of a thousand miles step with an initial step so the saying goes.

This then is my initial blog for my web-page.

What am I reading these days? Apart from scripts for upcoming projects, the book on my night-table is "The Appeal" by John Grisham. I really enjoy Grisham's writing style. it's easy and clean, and I get a real picture in my mind of the people, places and situations he describes. The actor in me sees the various parts I might play in the movie edition ;-).

My life these days is quite busy, both at work and at home. However, from now (June 28) through July 8, I'm going to try and take it easy, maybe see a movie or two, and finish the above-mentioned Grisham tome, and maybe even write a script.

This will entail tackling one of these tasks, sitting around the pool, and drinking my favourite coolers.

Returning to the initial theme, how does one eat an elephant? Answer: one bite at a time, same as anything else.

For now, I have a book to read, a script to write or a cooler to drink.

Later.