Saturday which feels like Sunday

Well, I am still in the city. Robert (Thelma) came into to town, I was at Woody's having a beer, that's me in the pic.

We had more beers than would allow me to ride. We went over to Junction, because guess what? There was another Court function.We ate at Junction and then found out it wasn't happening there. It was at Flash. I was dressed like I was and all the Drag Queens and Kings were in white. I sort of stood out. It wasn't as crowded as it should be, but it was ok.

There were quite a few raffles. I bought some tickets and wound up with some foot stuff, a lot of it. There was a draw for a trip, I didn't win that prize, I won the consolation prize. I didn't take a picture, i should have. It is in the back of Thelma's car. There is a tiara, a pile of makeup, some hair colouring stuff - looks like Rhinna Red and I think there was blue too. They said it was worth a pile of $$$$. I joked and asked for the $$$$$. Thelma won a pile of stuff too, I was the messenger, bring it to his trunk. We left the bar before the rush.

I was going to head home on my bike, however it was 1 am and the will was not there. I wound up staying at a place which has cheap rooms....I am not going into details on this. But for $22 I got a place to sleep. And for those that know what I am talking about, I read. The iPad has a pile of books on it.

I didn't sleep that well. I woke up around 10 and went to Haps for breakfast, I was tempted to order the large omelette, but settled for the small one. I didn't finish the toast. It is a bit cool today, I am waiting for it to warm up a bit before heading home. Normally I don't take pics of people, but the guy sitting at table was at Haps. He talked to me a couple of times. He had his kids with him, no ring. They were playing dodge ball with plastic butter packages.

I will probably go home a round about way though. Highway 16 is not very scenic, and when it is cold, it is a straight shot to Vegreville. If I take the Lamont way home there is variety, in speed and scenery.

I am still pondering what I posted yesterday and I cam feel a power surge. It is like I am more centered. I think this shows up in light, or as some spiritualists call aura. Of course the more centered you are the better the chance you have a smile on your face. I have two reasons for that, the centering and the bike. Riding a 1400 cc bike is pure power.

So tonight a guy is coming up from Calgary, I think he wants to see me. Maybe its a date. I am not sure, but could at least go for a coffee with him. I is supposed to snow tomorrow, so I am going to drive the car in.

Update on the old guy at Starbucks. Apparently he has passed away. His whole life at the end was people watching at Starbucks, even when he was in the hospital, he wanted to go there. The person that told me is the manager. He said there are a couple of customers who fall asleep there that he is not sure will wake up. As cops and firefighters hand out there, I guess we'd wind up doing CPR.

Enough of my rambling, I can see a pattern here though. I appear to be more job oriented in my weekday posts and more social oriented on the weekend.

Friday

Took the day off, the forecast was for sunny and semi warm temps. After being trapped in the cage for the Winter, I needed to ride.

I slept in, and went to the gym when I woke up. If I had putzed around with coffee and breakfast I probably never would have got to gym. Five miles in good time. Then home, I had scrambled eggs with grated cheese and bacon.

I decided to take the long way into the city. I headed down 16 West to Tofield exit and then South. There was a pretty good headwind, I wasn't leaning this time. When headed South I was leaning, to compensate for the cross wind. A sport bike turned South on the same rode, we was going pretty fast. I was not going as fast :)

At the gym I continued reading the book about Gay Men and loving. The guy is into the therapy section, specifically transference. This is a weird concept where the therapist moves into a relationship with the patient that is equivalent to the parents. I guess they have to follow some rules.

Anyway, the next topic was the one that got me thinking. Apparently we program our Limbic section early on in life. In computer terms this would be the BIOS. It is damned hard to change this memory in a human. This is at the core of your thoughts. This programming explains why some people go from one abusive relationship to another.

Well anyway I had to stop reading as the concept resonated with me. Remember a couple of weeks back I posted a link to the big bang theory. Inception, the inception of a thought is is where God is. Let's follow the bubble now, you have a though, about anything, add a little God. I don't think that God programs or influences the though, but he might help with it's promotion. Next we add the inherent knowledge, located in the limbic system. This is your programming, it is how you react. Then add more conscious thoughts and profiling and you have a thought, which may lead to an action.

Fo the most part the action is good. Buddhists may look for signs of enlightenment in the thoughts/actions. They could analyze anyones thoughts or actions, in meditation. They don't normally, but every once in awhile something profound happens. Einstein's Theory of Relativity, the Aria in the movie Diva (La Wally), Van Morrison's 'Astra Weeks', Ginsberg's 'Howl' and many other examples. In fact there is a whole religion, which looks for these signs of enlightenment, the Baha'i Faith.

Anyway, I will ponder that some more. Good to think about when riding, running or any form of mediation.

So I am sitting at the Starbucks I have been coming to for the last 6 years. It is afternoon and some of the regular older folks, who congregate here, are here.

The Queen Bee(QB) is hilarious, she has a germanic accent. Here significant other used to come here. They used to park him here, he'd sleep. She would take off and go hang out with others. He would be here. After a couple of hours, someone would come and pick him up. I wrote about this about two years ago, I thought they were particularly cruel , it seemed like Starbucks was the babysitter.

Anyway, she is here today, the old guy is not. I haven't seen him in about a year. When I came in, I specifically wanted to write about the inception thing and primal learning. Queen Bee said some pretty rude things in the first 10 minutes I was here, a couple of old people left. She said the woman was only with the guy for his money. Looking at the guy, as her entourage were, I figured he has about 2 years left at best. Apparently he is rich, so she wants to hang out with him. I bet it is better than being alone. The lady came out and is now weeding the garden outside the Starbucks. QB is saying the woman is so nosy, the entourage agree.

Bikers were the next topic, maybe she can't see my chaps, helmet and gloves. Oh well. It takes all kinds and I guess her little cabal are curing the problems of the world. I sure hope they vote.

Riding yesterday I did something that I wasn't supposed to do, according to bike training, but it saved my bike. There is a lot of sand on the road, sand and bikes are not friends. I went down Queen Elisabeth hill, a great zigzag. There is a sharp left hand turn at the bottom. I slowed right down and turned the corner, I felt the rear wheel slide. I put my left foot on the ground to pivot. This is the part you are not supposed to do, although dirt bikers do it all the time. The stars were aligned, the right combo of brakes, gas and foot prevented my bike from tipping on the road - and probably costing me about $1200

Goodbye Otterbox

I got mail today, the Survivor iPad case arrived. It is made by Griffin. I knew I needed a new case, the Otterbox was cracking and it didn't feel stable. I ordered a Griffin online.

I took the case off the iPad, it was literally falling apart, the rubber outer part was torn. Anyway it came off a lot faster than it went on.

The new case was already assembled, the picture shows ALL the instructions.

I went to Remedy and got a Tandoori Chicken Wrap, oh, I rode bike to the city - it is 14C out and sunny. My wrist is a bit sore as I have no throttle lock, I was riding into the wind for the 100 km trip, and leaning over sideways, the wind was coming at an angle.

So I am sitting here with the rubber part off the case and am trying to separate the hard plastic parts. They didn't come apart as easy as they do in the instructions. People at Remedy were staring at me, I swear a woman was going to come and help me.

I kind of stick out, I have the helmet on the table, a big knapsack...well that's not an issue here, everyone has a knapsack. They are all two strappers, if you know what I mean.

I finish the wrap and I must have pushed the hard case the right way, it came apart. It has a hard plactic cover, so I took the screen guard off the iPad - to tell you the truth it was kind of gross, it needed a change.

The buttons all work, there is one problem with the rear facing camera though, there is a rubber flap, the flap does not get out of the way, so you have to hold it to take a picture.

While riding on a bike in the city you don't get the urge to text, there is always something to look at. A funny thing though, over by 75th Street there is a restaurant, it is a Sushi Restaurant now. But that is only recent. About three years ago I went there, they were having a Bikini Bike Wash, $20 to have your bike washed, they said the money went to charity. The place hosting it was a strip club.

Well I have sat here long enough, it is 18:45 and the sun is still up. The days are getting longer, headed for 21 June, which is a really long day.

One last thing on Trayvon and Zimmerman. I do not think Zimmerman is a racist, he is a guy caught up in his cop wannabeness. He profiled Trayvon and then things went bad. I am saying this from a white Canadian point of view.

The budget came out today, our department does not sound like it is most effected. Another way of saying we are safe.

The meeting I chaired went ok and the Month End report is out. I took Friday off, long weekend for me.

Wednesday

No, I didn't forget about the blog!

t has been a busy week. Fire practice on Monday nights pretty much takes it out of the blog day.

We practiced some confined space rescue, Andy, our guy that passes out where ever he feels like it, passed out in a crawl space under a hospital. We had to crawl in there, wrap him up and drag him out. We did it effectively, gotta practice the training.

Tuesday, blah, I didn't feel like doing anything. Basically watched a lot of TV.

Today was busy, I got to work and had settled into checking a whole pile of emails. I was on the third one when a boss came up behind me and proceeded to give me shit. She said I shared something with another office. I said, "I did, when?' I checked through my 'sent' emails and could not find what she was looking for. She said I chatted with the guy a lot. Didn't I know I wasn't supposed to......now don't leave a question like that hanging out there hanging like that. "No, I didn't, is there an email?" She stormed off and interrogated someone else.

Later there was a teleconference with Ottawa (head office is there, so to speak). Slam dunk in the conference. I was on a roll.

The third meeting today was a bust, I represent the Fire Department at it. It appears that they want to hear from the EMS and RCMP but not Fire, we have all the cool stuff though. Other than being recorder I wonder why we are there.

Its is Wings Night, having a plate of hot and some beers. I am reading a flyer on the Full House Lottery (a hospital fund raiser). In the flyer is a 5600 square foot house, who needs that. The description is something else.
'The Bristol is a ravine property s o grand it deserves its very own showhome parade. Enjoy the comforts of a master bedroom as large as a downtown condo where you can enjoy your very own cappuccino bar. Or throw a VIP party around a curved bar with a martini shaped sink then show off your latest moves on a disco dance floor featuring leather tiled flooring.' The pics are at fullhouse.ca

Sarcasm time, a bunch of gay guys should get together and buy tickets for this thing, to fully utilize the dance floor and the cappuccino bar. Just saying.

Speaking of gay stuff, you knew i'd get to this. NOM which is an organization that is trying to ban gay marriage appears to have acting inappropriately, or as Church Lady would say 'as non-Christians' They were trying to start a war between African Americans and gays.

In California a court case is going forward forward to have health insurance pay for a same sex partner's medical costs. To any straight people reading this, this is what the fight is about. People that are in a relationship for a long time are not afforded the same rights as married people. Whats worse is the estranged family shows up to claim the estate of a dead person in a same sex relationship AND they have more rights that their surviving partner.

Finally, Trayvon Martin. The case has hit critical mass. The friend of George Zimmerman was demolished on Lawrence O'Donnell's show and today, George Zimmerman's defense completely fell apart. ABC News showed the video of George with his broken bloody nose and head wounds going into the Sanford Police Station. The problem, no blood, no bruises. He is related to a retired judge named Zimmerman.

In my job I have to deal with high profile or contentious cases, it would appear that some of the cops knew that this was one of those cases. So they deferred to the wiseness of the higher ups. The Florida Attorney General decided not to go ahead with charging Zimmerman. The cops are now left holding the bag. And the bag is disintegrating. I hate it when people in a higher pay grade slough off their responsibility and expect the plebs to do the needful. Poor cops, time to expose the whole thing.

The law that is being referred to in the case is the Stand Your Ground law. It would appear that the legislators in Florida were too busy to write this law. They bought a pre-written law, written by the National Rifle Association. It's like they bought an APP and didn't read the fucking manual before they put it into operation. It's legality is in question. Trayvon, you may have had some issues with figures of authority, but you did not deserve to die, for your issues. George, you are not a cop, you now will never be one. Time for you to go and confess to the whole thing and make it right. Life sucks sometimes, but for the good of your country, you have to man up.


president Obama, it looks like you may have taken a chance, it appears the chance was on the right side. Trayvon is not a Rodney King, the circumstances are not the same, in this case it looks like Trayvon was profiled and killed. The United States has to learn from this mistake and make Trayvon's life worth something.

Walk of Shame?

Well this is kind of interesting. Last night after the bike ride and writing the second blog, my friend Robert joined me a Woody's.

Robert, aka Thelma went on a road trip to Toronto to pick up an elderly friend and bring her back to Alberta. She was in a home and it was time for her to leave. So he drove to get her. There was talk before he left that I would go, but I couldn't have been gone as long as he was. Robert is 68, retired. The Thelma name is from being in the Court in Toronto. This is just stuff that is way over my head, ask someone in the Court to explain it to you.

Robert told me all about the trip there and back, he took a convoluted route back as he had to go visit another Court person, in their 90's, in Albuquerque.  After he was done retelling the story, i took off to eat.

I re-joined Robert later. We went to the Junction where ironically, there was a Court function, sort of. I saw some people that I had not seen in a long time. I spent time walking around and talking with a lot of people. During the intermission, they 'girls' had to go out side to smoke, I saw a friend I hadn't seen in a year. We have known each other for a long time. I rarely have seen him as he was a long haul truck driver. Now he works for a towing company. We would up hanging out for the rest of the night.

Brian and I have not had too much luck when we go out. One night a couple of years ago we were hanging out all night and it looked like things were going one way, but then a guy came a long and seriously hit on Brian, so it never occurred. I am leery whenever that person is around as he has a tendency to be interested in whomever I am speaking to.

When the show was over, Robert bolted for someplace else, so did most of the crowd. Brian, my buddy and I went to another bar. Actually we weren't going to the bar, we just wound up in there. We had a couple of more beers, neither of us had to drive anywhere. Brian smokes, so at different times he went outside to have a cigarette. I saw a friend of mine at the bar, a guy used to have a crush on, Neil. I had a short conversation with him. The last time Brian went for a cigarette, he got locked out. He texted me and said they would not let him back in. So I get my coat and leave.

When we got outside, Neil was standing there, smoking. He asked us if we wanted to go to his place to have a couple of drinks. We did. Long story short. We had some drinks. Neil cooked some far out meal. We watched Weekend on Netflix and then we all wound up in bed.

To the Puritans don't worry, nothing happened, we were all too drunk.

In the morning we were just talking and joking around and then Brian and I headed off to get our cars. We were walking down the street and Brian said what I was thinking, 'It feels like the walk of shame.'

I made arrangements to meet up with him again in a couple of weeks (Read Tow Truck Driver = Shifts).

Brian and I kissed and then who should show up, his car was parked near the bar too; Robert. Brian needed to do stuff so I wound up going for breakfast with Robert. Then we went to an Auction. Never have done that before. I was sort of cruising the crowd. The crystal part of the auction was a real bore and the stuff kept on coming. I almost bought some golf clubs, but they went over $150.

I departed leaving Robert there to bid on the item he wanted. I returned home. Man am I tired, early night for me. All in all a really good weekend.

Runner's high

Well runner's high doesn't just happen after running. A good day of riding can induce it. I got it.

I rode in the River Valley from Groat Road to Capilano Bridge. Then I crossed the bridge and up some stairs to Forest Heights, not sure. I rode from there down Whyte Avenue and back to where i started. Bonus, I got free unlimited parking on Jasper Avenue, no ticket.

I got soaked! I am glad I had shorts on and a hoodie, I was easy to clean up.

The guy from earlier had taken 4 hours to ride from Vermillion to Mundare, he had run out of energy. I pretty much ran out of energy after my ride.

A wacky bunch of right wing cops are commenting on Trayvon. They are pushing for all civilians to be carrying (concealed weapons). They have a picture of a cop back to back with a determined white woman, each have their guns out. Going back to the earlier thing on firemen. Some EMT's and Police think that with new construction there is less need for Firemen. Now lets take the everyone carrying idea further. What would we need Police Officers for? The Florida self defense statute could be the law of the land. You could shoot anyone and come up with a lame excuse. Police would be reduced to handing out speeding tickets. In Indiana, you could shoot a police officer entering your house.

I am sure Jon Stewart and Bill Maher would do better with this. Just some thoughts when I was biking.

Now another beer

Saturday -

This is probably part one of a blog but who knows, I may get busy.

The other night got interesting, the night the fluffy flakes were falling. The first call came at 17:00 - a truck hit a power pole. We had to got out. The wind starting blowing and there was snow everywhere. Basically did traffic there, the utility company had to disable some downed power lines.

About 2 hours after that call, we got a call about a semi blocking the highway. This was going to be a long call, seven hours in total. While we were at that call another call came in - we had a crew go and handle it - all Motor Vehicle Collisions (MVC). Accident is a term which is passe. We do traffic and babysit MVC's, the RCMP aren't saddled with this. Which is not the case in other places. I am a member of a site where the cops and EMT's regularly blast fire fighters as having nothing to do. I used to try and explain things, but EMTs will never think that fire fighters do anything, and they appear to be able to say anything they want. Firefighters have given up. Oh, the firefighters did get the driver out of the truck and deliver him to the EMTs at our scene.

Friday, well I went to work late, as I needed to sleep after getting home at 4 am. Did nothing Friday night. president Obama waded into the Trayvon Martin case. He said basically Trayvon could be his son. I can see some resemblance, maybe no the best phrasing. The Republicans were right on this though, they attacked Obama.

The Republicans are quickly running out of people that may vote for them. They have pissed off women, none-christians, gays, educated people and now they are going after blacks. I guess they figure, the 1%, Alabama and Mississippi with get them a president.

Stayed in last night, my friend Robert is in the city today, so we are going to hang out later.

The army was doing exercises in town, they were all parked behind my place. One patrol went right by the front window. That was fun, but I wasn't going to watch them all day.

The sun came out, decided to head into the city with mountain bike to go for a ride. So here I am on the highway, Dance to the Music by Sly & the Family Stone was playing. I go past Mundare corner and there is a guy hitching, with a bike. I drove past, and then went back and got him. I have a bike rack, not too many people do in March.

When I pulled up, I assessed the situation. He was basically in the middle of nowhere, with a bike. He said he was riding from Vermillion, which is about 80 kms East of where he was, to Edmonton another 80 kms West. I chcked him out, he did have bike clothes on. He was kind of unkempt though. I decided I'd be safe. His story was all convoluted, we talked on the way into town. He fixes bikes, the one he had was light and in good shape, I figured it was worth close to $1000. Drove him into the city and dropped him off at the Starbucks I normally go to - which is where I am writing this story.

Coffee is almost finished, the sun is still out. Now is the time to go get dirty :)

It's snowing

I stare out my living room window on this Thursday afternoon. As I do, great big fluffy snow flakes are falling. There is hardly and wind. The snow is piling up on the grass, but the side walks are just wet. No shovelling.  It was 7C yesterday and sunny. It actually felt like Spring.

Yesterday I was 'Uncle Buck', well not really but I was minding three kids - 1,3 and 7. They are their own persons. I have a son, he was enough work. Three are full time work. The 3 year old is the most though, she never stops talking. When she first saw me yesterday she said, 'I talk in my sleep' to which I responded, "is that because the day is too short.' It was fun, may do it more often, my friend works out of the house doing hair. She needs some help with the kids.

I am attaching the video about inception - it gives you something to think about when looking up at the stars. BTW it should be Via Lactea - the error in the first minute. I am listening to this while typing. To hell with my ancestors being royalty, I stepped out of a Super Nova, a star died for me.

I think my real job, the Immigration one could be accused of being ADD. We are trying to upgrade to a new computer application and reorganize the organization at the same time. No details will be shared, but I am finding that my usually fun job is becoming a challenge. I like challenges, pretty soon the change will become the norm. Just have to stay away from the naysayers.

Trayvon's case is getting bigger. The Police Chief has stepped down, for a break. In the story though it says he resigned. The poor kid, is this going to be a 'Skittle Defence' ?

Kudos to the French for taking care of the crackpot. To be honest when I read that he died jumping through a window with his weapon firing all I could think of was Jason Bourne going down in a blaze of fire. The sick  
fact is the guy was planning to kill more people. He didn't get his wish.

Watched the season finale of Southland last night. A great show. It  is done on a low budget and has a few stars, not that many. The stories, as weird as they are are based on stories from real cops. The writers have no trouble showing life as it is for a police officer. There is a chance that this was the last season, the ending left it like it could be. I really hope that the series is renewed.

No major discussions on the personal side, I was over the top last time. The book I am reading is still filtering in. I still haven't seen an example case that is close to mine. Not really close to Dad and close to Mom till about 7 or so and then it was like she was replaced by someone else. So basically nurturing till 7 or 8 then.........(well there is really nothing to but after then, it was Greg trying to cope with the cards that were dealt). I think I did pretty good, now to find some one. First thing I know I have to do though is to stop going to my safety net bars in the city. They are dying and there is no challenge there. It is the same people all the time and when I go to the night club, there are 18-23 year old. Sorry, no interest.

Of course, you don't need to go to a bar, but they are easier places to meet people. On a bike though, you often bump into guys that just want to go for a ride and hang out. Isn't that the old way to meet people, doing something you like doing. Then you are playing your A Game, not something that you are doing cause someone told you they know someone who knew someone that met their spouse or significant other at a super market and blah blah blah. I don't notice a gaggle of people in the Vegetable section pondering.

The weather is supposed to be good for bike rides next week. Maybe next weekend a trip to Calgary.

Later

A mess of pretty personal stuff

No blog yesterday, I was kind of disappointed in myself, after all I did go to the gym. I told a friend if you can make a commitment to working out, a blog is nothing.

Well yesterday I waded into the SSgt Bales incident. The guy that shot 16 people in Afghanistan on 11 March 2012. Weird date, 10 years and 6 months after another event, which took US and NATO troops to Afghanistan.

Me being a writer tried to empathize with the guy. I got shot down, it made me know want to write an opinion again. But today at the gym I worked it out.

I have been on mefloquine - here is a link (ipad and blogger don't allow imbedded links) http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/meds/a603030.html

Read the side effects. I didn't read them before I went merrily on my way.

I started taking the drug as prescribed and went on my way to Pakistan. I was going there for work. We read the books and got all the shots. It was recommended that you be on an anti-malaria drug. So I was.

Got to Islamabad after a long flight from Ottawa, via London. It was about 3PM when we arrived there. After getting to the guest house where we'd be staying, a friend and I set off to meet up with the Hash House Harriers, a drinking club with a running problem. I was a member in Edmonton, and they even had one in 'dry' Pakistan. At the end of the run there is a down, down (Hashers like to repeat words). At the down down, you get to drink beer, really fast. In pakistan you can drink beer in a compound. Basically all houses are in a compound (therefore you can drink in there).

After the run we went back to the guest house. I get ready for bed, I was really tired, it was a 22 hour hour day and it ended with running and drinking. Sleep should be easy.

I slept for 20 minutes, I awoke from a really strange dream. I think after an hour I got another 20 minutes of sleep and awoke from an even stranger dream.

We had to start the next day, Monda.y. We learned a pile of stuff and got down to our real jobs in the afternoon on the Monday. It involved assessing and interviewing people.

The lack of sleep and the weird dreams went on all week. I was still taking the pills. By Friday I was a wreck, paranoid as hell. I do not know how I made it through the interviews, 8 a day. On Friday there were no interviews. The place I was working had a nurse, who was Canadian. There was no doctor, if I wanted to see one i'd have to go to a Pakistani hospital. That wasn't happening.

The nurse looked at my list of shots and then asked why I was taking the mefloquine. I showed here the sheet with what we needed, which we got from the employer. She said 'The last mosquito, carrying malaria died a few years ago, near Karachi. We are hundreds of miles from there.' She recommended I stop taking it.

I did, it took about a week, but I felt a lot better.

Back to Bales, he shouldn't have been there. It appears that he was stationed at a base where the 'fit for duty' assessments were not reliable. I am not sure if he was on any meds which altered your reality, but if he was....a person could add that to: financial hardship, a marriage in trouble, young children, not wanting to be there, an economy in USA which fell apart and a war in Afghanistan for which there was no mission. Give this guy a fully automatic weapon. I am glad I only had a pen.

That's it for that. I don't think I need to read anymore on that story. Nor about Trayvon Martin - the security guard should not have had a gun. George Zimmerman should turn himself in.

I am reading a book at the gym. I tend to read autobiographies and psychology books on the treadmill. These are books I buy with the intention of reading, but just like Gatsby, never get to actually reading them. So I have read Tom Judd's book, 'Playing by the Rules' - Justin Elzie and a book a SEALS, Reflexive Fire by Jack Murphy. Now I am reading Commitment and Healing: Gay Men and the Need for Romantic Love, Richard Isay. I read the reviews on this book before I read it, they were glowing.

I can't identify with any of the subjects in the book, I can identify with parts of their history, but not all of it. It discusses Gay men and their relationships with their mothers. It is a tempest in a teapot. When gay men get into relationships, their father becomes a factor. As I said I have found out that I am a combo plate which I have to work on.

It does discuss one issue though that Plato and Erich Fromm have covered. A lot of men will say they don't need someone to make them whole.Well that is true, you can exist as a human and function normally (points finger at self). Will 'Richard Corey' be your theme song or 'I am a Rock'?. But if you really want to enjoy life, find someone and love them. This is a work in progress.

My life has been a series of substitutes for love. Gay men were most likely sissy boys until they left high school. I can honestly say, I never want to go back. To compensate for this, you decide either to come out or you devote yourself to something - and stay in the closet. That something, work, art, writing, sports becomes your new partner.

Looking back on my partners (the non people ones) they have been:

Music - was pretty good on the relationship of bands to other bands and I wondered into liking some pretty cool stuff.

Mountain biking: I started mountain biking, I don't know why. But I'd go for long rides in the River Valley. Really long rides. Sometimes I'd forget to eat.

Running: well riding a bike got to be a pain, it is pretty windy in Alberta. It always felt like you were going up hill on a bike. I embraced running again, in High School I was pretty good at it. I have run 2 Marathons and about 20 half marathons.

Writing: I could always write, I just had motivation issues. When I had to do reports in my job, they were pretty good. I passed some university courses on writing alone, with some basic understanding of a theory. I have written a book, and I want to write another one. Even if no one else reads it.

Cigarettes: It was something to do. Maybe I was being anti-social, but I think I met more people when I was smoking than I have when I quit.

Motorbiking: This is a high risk activity and I probably enjoy it more than anything thing else I have ever done, save sprinting to the finish line at the end of a Marathon. I have got runner's high on a bike, the most memorable happened last year on Road to the Sun highway. About 5 miles of a twisting and winding road on the side of a mountain. All alone.

So I have to learn how to tie all the above into meeting a man. I have to learn to forgive my mother, who drove me nuts. I am working on my father, probably not as hard as I should be.

Thanks for reading, this is probably more personal than I wanted to be when I had the thought to write this. But if God truly is at the inception of thought, it is where it was supposed to go. No one got hurt.

Quick update - 18MAR2012

This is why I like to post in the afternoon, I have more data.

As I said, the earlier post was a spurt of words that had to get out.

Since I wrote that, I started reading a new book. Commitment & Healing - Gay men & relationships.

I believe in Chaos Theory, and I guess you get to a point in your life where you have to change. I hit my wall. Some people operate on a 7 year or so time period. W.here you cause a renewal every set period of time. Mine is here.

In the New York Times there was an article on aging - that tied in nicely with the book. Oh, I read the book at the gym.

If you want to understand gay people, I suggest reading this book. The author uses different people to show his points. He was a therapist. It will be a great ride. The book is written by Dr. Richard Isay, and is available on Kindle

I saw 21 Jump Street, it is a stupid comedy, but it is really freaking good. Channing Tatum plays dumb really well. It was a little gay at the end, or should I say emo. (In Iraq they'll stone you for being either).

Later - hanging out in a bar in Edmonton with Scaryoakie

I Support You

No post yesterday, I was hung over from Friday, St Patrick's Day Eve.

When I got back from the city, I went to the bar out the back door (there is one out the front door too). I went in for the proverbial 'one'. My friend Terry was there, Terry is a painter and hilarious. He is a Jets fan, who is happy as there is a team in Winnipeg again. Sitting with Terry was another guy, Darryl.

One beer lead to another. After two I told the bartender I had to stop as I was going to drive back to the city, in the car. I went to the bar after coming from city on the bike. I was a bit cool, not frozen, but I had to warm up.

Anyway, Terry was getting drunker and and drunker, he doesn't come to the bar that often, but this is what happens.I was going to go to the city to hang out with my friend Robert and go to Woody's 10th anniversary party. I really intended to go as I was supposed to work overtime on Sunday, so I knew I couldn't go out too late on St Patrick's Day.

About halfway through the second beer the owner of bar came in, bought a round. I said sure. Then another couple of guys came in and more beer. It was only 9 pm, but it appeared I would have to sober up for a long time for an hour long drive. Robert had not texted back. I said screw it, why go to city for a party when there was one going on here - and I could crawl home.

I think I have said I have no gaydar, the supposed ability of gay men to find other gay men in a social situation. I just don't have it. I can spot a lesbian at 200 yards, but not a gay man. Well, I can spot the really obvious ones. You don't need gaydar.

So anyway, I wasn't speaking loud or trying anyway to bring attention to myself. I was wearing a Buffalo Fire Department sweatshirt and chaps over my jeans. I just got off bike, parked it in garage and walked to the bar. Terry came from work, he is a painter. You can guess how he was dressed. It takes a village, people.

But I digress. A guy further down the bar from Terry caught my eye. He was sitting with another guy and they were talking and watching hockey. I started to notice over the period of time that he would stare over at us, me in particular. Maybe it was my attire. I thought it was wishful thinking, but he continued to do it openly after several other guys joined him. Guys from the local hockey team. I made eye contact a couple of times, it was intense. Nothing further happened, but its a small town. I am wracking my brain trying to figure out where I know him from.

After awhile everyone started to leave and I was there by myself, I order a beer just before they all left. I spoke to Sandy, the bartender while I finished my beer and then left.

It was early, I went home, changed and then went to the bar out the front door. It was a friend's birthday and we proceeded to get smashed.

Yesterday was pretty quiet as I had a hangover. Not a major one, I just didn't feel like doing anything. I watched some TV and then a movie on Netflicks.  I went to bed around 10:30 as I was going to work overtime today.

This morning I got up, made coffee and sometime before 8 I decided I wasn't working overtime. I did some Sunday morning reading. Made a comment on an Agnostic's site. I am not religious, I believe there is a God an many ways to get to God. I don't believe anyway is the right way. The rule of entropy applies though, the simpler that better (or less wasteful). Geez, Less Wasteful is deep.

The Agnostic persons was discussing good and evil and relating it to more than humans. A friend Bernard, who is one of the smartest people I have ever encountered made a comment. Following up on his parameters, I commented that inhabitants on the Earth, other than humans, rely on instinct more than good and bad (evil). They just do.

Further bouncing around, a friend Scott, shared an article on a jock named Scott, from the Ottawa area. I went to school there. Scott is a jock, who is now out to everyone. This was a long process and it is detailed in the article

Scott made a lot of Youtube videos, I am going to share two. The first one deals with a subject that many gay men and women face. The realization that it is not a choice, being gay just is. Scott tried to change it, as did I. That leads to denying yourself - which is bad, or evil.

I am linking this video as it made me cry. This kid said exactly how I felt when i realized it wasn't a choice. I actually remember lying on a bed trying to will myself to death. When that wasn't working, I was going to the kitchen.....

http://youtu.be/08pK-YQYmEw

The news media have been reporting the number of gay kids that are committing suicide in the US and Canada. In some cases the kids were out to their families and friends. They just could not accept the hand that was dealt. One guy Tyler Clementi jumped off the George Washington Bridge near Rutgers, New Jersey. The events leading up to that tragedy were detailed in the court case which involved his room mate. Dharun Ravi verdict in Clementi suicide.

The Republican Party in the United states are trying to chose a new candidate to run against President Obama in November. One of the candidates has started to campaign on social issues, as it appears he has hit a nerve with some people. I am not sure what it is with the Republican Party, they pride themselves on the individual and small government. Less interference in people's lives. Pierre Elliot Trudeau in Canada said 'There is no place for the state in the nation's bedrooms.' Although Mr. Trudeau was a Liberal, I would think that Republicans would have no problem with that statement. Except Rick Santorum. He wants an * on this. There are times when the state should be in the nation's bedrooms, especially the gay bedrooms. He is running on hate, Scott in his video nails it. It doesn't matter how much we come out, we will never feel comfortable holding hands in public, kissing or any public display of affection.

Anyway, as an Immigration Officer and a Firefighter, I Support You to be the best you, you can be.

Rode a motorcycle to a Starbucks and wrote a blog

Took off from work early so I could ride bike into the city. It is 100 km/60 miles. It was kind of iffy around 10 am. The sky went dark and it looked like it was going to pour, or worse.....I prayed for wind. God came through.

It was supposed to go to 9 in Edmonton, it is 5, it is 10 in Vegreville. The wind was blowing into my face on the way into the city. Hopefully it will be behind me on the way out.

No line up at motor vehicles - SCORE!

I tried riding around Edmonton, too many red lights. The visor on my helmet kept fogging up at each light.

Made it to a Starbucks to warm up, downed the first coffee fast, free refills here, so having another one. I was thinking of staying in the city tonight, I think not; 5 is the high tomorrow. I may go back and get car and come back, who knows.

I have chaps on, not for looks, they actually work on the wind!

Today was an ok day at work. Managed to finalize some stuff on a criminal case I have been working on. I guess the persons won't be happy.

Southland last night was incredible. Honestly this is an incredibly written TV series. Some people are complaining about the length of the season. I think if they made it too much longer they'd water it down. It is intense and makes even cops yell at the screen. I am on a message board with some police officers, and they posted that they were. One more show left in Season 4. I pray there is a Season 5.

I have a link to a very funny video. It is about border collies - iPad app doesn't allow for imbedding, or I'd do that.
http://www.lifewithdogs.tv/2012/03/border-collie-will-round-up-your-mates-on-st-patricks-day/

I saw an article on whether the iPad will eliminate the desktop/laptop. I guess it could, but there are some issues, no Flash and more and more videos are not compatible with mobile devices.

I could never retire, i am flypaper for freaks. A bi-polar guy with heightened paranoia is here. He used to hang out at Cafe le Gare, years ago. There was a communal table there where the regulars sat. He would sit there sometimes and rant his rants.

Fast forward, Le Gare closed, we scattered all over the place. I go to a Starbucks on Jasper in what could be called the 'Gay Village' if there was such a thing in Edmonton. Anyway, he rides a mountain bike, dressed like a biker. Not a mountain biker, a Harley biker. Oh well, c'est la vie.

I am on the second cup of coffee, may have to stop at a rest stop on the way home. Groat Road is out, the streets have not been cleaned, so there is too much sand. Groat is Edmonton's only curvy road. It is 2 km of excitement, bikers tend to get carried away on it. 100 + in a 50.

Later

Ides of March 2012

Not so warm today, only got up to -2. I did come home and get bike at lunch time.

The big news today was a visit from the Treasury Board to our office. It was sort of a surprise visit, sprung on us yesterday. Treasury Board (TB)is the banker of the Government. The various departments and agencies go to them for cash. TB allots money around this time of year. I guess the higher ups are trying to get more money for our office....as are all other departments, for their offices.

The caliber of the people that showed up though is quite high. So they showed up this morning. My Supervisor went to a meeting in the morning, after the meeting was over she came and saw me. They wanted to meet with my about my section.

I ran home at lunch to change from jeans, which I normally wear to a suit.
I picked up the bike too, so I had a suit on (tie in pocket) and dress shoes. Lucky I didn't wipe out.

I got back to work, and finished some stuff. I proceeded to wait, and wait, and wait. Finally 45 minutes after I was supposed to be off, the Sup comes and tells me they won't be coming to my section. Darn, I wanted more money too!

Got home and changed. The bike is in the garage. I am relaxing tonight. I didn't watch Southland last night, but from some cops I know who did, they were yelling at the TV. I will watch it soon (I had to do this).

My kind of educated opinion on Afghanistan. NATO and the US should get out as soon as possible. This is a loser war. Alexander, the British, Buddhists and the Russians have not won in that country. They are fighting the wrong war. The Taliban, hosts to Al Qaida, want to create an Islamic country to lead the rest of the Muslim world. This is in DIRECT conflict for what the people of Afghanistan want.

They want to grow their poppies, sell them and do what ever else they do. They don't want to be told what to do. They are not muslim by choice, they are muslim by invasion. The West ironically is on the same side as the Taliban, except Westerners are a visible minority. The Taliban can talk the locals into attacking the Westerners.

This has to stop. The West should negotiate with Karzai to buy the poppy production of the country. They can then use what they need for medicinal purposes and destroy the rest. This will bring stability to the country and maybe the region. The cost of the poppies will be a lot less than the cost of war and people. A Army Captain in a response to me in another blog suggested that the US will be there as long as they have been in Germany and Italy. Well that is misguided. The West will never be welcome there.

Tomorrow is going to be nice, at least that's what the weatherman says. I am heading to Edmonton about halfway through the day to register my bike for 2012. May stay over, I am not sure. Have to come back for Sunday....overtime.

Wednesday, Ides of March Eve (2012)

I actually slept in this morning! I forgot to turn on the alarm clock. I woke up around 05:40 and lay there, as usual, awaiting the noise from hell. I appeared to be a long time, longer than normal. I looked over and it was 20 past. Good thing this was a non-shave day.

Yes, I am the opposite of a bear, at 56 I can still get away with shaving every second day. I do shave if I have to though, i.e. job interview. But that's not happening soon; nor does it need to!

Got to work, forgot pass. This day was starting great. As everyone was in there I had to call my boss to let me in. So much for sneaking in late. I didn't have pass as yesterday I rode my bike to work after lunch, the pass was in my bike jacket.

I had to work on an essay today, it was like high school. Every second month I have to write a report for the section. It sums up everything we did. It is really entertaining, when it is done. Today was Get it Done Day. The good thing, my alternate supervisor wasn't in!

Do you have one of those, a co-worker that in not your boss, but likes to tell you what to do and how to do it? I do. It is a struggle and has been for 5 years. Sometimes she exhibits all the traits of a bully. Anyway, Hump free on Hump Day.

I rode bike after work. The attached picture is the bike sitting on some pavement while I head back to garage to close the door. Any handy men want to come and install a garage door opener? (I have beer)

I paid the bike insurance today, all the overtime paid off. Bike insurers don't let you pay monthly.....does that mean they think we aren't going to be around. Dorks.

Rode bike to gym, ran four miles and then went for a ride. Some of the old gaffers in town think that a bike never has the right of way, they pull out from the stop sign (I don't have one) and gawk at you - this guy was sucking on a cigarette - probably had smoke in his eyes. His activity is more high risk than mine :).

The 'sergeant' from Afghanistan sent me an email this morning. Apparently he sprained his ankle on their last attack. I hoped it would get better soon. I then asked him a pile of hockey stuff, using hockey jargon...he is from Detroit! Deflection again, no reference to the team he supports or if he even watches it. Have to be careful on basketball though, I am not sure what is going on. Well I know one thing that is going on.....it is March.

This is National Pi Day - so have some pi to celebrate - 3.14........... I listened to Kate Bush sing the number, I think she is still singing.

A pile of big wigs are coming tomorrow. The government is trying to figure out how to reduce staff...from our numbers all they would do is create more work if they got rid of anyone. We are kind of behind.........

Southland is on tonight, only two shows left in the season. It has been the best cop show ever and this is the best season of it. I hope they renew it!

A firefighter in Edmonton was charged with owning a grow op, apparently he used LEDs for lighting. He was growing the stuff in a garage. He is on admin leave, it is not clear whether he is paid or not. I hope this case goes to court fast, you either are or aren't. The lawyer can't say, that the smoke eater found these poor plants and was trying to resuscitate them. Governments want to know how to save money lol

So I got roped into American Politics a couple of years ago when Obama was trying to institute public health care. Some people on Twitter who were friends started to say some disgusting things about Canadian Health Care, i.e 100% mortality rate for anyone that uses our hospitals. Well there is a 100% mortality rate in Canada, but the USA is subject to it too, no matter what type of health care they have. So I started to give facts back, fact and republicans are not friends. Anyway, I lost some twitter friends as I could not put up with the bullshit.

But now, it appears that the republican higher ups have been infected by the same disease. The current crop of candidates for President has only one semi-sane person, but he has sanity issues too. The use of 'san' does not mean I am referring to a candidate with 'san' in his name. I think the guy with two first names is the only one that is credible. But he wants to change some things which shouldn't be changed, i.e. the Civil Rights Amendment. Sorry Mr. Paul

The Ides of March is tomorrow, if you name is Caesar and you have a friend named Brutus, I'd stay in.

Wow they actually do this?

I was reading a story about US Soldiers and dating scams. Apparently there are some people on Facebook and on dating sites that impersonate US Soldiers and hit on single people.

The story attached to it appears pretty credible. The guy compliments you and then woos you - most of the time, the people being scammed were women. Looking for a partner. In my job I have seen it, some times the scam is for money. It could be for permanent residence in Canada. That may be hard in my case.

I had a profile on a dating site. It has been dead for a year, I haven't even gone on it. On the weekend while I was on the course I got an email via the site (I left it mostly in tact)

'Hello.Who says great smiles do not compliment good looks?Yous is a confirmation.You are a very goodlooking man and I would love to get to know you better.I am Gregory,a sergeant e-5 in the usarmy currently stationed in this wartorn city of kabul.It is really an experience being away from home and at the same time having to face the rigors of war but i believe we all have our own stories to tell.I am a very positive man with lots of love to share with the right one,please pardon me for barging on you,i come in peace.Yours sincerely,Gregory..
Here is my personal email address for more convenient conversation..'

So anyway, I answered and said thanks very much. If you saw his pic, you would too.

The conversation happened via email, I didn't go back and re-read the initial email, if I had I would have known something was up.

I had to put in the original email, as it is relevant. I figure it has to be true, other wise why say it.

The first question I asked him, was why he referred to himself as Gregory. It is his first name, I said the only one that calls me Gregory is my Mom, the bank and revenuers. I really got no answer.

In fact I got a lot of no answers to every question I asked. He always asked me to tell me more about myself.

The first couple of days were manic. Afghanistan is 12 hours ahed of us, so it is easy to figure out what time it is.

When I asked specific questions, I go no answers, like the temperature in Kabul right now. I was in Islamabad at this time of year, I know that it starts to warm up pretty good.

I asked what unit he was in, this was a BIG red flag and I should have known from all my reading. He said he was a Sergeant in the USMC. Go back to the original email. No Marine I have encountered would ever say he was in the US Army. The second red flag was more subtle, I asked how long he was in the Cops. He said 17 years and he is getting tired of it. He is 33 and his profile was entered in December 2011. That means he was 16 when he joined up. His birthday is in June.

I am looking back now and these two issues jump out at me. So yesterday we were sending emails back and forth and then he said he was going to bed and would email me later. Nothing came. I sent him a link to this blog, since he asked so many questions.

Today, I just did a search on Google on his name. a Yahoo website was shown as a result. This guy's name was right there - with sgt.

'If it is a person you met online, does not have a military email address, does not have a US mailing address and is asking you to do anything it isnt who he says he is. Also if he is the one the started it through Facebook or online dating service then that's another flag. Trace his IP. If it's too good to be true it probably is.'

OK - gay guys don't normally use their real name on an email address on a site like hotmail, gmail or live. Gave him the benefit of doubt, since he used his. Maybe he doesn't date or is naive.

The event that happened in Kandahar on the weekend was pretty big news and should have impacted this guy. He never mentioned anything. I know that soldiers are told not to disclose stuff. This guy just ignored any questions.

The site where I found his name says he is a Nigerian scammer and that sooner or later a request for an expensive phone, computer or something would come. It didn't come.
Maybe I am lucky.

I don't think if he was a Nigerian scammer that he could keep it up with a guy too long. Sooner or later the questions about sex would trip him up. This would happen before the money started to flow. I think his cover was blown on the women side so he switched to the men side.

I fell for it hook, line and sinker, but as I said. His lack of information was a key indicator. His wanting to leave a farm in Michigan and come live here was an issue, nobody is ready to do that after 10 emails. Even a soldier/marine in Afghanistan.

Kudos to him though, he knew how to get his foot in the door, he said in one of the first emails 'I have been here in Kabul since December of 2011 with the 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force on a special mission here in Afghanistan'.

This wording confused me, no American I know would use this phrasing 'It has been quite an experience being in this was zone with all the killings (sic)and warrings (sic) going on here and I feel ashamed to explain how scared and unhappy I seem to be here now even if I can't show it to my colleagues.'

The Marine Expeditionary force is on a special mission in Afghanistan, it is on their website.

I can see why people fall for it, for a couple of days I was happy as hell. Then reason and logic kicked in.

Rode the bike to work today, then went for a rip after work on the bike. Gym next.

VroomVroom

I was off today. Slept in for about an hour. Got up, did laundry, dishes and started on my homework.

Tuned into WWOZ New Orleans, I can't wait for pledge drive to be over. They were talking a lot. The song Last Train by Alan Toussaint is great though.

I get hit on by a guy serving in Afghanistan. Nice.

I did a sample test and found out where the weak points are in my knowledge. I found them. There is a really 'gay' procedure; but who is going to know?

Judge for yourself, read procedure and pay attention to Rescuer #2s position. The photo, shows what you thought you read.

Fire practice and test tonight.

There is something else....oh yeah. Bike was still not starting. After a night on trickle charger it turned over, actually was running, really rough. Then a backfire and quit. It wouldn't start. I am not a mechanical guy, figured it had something to do with fuel

Went to Napa got some gasoline antifreeze to get rid of water. That didn't work. Went to gas station, got some high test. Put it in, that didn't work. I put some stuff away and tried one more time. It started and sounded normal.

Went for a 20 minute ride. It is 5c out. Went on highway for 5 miles, it appears to be running normally. Sweet!

GetThePopCorn

So fire course, Day 3. The car was still being fixed. I put all my stuff into a back pack and headed to Fire Hall on my bike. 

The day was made up of review, of everything. In the afternoon we were going to do the practical exam. After a morning of tying knots and racing to get dressed as fast as possible, it cam time for lunch.

When I was finally ordering, I was getting really hungry as my body realized it was going to get some food. I ordered my stuff and was just about to pay. I did a check on the bike, I saw two guys in their 20's and a girl heading for the door to come into the restaurant. The guy at the back veered off towards my bike. I thought he was just going to have a look at it. The next thing I saw, just as I was about to pay with the debit card, was my bike heading down the sidewalk.

I bolted out the door and stood in front of the guy who was just starting to get on my bike (One foot On the left pedal, right leg was going over seat). He looked at me and stopped. "What are you doing?" I asked, he said he was riding his bike he just bought from his buddy. I said, "That's my bike." My reality is shifting, I became the Type A guy on the Fire Department that you don't want to screw with.

We said I have to get his money back from his buddy, as he was out it now. I said, he could go do that and to get off my bike. The buddy came out and tried to say that this guy was just goofing. I said he could goof with his stuff. The thief tried to explain he way out. The buddy offered to buy my lunch.  I said no, I think I need to move the bike.

By this time, buddy, the thief, a woman that was in front of me (in the line, she actually left her food), a baby, two sets of grandparents were all staring at me as if I was the bad guy. It appears they were all related to each other.

I got on bike, rode back to Fire Hall and walked over to a different restaurant. I guess I screwed up the extended family's trip to A&W as they all hoped in their mini-vans and took off. No  burger family for them.

I am a non-violent person, but I was about to tackle thief. I guess I was pretty intense looking as he kept backing away. The thing that got me about it was his speed, he didn't look at bike, he just walked over to it and proceeded to take it.

Back to my rant about yesterday, today it was completely different. The packs all went back into the right trucks. She was really polite. I figured my glare in response to her 'Whatever' corrected her attitude.

The practical exam had no knots - BONUS all I had to worry about was speed of putting on equipment and doing the blind search for a body. The instructor said my partner and I were the best he'd seen doing that - he was impressed so was evaluator. We also had to do a confined space drill, which involved taking SCBA off, crawling under a fire truck and then putting it back on without standing up. We aced it.

Thanks for reading. What a great day this was. My bike is back in garage, locked up; the bigger bike should start tomorrow. Life is good.

FireCourse

The car is going to make me broke - lol Oh well. My buddy is fixing the wheel bearings and is changing tie-rods.

I am on a fire course all weekend. A requirement is we have to go back and re-qualify on the basics, per  NFPA. This is a course in the 1001 - I think I have three courses left to be a fully qualified Fire Fighter, with a card and all.

So this course is about the basic equipment and knots. The basic equipment is fun. Getting into and out of bunker gear fast; putting on the air packs and masks. This all has to be done in 2 minutes. A lot of practice. One cool thing is practicing doing searches of buildings. Despite Rescue Me and Backdraft; you cannot see inside a house with a lot of smoke. In order to replicate this, they put garbage bags on our heads, to black out vision. Then we had to search for stuff. Try it. The officers were putting obstacles in our way.

Did the knots, I hate knots. With practice I can do them, I stumble at the start. But I get there. We lift various things with ropes and knots. The clove-hitch and bow-line are the most common ones used. But we have to know others.

I was pretty wiped out today at the end. Not having the car I rode my mountain bike there. As we were cleaning up we had to put equipment back where it came from. A fellow firefighter on the lazy side decided to put her air pack back in the truck where I took mine from. So i put my pack down, to look in a ll the trucks to figure out where I should put it. When I found the truck she was lippy. She didn't see what the big deal was. I told here and she basically thought I was a jerk. Why am I fly paper for these fucktards whenever I have a good day? It sucks.

I came home, it was a nice day. I had to go back to fire hall to get the book and some extra clothes (it is cold in the morning). I was going to ride motor bike, but the motor wouldn't turn over. I am going out in about an hour to see if it will start. I have a trickle charger on the battery. I think it has something to do with the fuel/air mix.

I got a big knapsack and rode back to fire hall to get the stuff. I went to a restaurant to eat supper.

The ride home wound out some of the anger I had built up. But still.

A member of the EMTs in our hall was basically let go. He is a Type A kind of guy that doesn't like cops. He likes to bait them and embarrass them. He drove after drinking more than once, although to be fair, this guy was an easy drunk. 2 beers and he was basically non compis mentis. So then he'd go drive, get stopped, do the breathalyzer etc. He had a lawyer that was good and getting the case dropped due to procedure. These cases caused the police to hunker down on training. Then they wanted to practice, so any firefighter leaving a bar was subjected to a test. I had one.

Long story short, word on the street was I was a drunk and I'd be easy. I passed the test. The cop was kind of pissed off. He still is.

EMT got caught one too many times and he lost his license for a year. I saw him walking to the beer store, I thought he was just trying to be healthy. The EMTs told me all about it. It sucks but more than one guy try to talk to him about his problem, but he wouldn't listen. He has to apply for a job to come back.

Social life still sucks. Getting used to doing everything by myself. Nobody needs no-one, right?

WingNight

it's Wing Night again, time really flies when your having fun!

The OtterBox case for iPad is disintegrating. They have a wicked iPhone case, which is indestructible. The iPad case which is supposed to be durable, is not. I am going to purchase one from a different vendor. The US Army, has a supplier they use, I would think they are harder on iPads thanI am; motorcycle season is coming up!

Speaking of Apple, it was announcement day today. The hype was a new iPad3. Well it is not iPad 3, it is iPad 'New'. It was hyped pretty good, it would be like at the bar and you take someone home that has a hot ass only to find out it was padding in their underwear.

Rogers has no 4G capabilities in this area. HG graphics may look nice, but most apps won't be able to use it. The camera is nice, but I have an iPhone 4S, which is the same camera.

Saves me money, if Apple is slowing down on innovation, this is one Aquarian that won't be blowing $$$ on a new toy every year. I am buying the extended warranty plan for my iPad 2.

This was supposed to be in the last update, a lady in a house two doors down has two dogs. Last week as I was headed to the Bingo meeting (I am the Chair for the Fire Department) I pulled car out of garage and the two dogs were all over me. I guess they were out for their morning poop.

The lady was out corralling them, This was a Saturday morning, she probably had enough of them pawing at door and knew what would happen if she didn't let them out. So she got up, grabbed her coat, put on boots and went out. Literally.

I saw waist length coat, legs and boots. The back of the duplex she is in has no step up to the French Doors, she had to climb up. It must have been a wash day......come on! anyone would look!

Car is fixed for one problem, Al noticed that the left front wheel bearing getting near the end of it's life. That was last week, today it was making all kinds of death noises. Car goes back to Al's garage tomorrow.

Had a case at work that I can speak generally about. In Canada we have same sex sponsorship of a spouse. (spouse being married spouse or in a common law relationship for over a year). So our customer, I am calling him Tinker-bell (TB). He was reported on by not one but two jilted ex's: Sugar Daddy #1 (SD1) and Sugar Daddy #2 (SD2).

This could be a play....lol

TB and SD1 met soon after TB's arrival in Canada. TB moves in with SD1, they must have been doing well as SD1
proposed to TB and they got married. SD1 set TB up pretty good, he wasn't allowed to work, so he got an allowance and all the benefits. Thing is, he was bored during the day. So he started to go out and look for fun. This fun involved him cheating on the spouse. Spouse submitted a sponsorship and assumed everything was ok. The gay community in the town they live in, is like my town. Everyone is into everyone else's business. Guess what, SD1 heard stories about TB. Confronted TB and booted him. Cancelled sponsorship. SD1 got screwed in Divorce Court. He actually had to pay spousal support.

Enter bachelor #2, SD2. SD2 was sweet talked by TB, who was now homeless. TB moves in with SD2, gets the bank account, the bed and all that stuff. SD2 is smarter than the average bear (he thinks) he won't marry TB as he doesn't want to pay support to TB if it goes South. Sponsorship submitted after a year. When SD2 is at work a bored TD starts to entertain, at gyms, bathhouses and solicits on Facebook. That was new for me, I thought poking was just an on-line thing. I didn't think poking, actually meant 'Poking'.

SD2 heard it on the grapevine that TD was not longer a one man, man. He cancels the sponsorship, boots TB out of the communal bed.

TB is sad. He has told all of his friends he is going to sleep his way to being a Canadian. He was writing the book.

With no income, and no way to legally work. TB creates a story of risk to his gay personhood in the home country. It was fake, it didn't work. The appeals didn't work. TB was on his last leg.

In comes Sugar Daddy #3 like a knight in shining armour. TB falls in love, they get married. TB goes all out hiring a lawyer and probably prays all of his previous relationships don't come to light. He must have been praying to the wrong God.

SD1 & SD2 are prepared to testify against TB. It is my informed opinion that SD3 and TB will be having a long distance relationship.


Oh, and back in the old country are two Sugar Daddies who have briefed the in Canada Daddies. TB will have a lot of explaining to do.

Why did I share that? It sounds like everything a soap opera could wish for. TB doesn't even know stuff about SD3 that I know.

The Gay Community has a lot of Tinker-bells and a lot of Sugar Daddys willing to put up with their shit. I guess it sounds good at the 'Oh Woe is Me' Bar. My message, grow up Sugar Daddies, the Tinker-bells will always get bored and move on. Find a guy that can't move so fast.

The restaurant is packed tonight!

Anyway that was my blog for 07 March 2012.

Blogging at a Teahouse

I was supposed to work overtime today, but I didn't. One day a weekend is enough.

The car was fixed on Wednesday night, it is now safe to go on the highway. Edmonton is 60 miles West of here.

I went into the city on Friday to meet up with my son for supper. He got a job! It's at McDonalds, but it is a job and he is on his 5th shift. I am happy he is working.

So we went to Junction Burger Bar, it is owned by Lesbians. It was my first time taking him someplace where there were openly gay people I would meet. Remember I came out to him in December. He noticed that the place was like Cheers, everyone appeared to know everyone. He liked that. He liked the food too. We had a good conversation, mainly planning next year's trip to Mardi Gras. We may even drive, although I don't think he can get that much time off any job.

I went for a beer with a friend we talked about the Sears sales, they sold three big stores in Canada. It would appear it is to make room for Nordstom's. They we were talking about how cowboys get their shirts so stiff, starch. I have never starched anything. I was going to try it.

Today I got up, cut hair, made breakfast and then went to a Bingo meeting. I am the chair of the committee. Fun times.

When I was back home, a firefighter texted me to go to the gym. There is a story here. This guy sort of knows I am out, or should. He injured himself in October and was immobile. Anyway he was always getting me to do stuff with him (and drive him around) until i came out. Then nothing. No texts, no calls, nothing. Last night he sent a text and asked if I were still alive.

Today he had to go to gym for rehab. He was on a stationary bike and i was running next to him. His marriage is screwed. She has decided to move on. there are two kids and she is causing problems. He needs a guy to talk to.So he vented. I told him he could ride the bike at home with porn playing on the big screen. He does nothing all day. He was acting prudish.

So here is what I learned since December. I was wondering why he wasn't communicating. Before I came out I heard him say some not so nice things about a cook at a restaurant, that may be gay. I let this go as he was getting screwed by Workman's Compensation and by the separated wife. This is a small town, it thrives on gossip. When I came out, I am sure if go to him. So he didn't contact me, or answer texts from me. I decided to let it go.

While he was in the non-communicative stage I found out that the two of them were Swingers. The guy that she may or may not be seeing now, was part of the other couple; that they swung with. In the gay community this is not weird. In small town Alberta, it is weird to my thinking. But it is the third case of swinging I have heard in town in the last year. ALL the relationships have gone South.

Back to being a prude. This guy plays me, I swear he knew which team I was on before I came out. Tonight he wants to go for a beer..........

I will post how it goes. All this stuff helps with story writing though. I hard this wicked (yeah you read that right, wicked) thought for a short story.

This may wind up in another blog, one that has warnings, LOL

How about that rush Limbaugh, why is he buying Viagra if he is going to call women who use birth control sluts? Isn't he kind of old to be a new dad?. Does he know what can happen if you don't use birth control?

This Republican pool of candidates are hilarious. What would not be funny, for the World, is if any of these jokers gets elected to be President.

On the gay issues side a couple of things I have been thinking about and have meant to put in here. I do not think the gay population of Canada is 10% nationally. It may be in some cities. But I know for sure, there is nowhere near 10% in this town of 5000. I do not think that there are close to 100k in Edmonton. But when I speak to my friends in the US, even in the Mid West and West, where the population levels are similar to Canada. There are way more gay people there. Thus my singleness.

I was eating Key Lime Pie before i started typing
I am headed to Los Angeles around the end of August to participate in the Sons of Anarchy ride. I will travel through Las Vegas and Palm Springs on the way there. Then return up Pacific Coast Highway.