A rare night out…

Posted on March 5, 2017 by kdarcy21

Last night was the Calgary offices mid-season event.  It was well attended, we took in the Calgary Roughnecks game at the Saddledome.  There were two guys from other offices in Calgary for a few days and I was able to get tickets for them as well.  One of them got caught up with some IT issues so he wasn’t able to attend, the other, from our National office appeared to have a good time.

The Roughnecks have had a rough season but ran away early with this game – It was 6-0 early in the first quarter.  They ended up winning by about 7 goals, it was a pretty exciting game.  It was good seeing co-workers who I have not seen in some time since I have been working from home for nearly 3 years.  I guess that I could make the occasional visit into the office, but thus far, I haven’t gone in too often.  The last time was a half day back in August of 2015, so perhaps I am due.  I sat with a bunch of people from our Solutions group, it was good catching up with them.  I ate typical stadium food, chicken fingers, fries, nachos and ice cream – such a healthy evening.

I got home later than I have been out recently, it was just about 11.  Not late, but for me. later than normal, that’s for sure.  The dogs were happy to see me.  Always nice coming home to dogs who are happy and a house that hasn’t been destroyed.

Today was a cold and snowy day.  I am certainly looking forward to the end of winter this year.  It has been a long, cold and snowy one – a real winter, I guess.  We didn’t do too much today, we napped, watched the end of the Jays game (they lose) and the Flames game (well, we napped for a second time during the second period) and the Flames won on 4 unanswered goals in the first period, beating the visiting Islanders 5-1.  I had a HUGE bet of 5 cents on with a friend from Ontario and look forward to collecting my winnings when I visit.

So, the weekend is nearly over – another one has zipped on by.  Hope yours was good.

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Baseball and lacrosse

Posted on March 4, 2017 by kdarcy21

The Babe Ruth league and team meetings are this morning.  This is the first time I will attend and not be the club manager for the Rockies.  I was wondering how I would feel about my decision from last August and I am happy to report that I am 100% confident that I made the correct decision in stepping down.  The team has a good coaching staff and I wish both the AA’s and AAA’s all the best this year, and in future years of course.  I am looking forward to seeing the players from the other “side” of the field this year, both as an umpire and on occasion, as a spectator.  I made a lot of friends in my three years as the club manager and I am sure those will remain for years to come.

I am handling uniforms this year and thus far, I have enjoyed it.  I have placed our first order for ball pants and they are expected to arrive prior to me heading on my trip.  Today is the last day for players to do sizing for their uniforms and buy extra stuff that is being sold – jackets, hats, etc.

I don’t think I need to speak at the meeting, if I do, it will be quick.  Essentially, it will be something like “if you need something, please email me”…  That speech took a while to write.

Today is also the BDO Calgary mid-season event.  We are going to the Calgary Roughnecks lacrosse game at the Saddledome tonight.  I enjoy lacrosse although the Roughnecks have had a tough season to date.  They got hammered last night losing big time.  Hopefully they pull out a win tonight.  There are a couple of IT guys in the city for some office moves and they are going as well – should be a good evening.

Three weeks and counting until I being my trip.  All is pretty well set – waiting for my passport to arrive, that will be the last step.  Not necessarily looking forward to the flights, that is for sure but looking forward to the experience.

Enjoy your weekend.

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Flights booked…

Posted on March 1, 2017 by kdarcy21

I’ve booked my flights for my upcoming trip.  I leave Calgary on March 24 on the red eye, getting into Toronto around 6am.  I have arranged to rent a vehicle for the weekend, picking it up at the airport.  I searched in Google for “rental cars Toronto airport” and followed the first link that I was provided.  I was shocked at what a good rate I got.  For a 5 seater, mid-sized car, they suggested a Honda Civic, that type, it was $9 per day plus taxes and “fees” – anyway, 3 days, inclusive was $70 some odd dollars.  A fantastic rate for sure.

So, I plan on going into the office for a few hours and then having lunch before heading to Niagara for the weekend.  I am sure it will end up being a very busy weekend.  I will head back to the airport early Monday morning to drop the car off.  I saved a boatload of money by returning it to the airport as opposed to returning it downtown.  I will catch a bus to the first subway station in the west end and then subway it downtown to head to the National office.  I am working 3 days in Toronto and heading out late Wednesday evening.

My first leg is Toronto to Frankfurt, Germany – 7.5 hour flight.  I then have a layover in Germany for 4 hours or so.  The next leg will not be much fun – 11.5 hours from Germany to Mauritius.  I get into Mauritius at 6am local time on the Friday and then have the weekend to get settled in before starting work on Monday.  I will spend three weeks in Mauritius before heading back – this time via Paris and Montreal to Calgary.  I am sure by that time I get back, I will NEED to be home.

The dogs will be in the pet resort for a month.  I am hoping they forgive me quickly, I am sure they will.  They will also likely be exhausted – all they do there is play all day, every day.  They’ll likely have the time of their lives.

All in all, I think it will be a good trip, a once in a lifetime thing.  Guess we will see.

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Mauritius

Posted on February 24, 2017 by kdarcy21

My trip to Mauritius has finally been approved – well, it was mostly approved before, it was highly unlikely that it wasn’t going to happen, it has now been scheduled.

I was able to get a really good rate to have my dogs in boarding at Tree Top Pet Resort so I am extending my away time from Calgary and am going to spend an extra few days in Toronto and a couple of days in Niagara as well.

So, the plan is for me to take the red eye to Toronto on March 24.  I will get into the city at 6:30am or so and plan on heading downtown to the National office for the day.  I am hoping to get a car rental to head to Niagara on Friday evening, I might take a bus, but it will be a lot easier with a car.  I will have dinner with my cousin and Aunt on Friday night and then will head to Niagara for the weekend.  Friends in Welland have offered to let me stay with them for the weekend so that will be great.  A bunch of people are heading to Duff’s in St. Catharines on Saturday night – it has some of the best pizza and wings in Niagara.   The rest of the weekend is wide open, more or less.  There are a couple of spots I like so I am sure to return.

I will head back to Toronto on Sunday evening or Monday morning.  I will be working out of the National office from the Monday through Wednesday or Thursday and staying with my Aunt.  I’m heading to Mauritius on Thursday, perhaps as late as Friday to get there for Saturday.  That will give me a day to get settled in before starting work on the Monday.  I will have three weeks over there.  We are doing training with our IT staff there and are going live 24/7 for support as well.  It will be an interesting trip, I am sure.

I’ve never left North America before, Mauritius is the most remote place to visit from North America, unless you go to Antarctica…  It will be the beginning of fall when I get there and the stormy season will have ended.  I am looking forward to my visit to Ontario, will be nice to see friends and family.  I am not really looking forward to visiting Mauritius, but I am sure I will enjoy the experience.

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Sleeping with dogs

Posted on February 21, 2017 by kdarcy21

I had put a deposit down on a king size mattress after adopting Twix.  Currently, I have a double which was fine with me and two dogs.  Squeezing in a third dog was a bit tight.  Hera starts with us at night and leaves and sleeps on the couch for the rest of the night.  She likes to spread out and there just isn’t enough room.

Anyway, I went into Sleep Country in January and found a good mattress for $1500 including GST.  I put down 10% to hold it at that price.  I had looked at online mattresses from various companies with prices ranging from $1100 to $1350, so really, not a lot of price difference.  Then, on Saturday, I saw a new ad with memory foam mattresses, king size, for $850 plus GST.  That’s a little more than half of what I was going to pay to Sleep Country so I figured I might as well cancel my purchase and get one of these ones online.

I went back to the store that I put the deposit down in – closed for renovations, figures.  I drove to the nearest store and explained the situation.  The sales guy showed me some comparable mattresses.  The one he recommended was $1800 for a king, so a grand more than the one I could get online.  Well, Sleep Country offers pricing matching + 5% off so I ended up getting it for just ove $800 plus GST.  With the $150 deposit from the other one applied to this new mattress, I owe just under $700 and have kept the original delivery date of the middle of March. I will get a little over a week to test it out before I head on my trip.  I am hoping that the dogs will like it, I am sure they will and also hoping that Hera will stay with us for the night too.

So, now to find some king size sheet sets, hopefully on sale and before next Fall, a new king size duvet.  At first glance, when you go to a king size duvet, the prices sometimes nearly double from a queen.  Oh well – what can ya do.  Looking forward to some nice nights of sleep.

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Love four day weekends…

Posted on February 20, 2017 by kdarcy21

Today is Family Day in many of the Provinces in Canada – for some odd reason, BC’s was last Monday, guess they want to be different.  The only Province that doesn’t have something is Quebec, they are always different…  So, I am off today and to make an extra long weekend, I am off tomorrow as well.  Weekend is half over, I always wonder why weekends seem to go by so much faster than weekdays.

Saturday was a dog park day.  Blondie, Hera, Twix and I went out early, 7:30am or so and played ChuckIt for an hour and a half or so.  The park had turned from nice packed snow to rough snow-ice.  They didn’t seem to mind, I think they will play ChuckIt under any circumstances.  When we got home, I got a message from Twix’s former family, we had scheduled meeting up with them so we headed to Southland Dog Park (Sue Higgins Park) and walked around there for another hour and a half.  Twix was happy to see them and the visit went well.  She didn’t try to leave with them, so that made me happy, I think she’s enjoying her new life with me and her two dog sisters.  When we got home, they were rather tired.  We slept for a couple of hours in the afternoon, weekend naps are the best and are even better when you’re napping with your dogs.

Sunday, we started the day at Edworthy Park.  It isn’t ideal for playing ChuckIt, too much varied terrain, a great place to hike though.  I hiked about 4.5km in total which means the dogs likely did double or triple that.  I then made a solo road trip and visited my former hood, Forest Lawn in SE Calgary.  I dropped into the only Giant Tiger left in the city.  I used to live across from GT when I was in St. Catharines so I would be there numerous times a week.  I have not been there since I lived in the SE, over 3 years ago now.  They’ve renovated, and a few new buildings have cropped up since I lived there.  I stopped by Crossroads Market on the way home.  It has turned into more of a farmers market now.  A bit over-priced, I think.  Oh well…  Another nap in the afternoon made for a good Sunday afternoon.  Watched two excellent Morgan Freeman movies as well – The Shawshank Redemption and The Bucket List – two of my all time favourites.

Today, we will head back to Edworthy Park for another hike, at first light so 7:15ish.  It’s a 20 minute drive there so it should be light enough once we arrive.  I may be going for breakfast, not as yet confirmed and if so, that will be right after our hike as I have two baseball meetings starting at 10am.  I don’t know who schedules meetings for a holiday, other than Babe Ruth, but I guess that’s how it is.

Nothing else really planned.  I am sure we will end up somewhere tomorrow for a walk or ChuckIt.  I am going to apply, in person, for my passport.  Gotta get going on that since I am leaving in just over a month.It’s been a good weekend.  Back to work Wednesday for a shortened work-week.  Tax season is upon us, so I am hoping it will slow down a bit in IT.  We shall see.

It’s been a good weekend.  Back to work Wednesday for a shortened work-week.  Tax season is upon us, so I am hoping it will slow down a bit in IT.  We shall see.

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Dog Food

Posted on February 16, 2017 by kdarcy21

When I first got Zeus, back in 2006, I put him on an Iams diet.  The vet I had at the time in St. Catharines said it wasn’t a bad food, one of the better ones in the “cheaper” variety.  Zeus stayed on that diet until he passed away, Blondie was also on Iams.  For a 20 lb bag, it was around $22 so not especially expensive.

After Zeus passed away, I looked at other brands of food.  I don’t know exactly why, it might have had something to do with his declining health in the last 6 months of his life.  I thought that perhaps if I bought a higher end food, it might help my dogs live a longer, healthier life.  I might be totally off-base too, who knows.

I did some research online, there are dozens or tens of dozens of different brands of food for your dog.  There are also advocates for feeding raw to your dog – I didn’t want to get into that.  It might be around the same cost, but it seems like a LOT of extra work and I am not sure I could handle watching the dogs chomping on raw food.

So, after speaking with my vet here in Calgary and speaking with the person at Global Pet Foods, I decided to try Pet Kind for Blondie and Hera.  I transitioned them over to it over a couple of weeks right after I adopted Hera.  They’ve now been eating it for nearly 2 years – it will be 2 years in July anyway.  I transitioned Twix to it as well and has not caused any issues with her and her sensitive stomach.

Anyway, long story short (I never tell a short story), I was in Global Pet Foods yesterday and picked up 3 x 25 lb bags of Pet Kind.  It comes to $250 with tax and I quickly calculated that I spend $3000 or so per year for dog food.  I don’t spend anywhere near that much for food for myself.  Don’t get me wrong, they are worth it, no doubt, but I had never calculated it before – sort of wish I hadn’t calculated it yesterday.  It is just a lot of money.

Pet Kind is made in BC and all sourced in Canada – I like both of those aspects.  I have not seen many (if any) recalls on this brand which is good.  It is an all stages food so you can start your puppy off on it and use it for their whole life.  There are also 4 different flavours so you can mix and match.  I don’t know how much of a difference that makes, but if I were a dog, I wouldn’t want the same flavour food for my whole life.  The dogs seem to like it, they gobble it up.  I have only ever seen it at Global Pet Foods, have not seen it anywhere else.  At Global, the deal is buy 12 bags and get the 13th free, so I get a free bag every 4 months or so – better than a kick in the butt and essentially makes it tax free, I will take that bonus.  They also have occasional sales, 10% off, sometimes more – another good deal.

Right at the moment, I have insomnia and am getting up in what most would call the middle of the night.  I feed the dogs around 3am and then again when we get back from the dog park, around 5pm.  It’s not a bad life, if you can swing it – I am referring to the dogs life, of course…

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Long weekend…

Posted on February 15, 2017 by kdarcy21

This coming weekend is a long weekend with Monday being Family Day in Alberta and most of Canada.  I am also taking Tuesday off to make a 4 day weekend out of it.  Typically, I would take Friday off, but someone else in my group beat me to it and booked Friday off before I did.  Doesn’t really matter, it is still a 4 day weekend.

On Tuesday, I plan on applying for my passport in person.  I’d prefer to do it that way than via mail.  The paperwork is ready, today I am getting a much needed haircut and going to have my passport photo taken.  I am not traveling for 5 weeks so that’s plenty of time to get the passport.  I am getting the 10 year option, it is $160 as opposed to a 5 year option which is $120.  I guess they are pushing for the 10 years…  I didn’t really think I would need one after moving to Alberta and may not use it after my upcoming trip, but it’s good to have one in case.

Who knows anyway, I have volunteered to assist with one of Babe Ruth Calgary’s travel clubs if the need is there and they travel to the US for a tournament or two.  It is a lower commitment than coaching one of the summer clubs, there are 3 tournaments and a practice every week.  It will be a good option, I am thinking.  We will see if there is a need.

Plans are falling into place for my stay in Ontario.  Presuming dates don’t change, I will get into Toronto on a Friday, spend the day in the city and head to Niagara on Friday evening.  It will be nice seeing people in Niagara on Saturday and Sunday and then I will head back to Toronto for Monday morning and work in the National office for 3 or 4 days then fly out to Mauritius.  All of this is subject to change – the dates haven’t been firmed up and I guess there’s a chance it will be postponed or canceled.  I’d like to get flights arranged sooner rather than later, but that’s not the way it works.

Well, today is the half way point of the week.  Enjoy the rest of yours.

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Happy birthday Twix

Posted on February 14, 2017 by kdarcy21

Today is Twix’s birthday.  Well, the day that her former owners celebrated as her birthday.  She is originally from San Diego, California and although her medical history from there is fairly complete, it doesn’t show a specific birthday, just February of 2013.  So, today, Twix is 4 years old.

She’s been part of the family for a day shy of a month and is fitting in very well.  She gets along with both dogs and loves to wrestle with Hera outside, Blondie even gets involved from time to time and she and Twix terrorize Hera.  Hera plays along well and rolls around in the snow.  They have a great time.  I need to bring my phone out one of the these days and video this as it is quite cute – two smaller dogs dominating poor Hera – even though Hera outweighs Blondie by 25 pounds and Twix by 40.  They have fun anyway.

Today is also Valentine’s Day.. Big deal…  LOL.  No significant other for me, that’s ok.  Here’s a shoutout to the other singles out there and if you do have a significant other, well, Happy Valentine’s Day.

It is already mid-February.  Time is zooming by.  I will be leaving for my trip in just over a month.  I am hoping to have flights booked by next week.  I may be visiting Saskatchewan again in mid-March, just before I head to Ontario and Mauritius.  Lots of travelling for sure.

Well, time for coffee and get my day going, even though it is only 4:30 in the morning.  Hopefully my insomnia will end in the near future – have a good one.

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Start of another week…

Posted on February 13, 2017 by kdarcy21

The start of a new week.  Some people hate or dread Monday’s, I don’t.  I typically look back and think how did the weekend go by far too quickly, but that’s about it.  I enjoy my job, I know a lot of people who don’t, for whatever reasons so I guess that’s why they may not like Mondays.  Well, perhaps if you don’t like your job, change it, or change your attitude.  I didn’t like my last job and I left it.  Very, very glad I did.

Today is Family Day in BC, I guess they just have to be different.  The rest of the country has family day next Monday. That will slow things down a bit at work, not a lot though.  It is the start of busy season at work as well – tax time.  The staff start to get a little testy this time of year since they are so dang busy.  Well, IT has been busy since the beginning of September, so, you won’t get much sympathy from me.

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, not that I care about that – bullshit holiday invented and carried on to cause people to spend money in the middle of the winter.  Tomorrow is also Twix’s birthday, she will be 4 years old and it will be just about a month since she joined us.  She is fitting in quite well, I think she really likes having two dog sisters to play with and a Dad who works from home and has lots of time to give three dogs attention. She’s clingy with me, typically laying beside me on whatever part of the couch I am sitting on.  She isn’t spending the day in the office any more, she tends to go back to bed and sleeps the day away – tough life, and a good gig if you can get it.  So, happy birthday Twix.

Next weekend the four of us are going to meet with Twix’s former owners at a dog park.  I am sure she will love seeing her former family.  They’ve been following posts on Facebook and as any of my friends know, I tend to post a fair amount there.  Hopefully she isn’t confused and thinks they are taking her home again.

With next Monday being Family Day (in the rest of the country that has it), I am taking a 4 day weekend.  I was unable to get Friday off since one of the guys who backs me up is already off, so I chose Tuesday instead.  Next week will be a great, short week – three day weeks fly by very quickly.

This week, I need to get passport photos done and then apply for my password.  A 5 year passport is $120 and a ten year one is $160.  Do you think they are pushing the 10 year deal?  I may never need it again after my trip in March but I guess it will be good to have.  Lots of time for it to arrive before I head on my trip so that’s good.  I have no idea where I go to apply, should I apply in person, otherwise I can apply via mail.  I think I wil find the passport office though.

Well, time for coffee and to start my day.  Enjoy your week.

Posted in Blondie, Hera & Twix, Personal, Twix, Work | Leave a comment