My Weekend and being an idiot

My weekend was pretty good I guess.

Saturday there was a snow storm in the Southern Alberta area.  It was darn cold too, in the -15C range anyway.  I had a little running around to do on Saturday morning.

I was planning on going to Bragg Creek Leather to have him setup my leather trench coat with a removable liner.  I was on my way, called a few times and didn’t get an answer so I figured he was likely not in due to the bad weather – ok, so I will scrap that plan.  Didn’t really want to drive to Bragg Creek anyway, the roads would not have been kind.

I drove to the Subway Soccer Centre to watch my little brother play indoor soccer.  It was entertaining, I suppose, for soccer anyway.  I have never been a fan.  I guess it would be like a soccer person going out and watching a kids baseball game.  His team lost 7-1 I think it was, but they played very well in the second half.

I was invited to a pot-luck dinner on Sunday night.  OK, cool.  What am I going to bring?  I decided on my world famous chilli.  That would work.  So, off I go, after the game, to the grocery store to pick up ingredients.  I decided on vegetarian chilli.  I picked up my little so he could help and then we’d do something in the evening.  Chilli is on, he opened the cans for me – he didn’t want to cut up veggies or anything.  That’s ok, he preferred to play games on Facebook.

Spoiler Alert – Movie Ender’s Game (skip the next paragraph if you plan on seeing the movie)

We decided on seeing Ender’s Game.  Essentially, in a nut shell, an insect race invade the Earth and Ender (interesting name) is Earth’s last hope.  Harrison Ford and Ben Kingsley play the roles of his teachers.  He wins, of course – we can’t very well have the Earth taken over by insects, can we.  In the end, he goes off to outer space looking for a new home for the one remaining alien.  Isn’t that nice?  Not sure if there will be a sequel or not.  I don’t think that the movie was that well received.  The plot was a little thin.  The lead actor is a young guy from Britain,  Asa Butterfield.  A good actor, I can see a promising future for him if he stays in it.  There were a lot of good, young actors in the movie.  Amazing talent out there.  I blame my family for not turning me into a movie star…  🙂

I drop my little off right around 10pm and head home.  The chilli smells great, tastes great too.  Off to bed.

Sunday, I decide, despite -16C temperatures to take the dogs to the park.  We walk the regular circuit which takes an hour.  They are a little cold and Blondie decided to become a dog slow plow.  She’d stick her head in the snow and plow away for a few feet.  They enjoyed themselves.  Zeus, per usual for him, took off and it took me a bit to find him – he likes to explore.  Blondie sticks pretty close to me and comes if I call her once.  They had fun playing with the other dogs and generally being insane.  Zeus has improved so much since we left Ontario.  I will give a lot of that credit to Blondie, she’s forced him to be social and he’s doing well with it.  He plays with the other dogs, big and small very well.

We head home and I head to the office to meet a co-worker who’s going to the game with me.  We leave from there to take the train to the game.  The Stampeders get crushed and lose 35-13 or some insane score like that – not a good game at all.  Of course, if you turn the ball over 7 times, you are bound to lose.

This is where the “being an idiot” part comes in.  Now, a lot of you might already think I am, and, perhaps you are correct.  I used a key fob to get into the garage at work.  It opens the door that I need.  Fine.  Well, when we left the truck, I tossed the fob onto the dash, not even thinking that I might just need it in a few hours to retrieve my vehicle.

So, when I return to the office at around 5:30, I DO realize and I am locked out.  I didn’t figure that a lot (or any) people would be leaving the garage at the dinner hour on a Sunday night, so, I take the train then the bus home.  Fun.  I also had left my house key in the truck so I am also locked out of my house.  This wasn’t as big a concern of course, my neighbour who lets the dogs out has one, and luckily she is home.

the pot-luck that I was supposed to go to?  Well, with no vehicle to get there, I don’t go.  I did call to let my little brother’s mother know.  Too bad, it would have been fun.

I don’t do too much the rest of the night, hit bed early and thus, wake up early – hence the 4:30am post.

So, the moral of the story.  Always take your key fob.  You don’t know when you are going to need it.  Also, always take your house key.  Lesson learned, I hope.

Enjoy your week.

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A relaxing weekend then insane?

I don’t plan on going too much if anything this weekend with regards to my move in two weeks.  We are supposed to get a fair amount of snow today so I am going to stick fairly close to home.

I am going to go and watch my little brother play soccer at the Subway Soccer Centre – one of those huge white domes which is conveniently located close to my place.

Tomorrow is the Western CFL final between the Rough Riders and the Stampeders.  It is supposed to be cold but clear.  I have some pretty good winter gear, so I think all will be well.  I am going with a co-worker – should be a good time.

Next week at work I am by myself as my co-worker is off.  I am sure it will be a busy week.

The following week I am working extra time each day so that I can take Friday the 29th off to start my move.  I have a large SUV so I will be able to move the little stuff myself.  Then, on Saturday morning, it will be the big things – bed, dresser, couch, chair, computer desk, dining room table, a cabinet in the kitchen, washer and dryer.  I don’t think there is much else that will need to be moved on the “big day”.  Should be one load, should take an hour.  That is the plan anyway.  I will need to collect a number of boxes.  I might go to u-Haul and buy some boxes, they have good ones and they are pretty cheap.  I am not sure if I am going to rent a truck or not – guess I should see if one is available.

I am really looking forward to the moving, not the move itself.  Who really wants to pack all their crap up and carry heavy stuff?  Well, not me for sure.  I guess I will be able to “cull” out some stuff that I don’t want, that’ll be good.  It will also completely close the chapter of my life when I first moved here and had a roomie.  If you haven’t heard about that, read it here.  I will finally be able to rid myself of all of the crap that he left when I kicked him out.  He never came back for it.  Oh well – it is all pretty much junk anyway.

So, the next couple of weeks will be a little nuts I am sure.  I still need to cancel my gas, electricity, water, all with EasyMax.  I need to arrange for Telus to install, hopefully on the 29th at the new place.  If not, the 30th will work as well I guess.  I don’t think they install on a Sunday.  I need internet before the 3rd, it is a Wednesday and I plan on still working from home that day each week.  I will then need to change my driver’s license and insurance, which, by the way should go down since I am not driving to work any longer.  I will need to forward my mail, not that I get a lot – most of my mail is now done with ePost – I don’t think I get any bills or anything via mail now.  Who wants paper mail any more?

I plan on having a house warming party, looks like maybe it will be the 14th of December.  I am heading to Grande Prairie on the 15th.  Perhaps I will drop the dogs off at their pet resort a day early and not have them around for the party.  That will be easier, for me and for them.  They do like people, but they will get hair on people and bug them and then people will try to feed them bad things.  Yes, if I do have a get-together on the 14th, they will go in early – good idea.

Well, wish me luck.  It should be fun and exciting.  And tiring.

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Moving !!!

Well, I am moving.  Staying in Calgary.  Moving closer to work, within walking distance.  The area is called Upper Mount Royal.  Right on 14th Street South West.

It is in the lower half of a house, brand new renovations that will be completed within a few days.  Engineered hard wood floors and tile in the entry way, kitchen and bathroom.  The bathroom also has hookups for the washer and dryer that I just recently purchased.  There is an enormous backyard and patio area.

It is smaller than what I currently have, but much, much nicer.  Two bedrooms, galley style kitchen, open living room.  Lots of closet space too.

Looking at the living room from the entry way

Looking at the living room from the entry way

Looking down the hallway to the master bedroom

Looking down the hallway to the master bedroom

The kitchen, no appliances installed as yet except for the dishwasher - matching fridge and stove on the way

The kitchen, no appliances installed as yet except for the dishwasher – matching fridge and stove on the way

Bathroom hookups for the washer and dryer

Bathroom hookups for the washer and dryer

Looking towards the back entrance down the driveway, interlocking brick

Looking towards the back entrance down the driveway, interlocking brick

A view of the entry from the patio - junk to be removed...

A view of the entry from the patio – junk to be removed…

 

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Work, keeping busy

It has been really busy in the office the last couple of weeks.  I enjoy it.  The days zoom by in the blink of an eye.  Yesterday, it was 4:30 in the afternoon and I figured it was around 2.  Oh well.  Seem to need more time to get things done.

As I am sure you know, I work from home on Wednesday’s.   It is nice and I am sure my dogs like having me around.  I have a laptop at home and I connect via a VPN connection to the office, essentially makes it like my laptop is connected in the office.  My phone rings at home, I can use regular Outlook and all of the other apps that I normally use.

This is quite the change from my last job where this level of connectivity was not offered, or, at least it was not offered to “regular” IT people.  I am sure that some of the “higher” ups had the capability.  I guess I really didn’t need that access at that job.  I didn’t have anywhere near the same level of responsibility.  Now, if the network or a server goes down, it is my job to get it back up and running.  Mind you, I do have amazing assistance from people all over the company who are experts in their fields.

We had some server work to do this past weekend.  One of the hard drives in the array failed and when we put in the replacement, the system didn’t pick it up.  Not too good.  So, Dell shipped a replacement part and we scheduled a maintenance window for the Saturday night as the server would have to be shut down.  It took us about an hour, no issues.  So, we had a double whammy, the drive failed and the part that it connects to failed as well (don’t remember what the part is called).  I am sure that doesn’t happen all that often.

So, that over time will be paid out to me – 2.5 hours.  It won’t make that much of a difference on my pay I am sure.

Working on the ITAssist queue has been busy as well.  This is also good as it makes the day go by a tad quicker than when it is slow.  I will be working a lot of ITAssist shifts during the Christmas break.  The Calgary office is closed so I have gotten permission to work from home.

I still have a few hours of vacation time to use.  I might use it one of those days, not sure.

I am going to look at a new place to live tonight.  I am not really “looking”, but, if the place has what I want and need, I may make the move.  A co-worker put me onto a real estate agent who specializes in pet-friendly rentals.  It is a 2 bedroom in the Mount Royal area – VERY close to the office, within a short bike ride or a 25 minute walk – not too bad.

I will need to be able to move my washer/dryer for sure.  I just purchased it and I am not willing to sell taking a large loss.  I also don’t want carpeting.  Hardwood or laminate and tile or some other kitchen floor would be idea.  It is too hard to keep carpeting clean with two dogs.  I am not sure if it has a backyard, not a deal breaker as I am used to taking the dogs out regularly.  I would need a spot for a BBQ and a parking spot as well.  If I do move, I would be able to cancel my parking spot downtown, so that would save me $150 per month.  I wouldn’t need a bus pass either as I would either walk to ride to work – that would likely be good for me too.

So, before I’ve seen it, a brief wish list:

  1. hardwood or laminate flooring
  2. tile in the kitchen
  3. parking spot
  4. space for the washer/dryer
  5. backyard
  6. fireplace
  7. gas stove

That’s about it.  Only items 1, 3 & 4 are required.  No compromise on those ones.  I am sure there won’t be carpeting in the kitchen, although I have rented a place previously that did have it – very odd.  It was also a dusty rose colour.

So, wish me luck.  I am hoping I will like it.  As long as I take the dogs with me, they will like it to.

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A Four Day Weekend

I worked OT last week and took Friday off in lieu. I had a bunch of running around to do and got most of it done.  I planned on taking the dogs to the dog park but we didn’t make it.  I know, bad owner eh.

I purchased a new phone.  The LG Nexus 5.  What an amazing phone this is.  Being the “Google” phone, it will get updates immediately, not whenever the provider feels like making them available.  It is also unlocked, so, if I decide to go to another provider, I can move it easily. It is running the newest version of Android, 4.4, KitKat.  Thus far, I love it – amazing phone.  Had a few features that my Samsung Galaxy Note didn’t have and it is not so bulking either…  I can use it and it doesn’t cover the entire side of my head.

Saturday was a more relaxing day.   I did some more shopping (groceries and dog stuff), bought a skin for my new phone – there aren’t any cases for it yet. In the afternoon I drove to the North-West of the city to watch my little brother play soccer but they didn’t make it to the game.  Well, I got to tour that part of the city.

I had a nap in the afternoon.  I am training for the 2016 Nap Competition for the Olympics in Brazil.  I am going for Gold for Canada.

Today, I went to the Olympic Oval at the University of Calgary to watch some speed skating.  I had VIP passes.  The food and drink were amazing.  Thanks for Ricoh and Intact Insurance – Ricoh for giving me the tickets and Intact for hosting the event and the food.  Another nap this afternoon – I slept like the dead.  No plan for tonight – maybe a little TV, perhaps some football.

Tomorrow is Remembrance Day and a stat holiday in Alberta.  I am going to a service at the local Legion with a neighbour.  After that, we will go to the dog park then have a nap.  Not only am I getting ready for the Olympics, I am also getting ready for retirement.

All in all, it has been a great weekend.  Hope yours was good as well.

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A Driving Rant

For anyone who regularly reads my BLOG, you might have noticed that I will occasionally rant.  Today, for my second post, I am going to rant again.  I have likely even ranted about this before, I am not sure and I am too lazy to look or search my entries to see.  So, if you choose to read this and it turns out that it sounds familiar, don’t complain to me.  🙂

One – Drivers.  In Alberta.  Do I need to say more?  Perhaps I do, especially if you do not live in Alberta.  And, actually, I can’t really say Alberta, I can say Calgary and area – that is FOR SURE.

So, everyone pretty well knows that the regular speed limit on regular city streets is 50km.  Can we essentially agree on that?  Good.  In that case, riddle me this Batman – WHY do drivers insist on driving at 40km?  Why?  Why?  WHY?  It drives me nuts.

Now, today, I am not really in any sort of a hurry.  I am not working today so I really don’t have to be anywhere on any sort of schedule.  But still, come on people.

Two – An expansion on One…  People driving on the highway.  The speed limit on the highway, and by this I am referring to Deerfoot, QE2 is 100km  At points, the speed limit is actually 110km.  Why, in this case, do some drivers drive at 80km?  Really now, this is NOT SAFE.  Not at all.  Today, it was a little old man who could barely see over the freaking steering wheel.  I think there comes a point in everyone’s life when we have to admit to ourselves that perhaps, just perhaps, we should STOP DRIVING. You are going to a) get yourself killed and/or b) kill someone else.  This guy would likely be an a, because he was driving some sort of silly little car.  In a highway full of trucks and SUV’s, he’s dead meat.

Another complaint, this one more mild, so I will say Three – Driving at the speed limit on the highway.  I mean right at it.  It isn’t illegal, but come on.  Who drives at 100km in a 100km zone?  Well, in Alberta (again, Calgary and area) apparently EVERYONE does.  Or, perhaps not everyone, but 90% of the people.  In Ontario, although the speed limit is 100km, it is common practice to drive between 110 and 120 and you are considered “speeding” if you go over that 120 mark.  So, this is just a minor complaint since, as mentioned, it isn’t illegal.  But, people, if you DO want to drive at 100km in a 100km zone, do you have to do it in the passing lane and hold up traffic?  Although you might be content with driving along at that speed, I might want to ZOOM by you at 110, maybe even 115.  Imagine that?

So, in conclusion…  1) drive at 50 on regular roads, 2) if you are old and senile, get off the highways and take public transit and 3) if you insist on driving at the speed limit on the highway, don’t do it in the passing lane

That’s not too much to ask.  Is it?

2013-11-09 (Update) – As a follow-up, and I am sure that I have mentioned this as well, this will be number 4 – WHY does it take so long for people to accelerate when the light turns green?  I would think, and hope, that when you are driving you are actually paying attention.  Don’t text, don’t use your cell to make a call (unless you have Bluetooth), just drive.  Please.  Again, I will ask – that isn’t too much to hope for, is it?  🙂

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A new domain

I registered kevindarcy.ca for myself.  Take a look.  Type in http://kevindarcy.ca and see where you get to?  Well, since I am also cheap, if you happen to click on that link, you will see that it will take you back to my BLOG.  Where else would it go?

A long time ago, back in the mid 90’s, just when the Internet thing was getting off of the ground. I registered darcy.com.  It linked to a web site that I had at the time.  Blogging hadn’t been invented as yet.  Blog hosts weren’t around, likely hadn’t been thought of as yet. I use WordPress.com as my host.  It is pretty darn cheap, less than $20 per year for the domain registration (kdarcy21.com) and the hosting of this BLOG.  I added kevindarcy.ca for $12 a year and just directed it here.

Anyway, back to darcy.com.  I registered it and kept it for a couple of years and then was contacted by a company in Florida, Darcy Cosmetics or something like that – they wanted to buy the domain from me.  We negotiated and came up with an amount of $1500 USD, which, at the time was about $2000 CDN.  It was a fairly complicated matter back then to transfer a domain.  I went through the process and they sent me my cheque.

When .ca domains became available to anyone, I should have registered darcy.ca but I didn’t think of it.  For that matter, I should have registered a bunch of domains and then, to avoid a court fight, the companies could have simply paid me for the domains.  I could have been the first Internet millionaire.  Well, that didn’t happen – oh well.

So, darcy.com and darcy.ca are taken.  Taken, but not being used.  They are registered and up for sale.  Not sure how much, but, they aren’t worth that much to me so I have never even really looked into them.

I doubt that I will do too much with my second domain.  It will link to my primary domain, kdarcy21.com.  The kdarcy is likely obvious to you.  If it isn’t, well…  It is my first initial and my last name, sans the apostrophe.  The 21 is the number that I used during most of my coaching career.  When I first coached an all-star team and wore a regular uniform, I wanted #9 for John Olerud of the Toronto Blue Jays – I see that the Wiki article that I linked to has him in a Boston jersey – yick.  Anyway, he was and still is my favourite player.  Played first base and won the batting title back in the early 90’s when the Jays won back to back World Series.  So, I wanted to be #9.  Well, one of the players wanted to be 9 as well and although there is nothing wrong with a coach and player each wearing the same number, they didn’t have a 9 in my size.  Dang.  One of the other players suggested 21.  At the time, Roger Clemens (odd that they don’t have Clemens in a Red Sox jersey, rather a Yankees jersey, another yick) wore 21 for the Boston Red Sox.  This was before his shorty stint in Toronto, before his stint in New York and before it was revealed that he drugged himself up for most if not all of his career.  Oh well.  Anyway, the 21 stuck.  I was a 21 for the entire time that I coached in SCMBA and in NDBA. I coached for the Canadian Thunderbirds and didn’t have 21, but that’s ok.  My umpire number in Ontario was also changed to 21, ND21 to be specific.  That is where the 21 came from.  I have had license plates with the number 21 as well.  KRD21, 21KRD are two that I remember.  Out here, I had JEEP21, still do.  I guess I could use them, even though I don’t have a Jeep any longer.  Maybe I will swap them.  I am not even sure what my current plate is actually.

Anyway, a short story became a sort of a long post.

I am starting a 4 day weekend today, off today and Monday as well for Remembrance Day.  I have to go in on Saturday to do some server maintenance.  Otherwise, no real plans.  I do have to do some running around today but that’s ok.

Last night I went to a beer event at a liquor store in the south-east with a bunch of co-workers.  One of the guys was unable to go and gave me his ticket.  I am not much of a beer drinker myself, but I did have a few samples.  I liked one, a clear beer which tasted much more like a wine than beer – gotta find the name of that one.  There was some great food as well.  All in all, a good event.  I was a nice guy and gave two co-workers a lift home.

Anyway, enjoy your weekend, I am sure to enjoy my.  Later.  🙂

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What’s been happening?

Not a heck of a lot really.

I really enjoyed my two weeks away from the office.  It was relaxing, but, I was happy to get back to work.  My day trip to Banff was excellent.  It was late October and the weather was fantastic.  No snow at all and temps in the mid teens during the day.

Now I am back into the normal routine.  Glad to be back actually.

As I am sure I’ve mentioned, I am no longer taking public transit to work.  This is working out REALLY well.  My drive into the office takes 15-20 minutes, depending on traffic.  The walk from the garage to the office is anywhere between 9-12 minutes, it is 8 blocks.  For some reason, the east-west blocks are longer than the north-south blocks, or at least it seems that way.  Either way, the walk is pretty good.  I might not feel that way when the temps drop, but for now, all is well.

I went to the recent Stampeder game when the Stamps clinched home field advantage in the play-offs with a trip to the Western Final.  I am also attending the Western Final in a couple of weeks – not sure who the opponent is as yet though.  Hopefully it won’t be too cold.

We have been busy at work of late.  Some minor technical issues had to be taken care of.  Some OT needed to be worked.  I am off on Friday and then Monday is a stat holiday in Alberta for Remembrance Day.  Didn’t have that in Ontario.  Well, I sort of did being a government employee.  I think I will try to get to one of the services.

Nothing else really happening.  That is good I guess.  I am ready for a busy month of activities in December.  I am actually going to attend the work “holiday” party this year.  It is in a couple of weeks – I need to go and buy a suit for it – so, off to Moore’s I guess.  There is a dinner party for the Calgary East Conservative Association – soon to be called the Calgary Forest Lawn Association.  There is also the Big Brothers / Big Sisters Christmas Party.  I don’t think I have others to attend, guess I will see.

I will be working over the holidays but since the Calgary office is closed, I will be working from home.  That will be good and I am are the dogs will like having me around.  The office is closed between Christmas and New Years.  

No NYE plans as yet – it really isn’t and never has been a big event for me.  If something comes up, great.  If not, I am sure I will be sleeping before 2014 rolls around.

Well, off to work I go.

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Conservative Weekend

This weekend marks the 2013 Conservative Convention, conveniently hosted in Calgary.  I was going to register to be a delegate, but the price tag of the registration sort of threw me off.  It was up around the $500 mark.  That is a fair amount of coin to drop for a few days of meetings and other events.  Most of it is tax deductible, but I guess I decided it wasn’t worth laying out the money and then waiting until next Spring before getting my refund.

I did attend the Prime Minister’s Keynote speech on Friday evening.  It was busy, the hallways leading into the convention hall were packed.  Now, this crowd isn’t as bad as some, at the very least, we all have the same (or basically the same) political beliefs.  The speech was excellent and well received by the crowd of supporters.

I follow a few left leaning news services on Facebook, mostly for entertainment value.  I must say, for the first time, an article that I read by the Huff Post Canada was accurate and was written without the usual lean – typically, you have to read their articles with your head tilted.  Naturally, the left readers made their typical slamming comments against the PM – I suppose that I would have been disappointed had they not.  Same old, same old though.  What can one expect however?  They aren’t too bright, are they?  After all, the do blindly support Justin Trudeau and if you do that, well, sorry, you aren’t very bright.

The PM commented on the current Senate scandal although he did not mention the Senators by name.  Unless you live in a cave, you know who they are.  Despite what Liberals and NDP supporters might think, the Conservative base does not support what the 3 Conservative (or former Conservative) Senators did and we want them out.  Measures to do just that kept being blocked, so, we can hope that the Senate themselves do the right thing.  No, they have not had a hearing or trial and no, as far as I am aware, they have not been charged.  However, in saying that, if someone was to “steal” $100,000+ in inappropriate expense claims, I am pretty sure that their employer would, at the very least suspend those employees, if not fire them outright and that would happen LONG BEFORE they were charged.

He also made references to other Conservative achievements over the last two years and there have been many and mapped out the next two years.  All in all, a good night in the convention hall.

So, after the keynote had completed, it was off to Cowboys Casino.  Well, as a non-delegate, I was not allowed in.   That sort of sucked.  The people that I wanted to see came out to see me so that was good.  It was nice to touch base with some of my old political friends from Niagara.

Hopefully today, the last day of the convention will go well.  I heard about some wing-nut group planning on protesting over something – well, have fun with that.  Keep it clean and legal.

I am driving a friend back to the airport tomorrow morning after her whirlwind visit to the city.  That’ll conclude the convention activities for me.

 

 

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Baseball

Although the topic for today’s post is baseball, I will start with something else.  Do I do that often?  Not sure.  Don’t care, it’s my BLOG.

Today is halloween.  I don’t think I have ever gotten dressed up for work.  I am going to today and I will post a picture or two later.  What am I dressing as?  Well, nothing exciting.  I am not one to go and spend money on a costume.  As many of my readers may know, I am an amateur umpire for CABUA (Calgary Area Baseball Umpires Association) and have been umpiring for 16 odd years.  Until recently, it was only a  passing thing with me really, I was much more into coaching.  Since I have moved to Alberta, I have really started to enjoy it.  I think I will continue it moving forward, until that time when I decide to get back into coaching.

So, I plan to wear my full plate equipment and uniform to work today.  That would include plate shoes (essentially steel toed shoes), shin pads, chest protector, helmet, ball bags, everything.  Should be fun.

So, back to baseball, although, talking about umpiring is baseball related.

Last night was game 6 in the World Series between St. Louis and Boston with Boston leading 3-2 in the series.  For those of you who do not follow baseball, at all, it is a 7 game series.  I was pulling for St. Louis, not sure why.  Typically, I would pull for the AL team in all cases, other than if the Yankees are in it.

Despite me wanting St. Louis to win, Boston blew them out.  I had to zip out briefly to get a bag of munchies and dog food and was gone for 15 minutes and when I got back home, it was a 5-0 lead for the Sox.  I figured at that point the game was pretty well over – I was correct.

So, congratulations to Boston.  Well done.  In the 2012 season, they finished last and this year, the World Series.  Pretty damn good.

I am currently a Jays fan.  Actually, more accurately, I am a fan of baseball.  But, if singled out, I would say I pull for the Jays.  It has been a long 20 years since they won a World Series.  Actually, I don’t think they’ve made the play-offs since then.  So, now that I am no longer in Southern Ontario, I am giving them two more seasons to turn things around.

I don’t mean that they have to win the World Series in the next two years, they just need to do something positive in an effort towards making it there.  Despite all of the news that the Jays made last winter in signing players, I really didn’t think it would do much and it didn’t.  I don’t care for the current GM, AA.  He was “trained” by the previous GM and he was an idiot.  He NEEDS to go.  I hope the Jays realize this sooner rather than later because if they don’t, I doubt that they are going anywhere.

The Manager also needs to go.  He’s recycled.  He coached a few years ago and for some reason was re-hired.  He might be a good manager, not sure.  Not with this club anyway.

Some may say I am not a “real” Jays fan.  Well, I really have not followed any other team in my life.  It has always been the Jays.  But, two years is what I will give them.  Not that they will care.  Not that I really care.  I don’t watch a lot of baseball during the summer.  It can be a little boring.  I umpire enough baseball that I really don’t need to follow MLB until the play-offs.

Who will I follow after two years?  Who knows.  Lots of time to shop.

In closing, again, congrats to the Boston Red Sox.  Well played series.  Well done.

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