What a crazy day!

So I get up this morning and not long after the phone rings & it's my Angie. Knowing me, I assumed something was wrong. Nope. She tells me to prepare myself for the biggest blush first thing in the morning ever. I'm like ok, this sounds fun. I said, "okay, go ahead" all the while giggling. She tells me that her mom asks her if they should be preparing for a wedding this year and that she responded with some of the things & details we've discussed. I blushed... very hard. :P I like those phone calls first thing in the morning.

So I come to write this at about 8:45 am but was stopped due to reasons I won't go into but I will say this: Be thankful for your trials & use the opportunity to grow closer to and more reliant on Him. It has been awhile since my last trying circumstances... Christmas actually would be the last time things were this trying in my life... & I'm hoping that this trial is almost over. I think I have responded properly. I have learned from it. I'm just glad that through everything I've had those I could rely on for support. And with all the crap that has smacked me lately I've still found myself growing closer to Angie too.

I conclude by saying that I am thankful for these trials & I have learned from them instead of getting bitter or angry and I'm very curious/anxious/nervous/delighted to see what happens when our parents meet. :)

Today's contribution...

Don't worry; be happy! Play a game on me!

Great for getting rid of frustrations:
http://meph.eu.org/
http://www.shockhaber.com/zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.htm

Great for getting frustrated :P :
http://www.liquid.se/pong/

Have a great day everyone!

Hold on to your hats!

Well, I thought that the wind had settled down a bit, but it's still crashing against my west wall like a freight train. I've seen crazy wind before, but this is the longest lasting huge wind I've ever been in. Better make sure I have both Ang's with a hand on my push canes or they might be chasing me down 8th street from Moxies tonight! :P At least it would be blowing me in the direction of home. hehehe

I've had cravings lately & I filled one of them on Wednesday by cooking & eating 2 frying pans full of fish (did I say this in my last blog? I forget, well, I'm saying it again) for a total of 29 fillets or 14.5 yellow perch and tonight I filled another craving with two most excellent lean burgers. Not BBQed but George Foremaned which isn't too bad either. Amazing how much better I feel after that. I think my body was craving iron & those fish took care of that. Maybe I'll do some liver up on Monday. Don't say eww. It is good stuff & I think 95% of people don't like it because they heard in grade 3 or so on the playground in a rumor that it tasted gross. :P I like it anyway. Piles of fried onions and some bacon drooped over those beautiful dark strips of underrated beef. Sounds good to this cat, but I think dessert better be a toothbrush & Scope. hehehehe

ok, better get ready. I might have more to say tomorrow morning as I usually do before church. I gotta say I have a real craving to go this Sunday. Seldom do I not want to go, but just really stoked for tomorrow. What a great craving or urge compared to that of say wanting a smoke. Oh ya, that's right! Today is 2 months of being nicotine free. :) And after mom being here for a few hours yesterday on her way through to PA to her TOPS convention and smoking, me choking like I had cork in my throat I'm sure that the vice of nicotine is broken, melted and gone. Feels good. My teeth even have regained some whiteness. :) Ok, now I really better get ready. Mmmmm Liver & onions! :P

Thursday already!?

I don't know about everyone else but this week has been a quick one for me. I guess with 2 days of serious homework which were quite fully occupied, supper at Chianti's on Monday with my Angie and piles of other little chores done it has been a good and productive week. I've been watching blogs & getting my updates from there about everyone else.

So, after much stress for my Dad & his siblings, it looks like Monday Grandma will be placed in Gull Lake Rest Home for a respite for a month. Of course Swift Current's "homes" are full to the brim. I haven't seen her since Christmas, but I've been told that her 90 years is beginning to show in the last few months. So much so that she is having difficulty walking some days. We're concerned that she has given up since her 90th birthday. Ya, it has taken its toll on my Dad & that takes its toll on me. Ok, I've vented, that's better.

K, better get back to work. It was great to take yesterday off from homework and unexpectedly have a date with Angie but unfortunately there is still quite a bit to be done.

Ahh the Sunday morning blog...

I think that I will be brief today. Only three things to say.

1. It felt like a long wait to see Angie from Wednesday to last night. It was a great visit. Her parents dropped her off on the way to playing cards and came up to see my place. it was nice to share my home with them since they have shared their home with me on three excellent occasions thus far. :) Angie & I watched Sweet Home Alabama. Good flick! Then watched a bit of SNL and I must say, things sure have changed from the days of David Spade, Chris Farley, Phil Hartman, Dana Carvey, Adam Sandler and of course Mike Meyers. At about midnight I took her home and learned a lesson which is in point two.

2. I have spoken about needing patience & I have learned that it is true in more than one way. For looking after Cocoa, the Epps gave Angie a WWJD charm for her charm braclet. It is a good thing for me to think of that charm to keep myself in line. Unfortunately I forgot that charm when I got cut off bad (they turned the corner in front of me into my lane while I was going 70 which was the speed limit) while taking her home & I stepped on it, changed lanes and quickly, aggressively & impatiently cut back in just before the merge onto Circle Drive. I immediately regretted it but moreso when in less than 2 kilometers two guys go flying by us on the left lane & one on the shoulder (!) then one more in the left lane. I thought, "Hmmm I probably looked a lot like that. (Except I didn't cut anyone off)" So ya, then at the next lights they toss a firework out the window that looked just like a cop car cherry which was startling. My point is, I'm going to work on my patience.

3. I think that I'm going to break through my stubbon skin and make a doctor's appointment for some specific things, but just a general checkup that is about 2 years overdue. I know, amazing eh? Jason going to the doctor!

Most ironic blog yet!

So about a month ago Sasktel High-speed was down in the Wildwood area (my area) of Saskatoon. In summary, I got a new modem out of it after just under 24 hours of no net. The irony was that the net went down seconds after dad just barely touched a few cables to get an idea of how to tie them together so they are neater under my desk & not such a mess. I had a few troubles with my connection after they gave me the new modem. Nothing that a system restore won't fix to remove some of the useless XP updates. Things were fine. Last night I downloaded & installed a few updates. Shut my system down for the night which hasn't happened for about a month. :P This morning, the net isn't working again. I'm like "Uh oh! Dumb XP updates. Guess I'll restore it again. Net still doesn't work. So My first thought... I'll message someone on MSN that has Sasktel & see if their's is working... oh, wait, I can't do that. No net! :P Ya, so there was trouble in all of Saskatoon... but according to the time of the Sasktel message on their tech help number, the trouble started about the time I turned on my computer on this morning. So between that & my dad touching those cables & things going down I'm starting to wonder if my computer is affecting the whole Saskatoon Sasktel internet everytime I fiddle with something. I doubt it but if it is the case maybe I should call Sasktel and promise not to mess with anything in exchange for a free year of services. :P Nah, that would make me a criminal... holding the people of Saskatoon's computers hostage. hehehe Finally I figured that I might as well blog until the net is back up... oh wait! grrr :P I guess I could've typed it in Word first, just found it funny.

So ya, it is good to be reconnected. Amazing how dependent a person gets on the net. I wouldn't be to such a degree if so many of my class resources didn't rely on the net so heavily. During the summer, other than communication I don't "need" the net so badly. :) Have a nice day everyone!

War stinks...

So last night I saw some coverage from Iraq. Nothing new right? Well this time something bothered me. In my past I've gopher hunted, deer hunted, shot at targets or blocks of ice (right Joe ;)), and played online games. In each instance I've heard the phrase/compliment, "Nice shot!" One of the soldiers that was sniping in this coverage made that statement. You didn't see it, but the other end of that "nice shot" was a human being getting killed or seriously wounded. I realize that they were being shot at too & that it is "them or us," but I still found it more disturbing than the "Nice shots" that I've taken resulting in a dead gopher, a hole in a target or a virtual death in a game. Ya... That's my thought of the day. Sorry for the darkness of it, just thought it was worth saying.

At least the 5 cm of snow forecast has been changed. Looks like maybe a bit of rain only. There, that's happier. :)

Some days...

My classes make me feel like this :P

http://airfarce.com/video/000331eh.ram

You'll need RealPlayer to view.

So much to say...

But I'll try to be brief. Quickly though: Don't you just get annoyed with dumb people? Ahh that feels better. Now for the good stuff.

In summary, this weekend was awesome. Friday service was great, lunch here with Angie was great (best ham sandwich ever. Things taste better in good company), date 7 was a good experience (I'll leave that there ;)), Saturday was productive & Easter supper with Angie's family was super. Interesting how a person gets a mental picture of people before you meet them. When I first saw her Uncle Frank & Uncle Hans, before introductions, I guessed that Frank was Hans & Hans was Frank. hehehe James is as cute as ever, I haven't eaten an enjoyable meal like that since Christmas (& Marilyn's ceasar salad is deadly :)), then a good cruise, looked after Cocoa, and a great chat. Sunday service was good, had KFC (That filled one of my cravings) and hung out until 3.

That was the good stuff, now for the great stuff. I have mentioned in the past about my concern for my Dad's soul. I know my dad & you don't convince him of things by shoving it in his face. I decided the best way was to lead by example, make an effort to make more statements about my faith etc. I know my baptism is going to be completely awesome and change me forever but I did not think it would affect my dad so much in this good way. I will likely need his help along with Pastors Wes, Leyton & Mike so I thought, "hmmm, maybe this will renew him by being a part of my baptism." Sure enough, he has become curious again as I have seen in an email that arrived much later than he normally stays up. I received it last night but did not reply because I wanted to have the perfect response. I prayed for it & this morning as I turned on my monitor it hit me like a ton of bricks. I simply offered to answer anything he would like to ask and said that if I did not know the answer I would look it up. My response, I felt, was not aggressive or pushy, just an offer to help. Now I need to be patient in yet another way to just let Him work. I would like to see my dad be led back to God, to realize again that yesterday was not about colored chocolate eggs but about Jesus rising and conquering death, hell and the grave, sacrificing for us... ya, so as I sit here so full of hope and joy I know that I need to just be patient. I know what I want NOW, I know what is meant to be, but if I am aggressive and take before it is given to me by Him, that blessing will not be at its brightest. Everything is too perfect in my life for me to go and meddle. I think I'm going to just sit back & enjoy the ride one step at a time and take action when told to do so. :) Have a great day everyone!

A few thoughts...

So what's with me always blogging before church? I think there are a few reasons. I tend to be the most thoughtful before church and I tend to be ready way too early & this is a great way to stem my haste to get to church so I can sit there waiting for nearly an hour. :P

My week quickly. Monday I received a surprise supper invitation to Angies for some of the best tubesteak I've ever had! I think if I was offered lobster or farmer sausage, I would say sausage please. :) Great spuds and creamed corn with it and someone to talk to while eating! Much better than the grilled cheese and Simpsons I had planned! Then after supper I must've talked with Merv for over an hour. All the manly things: Guns, hunting, skinning animals, engines, boats, vehicles in general... *grunt grunt grunt* Feel that testosterone!? :) My dad & I have said just about everything there is to say about those topics to each other, my bro (symbolically adopted) Stacey knows very, very little about those things so it was a great discussion with another guy who knows about the manly things. I think my dad & Angie's dad are going to get along well. I feel so welcome in that home. Winston is used to my chair now & didn't bark at me. Had another connecting conversation with my dear Angie & we both concluded that we are even closer from it! Was a great evening! :) One point I want to make is that I've really begun to like Winston. I know they find that he can be annoying & I used to feel the same about my Muffin while she was still with us, but now I've begun to realize the value of a dog's loyalty, companionship and protection. I miss my Muffin right now. In the same breath, mom saw a 3 month old Shih-tzu yesterday and wanted one badly. I found myself agreeing somewhat, but not totally because I just feel it a shame to get another dog yet. I know, I should let her go, but I can say with full honesty that in my worse days that dog saved my life. I won't try to replace her or erase her with another dog.

Other than not being able to see Angie until today which was hard, little else happened for the rest of the week. Little else that you haven't read in other blogs. :) I did have a great stroll down memory lane with my longest friend Leshia. That made me feel old & I don't think the phrase "Back in the day" has applied as much as in that conversation. hehehe

Other than that, I'll be at church today, then date #7, then tomorrow back to Angie's for supper :), then church Sunday, then maybe, depending on time limitations, do something with her Monday. I'm stoked!

So I had better go slap some gel in my hair & get ready to go. I think of myself a year ago; of even considering going to church twice in a week and find myself glad to be where I am now, thrilled to have the opportunity to go twice in a week for this very important time of the year.

Happy Easter everyone!

Very good day today!

I must say that I've been trying to save up for a great, interesting, thought provoking blog but today I just need to say what a great weekend. It was an emotional week with James Thomas deciding to join us here on this earth, to a few personal discomforts it was a wild week. Yesterday was great with looking after date #6, supper, then a most excellent coffee with everyone (and I got to meet Jason C who's blog will be linked here soon) then hung out at the weir and had a great chat with my Angie, took her home & got to bed nice and early so when I woke up for church I was with it. It was a good service and looks like I'll get baptized on May 16, 2004. There's another story I'll put briefly.

I have a memory of a baptism when I was quite young. I remember asking dad about what they would be doing. He explained it to me. I thought it was my baptism; it was my cousin's. I was surprised and a bit disturbed. But after talking to Bryan this morning, getting some arrangements looked after as well as some concerns, it looks like on May 16 I'll meet the requirements for membership & can then look into that. No huge hurries, not trying to jump into anything, but I've seen the results of procrastinating and I've spent my time praying & I know the next steps, now I just need to take them. :)

So a final reiteration... Canada's a great place to live as I finish watching Bowling for Columbine for the first time (I know I know, No I haven't been living under a rock...Just a busy guy) I think how great this country is... & the sun is shining. Great day!