Quickly because I'm tired...

Isn't it amazing when you have a friend, that doesn't have 2 cents to his name, that offers to bring over Taco Time for lunch just cause he wants to see you. I admit that he can be annoying calls too often for my busy schedule, but a good guy at heart. & he has experience dealing with difficult authorities which has helped me more than once to calmly, quietly & effectively resolve a problem with a beurocracy.

I guess that's what I've learned or appreciated this weekend in that manner. Otherwise, I saw my Angie most of yesterday which was great! We cooked together, watched "Meet the Parents" (Our parents are so wonderfully normal!), discussed a few things confirming the direction of our lives. Ya, great day yesterday as per my MSN name. The beautiful thunderstorm didn't hurt things either. :D

Finally, I got a bit ticked off when parked at MacKay to pick up Angie from school. A woman, in a Blue Chev extended cab, license plates "652 DFT" is instructed by the City of Saskatoon Security to move out of the bus stop zone. So she pulls forward, & forward & forward... & hits my rear bumper! I saw her pulling up, saw her passenger window open a crack so I started yelling "whoa!" but she kept going. She stops, but doesn't back up! I firmly asked what on Earth she was doing? Told her to back up! I look closer & she's wearing a neck pillow like those to prevent whiplash...and shoulder checks I might add!!! So I now have my first scratch on my van. It should buff out... I hope, but like... ok, calm down Jay. Some people have slipped through the cracks in our driver's licence testing system. All I know is that before that I was feeling good about parallel parking my new van for the first time, & my first parallel park in like 4 years & I did it perfectly then some woman can't even pull forward without incident! I'm not trashing women, this just happened to be one. Last night at 12:45 on my way home from dropping Angie off I saw a guy driving stupidly & was just glad that he was way infront of me. Ok, bedtime 10 minutes ago.

Have a few great days everyone.

What a nice day!

Well, the sun is shining, I got to sleep in, there's no wind, got a BBQ planned & I had an awesome dream. Pretty great day so far.

About my dream. Incase you didn't know, my dad is building a sit-ski for me. Basically a waterski you sit on to ski. I had a picture in a blog a long time ago and I'll see if I can get one inserted here.



Ya, so anyway, he's going to fix 2 or 3 regular skis together, build a seat, get the upholstery sewen, attach the tow rope (with a quick release device for safety), throw on some removable pontoons like training wheels and away I go. Last night I got to test run it in my dream. Worked pretty well, but I dreamed that I said it was ok, but I prefered regular skis so I threw on a pair to him to "hit it" and away I went skiing normally. Angie, my spotter in this dream, had these huge eyes, similar to Puss-in-Boots from Shrek 2, and when I dropped a ski to slalom she thought I was falling & told dad to cut the engine. hehehe

What a crazy, but awesome dream. It's nice to use my legs from time to time. I remember thinking in my dream that if my legs won't work the worst that'll happen is that I'll get a bad water enema. Why I dreamed that... well, never mind. I think wet suits are very wonderful things after that experience & even they aren't totally protective. :P

Ok, I'm going to go outside soon to study & soak up this gorgeous day!

Why don't people get it?

In the last year, year and a half I have been much more outspoken about my faith to non-believing friends. I told like everyone about my baptism. I have asked people, my one uncle included, to quit sending me the crap emails such as the recent topless pictures of Calgary women. Fortunately I keep an eye out on http://www.xxxchurch.com/ which has areas to help you recognize undesireable emails before you open them. But these people keep sending me garbage that I do not want. I don't care or want to see Calgarians celebrating the Flames in this way (I like the Flames & obviously am rooting for them but not by streaking!) & I don't care about Janet Jackson or the video clip of her that hit the net like 7 seconds after it happened at the Superbowl. Why does everyone, who knows about my faith and has been asked to not send these continue to do so? The only thing I can think of is to send them a verse every day in response. Whatever, I just didn't expect that picture I received today to be what it was when I opened it! Finally, see how many ironies you can pick out of this picture. Hold shift when you open it if you want it in a new window otherwise just click back when you're done reading the picture. Here's the picture.
Ok, I've tried everything! Angelfire won't let me link to my own website! But I guess it is a free service so I souldn't complain. Just put this link into a new browser address bar. http://www.angelfire.com/cantina/cka/canada.jpg

I guess I'm not Canadian. Why would I expose myself to the temptation of nude women & 6 beers. Just inviting the opportunity to sin. Ok, that's my complaining. We know the truths. I know it was just some goofball that made that picture, but you get my point.

I'm thankful...

My day stank. I spent an hour at a clinic and 6.5 hours at RUH. Swelling in my leg gave concern of a blood clot. So after bloodwork, x-rays, an ultrasound and more x-rays they came to the conclusion that my swelling is merely from some trauma & to be watched but not worried about. I did not have a clot, I did not have the fracture they suspected after the ultrasound hence the second round of x-rays, & all bloodwork, blood pressure, oxygen levels & heart rate & chest x-rays told them I'm as healthy as a horse. I'm thankful.

I saw many people or should I say I heard many people in much worse shape today & I could only stop to pray for them. My boredom was not to be concerned about with what others were facing. Then I just read about Robyn's grandfather & thought that my day wasn't so bad. We are all here for you Robyn! His pain and suffering are now joy and comfort.

I'm thankful.

One more thing...

In addition to my last blog. I was talking with mom last night after they got home (ahh free long distance) and her & I were chuckling at Angie's mom giving me a kiss on the head. Just the whole day had this feeling to it. Oh, did you guess? I'm still stoked! :D And I get to try out the demo model of my new chair today. See if it rides as nice as this one. Obviously it will, but it will take a bit of getting used to like a new pair of shoes or glasses. And isn't it a great day out there? 26 tomorrow too! Maybe a thunderstorm. :) I'm so perma-grinned!

Didn't see this one coming did you guys & gals? :P

So this weekend was completely awesome! I don’t even know where to start so I guess I’ll go chronologically. Friday evening my mom & dad got here. It was great to see them & we got some chores done. Talked to my Angie a bit & got to bed at a decent time after some deep chat with my mom.

Saturday, got up, Dad & I had my van washed, plates renewed & a few other things done before mom was out of her PJs. We took the “long way” home & had a “man-to-man”. Hehehe Long story short… They were not aware of the depth of Angie’s & my relationship. The conversation had a few other interesting details that I will not divulge to you all but they were interesting coming from my dad’s mouth. No, not the sex talk, but “long-term commitment” comments. :) So then we had lunch, went to grab groceries & got home. Mom & dad did a Wal-Mart run & I decided to call Angie at work figuring she’d need a quick pick-up after working with a potential air-head, cramped in a booth. I was right. For more info, see her blog. Then some friends of the family came for coffee. Wonderful people, sorry to see them move to Saskatoon when they did a decade ago. I have tons of great memories there, but that’s another blog. Ok, summarize time cause I want this posted by 10 & then eat something. Ok, Supper at Mano’s with mom, dad & Angie. Food, company, service and conversation was great. Came back here, got new tires put on my chair, took Angie home, talked with my parents a bit & went to bed.

Then today. Where to begin. I slept pretty well, but to quote TobyMac, “Sometimes I feel God in the middle of the night in the cool of the shade in the bright sunlight.” Well, at 5 am, I had a talk with Him. It was awesome. Then back to sleep. Woke up, got up & got ready. I was stoked, not too nervous, but knew it would increase. Got there, made final preparations & plans for the process for me. Now comes a huge part. I got infront of that mic & felt the most incredible calmness infront of 300+ people. The last time I experienced something similar was, as I spoke about in my testimony, 6.5 years ago when I sat there in my truck freshly paralyzed. So yes, it was a powerful day. I feel as though one more major step in my life, faith & journey has been taken. I’m not completely sure what it is, but I’m not worried cause every last step has been fine & I am going to quit worrying.

So the meeting of my parents & Angie’s parents went like so perfect! Brunch was good. Everyone had a great time & I think this weekend can be considered one for the history books.

I will conclude by thanking everyone for their thoughts, prayers, support, gifts (you didn’t have to but thank you very much!), and for giving me the opportunity to share a bit about my past with you, my awesome new & awesome older friends. (Robyn fits into both categories cause of her old age :P… J/K my friend)
Ok, It’s 10:09, I’m hungry, I gotta take this outta Word & onto Blogger. Final thought… On the way down into & up out of the water I had one thought about our awesome savior …

He is Risen!

I'm confused...

So as you may or may not have known, I’ve been fighting a bladder infection for months. I’ve tried every natural remedy like flushing my bladder with lots (3-4 Liters) of water, cranberry products… basically the things that have always worked in the past to resolve the problem quickly. Ok, they didn’t work so I tried antibiotics as prescribed by a doctor. No success and this is coming up to 5 months. So after an 18 day wait for an appointment to see my doc I have the privilege of waiting another 6-8 weeks (if I’m lucky) to see a urologist. Meanwhile, I’m still in pain, frustrated and except for expensive homeopathic herbs and things of that sort that I’m not sure about though the owner of say Sangsters could inform me pretty quick I imagine, have tried nearly everything… Except for what used to work every time back in my days of partying…

Yesterday things got so bad & so painful I decided to have a strong drink. My fears were those of sin, getting a buzz, having a smoke craving & hangover. Ok, I got the buzz which I did NOT want. I did not have a smoke craving which is most excellent. But I am sitting here with a tightness in my stomach that I would consider the start of a hangover. I’m not head throbbing, ouch the light hurts my eyes, don’t talk so loud hurting… but I know that feeling of discomfort in my belly that I used to get from looking at rye the wrong way in the past. My question is: Was what I did wrong? I feel kind of sick in my stomach… yet just this second I got back from a trip to the washroom (mid-blog :P) & things are healthier than they have been since Christmas. I don’t feel an overwhelming guilt though I still certainly don’t like drinking anything. Some medicines like Buckley’s is not nice to take but we still do (Please don’t turn this into a Buckley’s debate cause I really want comments on the drink, not that some people like Buckley’s) so though I don’t like rye anymore it did fix a 5 month problem. I noticed that my persona was slightly less reserved after the drink as tends to be the case with alcohol & that is undesirable. Yet if $2 worth of rye can do in one evening what $75 of antibiotics does in 10 days besides the other huge side effects of antibiotics is it terrible? I don’t know & I don’t know that you have answers for me either but I really would like your thoughts my friends.

Meet the parents even more...

So after the most delectible barbequed chicken last evening I had quite the lengthy chat with Angie's family. I gotta say that it's all good. Again, Saskatchewan is way too small. I found out about the failing health of an acquaintence's mom in Swift Current from Angie's mom. As well, the ironies & things that I was able to discuss with her dad, who's been to SC a few times, are remarkable.

At any rate, I am really feeling at home when I'm invited to their home. Even Winston & I were fighting last night. It was nice to battle with a bigger dog. My little, late, Muffin was a huge blast & lotsa fun, but her 14 lbs just isn't as tough as Winston. And who could forget the excellent opportunity I had to see James again. I can hardly believe it has been a month since I've seen him! Time goes so fast. I had something else I was going to say but seem to have forgotten... oh well.

I know that I am anxious to take Angie to my hometown & put a place, location or picture into her head of these places discussed in the last few months and to let her have the quality time getting to know my parents that I have had getting to know her family. :) Everything just seems to be going so perfectly. Jay needs patience some days. :)

Ahhh change...

Warning: The ironies about change in this posting may break a few brains but a good slurpee brain freeze may prevent permanent damage.

As briefly as I can:
1. After talking to my friend Ed a few weeks back I sure thought he had changed since I spoke to him last about 4-6 months prior. He sure seemed to be different each time I talked to him the last few times which was about every 4-6 months between his globe-trotting. A very bright young woman I know suggested maybe I was changing. To be cliche... "BAM" What a discovery! How did I miss that? Maybe it was too obvious or I didn't want to see it or something. At any rate Angie hit the nail just a little bit square on the head. :)

2. Same thing yesterday after taking a former neighbor from Moose Juice out for lunch I noticed it again... He had changed. It only took me about an hour to think... "Maybe it was me changing." I'm sure it is me. I talk to this guy about once a week, but things are different in person. By the way, the changes I've seen in myself are all positive. :D

3. So I'm nearly finshed reading my final bit of notes in my final class which is all about change though mainly focused on technological change... This class isn't overly interesting but its point is to get you thinking about change which it has...

4. Thanks to God's direction, I'm planning a change in direction in my life away from the CGA classes which I just spoke about in point 3.

5. I've started to notice changes sooner thanks to the class I'm taking now... Question is: Do I really care if I notice changes quicker? The changes of technology that the class focuses on are certainly noticable regardless of some class. Have I wasted time studying change? I'm going to notice the changes that matter to me.

6. New wheelchair in the works so getting used to that will be a change...

7. Finally. I like some of the new templates but because change can be scary :P & I know very little about HTML, I'm opting to keep these settings. I may do the web-illiterate method which is paste the template into FrontPage, modify it lazy man's style, the copy the HTML back to my template.

Ok, I think my ears are smoking. Brain is overheating.

In most jobs...

Being late, a half hour or more for five consequtive shifts, would result in some type of repremand or disciplinary action. Not in a government job though. In my opinion, the individual I speak of has stolen over 2.5 hours of wages & neglected their clients. This bugs me along with the fact that this individual has the cajones to phone their office & ask for the address to the next place they were to go when they were just there a few days ago. Lying to their boss because they were late. I'm not perfect, but I cannot see myself pulling a stunt like that. If I'm late & it is my fault I will admit it, appologize and carry on. Perhaps if this person had not lied I would have not said a thing but I do not like deceit! Ok, I'm fine now, but irresponsible people like this are the ones who slow everything down in the world.

On a much brighter note I'm incredibly stoked for my baptism next Sunday. The "dry-run" yesterday went very well. I'm sure you read on Angie's blog about Natasha's complete innocent lack of modesty. Ah kids. Priceless! :)

One thing that I would like to try to describe to you able-bodied folks is the sensation of being hoisted/man-handled (being used in a nice connotation possible because man-handled has an inherent negative connotation) out of my chair, into a sling on the ground, then up between two pastors. With my lack of sensation, it was an experience I had forgotten about since the last time. The last time I bailed out of my Oldsmobile driver's seat onto the grass then into the sling then into our boat. hehehe Ok, The best I could describe it would be to say... imagine riding the elevators at City Hospital. Not the sensation of the g-forces but the looking out & seeing things moving, but no real change in anything your body feels as the floors whiz by. It was a very cool experience and I'm thinking water skiing this summer may be similar. I think I'm going to have fun with this baptism and lake time this summer. Ok, I better get sum work before my lunch appointment with a former neighbor from Moose Juice. :P

Just a quick complaint...

So the whole world is devastated by the fact tha Friends is no more & Fraiser finishes tonight. There were people crying on the news! I never got into it & I do realize how much people enjoyed Friends because I enjoy 24, The Simpsons and Monster Garage but crying over a TV show & saying their lives will never be the same is far too rediculous for me to handle. If the biggest issues in my life were syndicated TV shows I'd be so set. :P I think some people need to look at their lives if they revolve around TV like that and reevaluate their priorities.

For the record it's lightning out. I'm thrilled, but going to bed. There will be other storms to watch & I have homework tomorrow.

Am I being negative?

So this evening at 7 pm on Space is the movie "Left Behind" which I am pretty sure most of you are familiar that there is a 12 book series. I own the first and second DVD's & the third is currently in post production. My question is this... Since Space plays science fiction movies are we to assume that they are considering this movie and the rapture to be science fiction? If this was played on the Vision or Miracle channels would there be a different implied underlying connotation to the movie? I'm glad that they are playing it. It moves me every time I watch it so maybe it will show some people the Light this evening.

I just looked it up & Space is classifying it a mystery so that is better than giving it a sci-fi genre. At any rate I would like to know what you think. I do realize that space is not exclusively sci-fi movies but this seemed to be the best blog I've had in awhile & should stir up a few interesting comments. Here are the links of interest related to the flicks:

Cloud Ten Pictures: http://www.cloudtenpictures.com/
Left Behind: http://www.leftbehind-themovie.com/
Left Behind II: Tribulation Force: http://www.tribulationforce-themovie.com/