Capt. H’s Weblog

Things feel weird right now. I can’t really explain it, but it’s like there’s a big change coming in my life and I really don’t think that I’m ready for it. I honestly have no idea what it might be, or where it might be coming from. But it seems like big things are on the horizon, and that scares the shit out’ve me. I worked hard for a long time to get my life to a point where things were comfortable and required minimal effort from me. I worked hard to make sure that the most stressful thing in my life was working on Saturdays. And now things are changing, and I really don’t like it.

I know that part of it is all the talk of moving out and getting a car and blah blah blah. It’s a normal part of growing up I know, but the last time I had a really big change was so long ago that I’ve gotten complacent with the way my life is. I’ve got it pretty simple I’d say. I go to work, I go home, I hang out with the boys, and maybe I hang out with C. Other than that things are pretty simple. And now I’ve got to start looking into things like furniture and cutlery and plates and glasses and pots and pans. It’s just odd to think that I’m finally kicking this show called my life off. I’m 20 years old! I’m too young to be thinking about the future. I don’t like it. I like to just live day by day and see what happens. If you plan ahead, you’re setting things in stone, and as much as people think I like to make plans, and I like to know things, I really don’t. The only reason I fall into that roll is because if I didn’t then nothing would ever get done and I would never see anyone because God forbid I left it up to my friends to make the plans. The only person I could really rely on to make a plan and stick to it would have to be Andrew. And that’s saying something.

And on top of all this growing up shit, I’ve now missed an extra 3 days of work thanks to my friend being a dumbfuck. That 360 bucks down the drain! Thanks so much. If I hadn’t taken matters into my own hands, I’d still be sitting at my mom’s with my thumb up my ass wondering how I was getting home. The last time I heard anything from him was Christmas Eve day, and he said he’d call me and we’d book a ticket home. Well, funny story, I never heard from him. So after he strands me in Winnipeg with no way to get home, he just decides to ignore me. He doesn’t even know I’m coming home! What kind of friend is that? I’m going to have to have some serious words with him…involving my fists possibly, because he owes me money or something.

And finally, the old friend. What to say? I really wish that I could believe everything you said, but you were drunk as fuck that night. And you live too far away for this to ever be anything unless I move to Winnipeg, which I’m still not ready to do. I love my life, and I love my job, and I’m not ready to give them up, especially over some girl. But there’s a small part of me that wishes that it could all be true, and I could believe every word you said, and believe that there is somebody out there who I’m not related to that loves me. I think I just need to stop being so awkward and maybe grow a set? Ugh, osik, I’m such a di’kut.

So maybe things aren’t as bad as I though. It always helps to be able to get it down in writing though. It makes it real, I guess. Most people should really give this a try though. Think you’re having a bad day? Try writing down everything you think is a serious problem on a sheet of paper. You’ll realize right quick that maybe you’re not so down on your shit like you thought. Just an idea.

That’s all I’ve got for now. And it was def more than I thought I’d be able to pull out’ve my shabs. Blargh, I’m going to sleep. I’ve got a plane to catch tomorrow.

Brody

Whoof, I survived Christmas. Well, the first half for me anyway. I’ve still got Christmas back home with my Dad, step-mom and all her family. Whee…

It all jelled pretty smoothly though. It was a lot of fun to see everyone freak out when we pulled up to my Grandma’s house. My one cousin ran out already crying, told me I was a big jerk, punched me in the arm and then gave me a huge hug. It was all pretty close to that after. 

Christmas morning was a lot of fun at our house. My mom really, really, REALLY likes Christmas, so she was up waking everyone. With a singing moose. Nuff said. 

So we got up and did what we always do: made Pillsbury Cinnamon Buns. It’s our tradition. Every year on Christmas Morning since I was a kid we always make them, and then me and my sister would always try to wolf ours down as fast as possible so that we could get to presents right away. That’s not always the story anymore since we’re older and realize how little time we really spend as a family. But it’s still a lot of fun to sit around the table and chow down and try to guess what we got. 

After cinnamon buns is present time, with my sister acting as happy little present passing elf. Once everything is passed out, we go from youngest to oldest, which means my sister, me, my mom’s boyfriend, and my mom. The fact that my mom is a year older than her boyfriend earned her a whole lot of grief over at my grandma’s that day. But she just laughed it off. My mom’s stoic like that. 

So from my mom and sister I got a bunch of stuff. Shall we make a list? We shall.
Fancy shirt
New sweater that we ended up giving to a friend because he had a real shit-hole of a christmas.
Two books by Barack Obama. 
Another book from my mom that looks really good but who’s title and author escape me now.
Two comfy shirts
Fallout 3
Toothbrush, deodorant, body spray, body wash, toothpaste, razors, shaving cream, and lighters since I’m always getting Bicked.
Gift cards to Chapters, iTunes, Starbucks
A coffee mug from Tim Hortons with a free coffee coupon. I can guarantee that that thing is going to see some use.

And I think that about sums it up. I’m too lazy to run upstairs and make a specific list but I did really good this year. I think everyone got what they wanted. My mom got the Kitchen-aid mixer that she’d been wanting, and a back warmer/massager for her car and around the house. My sister got a bunch of clothes and movies. And my mom’s boyfriend got socks and underwear just like he wanted.

From my grandparents I got a chapters gift card, new jeans that will have to last till my birthday and a new towel. All the kids got one. But it’s good because I’ve been using the same towel for about 4 or 5 years here so it’s time to get a new one. And then I got a really nice sweater from my uncle.

Quick funny story. I got my sister Batman: Begins and The Dark Knight. She opened Begins first and was super jazzed, and then about 3 presents later she opened The Dark Knight and gave me a weird look. She said thanks and then asked me why I’d gotten her the same movie. I asked her what she meant, and she asked again why I’d gotten her the Dark Knight twice. I said, Are you retarded? Look at them. And she looked and saw the difference and said, “Oh. OH! Wow thank you!”. My sister is kind of a goof like that.

That night I had way too much to eat, treat wise. Every year my Granny goes balls out and makes up the staples that everyone has come to expect: Fudge, peanut butter cake with chocolate on top, shortbread cookies with pink icing (greatest thing ever), shortbread cookies, with and without cherries on them, butter tarts, nanimo bars and a bunch of other things. And then of course there’s Turtles, Clodhoppers, Nutchos, and chocolate covered cherries. So I guess I went a little overboard with the sweets this year because this morning at 4:30 I was up puking my guts out. Oh well, you live and learn. 

And that about wraps up Christmas in Manitoba. There were a lot of laughs, a lot of storytelling, and a general happiness that comes when we get the whole family together. It’s exactly what I needed to recharge my batteries. But I’m getting ready to go home. There are some things going on that require my attention. It’s amazing how much happens, even when I’m gone for 4 or 5 days. I’m here till the 30th so God knows what’ll happen between now and then. 

To see pictures from the whole shebang, go here. 

Brody

So I’m finally starting to feel the Christmas spirit, or something close to it. It was definitely an adventure to get to that place though. 

So here’s the story. I had told everyone back home that I wasn’t going to be able to make it back for Christmas because a bunch of issues. Money, time, work, etc. But secretly I was planning to come home the whole time. So the original plan called for me to take a Greyhound to Winnipeg and then grab Wahaj’s car and drive it out home and then back to Calgary. Good plan right? Well here’s what actually happened.

The Greyhound was delayed by almost an hour. And then I found out that they’d overbooked the bus so I had to switch buses in Regina. And we were delayed an hour in Medicine Hat. So what was supposed to be an 18 hour bus trip ended up being an almost 21 hour trip instead. Not so bad, because I’ve taken longer bus trips before. Still pretty bad though. 

So I get to Winnipeg and take a cab to Wahaj’s sisters apartment building. And she’s not there. I call him and ask him what I’m supposed to be doing because not only is she not there but the car isn’t there either. He says he’ll try to track her down and that I should just sit tight for a bit while he does. Okay, that’s fine. I ended up being there for almost 9 straight hours. Bullshot, right? So all along Wahaj has been telling me that he’s told his sister that I’m coming to get the car and that everything is sorted. Wrong. Wahaj’s mom calls me after I’ve been there for 8 hours and tells me the story. Turns out that Wahaj never called his sister. and his mom had called her the day before I got to Winnipeg to tell her that Wahaj had mentioned that his friend was coming to get the car the next day. So now I’m totally fucked because that car was how I was getting home, and how I was getting to Morden. Wahaj’s sister and her husband were nice enough to drive me out to Morden, but so far I have no idea how I’m getting home. My credit card is maxed out so I can’t book a Greyhound ticket. So he better be booking me a ticket sometime soon here. 

But desite all that I’m feeling very festive because my mom is batshit crazy for Christmas. So it all worked out. I can’t wait to see all my family tomorrow and surprise them all. But that’s all I’ve got right now. So everyone have a Merry Christmas! I’ll post tomorrow with a list of what I got. 

B

It’s getting to that point again. Where I am always feeling exhausted and run down. I know exactly what this is from too. I’ve been burning the candle at both ends lately, and much too hard I might add. It feels like all I do is work work work. When I’m not working, I’m sleeping. When I’m not sleeping, I’m working. And sometimes just for fun I’ll even work on days I wasn’t supposed to. Like last Thursday. Supposed to be a day off with lots of sleeping involved. Instead it turned into me working 8-12 and then doing a bunch of running around with a buddy of mine. Not exactly the ideal day I had in mind. 

To add to the stress of always working and running a god damn daycare, which is pretty much what I do, I’ve now got something else going on. It’s causing me stress with no end in sight and I think I spotted a grey hair the other day. I keed, I keed… 

But seriously. It’s actually pretty bad. I made a bet with myself on Saturday, knowing I would win. I knew I would. I knew exactly what the outcome would be. But still, even though I knew knew knew, I still spent all day stressing about it and worrying and constantly checking to see if there was the smallest chance that I could be proven wrong. Of course I wasn’t, but what can you expect. Seems like that’s all I do lately is wait. Even right now, I’m waiting. Waiting waiting waiting…

Dee Why