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Wednesday, November 28th, 2007
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4:36 pm - Mrs Bob.
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One evening to rest and reflect before Mrs Bob goes live.
A year and a month ago, the cast of "Cut" sat in my basement to cold read a play I was considering directing; my first real musical (even though it's only a partial musical) We laughed.. a lot.
A few months ago the play was cast, (sadly unable to use a lovely Latvian couple who auditioned with a... unique... Latvian rap), and oddly enough, the gal that read Mrs. Bob a year ago, was cast in that role.
Rehearsals have come and gone with a first for me; in one rehearsal, I laughed so hard, I fell out of my hair, tears streaming down my cheeks, clutching my stomach in that good kind of pain. It had been a while since I laughed that hard. If the scene plays 'just right' I think it'll have the same affect on some of our audiences.
Tech weekend was the longest one I think I've ever had in any of my directing/acting stints with KWLT. The set concept was a little ambitious given the resources of the theatre, and some creative thinking from the cast and crew saved the idea and it works wonderfully. A full 24 hours was put in this pas weekend by a lot of people and I'm hoping that the cast will wait til the end of the running before killing me as I'd like to watch the show a few more times. :)
(PS. Don't tell anyone that I was pretty sure what I was asking for wasn't even possible. Oh, spinning towers of death...)
The crew's been wonderful. L started taking on the costume mistress role with both of us assuming it'd be a co-ordination role with someone we lined up. Whoops. 15 actors with more than half in at least two separate period costumes. No problem! H stepped into help and Both L and H have done an amazing job, locked in the dungeon of the theatre pumping out costumes, one after another.
E has done wonders with the vocal side of things. I'm still impressed she was able to pull these sounds out of my actors. D and D really came through with the desire to have a live band play during the show.
R and L are a cute couple and a great team and handled my ridiculous tech requirements well. I was happy to drag a new more FASS regulars into the world of KWLT... hopefully I didn't scare them off.
Producing has been gold and A gets another BIG notch in her producer belt, selling out one night and nearly two more before we open. In fact, the show officially broke even two weeks ago. As she said to me.. this was supposed to be the weird artsy show that we'd hope would break even.. not the financial success show! Kudos for smashing that thought to pieces. KWLT should do more musicals.
My SM, A, has been a strong right hand. Hurray for someone that still has an intact short term memory! Great dedication to the show and has really stepped in as a leader for the times it's been needed.
I want to tell you all about the wonderful things the cast has been doing but, to do so would likely spoil a lot of the jokes in the show and, for this one, it's best to go in fresh. Needless to say, they've put in some strong work here and I'm very proud of the final result. There's a good mix of KWLT regulars, a few KWLTers that you haven't seen on stage in a while and a few new people that I hope to see in future productions.
This has been a pleasure to direct, and I can't wait to have it unleashed upon the unsuspecting masses! Trust me, you're going to enjoy this one.
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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| Thursday, November 9th, 2006
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8:54 pm
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Nanowrimo's been fun this month, evening if I am trailing behind the word count pace. Comedy/Fantasy was a good genre choice for me, for my first attempt at this. It's light and it's fairly fast. The pressure of always being humorous is stressful at times and I cracked by putting in one of the worst joke's I've ever wrote to start off chapter 2. As of today I'm at 8k words which means I'm running at about 50% of the pace. Nothing a well timed sick day can't fix.
I just needed to stop filling my calendar with other fun stuff and I definitely should have waited til December to purchase Guitar Hero II.
I've completed "Hard" and am moving on to Expert, and it's a blast. It has all new songs that are a ton of fun. The hammer-ons and pull-offs seem easier to do, which is good because the songs are more difficult over the first one. The "encore" bonus that they put into career mode is funny and the Final Encore, on level 8 (the last level), has to been seen to be believed.
I've decided that Firefox 2 rocks for one reason and one reason only. I'm a sucky speller, always have been, and Firefox includes an embedded spell-checker that underlines words with a red line whenever you're trying into any type of text box. I love that feature and I'm already breaking some habits of words that I've spelling wrong for a long time, assuming that I've been spelling them correctly. (Now to work on my sucky grammar next)
Shill shill shill Steve's Stag and Doe shill shill shill.
Yesterday, I cleaned the beer lines and switched the fittings on my keg fridge, so now our Arrogant Bastard Ale clone "Bastard Child" is now on tap at my place. I should really let it sit and force carbonate until next Wed or so, by I may have to sample some this weekend. Last weekend, I headed to Fruit's and we brewed up a Hopocolypse clone (the one we submitted for the cask fest), so that should be ready in a few weeks and I may save it for New Year's... unlikely though.
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(5 comments | comment on this)
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| Thursday, October 26th, 2006
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8:40 pm
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Lots of Busy Fun
The last few weeks have been busy but fun. After getting back from Thanksgiving in Manitoba, I popped over to R.W's for a party, then headed out the next morning with M. at 5:30am to go see TNA Blound for Glory (wrestling PPV) and the Fan Access Day. The whole trip was a blast and a lot of the personalities were fun to joke around with.
We got a lot of good pictures, including the dream photo I was looking for; Norman Smilely giving me the big wiggle.
The only downside to the weekend was that I missed the Volo Cask Fest were my homebrew club debuted out first two beers; Hopocolypse IPA and Devistation IPA. The Hopocolpyse went over like gangbusters I'm told with several people asking when we're going public. Perry Mason, the Brewmaster for Scotch Irish (aside: who's Sgt. Major's IPA, Corporal Punishment and Plain Porter are now on tap at Castle on King), called the Hopocolypse the best beer of the day, saying it was even better than the stuff he brought.
Big congrats to R and E for creating the beer and representing the club well. If we only had the capitol... Still, with this success, expect to see us try more things in the future. I'm already working on Harold for a Biergotter event at Castle on King.
This week has been recovery from the last few weeks and getting ready for my Halloween party this Friday. (Aside: if you didn't get an invite, it's because you're not on my new googlegroup announcing house parties. If you'd like to be on, send me a note and I'll add you to the list.)
Lots of stuff is going on this Friday; BotB and Rick's goodbye party. The invite to the party is open, so feel free to drop by at some point in the evening.
Lastly for those that don't know, Steve and Tarama are getting married and they have a Stag and Doe coming up on Sat. Nov 11th. (Lest ye forget). I'm sure they'd like to see all of you out, so if you'd like tickets, you can buy them from me for 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0 a pop. (or 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5 at the door). I'll have tickets on me at the party, or you can arrange something else.
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(comment on this)
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| Saturday, October 14th, 2006
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2:18 am - Mantioba - Part 2
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So, I was going to post the last post yesterday (read it first if you're reading this first) But we had a brief power outage last night. Then it happened again. Then the satellite started to cut out. Then the power went out again.
Apparently, there was this sleet storm going on outside that I was oblivious to. A sleet storm is like having someone throw wet snowballs at you over and over again and having each one stick. Trees don't like it very much as it causes them to bend over, touch the ground and yank off power lines.
By 1am, I was tired of cleaning the sat. dish and weathering the power outages (even if I was watching "Curse of the Lotteries!" on the Star channel), so I headed to bed and noticed that the power finally gave out around 3am. And continued to be out the next morning. The storm was so bad it tore down power lines and poles and the entire town of Lac du Bonnet was out of power for most of the day.
Dad and I spent time clearing snow from trees, attempting to stop them from leaning on top of the existing power lines, and we played some Bunco and Poker to pass the time. Heather's daugher (and her family) came over for Thanksgiving Day sandwiches and, just after 1:30, I remarked that the power was about to come on in 5 minutes. It took 10 minutes, but I still freaked everyone out with my display of psychic powers and the hydro was retored in time to cook a turkey for dinner. Yay!
The evening was relaxing and the house is once again warm. I can no longer see my breath in the house. Once I get back to town I'll post some pics of the adventure.
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(comment on this)
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| Friday, October 13th, 2006
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9:09 pm - Manitoba - Part 1
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I've safely landed in Manitoba for a visit with the Dad and, for the second year in a row, I passed through a blizzard to get here. Traveling out of Waterloo was brutal thanks to a couple overturned semis on the 401 reducing traffic to one lane. But, thanks to the CBC for telling me where the accident was and my handy pocket road map, I found backroads around the mess. Still, it meant I traveled 4 km in 45 minutes, but I managed to make my flight with a little time to spare. In retrospect, it seems silly that I left Waterloo at 5:30am and didn't get to my gate until 8:20am, but that's how bad it was.
Landing in Winterpeg wasn't bad; it was actually pretty sunny (though also -4C out). As we hit one stretch of highway, the blizzard came the road turned to ice and we watched a truck in front of us fish-tale off the road trying to pass a tractor. (We eventually helped push it back onto the highway)
The trip's been relaxing so far, though we even nearly entered a ditch today. Even though there are paths pre-made by other cars through the occasional drift on the highway, dad has this habit of steering his truck away from the travelled paths and into the deepest, least used, slipperiest sections of the road. It was kinda like a lemming heading toward a cliff.
We hit a casino today and I lost $40 to the slot machine gods, then gained $45 at the black table. Dad played blackjack with me and I didn't have the heart to let him know how bad he was playing. I'm not a BJ pro, but the BJ bonus whoring I've been doing has ingrained the mathematically correct way to play the game. I did, however, have to speak up a few times. ("Uhh... dad... you have 11 and the dealer's showing a six. May want to double down, instead of passing on this one.")
A bright spot is that I found interesting beers in the middle of nowhere; "Fish Tale Organic IPA (mildly good, UK style IPA), and Speakeasy's Prohibtion Ale (a nice Red Ale from Califorina). Other than that I've been sipping on the local "Fort Gary's Dark Ale". Still, less than 48 hours at my dad's place and there's already three different beers in his fridge. I've made my mark... kinda like a dog peeing on things, only with more beer.
Back in town on Sunday night!
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(comment on this)
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| Wednesday, October 4th, 2006
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1:49 pm
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Some fun news...
The Biergotter Homebrew Club (my buddies and I) have arranged to brew a couple casks for Volo's 2006 Cask days. Volo is an Italian restaurant in Toronto with a fantastic selection of beer. Last year they brought in 26 kegs of cask conditioned beer and it looks like they're doing the same thing this year. Information can be found at www.caskdays.com. (Then check out the Biergotter link to see what we're brewing!)
If you enjoy beer, plan a day trip and go. The beer was fantastic and the food was excellent. It's exceedingly sad that I cannot make our first public unveiling of Biergotter Beer.
In other news, I've decided to give NaNoWriMo a try this year. I'm "Zithal", so feel free to add me as a buddy. If you're trying it too, let me know.
Other than than, I'm looking forward to a double Thanksgiving, as I go back to Windsor for my first one, then off next week to Manitoba to visit my dad for the second. I'm really hoping it doesn't blizzard again this year.
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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| Monday, October 2nd, 2006
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4:04 pm
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The One Acts are over and the post-show depression is quickly being replaced by post-show excitement about all the free time I have again. I am going to miss the production, though, it was a great cast. Thanks to everyone that gave "Cut" a positive review. It was nice hearing those comments.
For the rest of the shows, here are my reviews (note: the only performance I saw was first dress, so some of the issues I had may or may not have been cleaned up by the end of the run)
Blind Date: It was a cute play. The main actors are married in real life and so some of that chemistry really came through. While it's probably not allowed, I think some cutting of the text would have turned it into an exceptional play as the "joke" seemed to go on a little too long in a lot of places. Still, overall I enjoyed myself while watching it.
Persephoneia: It's really not my cup of tea, though I do give some positive marks for attempting to create something visual which usually never happens at our one acts due to getting a 3-4 four hour window to construct the set for all three shows. Kudos to the cast and crew for the attempt. The execution was a little lacking. It's a fine line between beautiful and cheesy, and this seemed to cross it a lot. It had elements that were VERY pretty to look at (the multicolored lantern scene, for instance), but was flooded by more than just didn't work (cat costume, stuffed dragon and the bed sheet wall of leaves immediately come to mind.)
The attempt at movement was also a nice change, but sadly, everyone wasn't at the same level, so that problem was glaring. Some members of the chorus had gorgeous lines and seemed to flow across the stage, while other stood completely still for the most part.
The hardest part for me was the vocals. Most of the lines were delivered in a very monotone speaking style which quickly became hypnotic for me. It was really hard to pay attention when the delivery of the lines was so flat. The lack of emotion also made it hard to translate the language and I got bored of trying early on.
Still, some of the actors on stage are ones that I'm keeping my eyes on. There are some that I hope come back and audition because I was seeing more potential from them on stage vs. the audition they gave. There's definitely a few I'd like to work with.
The show also made me realize that I'm really missing the visual design aspect of a show (I've been doing some very low-key set/prop shows recently), but I do think that we need to get back into 9 Princess to really have fun with this. Doing a show with 5 white lights providing the wash is getting very, very boring.
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| Wednesday, September 27th, 2006
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5:06 pm
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Almost there!
Well, another month and the September One Act that went along with it are quickly coming to an end. The Sept OAPW opens tomorrow night and this evening is our second dress.
This show has been an absolute pleasure to direct and I couldn't have asked for anything more. My goal at the beginning was to find something, simple and light, but still had the bizarre quality that I look for in the plays I direct. I found that in "Cut" (And the only thing that sucks is that UW Eng did a version of it a while ago, which will give some people preconceptions before they see it)
I was encouraged when someone mentioned what they thought was the worst part of the UW Eng version, and that kinda got me excited, because I identified the same thing a couple weeks into rehearsals and had already been working to fix it. I can't say what the problem is/was (preconceptions, ya know), but I think we gotten 95% of the way there.
Reaction to the show was excellent at the first dress. One standing O, and a number of people exiting from the other cast mentioning how much they liked it. I'm VERY pleased with how everything has turned out.
The (hopeful) success of this show is pinned squarely on the actors. What an amazing group to work with. Everyone's worked hard and done their part, and the cast chemistry at this point is amazing. You can tell this is a fun group of people that are really enjoying what they're doing.
The other two shows are a little mixed. "Blind Date" is going to be a very nice British comedy once the lead actress stops breaking character to call "Line!" It's a fun show, and the cast (a husband/wife team, directed by their daughter, SM'd by their son) fits the role nicely.
"Persephoneia" (I think that's how it's spelled), will be.... interesting. As I'm avoiding setting preconceptions, I'm going to wait til after the run to offer my thoughts. It's definitely something we don't usually see at the theatre. Word of warning; if you have trouble with Shakespearean language, you'll likely have trouble with this. It's not the same, but there are elements that are similar.
So, if you're looking for something to do this weekend come on out to the theatre. Due to large casts and a pre-sale program, tickets are going fast and we may have already pre-sold out the Sat. late show. Reserve tickets with KWLT if you're planning on coming.
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| Thursday, September 21st, 2006
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3:04 pm
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Hey all,
This is me testing my first blog post from within Writely; a google owned online word processor. If this remains "unblocked" from work, I may actually get to post on my blog in a more regular fashion.
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| Tuesday, May 2nd, 2006
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8:56 pm - Mattress Update
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Looks like I spoke too soon. The "Nature's Miracle" product seems to mask the odor with a strong peroxide smell, but once it drys, the mattress (and my bedroom) return to smelling like urine. Sigh.
Now, the bottle says you have to wait two weeks to see if the odour's really gone, so I guess I'll do that. Luckily, I'm heading off to Niagra Falls for the Degree Poker Tournament from Thursday to Monday, so that'll keep me from going crazy and obsessing over it here.
Also looks like the living room is going to be my new bedroom for the next while. :)
Once I get back, if the odour isn't gone, I guess the next step is to wait for a sunny weekend day and let the mattress bake under the sun. Sunlight is supposed to be excellent on this type of this. I guess I'll also try a steam cleaner, but I really worried that the stain is too far buried to get out. I'll call the place I bought it and see if they have any suggestions. I get the feeling, that I'm spending the next month on the couch. My chiropractor's going to love me!
For something that I've been debating doing for three years now, it was an enjoyable 5 nights sleep. lol.
Shit happens.
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| Monday, May 1st, 2006
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12:05 am - Bed Update
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The "Nature's Miracle" stuff is working very well. The yellow ring pee stain is gone and the smell is dramatically reduced. Yay!
In other news, I travelled to Mississauga on Saturday to pick up a couple cases of "Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA". It's part of the LCBO spring beer release and has been flying off the shelves. Almost didn't get any, but the moron in me kept track of where the beer was coming in and got a friend in one of the cities to pick me up some stuff.
This is going to be a very interesting beer release for a couple reasons. With it's excellent sales the LCBO is likely to bring it back and perhaps permanently stock some beer in the style. In addition, I think the smaller craft brewries are taking notice that an American Style IPA is going over gangbusters here. I expect to see some bottled IPA's announced before the end of the year.
I'm looking forward to having a little time off now that Popcorn is done. I'll be working on some Fundraising ideas for KWLT, and it's time to have a little mor fun.
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| Sunday, April 30th, 2006
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5:54 pm - Popcorn and other stuff
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So, what's the one thing that can kill the high from a successful run of Popcorn Plays? Discovering this morning that my roommate's wonderful little kitty peed on my new 1-week-old, thousand dollar mattress. I'm not a happy camper today. If any on has *any* suggestions to clean this I'm all ears. It's a Sealy pocket coil with a pillow top. The area is currently wet with "Nature's Miracle". The first application didn't do much, so the second one is going on as we speak.
Is this something that I should consider getting professionally cleaned? Will that even help?
Still.. Popcorn rocked and the cast party was a blast.
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| Monday, February 20th, 2006
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7:22 pm - D-Day is coming
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One last thing. Mark March 2nd in your calendars. It's the day that we find out if KWLT gets funding from Trillium to finish the theatre.
Cross your fingers!
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7:20 pm - Birthday Weekend
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Had a fabulous birthday weekend this past weekend. Took a lot of time to do things that I just found fun, leaving behind any semblance of responsibiity. In temporal order...
Headed to the spur Thursday night for Karaoke, doing the classic standby, "Bust-A-Move" and also my first time doing "Greatest American Hero" theme song. Best moment of the evening was when my friend thought it funny to order a pitcher of Keith's IPA for us. I took a swig and my friend held up his glass exclaiming, "Here's to one of the best IPA's".
I spit the beer back into the glass and proclaimed, "Here's to Stone".
Friday morning got up early and had b-fast with Steve and Amanda. Easy and myself then headed out to get supplies for the upcoming weekend. My present to myself was a $70 Karaoke machine from Future Shop. That night, I held "The Jock Strap of Bristol St."; a team based poker event and my team, "The Retarded Trainables" nearly won.
Saturday, got up, cleaned the house and held an amazing Stout tasting, which included mccorpsecorpse, quingawaga and a few friends from out of town. I've had most before, with my one great new one being Alesmith's Speedway Stout. The Yeti Oaked Aged was incredible as always, while the Stone is beginning to lose a little something with age. (though, not much) Great to see the local Ontario beers, Welly's Imperial and Tsarina Katarina, held up well!
After that people come over for a party which included games, beers, karaoke, cards, dancing and wrestling til 4:30 in the morning. A classic night and a fun party!
Sunday was then spent cleaning the aftermath, having some b-fast with kabuki_mask and then relaxing on the couch for the rest of the day, evening ending with Swiss Chalet, Dairy Queen and several episodes of Lost.
Every weekend should be so good! Thanks to everyone who made it a memorable weekend!
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| Tuesday, January 31st, 2006
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1:06 am - Back again
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| Friday, December 16th, 2005
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12:30 am - New Years and Years New
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2006 is going to bring a lot of change. Weird when you can feel it coming. Some of the changes are sad (as this will be the first New Years in 20+ years without the Windsor crew) and some changes are unfortunate, but long overdue for me.
Seeing someone so close to death has an affect on you.
I'm VERY excited about PG this weekend.
I think I created a dinner that made E orgasm when I served it to her and D. One of my best, if I say so myself.
New Year's is going to be a little low-key but a lot of fun.
I love flirting.
Random thoughts as I bust out of an online tournament 46/459 with the top 40 getting paid. I was so close to making 87 cents.
current mood:  quixotic
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| Wednesday, December 14th, 2005
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3:16 pm - A better Wednesday
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Just getting back from London and my step-dad made it through his triple bypass. Some scary moments, but for the most part, he's doing well. I think the scariest part for me was when we saw him post-op and one of the heart sensors slipped down a bit to make it look like he flat-lined. NOT FUN.
This moring, he was completely awake, taking and back to his old self.
I really have to send out a New Year's invite soon. This year we're toning things down a tad. Sadly no hot tub. But we will be having a fondue party. Let me know if you're interested in coming and have a fondue pot you can spare. Afterwards, it'll be beer tasting, board games and general socializing.
"The Professor, the Banker and the Suicide King" is a good poker book, that details one of the richest games ever played and the lives of the people involved. If you ever find me playing $100,000-$200,000 limit Hold'em, please smack some sense into me.
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| Monday, December 12th, 2005
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10:57 pm - Skipping ahead a bit
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I'm not even going to pretend I can catch up, so here are the most recent updates...
Biggest news is that my step-dad had a minor heart attack and will be undergoing bypass surgery tomorrow morning. I'm heading to London tomorrow to be with the family.
L has *finally* moved into her own place and I got to see it this weekend. Very nice place in a very nice location. Her apartment is connected to a beer store. Nice. We headed out for dinner and split "Chicken on Toast". Sounds harmless, except that the toast is buttered garlic bread.. and there's a couple slices of peameal bacon between the chicken and the toast... and it's smothered in onion and mushrooms.... and lots of cheese... and lots of hollidaise sauce. Damn it's good. I also introduced L to the joy of 'deep fried pickle'
I'm in a musical! I'm the lead bad in "Street Justice: Musical Justice". There's an ungodly number of penis jokes. But, I still think it'll go over pretty well. It's basically FASS in 30 minutes. The musical parodies are a lot of fun. It's going on at the January One Acts... go see it.
Heading to Premier Gourmet this weekend with C & E and DrJay. I love that place. Why can't Canada have places like that.
I had "John Sleeman presents.. India Pale Ale." The less said the better.
current mood:  moody
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| Thursday, October 6th, 2005
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1:07 pm - It's Cold
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Currently in Lac du Bonnet, MB and it's cold. We drove through a blizzard getting here and there are 4 inches of snow on the ground. It's not pretty.
current mood:  cold
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| Tuesday, September 13th, 2005
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8:07 am - Reunion
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I PVR'd the new show, "Reunion", because the premise sounded cool. Five friends gather in 2006 for the funeral of a sixth friend, with one of them suspected of murder. Each episode plays out in one year of their lives after high school.
So, the pilot's flashbacks take place in 1986, and this week's flashbacks will take place in 1987.
The problem... the writing is the worst ever and the I'm not sure if the actors are also bad or if there just no way to act good to writing this bad. So, instead of just watching, I'm now turning it into a drinking game. These are the rules.
- Flashback or return to present - take one drink
- Character revelation (they're OBVIOUS when they happen) - take one drink
- Cheesy bad line that no one would ever say in real life - take one drink
- OMG... plot twist!!.. - take 3 drinks (not only are they... gasp.. completely expected, they're really boring plot twists.
Enjoy! And if you have additional rules, please feel free to add them in comments.
current mood:  drunk
current music: Hearts And Minds
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