Early birds are probably just dumb...

Did you get extra sleep this weekend? I sure didn't. Even though it can be a bit confusing at times I think Daylight Savings is a great idea. It's a bit tough to take in the spring since you lose an hour but who cares...IT'S SPRING...aka ALMOST SUMMER! I love "falling back" in October though. Most often I got to bed not thinking about it, sleep in anyway, then get up and realize it's not 12:30. It's 11:30, before noon, and I haven't wasted the day completely. It's like finding $20 in the pocket of the jeans you're about to wash. Sure it's yours already but still...bonus!

So why didn't I get it this year? Funny story. Slept in Sunday as usual at Grandma's house in Edmonton. Didn't care what time I got up but once I got upstairs Grandma reminded me that it was an hour earlier. Sweet. I even went around and helped her change all the clocks. (I never thought that DST could be a stressful time for short people) "But Mike...didn't you say you missed it?" Patience people, haven't got to the funny part yet.

Drove home in terrible conditions with Dan, Mel, and Jeff. Played hockey with the Golddiggers (won 3-1) and went to bed early with only one thing causing ME stress. "How do I get my hockey equipment to work tomorrow?" Nevin, the best guy-with-a-truck ever, usually lets me throw it in his vehicle but, sadly, he is still in Edmonton. My solution was to get up at 5:15, put my gear in Jeff's car, drive downtown, drop it off in my office, drive home, shower/shave/eat, and go to work. The problem was that I'd forgotten to set MY CALGARY alarm clock. So I actually got up at the insane time of 4:15am!

Wouldn't have noticed except for that an ever vigalent Dan heard the noises downstairs and decided to investigate. Hope I didn't scare him too bad. In his boxers he poked his head out the door (I was already in the car) to tell me I'm a retard and that it's only 4:30am. Whatever dude....crap!

So I dropped off the equipment anyway and was back home in bed by 5:00am. Tried to fall back asleep for 20 minutes but was unsuccessful so I got up, showered/shaved/ate and caught the 6:00am bus to the office. Surprisingly I'm not tired at all today. My Timmy's pepped me right up (which is surprising based on how little the 6 cups of coffee per day did for me). So I'm right on track, hockey at noon, gym after work, and bed-time moved up to, say, 9:00 pm.

Girls...when are they not on my mind?

I don't think of myself as obsessed about girls. I have work, hockey, and other interests but I guess like any guy my thoughts can easily turn to the fairer sex. So why am I writing about this now? I really don't know...guess it was just on my mind.

Update (for those who don't know): I'm single.

Good, got that out of the way. So am I looking for a girlfriend? I don't know. Definitely find the single life easy right now. I've always been a bit self centered but right now it is nice to be able to focus on me. There's so many new things in my life at the moment that I don't know how much energy and enthusiasm I'd have left for someone else with new things in their life. I'd be able to do it...I'd just be damn tired at the end of everyday. Girls, you may not realize it but just having a relationship can be draining on a guy even if you're not around. (AND I'm aware that it goes both ways...guys can be so dumb at times)

The other thing that weighs on my mind is my possible (almost certain) international placement coming up in a year or two. What if I find a great girl here? Will she move with me to where ever I end up? Is it fair to ask that of her if she has a good, established job here? I know it's retarded to even think of these things so early. I can hear Nevin and Jeff laughing now ("Mike, you idiot, you don't even have a girlfriend yet!"). I know...but I'm a future planner. Always have been. So to put my mind at ease, girls, what do you think? Would any of you pick up and move with "that guy you kinda like" for a chance to live in a different country for a while? I want comments on this.

Okay, discussion topic out of the way. In other news I'm taking a charter flight up to Hinton today at 4:00 pm. Have everything I need for a week away (even gym clothes). I'll be back Friday around 2:00 pm and might have to scramble a bit to make it up to Edmonton in a timely fashion. Pretty excited for the Phys Ed Halloween Party at The One on Whyte Ave in Edmonton. Terry knows how to organize/support a good party. Have a good week people. I'll try to stay in touch from the field.

Too Much Hockey...is there such a thing?

I never thought that I could play too much hockey...I still don't...but it's getting close. I've now been invited to play 3 lunch hours a week (only going Mondays and Fridays right now but soon I may play a few Tuesdays with Nevin and the Smith crew). Jeff and I played with the Golddiggers last night at 11:00pm in northeast Calgary. Won that 3-2. Jeff made one of the nicest passes ever to set up the winning goal. He actually played an all around solid game. I was a bit quiet on the other hand. Also, the Oilmen's tournament next Thursday, Friday, Saturday.

So yeah, lot's of hockey...but it doesn't end there. Don't forget about the Oilers. These guys are 3-1-0 right now and I'm positive it's going to be an exciting year. I'm pretty psyched about the game tonight against Vancouver. Jeff and I have a squash game with another friend at 5:00 but we'll be home in plenty of time for the puck drop. I think we'll have to play a game of rock/paper/scissors to decide who goes to pick up Dad at the airport at 9:00. Can't write much more now, too busy. Peace.

Lookin' too damn good...

I really didn't think I could be over-dressed for an office job but that's exactly what I did last Thursday. Took a lot of flak from everyone I met in the hall. Had my bosses worried, secretaries gossiping. What was my sin? My tie!

Yup, it actually looks bad to wear a tie to work here. Why? Assumptions. In an office environment where you don't have to wear a tie, that uncomfortable, useless piece of clothing, why would you wear one? It's that question that gets you into trouble. "Is Mike going to a funeral?" "Does he have a work review and is getting fired?" and the worst "Hmm, I wonder if Mike has an interview with another company today?".

The last one is probably the most common. Of the 40 people I interacted with that day I think only 2 didn't say anything about my tie. My boss wondered if I'd be staying with Conoco long, other engineers wanted to know what kind of incentives I was getting to leave. Very confusing and I did so much explaining and back-pedaling by noon that I took it off for lunch at Japanese Village and never put it back on.

So you may have a question. Why did I wear a tie in the first place? I bought 3 nice ties in Thailand, I have shirts that go great with ties, so why would I purchase all that and never wear it? Because it gets you in trouble at work obviously. Sorry, I didn't know! The kicker is it was actually an old tie that had on, not even one of my new ones. So this week I'm back to boring, comfortable golf shirts.

In other news, made it down to Montana for the one and only time this year to put away the cabin. Pretty cold down there so I didn't make it out on the water other than to take the pier out. Sure like having that place. I promise to make good use of it next year. Also, this Friday the 13th is Luke's 23rd birthday. He's in the field then but will be back for some partying Saturday night. I think buckets are on the menu.

Rain, Rain, come and...stay??

Okay, so I'd NEVER actually say that and mean it. It's currently a crappy, cold, rainy day in downtown Calgary (I swear the city is big enough now it could be different elsewhere) and I'm not exactly in a funk but it's Monday morning, I didn't get a lot of sleep, I hate dark, cloudy, cold, rainy days but for some reason today I'm seeing the light. Maybe it's because I'm eternally optimistic but even with all the reasons I should hate the weather I can find some good.

First, rain helps things grow. Calgary's natural vegetation is grass...kind of boring. That's one of the things I really liked about Edmonton was the abundance of trees. I love the North Saskatchewan River valley. So, anything we can do to help the greenery down here...bonus.

Second, if it's raining and cold here, it was probably snowing in the mountains earlier. I didn't get out snowboarding too much last year but the winter before in Calgary I did lots. Pretty psyched for this season.

Third, it'll test your "rain protection". How much would it suck to invest in umbrellas, rain coats, and eves troughing and never have rain? You'd look at that $150 Gortex coat everyday and think about what a waste it was. One of the other engineers here was at his cabin in Crowsnest Pass this past weekend and was wishing for rain to test out his brand new eves trough. No such luck but one of the other engineers had a great idea...use a hose! Be a pretty funny sight.

So I may prefer sun, summer, and warmth but today I'm going to enjoy the rain and remind myself how much I'm looking forward to next June.