Thursday, April 17, 2008

Spayed

Today Kodi had her first operation, hopefully her last one!
It was a minor operation, she had 5 baby teeth removed ... and spayed.
Kodi loves the vet because every time we go i steal treats for her from the treat jar, this time was no different. She ran in and they took her right away... when i picked her up a few hours later she was more than happy to go home.
She was all drowsy and very sad, she was crying in the car which made me really sad.
Since she hasn't eaten in a day she was starving when we arrived home, but the crappy part was that we were not allowed to feed her a full meal because of the medication she was on.
all in all it was not that great of a day because my little girl was sick and i could do nothing about it ..
Sometimes i wish she was able to talk, but i guess it would have cost us a lot more for a dog that could talk ...

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Screamers!!!!!

There's a small grocery store in Richmond BC, it sits on the corner for Francis and Garden City and they have this most amazing drink! It's a combination of a Slurpee/Slushie mixed with soft ice cream! It's a very yummy combination. i have heard from lots of people but decided to try it and i have to admit its as good as everyone says it is. I think it might be the perfect summer combination. If you haven't tried it i would totally recommend it.

The crappiest part of this drink is choo choosing your flavors because they all look good, and if im not mistaken they have at least 8-10 flavors.

Oh by the way they offer an "extra ice-cream" option but opt out of it because there's enough ice cream in it .. plus its not worth the extra 70 or something cents.

Friday, April 11, 2008

Photography

As some of you might know, i picked up a new hobby a while ago, Photography.
The wife let me blow the budget and get a new camera. I'm pretty happy with it. Thanks to by buddy Ed, i got a pretty good deal on a a Nikon D200.
It's actually a pretty fun hobby, i still don't know much about photography and probably about 5% of the camera i'm still having fun with it.

A friend of mine said "your the only person in the whole world that captured the exact picture at that exact time no one can ever exactly replicate it" I think that's pretty cool! I never thought about taking pictures that way ... I think it changed my whole appreciation for photo taking.

There's so many cool things you can do with a camera, but beware, it's a really really really really expensive hobby ...

Here are some new uploaded pictures i have taken recently ...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/23909847@N05/

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Subject to Inspection

Here's a note to all of you that intend on buying a house.

This subject is the biggest joke on the planet, if anyone wants to buy a home you should have a more specific clause in your contract. Anyone that puts this as their only subject while looking at your home is not very serious. They can back out at any time.... Which is fine but don't waste peoples time. If your not serious just say that so the seller can be on their way.
If your selling your home and the buyer wants a Subject to inspection, its like not having any clause at all ...

So in this case seller beware ...

Sunday, April 6, 2008

NEW HOUSE ! ! !

It's been a while since i have blogged, with being sick and doing stuff with Kodi ,the bitterness of the Canucks not making it in the playoffs, the Spirit getting knocked out in the first round and life just getting in the way there seems to be less and less time to do stuff i want to do.

Oh before i forget, the wife and i got a new house! We sold our's and bought one slightly bigger. I'm pretty happy with it. The lot is a bit bigger, the house is a bit bigger, and so is the price ... actually it's not much more than what were paying right now, so i guess the timing is right ...

I know everyone says that Vancouver can't keep up its housing prices up but it has ... i know the bubble will burst somewhere but if your in the market already i don't think it makes that much of a difference.

i'm too sick to think of what to write so keep posted for pictures of our new house! Maybe you will get invited soon!

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Canucks playoff tickets ...

Its that time of year again when the Vancouver Canucks bill us for playoff tickets ... Sometimes i dont know why we bother.
The bill us for the first 2 rounds, IF they make it to the next round then we get charged for the 3rd and so on and so fourth.
Lately it seems like im wasting my time in front of the TV watching them. I do love the Canucks but it seems like they don't even care to try ... its tough watching a 1-0 game with no action. I dont even mind when we lose as long as its exciting. A few years ago you had a gut feeling when they needed a goal they could put it in another gear and turn it up. but lately as soon as the other team scores, its like Oh no .. here we go again.
I had a friend tell me instead of getting seasons tickets why dont you spend the money on a nice TV and HD box .. he's got a great point!
I dont know what it is about Vancouver, were always good enough not to make it. And its been like this for ages.
BLAH .. thats how i feel about most nights that they play. I find myself not even really paying attention.

But who knows when the playoffs are here ( assuming we make it) it should be fun again. There's nothing i would rather do than watch hockey playoffs! Its just that making it there is the hard part ...

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Not every baby and not every dog are male

Since we have had Kodi, i have found it really weird how 9 1/2 out of 10 people automatically assume that she is a he. Almost every single person she meets says "How old is he?" without ever asking .. is it me or is that kind of weird. I noticed this with little babies as well. Every person asks how old is he.
I think people have to realize that there are female dogs and female kids out there .. not every kid and every dog can be male, or else guess what ... there would be no more kids and puppies after a while ...
Maybe i'm just a little bitter or a little sensitive .. but i cant image how every single person assume Kodi is a boy dog... here's a tip .. look for her penis ...
If you don't know just ask ...

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Steveston Pizza

One of the best kept secrets in Steveston Village is a little place called Steveston Pizza Co.

This little pizza place is on the corner of 3rd and Moncton. It is by far the best pizza place you will ever go to. I guarantee it!!
In the front its got a orange awning and it looks like a little dive.. but on the inside its a fancy little pizza place.
It is not like one of those 2-1 pizza joints, this place makes gourmet pizzas using fancy ingredients like : port marinated bison, wild boar sausage, wasabi-scented chicken breast, snow crab, sea weed.. just to name a few. It also has the regular toppings like pepperoni, pineapple, ham ...

I think this place uses all organic ingredients(not that that matters to me a whole lot) but it is quite delicious.

Last time we had the "Caveman and the West Coast" and they were both excellent and far exceeded our expectations!

So if you ever feel like taking me out for some fancy pizza just give me a call i will be glad to share one with you

here is a link to the menu, i'm sure it will make your mouth water and want to go out and try it!

http://www.stevestonpizza.com/menu.htm

"It's the Pho Lan of Pizzas" - Raf

Prison Broked

Its been a long 3 days but finally the wife and I managed to finish season one of Prison Break. Everyone has been raving about this TV series for a while now so we finally broke down and watched the first season.
In my opinion i thought it was just OK ... For entertainment value it was just an OK.
Not nearly as good as 24 or Heros ..

I think they had a really good idea but it wasn't that well thought out.
In what maximum security prison can everyone carry around weapons or things that can be used as weapons. Batteries ... razor blades ... long screws ... as if ...
It was more like they were trapped in Home Depot or Rona instead of a maximum security prison. And everything that could have gone wrong went wrong. but "luckily" it turned out for the better "whew..haha"
This re-occurring theme played out through the episode but it was still entertaining ...

I think they had a really good idea, but like i said before they should have put a little more thought into it, i think it could have been way better.

Saturday, March 8, 2008

'If You're Not First, You're Last'

Ricky Bobby said it best!

'If You're Not First, You're Last'

It's been a hard 6 weeks of puppy school but it finally paid off! Guess who took first place in her class!!!
Our Little Kodi-May finished tops in her class, she did all of her obedience tests perfectly( with the slight exception of her walking...)
It was close between her and the other German Shepard but in the end she pulled it off! The other ones weren't even close.
We were pretty confident that she could do it, but it was still a bit nerve racking. But when it came time to testing she was focused!
Maybe we shouldn't be so competitive but if you haven't met me and my wife that's the only thing that matters! Is winning everything? If not its pretty close!
We are super proud of our little puppy! If were so excited about a this imagine one day when we have kids ... ugh..
Anyways Kode's is gonna get a really good meal tonight and lots of hugs and treats!!
I cant wait until the next class she's in!
Our doggie is the smartest in the whole wide world!

Saturday, March 1, 2008

2 Paws Up For Puppy School

It's our last week before the final test at puppy school.
Pretty amazing to watch Kodi for the last 5 weeks there, she was very shy and a bit aggressive when she first went there, but after 5 weeks shes one of the more playful ones now. She even initiates the play and wants to get to know all the dogs now.

On top of the socializing she has become a lot more obedient, she has mastered everything they have taught her ... the walking is still so-so ...

Next week is the big test! All the puppies will go through everything they have taught us, and there is a prize for the most obedient puppy! I think were gunning for that so hopefully she can do it.

So anyone that is thinking of putting their puppy through training i would give it a 2 paws up!


Yesterday a few friends of mine and I went out to All you can eat sukiyaki. When we got there the waitresses attempted to teach us how to eat it. For those who have never been it is EXACTLY like Hot pot, you take raw meat and/or veggies and cook it in a broth or water. Very simple. I never thought that there was a science to eating it but apparently the people who work there think there is. They were saying how cabbage has 80% water content and ZZZZZZZZ....
that's all i remember from from our conversation.

I have to admit that it was pretty good, for a rip off japanese version of hot pot. I also had a strawberry sprite which was quite delicious as well.
Remember that everything that is, was, and ever will be, has come from the chinese in some way!

Friday, February 29, 2008

I Hate The Moj !!!!

Has anyone ever noticed that idiot that is on before the Canucks games on Sportsnet?
The Moj is the curse of the Vancouver Canucks, every time he makes a prediction it is ALWAYS the opposite. I am almost convinced he works for BC lotteries ... if you ever want to make money bet against what that fool has to say ... I don't think he has ever been right!

His quote is that he "lays the hammer down!" Someone on the Canucks should lay the hammer down on him. I dont' mind if he makes wrong predictions on any other team. But he should just leave the Canucks out of his predictions. Maybe he can say they will lose every game so we can win one once in a while ...

How long are we going to be mediocre for? Should Nonis have made a big trade? I'm not blaming him but we can't build a team blow it up build it blow it up forever ... at some point you will have to make a decision ... hopefully i can eat my words again and the Canucks will make the playoffs and go far ...

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

STOP !!!!!!!!!!


This is for the jerks out there that seem to think Stop signs are just there for display! Stop does not mean slow down from 70 or 80 and whip around the corner. It also doesn't mean inch your way 10 feet past the Stop sign and sit in the middle of traffic!
Stop simply means stop! And wait until its safe for you to proceed ... there is no time limit on when you should stop. just stop and wait until its your turn. So for that @sshole that cut me off today and didn't bother to slow down this is what is means!
If your not sure of this symbol or if you cannot understand the word STOP maybe you should get tested again because next time you do that may be your last. One day someone who is not as nice as me might not have the ability to swerve out of the way and smash into your sorry ass.
Maybe you have no regard for your own life, but be considerate of other people! Your life might not be worth the pot you piss in but other people have families and people who care about them.

It also doesn't help that i live in Richmond, not to be racist or anything but i think its time to do a mass police ticket/fines for all the crappy drivers out there! Maybe make the fines like $500- $1000! A few of those should make you think twice about being an ass on the roadways!

I witnessed an accident a few months ago in a parking lot. A lady hit this other car while parking .. she then continued to park, waited a few a while until no one was looking the left the scene. Luckily i was there to write down the license plate number and description or the person and make of the car. I left my number and told the person to call me, which they did. A few days later the police called me and i gave my statement and told him to throw the book at her 10 points for a hit and run then leaving the scene of the accident. I wish she would have gotten more!
So the next time you see something like this happen take the time to STOP (there's that magic word again) and do something about it. Because the next car or person that gets hit could be you or someone you know!!!!!!!!

Sunday, February 24, 2008

A Day At The Dyke

Today we took our Kodi for a walk on the Dyke.
I got a chance to take my new camera out to take some pictures and got a chance to take Kodi for a long walk.
I got a chance to practice using my camera while getting some pretty cool shots off. There are so many things to learn on the camera that i can barely keep up. I'm always thinking of cool shots, but forget to look at exposures and stuff ... when i got home half my pictures were crap! Oh well ... at least i got a few good ones off ..

After about an hour or so walk with Kodi, she jumped right away into the car and fell asleep in about 10 seconds ... It was a pretty big day for her. She also went through her first car wash .. i don't think she liked that very much ..

Here are some shots that i was able to salvage ...








http://www.flickr.com/photos/23909847@N05/

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Saturday, February 23, 2008

Dont Steal My Dog!

Today Kodi went to the vet again, she doubled in weight from the last time we brought her a month ago! She is now 22.4 pounds! It's amazing how fast she's grown, even we noticed. I'm kinda sad because she's growing up too fast ...

Today we got her micro chipped, This will ensure that she will be found if she's ever lost of stolen. It's amazing how good technology is nowadays. It took about 10 seconds for her to get micro chipped. The needle was huge but our dog was very brave, she didn't even whimper... just went about her day like nothing happened.
She also got 2 other shots, her rabies shot and distemper shots.

I don't think she even minds going to the vet, other than being cooped up for an hour in the same room, she's not scared or nervous unlike some of the pets we see in there.

After that we went to day 4 of puppy training ... ( her walking is still terrible but her other commands were great) after that we took her for a short walk to Steveston to get some fish and chips for mom and dad. I was so proud of her because she was very well behaved. I think this is the very first time we took her to a place with lots of people, other than at church and she just sat there and watched us eat. She met lots of other dogs there and was very good at being friendly! I really think that puppy socializing was a great idea and all dog owners should do it.

Monday, February 18, 2008

My First Pics!

Finally i managed to figure out how to put my pictures online!
This is my first attempt at taking pictures, and guess who i took pictures of!



here is the link to my pics, even though i don't have many ... but hopefully i can put my new fancy camera to good use soon!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/23909847@N05/

Who Can Afford To Live In Vancouver????

The wife and i were talking briefly about the housing market the other day( don't worry 1 mile radius-ers). We were talking about either knocking the house down, or buying somewhere else.

Our house is probably about 35-40 years old now, and things are starting to go wrong. The fence needs fixing, the roof had a bit of a leak(but its fixed now!) and just general maintenance stuff .. Its a bit of a pain because we don't want to spend any money on fixing the house incase we decide to rebuild. It would have been money wasted ...

I was looking into the markets a bit in the last little while and i cannot believe the prices of housing in Vancouver/Richmond. The average house is about $850,000 and that's on the low end. You would probably get something that is about 30 years old. Our house is probably about $200,000 less than that and we live in a 3 bed room rancher.

Who can afford that if you are just starting out?? Its totally ridiculous. You would both have to be working and making decent money. If you had no money down and was looking into buying a house, assuming that you could get about a 5% mortgage. You would have to pay about $4000 a month! And that's not including anything like phone bills, electricity, hydro, property taxes ... it would easily be over $4500 a month in just maintaining your house! That's insane... considering you could move out to Saskatchewan/Winnipeg and but a place for $150-200,000. Actually you could buy a few houses.

Everyone has been saying that the bubble is going to burst pretty soon and the housing market is going to burst. I haven't seen it ... I bought my house about 7-8 years ago for $246,000 and its tripled in that time. How much longer do you think this can go on for? I have heard that after the 2008 Olympics the housing prices will come down to a halt .. i guess only time will tell!!


I was talking with some friends about the Saskatchewan idea!! If i could get all my friends and family to do it then were in! We could all sell our houses and buy a few blocks! Wouldn't that be great? Who's in with me?? I wonder how much it would cost to name a street after me?

Thursday, February 14, 2008

I Choo-Choo Choose You

My wife and I don't usually give gifts and such on holiday. We think we would like to be the kind of people that takes the commercialism out of the holidays.

For example: A week prior to Valentines day roses are usually about $7.99 a dozen (i'm generalizing, give or take a few bucks either way ..) but the week of Valentines day they skyrocket to $29.99 +. Not that i'm cheap or i dont think my wife deserves them but don't you think its a bit ridiculous? The same thing goes for Christmas ... and every other holiday. Stores just want to make more money cause ... they know people will pay for it.

Something that always pops into my head at this time of year is the episode of the Simpsons where Ralf Wiggims gives Lisa Simpson a Valentines day card.




It makes me laugh, for one thing it's the Simpsons. Secondly it portrays how everyone is doing the exact thing as Ralf. The go and spend lots and lots of money on things to please the other person. I think for all those people that went out and bought chocolates, roses and other big ticket items JUST because today is Valentines day are a little bit weird. If you love your partner you should be able to do these things any day of the year and not just because its Valentines day.

And for all the girls out there that celebrate today, don't forget that its Valentines day for the guys as well! Every year i ask my wife how come only the guys go out and do all these "special" things for the ladies? How come the girls don't go out and buy video games, cameras, motorcycles, sports equipment .. for the guys ??
I know my wife reads this so i hope she gets the hint ;)

Anyways I hope everyone has a great day whether you celebrate it or not!


1 Corinthians 13

Love
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Monday, February 11, 2008

Ozone Machine

Do you know that stinky smell you get when you have hockey gear? Well i play in net and today i cleaned my gear.

I borrowed an Ozone Machine from a good friend of mine, apparently ozone is used to kill mold and bacteria ... I put all my goalie gear in my bad and put the machine into it. I left the machine on for about 40 minutes and then aired my gear for about 10 min outside.

When i first took out the gear it smelled like chlorine, after i aired it out for a while i noticed that the stink was gone ... so apparently it works! It smells a lot better than when i first put it in the bag.

I think they have one of those machines at Sportsexchange, some people say they are great some say it doesn't work. so far it has worked quite well for me, but we will see in a few days.

On another note, i cant believe how big Kodi is getting. She seemed a bit heavier when i picked her up. When we first got her she was only about 6 pounds, when we took her to the vet a week and a half after she was 13 pounds and now i think shes about 20!!! I hope she doesn't double her weight every week or else she will be as big as Clifford the red dog!!.
This week was her second week at puppy school, sadly enough i think she thinks shes a human. She doesn't really like to play with the other dogs. Maybe shes scared because she is the youngest and smallest in her class ... We took her to a good friend of ours who also owns a dog, and she seemed to be a bit better there.
Yesterday a few friends of ours also brought their dogs over to the same friend and they played well together ... Kodi wasn't as scared but she was also the biggest ... hopefully thats all it is .. and she only scared at puppy school cause shes the smallest.
Its hard to know if dogs are just playing or if they are fighting ... sometimes it seems like they are playing really rough but they keep going back for more.
I wish i could read her mind!

Here is a short video of our puppy!!


Friday, February 8, 2008

Stupid House Stuff

They should come out with some sort of manual when you buy a house!

Lately i have had to do some stupid house maintenance stuff that you never think about ...

here are some examples, hopefully they will help someone out.

Clean your gutters!
this year i had to do that and i scooped out about 50 pounds of crud sitting in my gutter, never thought of doing that until it was too late. we had a little leak in our roof and i checked out just about everything until i cleaned my gutters!

Flush your hot water tank out.
your suppose to do this every year, who knew?? We had to get a new hot water tank this year because i never once thought that you would have to clean it. Apparently stuff builds up in the tank and takes years off your hot water tanks life away.

Turn your water off to faucets that are outside
luckily our winters here are not cold enough, but this is something you should so your pipes dont freeze over. This can be messy when the water in your pipes start to defrost

Clean your Furnace
This is something you should do every other year, so the dust and crud in your air doesnt circulate

also dont cheap out on useless maintenance stuff, but it once so you dont have to keep buying it over and over and over again. you spend the money to do it properly this will save you lots in the long run!!

im sure there are tons more stuff but these things recently happened to me, im sure there are tons more ... (sigh)

This has nothing to do with house maintenance but here are some regular maintenance stuff you should do.

check your tire pressure
change your oil regularly
clean your freezer and fridge! ( i throw out old stuff all the time ..)

im sure brushing your teeth, showering, combing your hair ... ect ... are all in there somewhere too but you would figure some people wouldnt know it.

let me know if i can add to the list ...


Thursday, February 7, 2008

Gung Hay Rat Choi

Happy Chinese new year to all!

Today was the first time i left Kodi alone for more than a few hours. When i got home she was really good. no barking no crying ... she just came out and scratched on the back door ( her way of telling us she has to pee or poop. And tonight we took her for a walk and she is learning how not to pull on her leash as much. i think shes getting it but shes so excited to run around and play she forgets that shes on a leash.

On top of that i finally got a camera!! I have been wanting one for a long long time and finally decided to do it. I purchased a Nikon D200 ( which wasnt the one i wanted, it was too expensive) but i managed to get a really good deal. it was only about 175 more than the one i wanted. I really wasnt even looking at that one cause it was way our of my price range but when i was at the store, it happened to be the last one, and the new D300 came out so the 200 is being discontinued and the manager didnt really care. I think this camera is too complicated for me but i will take a class and learn. I'm pretty happy with my new purchase! It's not the lens i wanted but i think i made a better financial decision.
Its a hard thing for me to do, i never really had to "watch my spendings" when i was younger cause i had money. Its not that i dont now, but i actually think more about my purchases ... it guess its the good influence of my wife.
I feel a little bad/guilty if i spend too much, even though i know we can afford it. I guess its a good thing ...

all in all i had a pretty good day!

Monday, February 4, 2008

New Tricks!!!!!

I love new tricks, and Kodi is sooooo good at them!
We have had her for a little over 2 weeks now and i dont know if she's brilliant or if were good teachers!! My wife sure knows how to pick dogs!! I knew Labs were smart but i am still surprised at the rate she's learning!

So far the tricks she knows are Sit, Lie Down, Roll Over, Watch Me, Leave It, Speak, Beg (that's a tough one for her) and Dance! Thats averaging 2 tricks a day!

She loves to learn but i think she loves her treat treats more!!

She is getting a little better at walking but is still pulling on her leash, its getting better so practice makes perfect i guess.

Daddy loves to teach her new tricks but the credit all goes to her for being able to do it! It takes her an average of 15-30 min to learn a new trick, and the good thing is when she gets tired or doesnt want to do it anymore she lets me know, so i dont push her too much.

Eating my words

What a fantastic finish to the SuperBowl!
I am eating my words, i said that it would have been a blowout. New England cant be beat ect .. ect ..
I have to admit that was one of the best Superbowls i have ever watched. Congrats to the Giants. I really didnt think they could do it. I thought it was just a matter of how many point the Pats wanted to score.
I think im not the only one that counted the Giants out, i dont think the rest of the word gave them much of a chance either ..
I was amazed how disciplined they were, Brady had an ok game but the Giants scored when it counted .. i am still in shock at the outcome of the game. Usually SuperBowls are overatted and all hype but this was a great game

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Puppy Obedience

Being the good parents that we are, we enlisted Kodi-May to her first puppy obedience school. When we arrive, i was quite hesitant. There were about 8 other dogs and their owners and believe it or not, Kodi was the smallest of the them all. Some dogs just towered over her!

I have to admit i did not like the socializing part, even though mommy was ok with it. She played quite well with the other dogs, but being so small some of the other dogs knocked her over while they were busy playing with the other dogs. She got picked on a bit but managed to defend herself quite well. She told some dogs off but still managed to have fun.

To be honest if i was at the park and some dog was picking on her and biting her i wouldn't hesitate to go over and give the other dog a quick boot. I think that the puppy training is beneficial not only for the dogs but its also very good for the owners!

I dont know how im going to ever do it if we ever have kids, i am very protective of Kodi and really dont like it when she gets picked on. Even though i know she has to socialize ... (sigh).

I am pretty excited to go to the next class cause i know that Kodi is a lot smarter than the other dogs! Maybe she will even get an award at the end of the 6 week lesson. She knows many tricks now. Sit, Lie Down, Roll Over, Speak, Watch Me, Leave it, Off .... it's pretty crazy how much she knows. She recognizes Me and My wife and when she is asked where mommy and daddy are she perks up her ears and comes looking for us.

We have only had Kodi for 2 weeks but it seems like she's a big part of our family, i cant wait to see her when she's gone, and i'm excited to see her when i come home. My Favorite part of the day is when i have a blanket and she crawls underneath and snuggles close to me! When my wife gets ready for work in the morning i sleep on the floor for an hour with Kodi, she's all excited when i bring the blankets and pillows on the floor because she knows that she can sleep with dad for an hour before work.

Day 1 of puppy training is over ... we will definitely enroll Kodi in many more courses . Even though she doesn't need it ;)

Friday, February 1, 2008

The Not so Superbowl

If you plan to check out the Superbowl this week you will be disappointed!
It's not whether the Patriots will beat the Giants, its a matter of how many points they want to do it in(the Vegas spread is 12.5 right now). The Perfect season will happen! The greatest team ever to play the game? its quite possible! The scary thing is they will do it again next year. Maybe not a perfect season, but depending on injuries its still quite possible.

I dont even think the giants think they can win from the interviews i have seen on TV. If you go into the game with a lack of confidence its already over ...

I will probably end up watching the game, but its hard to get excited if you know the ending to the game.

Has there been a great final in the last few seasons? The Superbowl is just a reason to have your buddies over for some food and drinks and hang out. The game usually is just in the background.

I would trade the Superbowl for a 7th game of the NHL, or a Canadian gold medal Olympic game. For those people that don't watch hockey it is the greatest sport in the world! And its the hardest to win a championship!

So my hats off to the Pats for another Superbowl win. Hopefully i can post on sunday and be wrong. But the thing is at least i will be witnessing a part of history

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Go Green

As some of you might know, last year the wife and I purchased a Honda Civic Hybrid. I don't know if i was totally sold on the idea when we got it but we had got $2000 rebate (which still hasn't come yet) and we didn't have to pay the GST( or PST i cant remember which one .. but we saved the one tax). That was one of the major reasons that swayed me.

After driving the car for about 8 months i totally love it. I drove a Jeep YJ ( which i still kinda miss) but i didnt miss the $50 a week i was paying in gas. I got about 300 km with the old car. With the new hybrid we spend about $35 every 2 weeks! and on top of that we get about 650-700 km to the tank! My wife gets way better mileage than I do cause she drives it way better than i do.

I think it has changed my whole way of driving, i don't hammer on the gas and try to get from A to B as fast as i can now, because i am always trying to conserve gas. Also i try to keep my speed consistent. Which i think makes the biggest difference. The good thing about the hybrid is that the engine stops when i make a stop. So i don't waste gas sitting at stop lights and stop signs.

If you don't have one i would definitely would suggest you at least think about it, not only do you save gas but you can have a small part saving out environment.

The wife and I talked about getting another hybrid as our next car as well!

Saturday, January 26, 2008

NHL All Star Game

In my opinion i think that was one of the worst NHL All Star skills competition i have ever seen ...
The NHL has to do a better job of promoting the sport, if that was my first time ever watching hockey i think i would have been turned off for life. The highlight for me was the hardest slapshot contest but even that was weak...

They could have done a way better job of just about everything, the interviews were boring and it seem like they just threw the weekend together on a last minute basis... There was no hype there was no flash and it seemed like it was unorganized!

All in all i would have rated it a 2.5-3/10

On another note, we took Kodi to the vet today and i was very very happy with her! She didn't make a fuss while she got her shots and all the vitals checked out 100%. She is the proper weight and the vet says that she is healthy!
We also registered for puppy training classes. This starts next week and i'm pretty excited about it. I think that we are going to try to get her to go to all the dog training we can! And if she's good at it maybe we will register her into Chinese school, swimming lessons, kumon and hire her a private tutor! ;)

Friday, January 25, 2008

"The Secret"

I was sitting in a seminar today and we had this sleezeball motivational speaker, promoting self help garbage. He was a complete idiot! Just a plain arrogant _____ !
He was talking about how great he was and how he surrounds himself with the best people! Think positive! Make lots of money! Don't surround yourself with losers! I was about to leave cause i was thinking this is the biggest loser i have met in a long long time!

He was saying how rich he was, making millions and millions of dollars and how he can help me do the same. Thanks alot Tom Vu ... I was thinking if your so friggin rich and powerful and you got all these nice cars and mansions what the heck are you doing here ....

I was so choked, don't get me wrong. I didn't go to a self help seminar, it was actually suppose to be a work kick off. We did have a few good speakers but this guy was an absolute moron.

He was saying he was going to give us all FREE tickets to go to these seminars. So all we would have to do is pay $595 dollars.?.?.? Last time i checked FREE ment free ! So after that he said because he like us so much he was going to make it $495 .. HELLO .... still not free.

When no one ended up signing up he sold the tickets at a discounted rate of 2 for $149 bucks. i wouldn't have gone if he paid me to go!!!!

What's with all the self help out there? Taking charge of your life, hang out with the rich! Buy expensive clothes so you can look like a million dollars!
What about the poor and people who are down on their luck? What about the people that were born into difficult circumstances?

I think there are a lot of people getting ripped off by these scammers! The only people who are getting rich are the people taking advantage of the less fortunate. The people that are emotionally weak and want a "feel good" experience. People end up leaving these seminars on a "high" and then come crashing down when these "so-called" help seminars speakers end up helping themselves to people who cant afford it.

These people throw out names of big movie stars, athletes, and multi-millionaires. I wonder how many times Donald trump, Michael Jordon and other celebrities have gone to this guys seminar!!

It makes me so mad when people get taken advantage of like that. To be they might as well be drug dealers. Just emotional Drug dealers!

Even though i have never read "The Secret"I'm pretty sure that the person that wrote it is sitting in their Limo or in their Mansion enjoying the money they scammed off the everyday blue collared worker.

Matt 6:26
26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

Here is the REAL Secret

Proverbs 3:5-6

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;

6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.

So forget about all these self help motivational speakers cause the only motivation they have is to take your hard earned money!!!!

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Don't waste my time asking for my opinion!

This kinda irks me ..

Do you have friends that ask you for your opinion, but they already know what they are going to do.
This really pisses me off, if you are to ask someone for an opinion, you should actually listen to it. If you have your mind made up already then why ask? Your just wasting your time, and more importantly my time!

Why do people do this? for confirmation that its OK for you to be stupid? If your mind is made up just say " this is what I'm going to be doing this " not "what do you think of this ... I would like your opinion on it."

What you should have said was " I want your opinion on this but i have already made up my mind so just agree with my stupidity and my irrational thinking" don't justify what your going to do, just do it, suffer the consequences and be on your way ....

Maybe I'm grumpy cause i had to leave my dog at home by herself and when i came home she poo'd, Or maybe the compounding sucky play of the Vancouver Canucks.. Maybe we should just get rid of all the forwards and put 2 Luongo's in net. The scoring would be the same, and we would probably get more wins and a better goals against average!

So if you ever want to ask me for my opinion and you have already made up your mind please don't waste my time. But I'm always up for sharing what I think and my opinions if you legitimately want to know it.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Our first time leaving the dog ..

After just the second day we had Kodi, we had to leave her on her own for the first time.

We had to go out for dinner and neither my wife or I wanted to leave Kodi. We had no idea what we were going to do.

We tried to put her in by herself before we left. we hid in the bedroom and pretended to be gone. After about 10 seconds she was crying and crying and we thought that there was no way she was going to be ok by herself.

I think that we were really close to drawing straws to see who would stay home but we knew we had to leave her at some point.

We set up everything before we left. We set up her bed, put her new crate out( thanks to Vic), put her toys with her , had food and water in the bowls and lined the floor with newspapers. I had no idea what was going to happen or what our kitchen would look like when we got home.

After a so-so dinner at the Water street cafe. I burned home to see if the dog was ok.

We were only gone for a few hours but during dinner the wife and I were trying to finish up our dinner as fast as we could and leave. I knew that Kodi would have to go to the bathroom, and i was hopeful to get home and take her out before she had an accident at home.

To our delight and excitement, when we got home Kodi poo'd and Pee'd on the newspaper(what a brilliant dog )! And found her sitting on her bed!

I can honestly say that was the happiest i have ever been to see a piece of poo!

All that being said my wife and I got to meet my sister's boyfriends mother for the first time. She is really nice! It was the first time that we all ate together and it was quite enjoyable. Even if my mom insisted that she try her cheesecake over and over and over again. After declining for about the 10th time i suggested to my mom that maybe she doesn't want any. Ha Ha that my mom though ...

Kodi also got to go to church for the first time. We didn't take her to the sanctuary though... i figured pastor Wards sermon would be a little bit difficult for her to understand so my wife stayed downstairs with her while i enjoyed the sermon on Revelations.

All and all a good but tiring day ...

Saturday, January 19, 2008

A New Addition To The Family


No its not what you think, we are not having kids. But we did get a new addition to our family!
Her name is Kodi-May. She is 6 weeks old and she is FANTASTIC!
My wife's first dog and my second, I never thought i would want another dog after May passed away but talking to some friends i got convinced, I still miss May very much but i know she had a great long and happy life!
I don't to think about what's going to happen 10 years or so down the road, but for now we will love Kodi as much as we possibly c,an!

I am extra excited seeing the smile on my wife's face! She's always wanted a dog and she always wanted a lab. Now she's got everything that she's dreamed about!

I knew going to the breeders that there was a high chance we would come back with a dog, i told everyone about 85% chance. But i knew my wife was thinking 99%. And seeing her happy really makes me happy!

Hopefully we can give this new dog a great home, i wish we had a bit bigger place with less carpet. But we have always got by with what we have. I'm pretty sure we can make it work!

It's funny cause now we want to get all these new toys, dishes, crates, blankets ... ect for Kodi.

One thing i said was that when we have kids we would not spoil them, but were not off to a very good start. I know i'm a sucker for stuff, and i know that i'm a sucker to please my wife. I guess maybe that's not such a bad thing.

So if you get a chance drop on by and say hi to Kodi-May

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

To Poo or Not to Poo: That is the question

This next blog is not for the squeamish at heart, you be forewarned and skip this day if you are one of these people.

To poo or not to poo that is the question:
Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer .... or to take arms against a sea of trouble

I was out with a friend the other day just doing the mall rat thing when i had to poo.
It was no big deal, I don't have a problem with going to the bathroom at public places. I know some people hate it but its probably because of people like me. Its not like I poo or pee all over the place, I just don't mind. If you got to go you got to go, sounds simple enough right?

It's not that simple ... i was in a store( i won't mention which one or what it sells) when i had to go poo. I politely excused myself from my friend and said i would be back in a bit, i had to go to the bathroom.

WhenI walked into the bathroom I saw a sign on the bathroom stall saying "out of order". Now this was a problem, I had to poo and I didn't want to poo my pants. I was holding it in for a while now and I there wasn't a bathroom any where near us.
Now what would you do in this situation?

a) poo your pants and just continue on with the day or ...
b) just poo in the out of order toilet?

Some of you are thinking this is so gross but it happens, I think the majority of the people reading this is thinking in their minds I would rather just poo in the toilet and not walk around with a pooey bum. So this is what I did.

I feel bad for the store, and the person responsible for the clean up but i had no other choice. It's not like i would do anything like that on purpose but i had to weight the situation, circumstances, and the outcome of the day.

That being said my deepest apologies to the store and I will do my best not to put myself in situation again, once again I am sorry. But I think any sane person would have done the same thing as me. Even though my wife totally disagrees.


Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Dog or no Dog ?

Recently a good friend of ours bought a dog, it's quite a cute dog. i think it's a lab/poodle mix (laberdoodles i think ...)

I think my wife really really wants a dog, the crappy thing is that im not so sure i do. I don't really mind i guess but our dog may just passed away a few months ago.
Taking care of a dog is a huge responsibility, you have to walk it feed it play with it. You can say good-bye to vacations(unless you want to take the dog with you) and they can get expensive .. it's like having a kid that can never speak to you. It just barks.

But on the flipside they are quite cool, I still remember all the good times i had with our family dog! when it would snuggle up and do tricks. beg for food and do all the funny little things. Here is a picture of our dog when it was a baby and as an adult:


Every parent thinks their kid is the smartest and best, and every dog owner thinks their pet is the best. And i am no exception to that. Our dog May was the runt of the litter but lived to be an amazing 16 years old( thats like over 100 in human years i think) even in her last days the vets were amazed how long she lived for, especially since she was a pure bred!
When she passed away it was the crappiest thing that ever happened to me, it was like a family member died. I don't know if i can go through that again. I know if we get another dog i will outlive it, God willing, and i don't know if i want to go through that again.

Is it better to love then lost, or never to love at all? and if so is it fair that i don't ever want to share the love to another dog? I do like dogs! They are always happy to see you and never complain. I guess this is a reason that some people have dogs instead of spouses ...

I of course will never see May again, cause dog's don't go to heaven but she will always remain with me. I don't know if i can love another dog as much, maybe ... maybe not.

We are still in the beginning stages of adopting, who knows what will happen. I guess i will make the decision at that time....

Monday, January 14, 2008

Gutter cleaning ...

We found out that our stupid roof was leaking a while back, and because of the rainfall we've been having our roof starting leaking again ..
I climbed up to the attic to take a peek and found out that there was no wet spots which seemed kind of odd ..
My wife suggested that maybe we had to call someone to clean the gutters .. clean the gutters??? whats that???
Being a house owner sucks sometimes ... there so many little maintenance things you have to do that no one tells you about ..
My wife suggested that we call someone to clean out our gutters, since it's never been done before.
Who needs to call someone i thought, my dad never called anyone to fix things he just did it himself ... (aren't dad's amazing sometimes) I'm so useless at fixing things but i do like to give it a try.
So i woke up in the morning and headed to Sears, luckily i did a bit of research on the internet and found out a wet/dry vac can do the the job! I was thinking do i want to spend a few hundred dollars and call someone or try to do it myself...
I climbed a ladder and started sucking all the sludge and crap out of our gutter. After about half an hour it was finally done, i was so happy that i save some money and got a new wet/dry vac! so if you dont mind a little bit of work you can save yourself a bunch of money by this simple purchase.
i hope this works cause i havent the faintest idea on how to fix a roof..

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Still walking down the 80's memory lane

After laughing with some friends last night about Uncle Jesse (John Stamos) on full house and watching him and the rippers "Forever" Video we started reminiscing about some of other sitcoms we used to watch way back when .....

I know the world don't move to the beat of just one drum, but maybe sometimes it does

maybe this will jog your memory a bit ...



so show me that smile again ....



it seems like it's been a million years since i've watched these but they still bring a chuckle and smile to my face in a million more



Maybe the world is blind, and it seems a bit unkind that we have forgotten about all the little things that make us laugh ... Thanks CEF'ers for all the fun times



So take back charge of your life and who cares what people think about being stupid and silly ..



cause you can take the good, and take the bad, its just a fact of life ...



so for now i bid you a NaNu NaNu ...

Friday, January 11, 2008

Money can't buy me happiness ...

A little trip back to memory lane for me ....

Remember the TV sitcom FULL HOUSE? Uncle Jesse, Joey,Stephanie, DJ, Michelle, and the rest of the tanners? What ever happened to them? I recently saw John Stamos (uncle jesse) on ER i think... But isn't it amazing when that the 2 younger Olsen twins (Mary-Kate and Ashley)are now multi-millionaires and the rest of the people have all but faded away. I was curious so i Googled both of them and found a website. Not to my surprise its all crap, its stuff on how to dress better, bad hair days, how to pick up guys, what all the "cool" kids are doing ... ect ..ect..
If you were to ask anyone when the "Full House" sitcom first aired on TV, i don't think that anyone could have predicted that the twins would be so successful and be the richest out of them all. That being said how happy do you think they really are? I'm guessing that to be 20 years old or so and having just about whatever you want is kinda cool? or is it? i guess there's a lot of problems with that much money. But i wouldn't mind having some of those problems ... don't get me wrong its not that were poor or anything, far from it. But having millions and millions .... sounds kinda cool.
At work sometimes when we the lottery gets really really big, a bunch of us guys chip in a few dollars and pick up a ticket. And i think that the best part of winning the lottery is talking about it before it really happens ( this of course in not by experience, cause i have never won anything) we talk about the cars were gonna buy, the trips were going to go on, buying houses next to our friends. stuff like that... it's still fun to talk about even though its never going to happen.

Here's an old school song by the Jelleestones that has popped up in my head:



Money can't buy me happiness
But I'm happiest when I can buy what I want, anytime that I want
Get high when I want

CHORUS [Jelleestone]
Money can't buy me happiness
But I'm happiest when I can buy what I want, anytime that I want
Get high when I want
1.5 mil, I ain't gots to front
Money can't buy me happiness
But I'm not pissed when I can buy what I want, anytime that I want
Get high when I want
Japan to Amsterdam, mic in my hand

CHORUS [Jelleestone]
Money can't buy me happiness
But I'm happiest when I can buy what I want, anytime that I want
Get high when I want
Money can't buy me happiness
But I'm happiest when I can buy what I want, anytime that I want
Get high when I want
1.5 mil I ain't gots to front
Money can't buy me happiness
But I'm happiest when I can buy what I want, anytime that I want
Get high when I want
Japan to Amsterdam, mic in my hand
Money can't buy me happiness
But I'm happiest when I can buy what I want, anytime that I want
Get high when I want
I'm trying to buy my Moms a house, I ain't got to front
Money can't buy me happiness
But I'm happiest when I can buy what I want, anytime that I want
Get high when I want
Get high when I want, ha ha, ha ha
Money can't buy me happiness
But I'm happiest when I can buy what I want, anytime that I want
Get high when I want


God is good, has always been and will always be! HE has been very gracious to our families and has always provided for us. We have lots, more than enough. As i look around our house, i see that we( mostly I) have collected and horded tons of junk. Sometimes i think that we have been over blessed and have done nothing to deserve it. I have a great wife, awesome friends, a loving family and i have to sometimes step back and take a look at my life to not get caught up in material things.
For the people that know me they will probably get a good chuckle out of it, because we really do have LOTS and LOTS and LOTS... haha but luckily God have given us the heart to share what we have with our friends. What's ours is theirs ...
Hopefully I am still learning the value of letting things go, i hard but i'm also reminded of this verse in Matthew 19 16:30:

The Rich Young Man

16Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?"


17"Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments."


18"Which ones?" the man inquired.


Jesus replied, " 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, 19honor your father and mother, and 'love your neighbor as yourself.


20"All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?"


21Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."


22When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.


23Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."


25When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, "Who then can be saved?"


26Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."


27Peter answered him, "We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?"


28Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

29And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.

30But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.

Now to go full circle back to "Full House" do you remember this??

HAVE MERCY ....





this blogging thing is tough .... its like going back to school .. Phew ...

Thursday, January 10, 2008

My first attempt at blogging

Here's my first attempt at blogging, i know that my wife loves to do it so i figured i would follow in her footsteps.
The reason i am doing this i that i had a friend that just got a computer ... not a new computer but a computer. His first one! and he's on the "internet" haha.. it seems kinda funny ...
I remember my first computer i think it was a 486 .. it costs my parents around $2500 to buy it. it came with a printer and a monitor!
Seems a little crazy how "technology" has taken over all our lives. It seems like we cant live without it anymore. Cell phones, TV's, GPS's, Video Games ... not giving away my age but my first gaming console was and "ATARI"
Here's a question: Do you think we are all getting dumber with all the new advances in technology?
On another note, i have had a very good year in meeting famous people! Or at least i think they are famous.
When we went on our trip to Chile with Samaritans Purse Wifey and I had the pleasure of meeting Paul Brandt and his Liz and Arron Lines and his wife Dana. It was quite funny because there were many people on our team that were very excited about them coming! My wife and I were both like who's Paul Brandt and Arron Lines ...??? But it turned out that these 2 guys and their wives were 2 of the nicest people we met. And in the end we were both huge fans! That being said I also met a gentleman by the name of Ben Fowler, i think he is a good friend of Paul and is some sort of music mixer for recording artists. He is also one of the nicest guys i have ever met! If i was a musician i would definitely ask him to mix my albums ( although i probably couldn't afford his services!)
Also i was lucky enough to have been on the pastoral search committee at RCAC and got a chance to help hire Dr. Ward Gasque! He is the new English pastor at our church and this guy is amazing! He knows everyone and everything! He has done so much in his life and i am in total awe that we were lucky enough to hire him! His wife Laurel is equally as smart as him ( i bet if you asked her she would say she's smarter!!)
That being said, i do miss PJ quite a bit and wished he was still around.

not bad thoughts for my first blog ... anyways GT congrats on getting a computer!