Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family.
Yesterday and today were quite eventful. The festivities start at Silvana's moms on Christmas eve and then usually spill over to my parents house on Christmas day. This year we spent Christmas day at my sisters. The good thing about our parents is we already had this set up from years gone by. We always had a restaurant so we did not do stuff on Christmas eve. Even though we closed early we were usually quite tired so we did our stuff on Christmas day. At Silvana's mom they always did Christmas eve. Traditional fish dinner including lobster tails at the end of the meal.
We also get away with separate Easters given the Greek Orthodox/ Catholic differences. Every few years they are the same so there is a bit of conflict. I know many families have this conflict of who's house to go to for such events but we have had it pretty easy. Not to mention that we are quite flexible in terms of time and dates. I can remember having events three weeks after they actually occurred in order to get everyone to attend.

What you can't see in the Christmas Chaos in the photo above is the socks that were thrown over their shoulders ala Christmas Story. One of the kids favorite Christmas movies and that scene in specific where the brothers throw the socks over their shoulders is now a tradition.

Games with the kids

All of us have played board games and in most board games there is inevitably a part where if you land on a specific spot you have to move back a few spaces or even worse start from the beginning. Just this week we were playing MouseTrap with the kids. We don' play it by the rules as we build the trap right at the beginning and then just roll the dice to move our mice along. At one point in the game I landed on a go back to the beginning spot and the kids felt sorry for me but I explained to them that it's a part of the game and I could still catch up if I got some high numbers on my next few rolls. I kind of hate these games and I know you developmental types will tell me it's a good learning experience for them to understand winning and losing and... but when you want to sit down and get some fun time in on a rainy day there is nothing worse than someone whining about the game not being fair or that someone cheated. Stomping off and then coming back to try to destroy the evil game and those that are playing it.
As they get closer to that spot I see them counting to see what they have to roll to avoid the spot. Brian is one spot away and knows he should not get a 1. He says out loud "Jesus, please help me not get a 1, please Jesus."
At this point I start laughing and knowing that he was not trying to be funny I knew he would also be angry that I was laughing. He doesn't like getting laughs unless he is trying to get them. I know we don't usually ask for help from Jesus out loud at home so I assume the influence came from school and given we are close to His birthday I know they must be talking about it alot. The anger didn't last long and now that he knows he can get a laugh out of it he's asking for Jesus' help more and more.
Losing is a difficult thing for kids to accept and although you may want to paint it as a learning experience it seems they already have their minds made up that its not as good as winning. It's not our influence but rather a genetic thing. A desire to be first to win to do better than someone else. Probably a good thing to have as they move ahead in life.

Almost Christmas

Those days leading up to Christmas are ones that are always filled with events. My previous post spoke about the Kids Christmas concert and this weekend was the weekend for get togethers as well. On Friday we went to Barb's and had a Cousins get together. We haven't had one in a while and it was good to see everyone at the same time. We will get to do it again next month at Nicole's baptism. It would be nice to get together more often but the we each have our own things to do these days. Gone are those days when we would all get together Sunday night and get subs. Speaking of other things we also got together with Anita and Jerry and Linda and Mark, they came over to our place and it was alot easier to entertain with the extra room the new house has to offer. The kids all behaved quite well which made it even easier. BTW, fingers foods is the way to go for these things as even though the kids were good it still takes some effort to keep an eye on them.

There is nothing like getting together with friends and family at this time of the year. Going through the years events and looking forward to what may be happening in the coming year.

The heart club members I spoke of in this post.

Do you remember a night when..

Those nights where you had something important or special the next day. A meeting, wedding, presentation, speech, exam. You know you have to go to sleep because the next day will be full but the excitement or anxiety just won't let you get to sleep. Your mind goes through the event over and over. You check your clock every few minutes and calculate how much sleep you will be getting or not getting before the next days event arrives. You make sure the alarm is set and working properly, you even set the backup alarm just in case. At some point you forget everything you need to know for the event, you even have a hard time remembering your own name. We've all experienced these nights but do you remember the first one, the one that started you down the path to obsession. You may have and idea but I've got some good examples over the last few years that may trigger your memory.
Last night was such a night at our place. A few things were happening. The days leading up to this might have been an indication now that I look back but lets just go with what transpired last night.

Both kids could not get to sleep.
Angela has a tooth that is about to fall out, probably her 5th or 6th. Each one is a bit different but most involve some sort of anxiety. In this case the concern is that it may fall out during the night. You can imagine the scenarios that may go through your head. If you were anything like me as a kid, that tooth would be hanging on at a molecular level before it fell out on it's own due to a strong breeze.
Brian although concerned about his sister had his own anxiety. Today is his first Christmas concert. He's playing one of the wise men and has to remember the words to the song as well as some actions. As he was drifting off to sleep he hit that point I mention above and could not remember anything he had to do the next day. Calming him down took some effort. A few jokes about when I was a kid and some comforting words and sleep came quite quickly.

I'm not sure if this would have been my first anxious experience as well but I do see some things that happen at this early stage that probably shape each of us. For example I think the concert is Brian's concern but even bigger is keeping the song and his role a secret. Once he got that off his chest he seemed releaved and could move on. I too have a hard time with secrets and need to tell someone something. Usually that someone is who the surprise is for and that something is the actual surprise. In Angela's case although the tooth is the concern the things that might happen are what worry her more. The what if scenarios that race through our heads.

So am I worried about this? Not really, I think it's stuff that we all have to go through.
Is there something I should do to make it better for them? Probably, but what is that? I can't take away the feelings and I don't think I should. Trying to get them to understand and how to deal with it is probably a good place to start but they are small and my our grown up logic is not something that really works for the small ones.
Therefore I guess we just have to be there and encourage.


Update:
They did very well and afterwards wanted some sort of release. Brian asked for a donut and Angela wanted something sweet as well. When we got home they ate like they had never eaten before.

How far back do we go?

There is a National Georgraphic project out there called the Genographic Project that traces back our DNA to see where we came from. As you can see from the site it says we all started in Africa. My question about how far back do we go relates to meeting people and their expression of their background.

Now I'm the first one to tell you that I am of Greek descent and not that I have proof but I would say that Alexander the Great was in my family tree (don't get me started on the Greek / Macedonian thing) but I think we pick a group of people we want to be associated with and make sure we can justify it. In some cases it's easy. Parents were from a Cornico so you have ancestors from there that go back a few generations and presto you are Cornicopian. For the last century the Cornicopians have been a bad bunch doing evil deads around the world or maybe they have been given a bad name by some questionable press so you want to disassociate yourself from them. You go back a few years before the Cornico Empire and call yourself a Precornis. Ah, those were the days, the Precornis were such a nice bunch, philanthropic, masters of art and medicine.
Is this allowed? How far back can I go or do I wait for the Cornicopians to make a comeback on the good side and refer to myself a Cornicopian again?

I'm not saying we should give up our culture or not look at the past but does it really matter where you are from or does it matter where you are today and why are you there? Oh yes we can use the past to prevent mistakes in the future but I don't see many people at an individual level doing this. Use of things like the Genographic project for benefits in health or advancement of science is great. Our background is important as there are ties to what we are and how we became who we are but lets not use this to claim we are better than others due to our ancestry. Maybe we have to prove our worth today so that future generations will want to call themselves decendents of Canadians or maybe we just say we are all the same as the Genographic project is concluding and work towards making everyone better.

Silvana's 29th

Yes, 29 again!!
We had a busy few months and truthfully we don't go overboard on Birthday's. No need to get gifts for eachother as we get things when we need them rather than for an occasion. As my Brother in law says. "It's Christmas every day" Eg. Need new shoes you get them, no waiting for Christmas or birthday. We are spoiled that way but we at least we know it. Not sure the kids get it. I'm sure our parents said the same thing but we truly didn't know what they were talking about. Imagine having meat only a few times a year or not knowing what a banana is until your teens.

On Silvana's Birthday we went to her moms and had a nice lunch. We all ate well and had a cake as well. Much to my surprise the cake had some candles on it for me as well.

A Real Christmas Tree

Silvana always said if we ever moved to a new house with some more room she would like to get a real Christmas Tree. Well this is the year!!Our old fake tree has been relegated to it's box in the basement and a fresh new Fraser Fir has a prominent spot in the Front room by the window. We got it early, Dec 1st and hope to keep it to at least Christmas and maybe even the New Year. The Fraser fir is soft yet sturdy and was easier to put up than the fake tree. We don't have that many decorations on it but the tree is a decoration in itself.


Ignore the Home depot blinds. By next year these should be gone.

Round A-bouts

Years ago when I was in Australia, I remember making a comment to my Aussie friends about their Round a-bouts. These r.a.bs (rounds a-bouts) were everywhere instead of stop signs. Even in the big city of Sydney there were r.a.bs . I told them that this would never work in Toronto because people are not patient enough to yield to traffic.

Well, years later I moved into a new subdivision and instead of stop signs we have r.a.bs. We've been in the house for only 3 months and I surprised I haven't seen an accident. For those of you that don't know about r.a.bs let me educate you on how to drive a r.a.b.

When you approach a r.ab. you MUST slow down and YIELD to the cars in the r.a.b. If there is no car you may proceed in...but if you see on oncoming car you must STOP before entering the r.a.b. I can not tell you how many times I had to STOP when in the r.a.b to cars speeding in. NO car should have to stop while in the r.a.b.

Today it happened again while driving the kids to school. I'm in the r.ab. and I can see the car speeding up to try to bet me...but today I played a little chicken and I didn't stop. In the end I had to slam on my brakes and exchange some nasty looks.

Silvana

Santa Claus Parade

Yesterday we got to go to the Toronto Santa Claus Parade. I specify Toronto because each little town has it's own parade but it's not like the one in Toronto. This is the one that gets coverage by all the big TV stations not just local cable 10 coverage. It's been around for over 100 years. The website sucks but you can get some interesting info in the history section. It even gets coverage at the U.S. Thanksgiving parade when they break away for a few minutes so our U.S. friends can see the real Santa. As you know Santa is Canadian given the North Pole is part of Canada. With a postal code of H0H 0H0 where else would it be.

If you speak to anyone from the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) that has been here for a while they will have stories about going to the parade. How our parents would take us down on a cold winters day, hoist us on their shoulders or put us in a tree to get a good view of the parade. Things haven't changed that much as the same thing is happening today. You can even see some people on top of buildings in the photos getting a birds eye view.

What has changed is Toronto!!
We did not go around the Queens Park/ University area were the parade is actually filmed but rather went around the Bloor and Bathurst area near Honest Ed's. Most of the shops are closed, the houses around the area although worth close to $750K were in various levels of disrepair and everything seemed to be one step away from falling apart. I spare you the details of the smells as blogs are better for visual repesentations.

It took lots of planning an co-ordination to get down there on time with the appropriate amount of snacks, drinks, clothing, blankets... Most importantly the kids had fun and got to see a real parade with some excellent marching bands playing festive tunes.

We even got to visit Silvana's former next door neighbour who treated us like family with her hospitality.

Dealing with Healing

Over the last little while I have been dealing with healing and understanding more and more about it. I say understanding but I think it is more of an realization of things I already knew but hadn't experienced in a while.

The brochures and media available in the hospital mention that without managing the pain it will take longer to heal. This kind of goes against the "no pain, no gain" theory but that theory is not for healing. Almost all of the patients (mostly men) that I encountered in the hospital would say they are feeling o.k. or good but I knew there were in pain. I'm not sure if this was machismo in action or that they just didn't understand they did not have to be in pain. I started speaking on their behalf by telling the nurses what they had done (or sounded like) when I was there. Each time the nurse would say "you should ask for pain medication when that happens it will help the healing."

I've always tried to be proactive in avoiding pain, I won't go as far as stretching before doing something strenuous but I will take some medication afterwards if I start to feel something. The brochures say taking something on the onset of pain is good as well as it won't let the pain progress. Now don't go too far and over medicate as that is not good either but if you follow the dosage guidelines you should be fine.

The mental part of pain is probably the most difficult to deal with. Those feelings inside you that say something is wrong even though you know what the pain is from and that things are going well. You still wonder if that pain is right. You get a hightened awareness of your body. Things you felt before are now weird even though you've had them all along. "Why can't I feel my ass?"
"Wait, I think it's numb from sitting on it too long"

One of the charts the hospitals use has what look like emoticons on it so that patients can point to the one that best fits the pain they are feeling. I'm sure this was out before the internet but it's funny how some things are just universal. Whether you can read or not you could point to a picture of how you feel.

Angela's Room

We got to paint Angela's room. The colours are similar to her old room but she has some new accessories that match quite nicely now.

Angela's 7th part 2

As you probably saw from a previous post Angela's Birthday was a few month back but due to her bing in a new school we gave it a few months before we had a party so she could invite some new friends along with the old. It went quite well.

Halloween

At the old house we always gave out candies from the garage. Given it gets quite cold this time of year hanging out in the garage makes it alot warmer. We can also display all our Halloween items in one place. So we continued with the tradition here at the new house. It was colder this year than the last few so it was a good to have the garage as a shelter. We anticipated alot of kids given all the new houses but we didn't get that many (all the more candy for us now). I think because we are on a crescent the kids avoided the street. I can understand as you want to be efficient in your trick or treating. Streets that are straight are faster and therefore more candy.

Barenaked Ladies

Today is Silvana's turn to write in the blog. Is that the right term "blog". This is all new to me.
(Terry said "Silvana, it would be nice if you wrote about your evening out". A few months ago Terry and I went to see U2 at the ACC (Air Canada centre) and had an amazing time. For years I wanted to see U2. Afterwards I mentioned that the next band I would like to see is the BNLBarenaked ladies) but I wanted to see them in a small setting. Unfortunately what are the chances of that ever happening. Well, it happened. I get a call from my sister-in-law(Sandra) who asked if I would be interested in seeing the BNL tomorrow night (Oct 19th) at 4:30pm in a private concert for family and friends. Of course I said yes and then I ask the question, "how did you get invited?" Sandra works with Bonnie who is Ed's(lead singer & the cutie) sister. Tomorrow finally arrives and 4:3opm here we are (Sandra, myself, and niece Julia and nephew Anthony) listening to BNL. Only 150/200 people in the studio, bring your own lawn chair, 50 young kids sitting in the front, and best of all the band is only 20 feet away. Of course the music was awesome. Best part, the band didn't go back stage after the concert they came out and mingled with us...AH! What a night...and I have the pictures!!!

Post Surgery

So lots of things happen after surgery. In this specific case you are in CSICU. (Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit). Don't let the CSI part fool you there are no forensics going on but lots of tests are happening. One of the complications that can occur is bleeding which in this case did and was being blamed on the fact that blood thinners were being used before the surgery. Necessary as you don't want thick blood to maybe cause a heart attack or stroke but post surgery you bleed alot. Plavix supposedly takes a while to get out of the system. There was an extra day spent in the CSICU and then off to the regular ward.

Now in regular care more things can happen. Due to the extra bleeding they keep an eye on you to make sure all the fluid drains. In this case it didn't and therefore they need to put you on meds to dry you out. In the mean time it gets hard to breathe with all that stuff built up in there. Also keep an eye on those hemoglobin levels. Too low and you feel very weak and groggy. So 2 more units of blood to get those iron levels up.
Having gone through this with my mom a few times I know they get an angry/mean stage. My mom is usually a Saint but wanted to punch us all and complained about anything and everything. The nurse practioner spoke to me about this a bit today and says it partly due to hemoglobin levels, post surgery meds wearing off but also said different people heal differently and not to compare.
But how can you not. We do it with our kids. What can they do at what stage. Given there were 4 other guys that had surgery on that day you start comparing. One fellow is a smoker and is recovering quite well. Whistling, doing crosswords and showering himself. He'll leave the hospital tomorrow. We are in for a bit more of an endeavour. At least I know he is in good hands because at home this would be a overwhelming.

Blog or Diary

So blogging may be a new thing but it's very close to a diary. I understand it's not private but as you can see from the definition it can also be "a book or pad containing pages marked and arranged in calendar order, in which to note appointments and the like." Add a webpage or some electronic format and there is your blog.
I think this is what I've been using it as. It's easier than a diary and you can quickly attach photos and links and other interesting bits of info. So here is an addition so I can remember what was happening on this day in the future because you know that time changes the way we see things.

My dad was admitted to the hospital earlier this week with chest pain and they quickly did an angiogram and found he needs by-pass surgery. The operation was supposed to be today but it was postponed to tomorrow. A few of the nurses called in sick so they didn't have a full crew. I guess they are human as well :-)

Funniest part of the experience so far if there can be a funny part of surgery. My mom who also had this same surgery as did her brother and her sisters husband told my dad "Welcome to the club"
Worst part so far: Hospital.. do I have to say anything more.

Many folks complain about our health care system. I think once diagnosed things can and do go quickly. The problem is at the front line. Finding what is wrong with us. I've often said we have to be our own doctor. Know our body and what feels right and wrong. But sometimes we need a bit of help from that frontline to push us in the right direction. At this point I don't think they can do it and the system has to change somehow to accomodate those of us that want to know more and try to help ourselves and others.

I know there are many times I've gone to the doctor and told them I have a throat infection or some other ailment. I know they don't like the self diagnosis but I've had it before , it feels the same, I've read a bit to know what to look for and most of the time I'm right. I'd probably feel the same way after going to school for x number of years and practicing medicine for another x to have someone tell me what they think they have. But in most cases it's a few simple test to check for these things. Now I'm not saying we do this all the time. I'm sure those people that say they have Morgellons (Google it you'll be amazed) would just like someone to listen and bounce ideas off of but what doctor has that time.

So where does that leave us? Not sure. Maybe some more inbetweens.
Not doctors but people who know medical stuff and can point people in the right direction.
More and quicker tests for things that happen often.
Better resources for those of us that are interested.
All this is pointing me towards things that are happening like health records being online and searchable and other electronic means of viewing trends but it's just moving too slow.

Nothing solved but day documented without the necessity of a dear diary entry.

Plants

We have received a few new plants since we got the new house. A few of our own that we pawned off on others before we moved and some that came house warming gifts.
At the old house we always claimed there was not enough space for plants as the little space we did have was taken up by necessities. That excuse does not exist anymore as there is enough space in this house at this point (due to lack of furniture and other house accessories) to have a full blown garden in almost every room.
Now I don't have much desire to tend to the plants and Silvana has even less desire to tend to an internal arboretum but people have said it's a good thing to have some plants in the house. Better air quality and some natural moisture from the plants.
So I'm documenting the few that we have now and will see how long they last. I will not try to hasten their demise but I know that I also won't be Johnny Greenthumbs either.

New Front Door

So imagine this the other way. Not sure how I can set the orientation once I've uploaded the file and I'm too tired to try to figure it out at this time so turn your head to the right 90 degrees. We ordered the door a couple of weeks ago ( a gift from my parents Thanks Papou and YiaYia) and it came in just before Thanksgiving. I painted it a few days later.





So it's not really a new door they actually take out the existing window and then cut the remaining necessary piece and insert the new window.

This is what it looked like before

40 is the new 25

I have always looked forward to getting older. Reaching the next phase of life. Seeing things through a new set of eyes, be they my wifes or my kids or even my own with a new pair of glasses. When a friend of mine told me that 40 was the new 25 I sort of understood what was behind it.

Turning 40 doesn't seem to have the same feeling it did in the past. Maybe that's because I'm almost there or maybe it's because of all the stuff you hear about middle age and how you should be feeling and acting. As I thought about it some more I found that "40 is the new 25" may not apply to those that are married or who have kids. I've always said that getting married adds 2 years to your age and each child adds another 2 on top of that which means I'm pushin 50.

As the days to turning 40 come closer I think to the future again and wonder in 50 will be the new 40. I still look forward to getting older but the years are going by faster and faster. See 1 year at 40 is 1/40th of your life so it goes by faster than when you are 12 and it's only 1/12th your life. Ah 12, I remember 12 quite well. Hope I can continue to remember the past as well as I do or at least the past that I've created using the same stories over and over with slight additions each time. O.K. so I digressed a bit, after all I'm almost 40.

So here's to 40 be it the new 25 or not it's coming soon.

See here on what the Dilbert guy says about aging.

Thanksgiving at the Cottage

Although summer was officially over a while ago it seems that Thanksgiving is the final farewell. A feast to celebrate the harvest of which we don't really harvest just feast. Yesterday's weather was perfect and we got to eat outside.
The colours at this time of year are magnificent and everywhere you turn there is a picture to be taken. If only this weather could last until late November. Not that I don't like the winter but fall seems to go to quickly and winter stays too long. I'll keep the fall photos close at hand.

James Gardens 2006

Our annual trip to James Gardens was a bit early this year. The weather this Thanksgiving weekend is supposed to get better each day so we took advantage. Most of the photos turned out very nice even with my ever expanding forehead. This year marks our 10th anniversary so there are plenty of things that are different from the first set of photos we took in October of 96.

Using my own art

If you can call the pictures I take art then I guess the title is right.

Most of the photos I take are of people and places but since I've gone digital I've been more open to taking pictures of objects, things, close ups... No wasted prints if you don't want them but still keep them for some reason.
For a few years now I've stored them and catalogued them and I was never really sure why. I never showed those photos to anyone and rarely printed any of them. With the new house we found that the art work we had up (and by art I mean stuff we got at the flea market) just didn't fit in. I started printing off some of my own photos and placed them in frames and they are looking pretty good. We place them in bathrooms and hallways not a main focal area but they have been suiting our needs and look pretty good. I haven't done much editing of the photos but have used some of the effects in Picasa to enhance the photos a bit.

Brians bathroom is a gray colour and I think this orangey red will pop out nicely

Angela's bathroom is a Green apple colour with purple accents and this photo looks great in it.

TourRoad Rage!!

I believe I have a form of Tourette syndrome. One that only comes out during driving. I'm referring to it as TourRoad Rage. It's symptoms are:

• Swearing at other drivers for even the smallest problem they may cause
• Lowering the volume on the radio so you can hear yourself swear
  
• Continuing the swearing until a new problem occurs
  
• Swearing only when there is nobody else in the car
• Offering advice to other drivers even though they can't hear you
• Yelling at the traffic guys for not telling me the traffic where I am or not informing me of the correct intersection of accidents.
  

I can't imagine what would happen if I had a longer drive to work. A normal drive of 25-30 minutes is fine but add a small accident, rain, snow and sometimes even the wind can delay my drive and I go mad. The other day the traffic guys all said an accident was at Woodbine and 16th Ave so I altered my route to avoid it and the delays it would cause just to find out that the accident was at the intersection I went to which was just east of Woodbine not at Woodbine.

At the moment I am not seeking therapy for this problem but as winter approaches I may have to work from home some more.

Golfing for Charity

After probably 10 years I went golfing on Tuesday for a good cause. Raising money for the Employee Charitable fund. We had excellent weather and the course, Oakridge near Brooklin Ontario was very beautiful. Luckily for me it was a best ball tournament and our foursome ended the day with a +2 .

Model Airplanes

Brian and I went to the Richmond Hill Model Airplane air field today . It's just a stones throw away from our house off 19th Ave between Bayview and Leslie. It was amazing to see how many people were there flying their planes. Most of the fellows were older but there were some younger guys there as well.
When learning you can connect 2 remotes together so the instructor can take over if you run into trouble. The guy we sat beside said the flying is easy but landing is difficult. He started about a month ago and crashed pretty bad. Fixing them up is part of the fun I guess :-)

Happy 7th Birthday

Sept 7th, 7th Birthday.
They call that the Champagne Birthday. Your are supposed to get a sip of Champagne on this day. We'll save that for another day.
Happy 7th birthday Angela!!!

You'd think it was Brians Birthday

First Day(s) of school

It's that time of year again. You can feel and smell it in the air not to mention the mad fury of people trying to buy stuff before their kids start another school year. Luckily for me, Silvana is quite proactive and our school purchases which include clothes, backpacks and most importantly new running shoes was done well in advance.
Take note: if you don't get runners early enough they will all be gone and the kids will be quite disappointed.

The post says day(s) as Angela started on the 5th while Brian started on the 6th.
JK is alternating full days but the first day they only go for an hour to get comfortable.
For Angela it's grade 2 in a new school and new friends. For Brian it's all new!!

Fishing

We also went fishing on Sept 2nd. The weather was overcast and the fish were not biting. At least not for us. Brian was pretty good at casting on his own. His favorite catches were seaweed and a leaf.










Update: I believe it's the Nottawasaga river.

Caves at Blue Mountain

We went to the Caves at Blue Mountain this weekend and it was quite fun. The kids were able to traverse the rocks and stairs without too much trouble. As their site says you have to wear hiking or running shoes and go on a dry day or you will be slippin and sliddin all over the rocks. The whole experience takes about 2 hours which included a view from a suspension bridge but we enjoyed the rocks and caves more.



We followed it with a side trip to the villages at Blue Mountain. They've done a really nice job making it look like a European ski town.

Administration fees

There are many people you need to inform of your move from friends and family to phone, cable and utilities. One of those utilities is the Gas company and they happen to charge $25.00 to make sure that the changes are made. I sent a note to their Ombudsman to raise a concern about how high the cost.

Here are the latest details I replied with after the Ombudsman re-stated what I already knew. "this charge is to help recover the cost of setting up the account, the site visit for the meter reading and other administrative work relating to the change. It is fair to recover this one time cost from the customers who incur them, than to expect all customer to pay for them through a rate increase "

Thanks for your prompt response to my concern.
I do understand the fee and it was clearly stated on the invoice what it was covering. My concern was more about how high the fee was and that your company should at this point have some efficiencies built into the system to avoid the necessity for a fee altogether. Manual meter reading or manual altering of the customer information is time consuming and expensive and given Enbridge has been doing this for years it would be nice to see that some automated methods would be in place to avoid the necessity to charge the customer.

I don't believe this has much to do about fairness because I don't believe I have been treated fairly. If I called to change my phone # would I be charged? Probably not. If I called because I wanted an accurate reading for a given month because I was concerned about my gas usage, would I be charged? Probably not. But combine those two into a change of address and a meter reading and all of a sudden I have to pay $25.00.

I referred to the fee as being a hidden fee in that it is done at a time when there were other things like a bigger mortgage or larger bills and fees to contend with and Enbridge is hoping that we will just pay it and move on.

Come on, if it costs $25.00 to do this then they must be doing something wrong. Outsource the task and I be they could do it for 1/10th the price. I'd gladly read the meter for them and update their systems over the web if it will save me $25.00.

The New House

Pretty happy so far with the new house. Just up the road about 5 kms from where we were before. Still close to work for me. Bigger rooms for everyone and those cool outdoor potlights that make the house look like it's going to take off at night time. The first place I'd ever seen those lights is on the building at Jane and Eglinton. As you approach the bottom of the hill. I believe it was a park storage building or something. I remember thinking it was a UFO ready to take off. The photo is blurry but you get the general idea. Oh ya double car garage that actually fits both cars but not much else. I've been waiting for 20 years to have my car in a garage and the time has finally come.

Washroom Etiquette

So I work in a large office with over 2500 highly educated people in it. Educated enough to be able to help the company and the world with new and innovative software products. Then why I ask you do they have a hard time hitting a urinal or remembering to flush the toilet. It's like living with a group of teenagers in a dorm rather than a group of professionals working in an office.
Recently they installed signs on washroom doors so just before you exit it remids you to wash your hands. From some internal blogs I have found that these signs have been installed in washrooms around the world. My first thought is ofcourse that this is in anticipation of the bird flu or some other pandemic and that if we get into a good habit of washing our hands now we can maybe avoid some of the problems in the future. Then I ask myself even if we did wash our hand properly I know how that their are many folks that bring their laptops into the stalls and work on them on the floor or make phone calls while on the throne. I'm sure all that handwashing won't make a difference there.

This is stuff we learned in grade school and by now we should have it mastered although from what I have read we don't all get the same "education" on cleanliness during our younger years. Some army training involves the drill instructor actually standing there the first time and yelling orders on where and how to clean with a bar of soap. After that, it is how to brush your teeth, and then after that, how to shave. Some people don't know how to do things, so they don't take it for granted. They teach everyone everything that they want them to do. Maybe some manditory washroom etiquette should be provided to our new hires or a yearly certification for all employees.

If you have trouble with your aim practice at home by trying to hit some Cheerios in the toilet. Remember to flush the toilet and wash your hands. Easy enough eh.

Weekend at the Cottage

So what's the fascination with spending time at a cottage?
It's amazing how many people are driving up the 400 on any summer weekend. All of them going to some destination that is far from the city so they can get away from the day to day routine and relax, unwind, recharge.

Let me take you through my weekend at the cottage.

The weekend actually starts early. Many people leave a bit early from work in order to get home and do some packing. For those that have their own cottage this is not a big deal as you probably have your trackpants from high school waiting for you up there. For the rest of us it involves some strategic Weather Network viewing in order to know if you need to bring both long and short pants and how thick a sweater you may need for the night time. Luckily for me Silvana has been a cottage goer for decades so I'm able to get away with just packing a few last minute things I want to bring like the camera and camcorder to make sure I capture us relaxing, unwinding and recharging.

The van is packed and we are ready to go by 8p.m. All I have to do is set up the portable DVD player in the van so the kids are occupied for what is usually just over an hour drive. I'm anticipating it will be longer and hope they will fall asleep on the way up so we can just put them to bed and start our relaxing, unwinding and recharging. Surprisingly the drive up is quite good. Only a few slow downs near the onions at Canal Road and once again as we get into Barrie. At this time of the year Silvana watches out for roadkill and hits the internal air button about 10 times to avoid the inside of the van smelling like skunk. Two or three of those times are false alarms as it's a lone shoe on the highway. How they get there is still a mystery that I will write about another time. The kids are watching out for the water towers along the way as they are the signs that we are getting closer.

We arrive at Allenwood beach around 9:30. The kids are still up and the Princess Diaries is just over. I think I've said Golly Wolly with a British accent over 30 times and the kids laughed each time. I've got at least 7 trips back and forth to get all the stuff into the cottage. Carrying the stuff is fine but doing it in the dark so that no mosquitoes get in the van or the cottage is a challenge. After about the 5th trip I am able to "use the force" to avoid the rocks, lawn furniture and about 300 old sandals that have been scattered on the porch.

This is the point where my organizational skills come into full swing. Together with Silvana we are able to put all the stuff away where it belongs in about 10 minutes. This includes time to get the kids to the washroom and brush their. Given we are only up for a couple of nights there is no use putting our clothes in the closet or drawers so we leave the bag at the foot of the bed to save time. The room is about the size of my PWA (Personal Work Area) at work so the bag takes up what little area there is to walk around the bed. The kids will be sleeping on one of those couches that unfolds into a bed. Sort of like a futon. I think they are referred to as a Divan. They've already turned the TV on and found Treehouse is on channel 58 in cottage country not 65. I quickly turn it off and get inbetween them to stop the footsy fights. Brian falls asleep in the middle of asking me a question. It's 10:45 and Angela is fading fast. By 11:00 they are both out and I can feel the relaxing, unwinding and recharging is just around the corner.

I quickly head back to our room in the hopes that my Mother in Law will not come and tell me what is planned in terms of cottage maintenance for the next few days. From what I can hear she is already asleep. Her room is right next to ours but the snoring is light. As I trip over the bag at the foot of the bed and go head first towards the window my thoughts turn to towards how much time I really saved by putting the bag there. The landing was soft and I thought I might just stay there for the night but it didn't take much to roll onto the bed. 11:15 and I'll be asleep in no time when I hear the distant rumble of a freight train. Funny thing is the nearest tracks are about 20 kms away. I lift my head an turn it like the RCA Victor dog to try and figure out where the sound is coming from and then it hits me. The fridge. A lovely powder blue General Electric from the 50's with the handle that pulls downward at the front and a freezer compartment that will fit 1 tray of ice and about 10 freezies is trying to keep the new items we shoved into it cool and is having a hard time. The sound will go on for about 3 hours and just as you are about to get into a deep sleep it gives off a flutter as if it is shivering from the cold inside. Oh well, the relaxing, unwinding and recharging can start tomorrow at the beach.

I forgot to put my watch on the milk crate / night table beside my bed but from my internal clock and the light shining in the window I can tell it's close to 7 o'clock. The kids will probably be up any second now so I should get up and get some stuff ready for them. Before I can they are both in the bed with us and asking for breakfast. Cookies fill in the gap for the time it takes the toaster to get the toast brown enough to be able to put some margarine on it. About three pushes later they've had their fill and I'm left eating 6 pieces of toast. The thimble of milk that was left in what looks like a half litre carton ( I didn't know they made them that size) of milk was used for somenes coffee so I am left to drink some grape juice that thicker than molasses.

While the kids are watching a bit of TV I notice a local newspapers on the front porch and given I don't usually get a chance to read a physical copy of the paper I thought I'd go an pick it up. It's just out of arms reach and the weather is a bit chilly so I have to step out to get it. It seems as if the sandal fairy came over night because there are none left on the porch this morning.

Off to the beach at around 11 a.m. and the temperature is still around 18C. I'd swear there is a wind chill factor. Angela's friend that moved the other year is renting one of my Mother in Laws cottages so the kids are occupied and having fun. Brians lips are blue within 5 minutes and we both get under a blanket to try keep warm. Angela is oblivious to the cold and spends most of her time in the water. Although I'm on guard around the water (yes the non swimming guy is on guard but the water is only knee high for about a half a km out) it's a joy to see them playing and having fun. I video tape some of it so I can remember the day.

There is alot that happens between lunch and dinner including a run to the grocery store that was all but empty but the details aren't that exciting. Why is it they can't get their inventory ironed out. They know there is an influx of people on the weekends. Needless to say not much of it is resting, unwinding or recharging.

By dinner I could do with a shower but am dreading stepping into the shower given the small hot water tank only lasts about 2 minutes and the water pressure that is a dribble at the best of times. I am relieved to find that the cottage is off the well and running on a public water system. The pressure is great but the hot water runs out even faster. Now my lips are blue and so are some other parts of my body, not because of the cold but because I've hit my elbows on the ceiling at least 5 times trying to rinse what little hair I have left on my head.

Our second day involves alot of planning of maintenance as well as some small maintenance tasks. It seems the cottage is a dumping ground for stuff we don't need. Old couches that smell like the roadkill we passed the other day, a VCR that is older than I am, pop bottles from the Pop Shoppe, pipes, wires, nails, wood, bikes. All strategically placed under the cottage for use sometime in the future. You never know when you might need that old banana seat bike for your retro 70's party. The task of organizing or throwing the stuff out is overwhelming so it just sits there waiting to be used. I have come across some nice finds over the years but it doesn't happen that often.

Once again the kids are having a dandy time. Talking to people even though they usually don't talk to anyone but us. Eating things they wouldn't normally eat. Trying things they wouldn't normally try both physically and mentally. The weather has warmed up so the beach is much more comfortable. We are able to play monkey in the middle with a frisbee in the water and get a few other kids to play along with us. The water is quite warm and there are areas where little sand bars have formed allowing for some interesting play.

The plan is to leave by 4 to avoid the traffic even though we know there is no such time. Somehow it takes 10 trips to pack the van on the way back yet we don't have more stuff. We stop of at Timmy's in Elmvale to pick up some snacks for the drive home. You'd think people had never seen a donut before. Brian and I have a bet on how long it will take the girls to get back to the van. 8 minutes was Brians winning guess and not that bad given the line up was about 30 people deep with 10 cars in the drive through. We finish our donuts and coffee before we even get to the 400 and are ready for the long haul. Once again the drive home was quite light with the usual slow downs in the usual places.

It was our first trip to the cottage since we got the new house and it was nice to drive the van into the garage, it made the unloading quite easy. Now all that is left is to make a quick snack for dinner, get lunch ready for work tomorrow and check up on some e-mail. I'll be ready for sleep by 11 for sure and I can start dreaming about how relaxing, unwinding and recharging the next trip to the cottage will be.

There is plenty more I could write about this one weekend, all the tasks that Silvana had to do like the laundry till 10 p.m when we got home, the extra cooking on nonstick pans that are not so nonstick anymore, the beach sand that sticks to places it shouldn't and the methods to get it out, how hard the Divan is and what it does to a healthy back or the mental anguish of certain repetitive or redundant conversations but some stuff I'll have to hold back on as it could cause some problems.

So I've come to some conclusions. This weekend is not for Silvana or I to relax, unwind or recharge but it's for Angela and Brian to play, grow, learn about life and how to interact with others which doesn't happen as much at home as it does when you are away from the routine. The two days at the cottage gives them more independence and freedom than we give them at home and they eat it up along with a second helping of food. I wouldn't say that seeing them enjoy themselves is enough to make me like cottage life but I can see why some folks may see the routine of the cottage as easier than the routine of their regular lives. Breaking the routine is good for everyone both young and old. It is those times that we break the routine that we remember the most. But if going to the cottage becomes a part of your routine you have to do something else to break that routine as well or you aren't getting the benefit you think you are. It won't be long before the kids won't want to go to the cottage as I can see from my teenaged nieces and nephews so we will try to break up the regular routine with some cottage break aways as well as other activities and maybe throw some routine breaking into the week which is hard for me as I like the routine.

If you have a cottage or frequent one let me know what you think and where I can fix things so that I can get some of that relaxing, unwinding and recharging that everyone says goes with cottage life.

Skype anyone lately

Originally posted April 2006
So we got onto Skype the other week. I'd been telling everyone about it but never did it myself. The day after setting it up we got to talk to Silvana's friend Daniella and her husband Darren. It was as clear as a bell and free to boot. We hope to get some more folks from overseas on as well in the near future.

As an added bonus you can purchase Skype dollars and call computer to phone at rates that are much cheaper than local telco rates.

Dinner at Tesh's

Originally posted April 2006
It's been a while since we've gotten together with Tesh and family, Frank was there as well. The guys (Bobby, Tony, Neumann, Frank and I) get out every once in a while. Speaking of which we should probably do something soon or maybe get all the families together.

Good Dinner, good conversation and the kids got along quite well. Always liked Tesh's house its very warm and inviting. The hosts have something to do with that I'm sure.

Tesh is to get his tatoos soon. I'll have to start reviewing my design over the summer if I'm to get one in October.

Messy Hands

Originally posted April 2006
The Bannisters invited the kids to Isabelle's birthday party this past weekend. It was held at Messy Hands . Basically the kids do a craft in a school bus. The bus can actually come to your house but in this case it was at their "studio". Much to our surprise still in the bus. The kids made hand prints in plaster that they painted and decorated. I found this to be better than a play gym as they actually got to do something other than jump on a bouncy Castle.

Lets give this a try

I started a blog on another provider a little while ago but I have had many technical difficulties that they seem to be ignoring so I decided to give blogger a try instead. I'm sure the other provider will not even know I am gone. I attempted to assist them by providing some feedback but I think it may have fallen on deaf ears.

So off we go into the Frangos Family Frenzy Blog.
Why Frenzy? Well a frenzy is "extreme mental agitation; wild excitement or derangement." .. what better way to describe a place to hold some random thoughts and ideas. I will most likely re-post the items I posted on my other blog here so I have everything in one place.

Keep your eyes open and they will appear in the next few posts.