Career Change

I have an unstated rule for this blog - not to talk/bitch about work or my employer. Even though, most of the people that come to this page know me personally and chat about work in person with me; for some reason it just doesn't feel right to do so on-line.

That being said....As I catch up on my postings I would be remiss if I did not at least mention that I left my old job at the end of July and started a new one the first week of August. Things have been working out ok so far...

On my last day of work at my previous employer I got Christina to take a couple pictures of me clearing everything out and hitting the road. My last trip out was a mish-mash of goofy things accumulated over the last 3.5 years.

Needless to say I got a lot of weird looks on the street. 

Short Track Racing

Every once in awhile my buddy Bryce comes through town to Thorhild for some short track motorcycle racing. I try to go out and watch him and Mel rip it up. I know basically nothing about bikes but it's cool to see all the different rides.  The the races are entertaining and the good old boys on the bikes zip by really quickly.
Here are some pics of Mel and Bryce racing from this summer. They are both racing on the #29 bike.

July in Saskatoon

Chrissy and I road-tripped to Saskatoon for the July long weekend this summer to celebrate Canada Day and hang out with my family.

The Jazzfest was on while we were in town so we strolled the lovely riverside to the beer gardens near the Bez.

 My niece Nikki joined me for a drink and we got our first picture together in about a billion years. 

After a few drinks we decided to do some mini-golfing at Wilsons greenhouse. Christina and I have a long standing rivalry on the mini links. Would I remain undefeated on the 'real' grass surfaces and amidst the picturesque setting?  Of course I did. I dominated.

Stephanie and family were kind enough to invite us over for supper and a jump around on their new trampoline.

Christina thought this picture was funny as Liam and I are the same height. The near bottoming out of the trampoline is not cool. Hockey season needs to start up again.

One of my favourite places in Saskatoon is the Forestry Farm Zoo. We visited on a terribly hot day, so instead of walking around we chose to ride the train.

Even the animals were trying to beat the heat. It was pretty funny watching the grizzly bear frolic in the water. He was splashing around, batting back and forth a giant log with a content look on his face.

Additionally we got a quick visit in to the old hometown: Humboldt. My brother Lawrence recently purchased a lot on Stony Lake (aka - Humboldt Lake) and had moved our old cabin from Greenwater there.  It was really cool to see the renovations my brother had done. The old place looked fantastic with new flooring, bathroom and updated features. My camera battery had died by that point so I am stealing a couple of pictures from Betty and posting them here. 

The cabin as we saw it.

 The cabin now after a fresh batch of paint.

Like always the trip back home was too short. I already can't wait for my next trip to Saskatchewan.

Calgary Comic

For the second year in a row now I attended the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo in June (Last years post). It was a fantastic time with tons of great creators, comics, celebrities, and cosplay.

This year I was lucky enough to attend the event with my friends, the Bells. Matt, Jessie, Andrew and I gathered in the rental vehicle and took the journey down the QE2 together. It was Andrews first expo so his mom got him dressed appropriately.

At the show there were a ton of C & B list celebrities. I could really care less about meeting any of them so instead I tried to snap a couple of pictures to poor affect.

A couple of my geeky favourites.

Diamond Dallas Page

 Gail Simone - the writer for Birds of Prey, Secret Six, Batgirl  @GailSimone

Of course these two pale in comparison to meeting the great Christopher Hastings of Doctor McNinja fame.

http://drmcninja.com/newreaders.php

But really, no one cares about my geeky celebrity meetings. People want to see some cosplay.

U2 in Edmonton

In the beginning of June this year U2 played their long expected show at Commonwealth Stadium here in Edmonton. I say long expected, because they were expected to play the show in June 2010 but Bono hurt his back and scheduled tour stops had to be postponed. This of course happened after a full year of waiting as tickets were first announced and purchased in late 2009.

In early June you never know what type of weather you're going to get but we couldn't have asked for a more 'beautiful day (lame pun).

After getting a couple of beers we walked around the stadium taking it all in before heading to our seats.

The stage of the U2 360 tour was huge.  In the broad daylight it was impressive but also somewhat strange looking. We later learned that it was supposed to be a giant spaceship. Below is the view from our seats.

We were lucky enough to have Ed and Amber from work as our seat neighbours. Ed was also our seat hook-up. What a guy!

The Fray were the openers and were lame. By the time U2 hit the stage it was around 9 o'clock. Although they sounded good and were playing some of my favorites from Achtung Baby I couldn't really get into it. I think it was because it was so bloody bright out. One of the weird circumstances of living in a northern city.

Bono in general is a small dude so from a distance he appears just tiny. Often times we would just find ourselves watching him on the big screen.

 Once it started to get dark out the whole show seemed to get considerably better as the stage became an active participant. The multiple colours and moving parts were a little mesmerizing and definitely made the show more memorable.

Looking back on the show now I am thankful that I went. I don't know if I ever need to see another giant stadium show again but I can now scratch U2 off my list of concerts to see.