I found a man for CQ!

Check this out: http://www.achannel.ca/ottawa/news_42252.aspx

The dude with the Mohawk mullet, wearing the very stylish sweatpants that make a definite fashion statement on his 300 lb. frame.

CQ: I can get his name and phone number for ya. Just say the word. AND he works at Hershey's in Smiths Falls, at least until it closes later this year, so he has access to a lot of chocolate! Damn! You've already done your Easter Bunny shopping for Evan, haven't you?

Back off, the rest of you women, I'm reserving him for CQ. I don't imagine he's already spoken for.

:-))))

Hey, JB -- it's weigh-in time

Just back from Dr. Strangeglove's office, and I am doing marvellously. My weight is down another 2 kg (I'm now below 200 lbs.), blood pressure is down, blood sugar is down, cholesterol is down but triglycerides are still too high, so I have new medication for that.
All that and I haven't worked out for two weeks because of the stubborn cold that I think I have finally gotten rid of. Back to the gym tomorrow.

How's it going, JB? I know you're busy at work and with the Tinks and you're just getting over being sick, too, but -- not to come off as preachy here -- I had a whole bunch of excuses, too, and that's all they are: excuses. You can lift weights by getting each Tink to hang on to an arm. Your strength and their weight will increase together. There's exercise for you!

C'mon, the gauntlet is down! :)

Anybody want Grandma's chesterfield?

It and the matching chair are outta here next Tuesday, when the Salvation Army comes and picks them up. Along with them will be two or three bags of clothes, mostly the snappy suits and sport jackets I wore when I was a news anchor all through the 1990s.

I wanted to give everything to the Diabetes Association, but its guys can't/won't come right into the apartment and carry the furniture out of here. So I'll be watching for my old clothes on the backs of the guys who hang around the parking lot I use in the Byward Market, right next to the Sally Ann shelter. They'll look snappy, I tell ya -- about ten years out of style, but snappy!

I'm also junking out some books and DVDs that I'll likely never read or watch again, and giving them to some women at work who hold crap sales occasionally for their charity of choice. The voices in my head are fighting over whether I'm gonna weed out some CDs, too. Hey, one man's crap is another man's gold mine, the voice called Pappy is saying.

Can you tell that I'm getting psyched for the big move? I'm not counting sleeps yet, but I am getting psyched.

Have a great day, everyone, and remember: last call for Bob's crap. Ya snooze, ya lose.

Things are starting to move

...although I don't physically move until May 1st.

I have hired a mover and made arrangements to have cable, internet and phone moved over. At the same time, I signed up for Rogers Home Phone, abandoning Bell. Until two years ago, I worked for Bell, kind of, because it had majority ownership of CTV. Now my only connection will be the 302 shares of BCE that I bought on the employee purchase plan.

Now I have to get my arse in gear and start the packing process, first by relieving myself of a lot of junk I have accumulated over the years.

I have also decided that besides the washer and dryer that I'm buying, I'm also going to buy some living room furniture. Right now, I have my grandparents' chesterfield and chair. They're not antiques -- I remember when they bought them when I was a teenager. But they are from the 1970s and showing some signs of age, and when I look at them, I think that I can't move them into a brand new apartment. So I've begun shopping. My sister and brother-in-law and his sister told me last night at supper, that Ashley Furniture has great stuff. I went there today, and there sure is some beautiful stuff, and not terribly expensive, either.

I've been looking around for a washer and dryer, too, and today, I found just what I need at Zellers, of all places. A Beaumark stackable pair (heh-heh, "stack"able "pair") for about 200 bucks less than anything else I've seen. I looked on the internet, and Beaumark is made by General Electric, which also makes several other reputable brands. I think I'll go back to Zellers and score the bonus of big-time HBC points.

Any input on Beaumark appliances is welcome, fellow bloglodytes.

I am an adrenalin junkie

I have been reminded today why I love my career. It's for the occasional adrenalin rush when you track down a story and nail down the details.

You might need to have worked in news to understand this, without thinking that I'm taking joy from someone else's misery. Trust me, there is a disconnect between the non-feeling, objective journalist and the human being who does, indeed, share the pain.

In this particular example, we learned today of a young Canadian drowning in Cancun. We then learned that he is from Ottawa, and were able to get his name and his place of work. We are now scrambling to get enough material, including an interview with his boss, in time for our 6pm news (it's almost 5:30 now).

It's not the exploitation of someone else's pain that gives you the adrenalin rush -- it's the chase to get the elements you need for a solid story that will tell our viewers not only who it is who drowned, but who it isn't. It's also the adrenalin rush you get from the satisfaction of putting your skills to work, and scoring very positive results.

By the way, the elements are falling into place. We will have a solid story at 6pm (Star Choice 342 or ExpressVu 209) and again at 11pm. That will be another source of satisfaction and adrenalin.

At various points during the process, I have paused to feel for the young man's family, and will again, when I reflect on the process that results in the story. Truly tragic. Twenty-three is too young to die.

The First Sign of Spring

...and I have seen it! I don't need no stinkin' robin to tell me it's spring! Shortly before midnight, walking through the ByWard Market after getting off work, there it was: A GUY IN SHORTS!
Sure, it was 11 degrees earlier in the day, and 6 degrees with no windchill when I saw him (at least, weather dude Bill Welychka said it was 6 degrees on my 11pm newscast), but HOLY FREAKIN' CRAP MAN, IT'S ONLY 6 DEGREES AND IT'S ONLY MARCH 22nd AND THE HIGHEST THE TEMPERATURE GOT TO DURING THE DAY WAS 11 DEGREES. Are you nuckin' futs or what???
Cripes.

She double-double dared me!

Ma Horton did, to post some of my baby pics. There aren't a whole hell of a lot of them, what with me being the second boy and middle child -- something I forgave my parents for many years ago. So here goes: This first one is New Year's 1962. I'm about five weeks from my fourth birthday, my brother is 5 and my sister is four months old. The second one is Christmas, 1960, and the one below is Christmas, 1962. That's all I gots, on my computer at least. And don't even ask about my teenaged years. No way. You'll have to use your imaginations.

Happy St. Patrick's Boxing Day!

That's all. Tag, you're it!

An Old Irish Blessing

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind always be at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,and rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

(Or, as I believe the Irish Rovers used to say "...may you be in Heaven for half an hour before the devil knows you're dead.")

Drum roll, please...

I was at my doctor's office today about this stupid recurring cold that's been around since Christmas. She wanted to weigh me, to see how the diabetes thing is going. I've gone from 95 kg (about 209 lbs.) to 92 kg (202 lbs.) in 16 days! Tah-dah!

Doc complimented me, and I told her "You know, it's not that difficult." She wouldn't accept that, saying that it IS difficult. Either way, that's encouraging, and incentive to keep up the battle.

I must be totally candid, and admit that the encouragement from my fellow bloglodytes has helped.

GROUP CYBER HUG!

A little cyberpoll I hope you'll participate in

I just came back from my workout at Cuts for Men (the male equivalent of Curves for Women). I've only been a member for about a month and a half, and been there maybe 12 times.

Today, the manager was there. I haven't seen her since the day I signed up. She said to me: "Are you ever losing weight. Holy crap!"

My question: Did she just say that because of who she is? I need your opinion.

More background: I've only lost three or four pounds, and need to lose about another 30 or so. I still have the classic middle-age paunch, and don't like looking at myself in profile, or naked.

I really think she just said that. Let me know what you think.

One more note while I think of it: If you are among the dozens of people who I accidentally spammed yesterday with a pain in the ass thing from flixster, I sincerely apologize. It started with what I thought was an email from one of my hockey players. Next thing I know, everyone on my Hotmail address list is receiving this email thingy from me.

I'm getting the hang of this diabetes thing

I've really been more careful of what I eat. I'm opting for salad instead of fries (which I never ate a lot of, anyway), I think I'm past the craving for my daily can of Pepsi, and am succeeding at not noshing on the goodies that so often come in to our newsroom.

I haven't given up on my two cups of coffee a day. But now, instead of double-double, it's sweetener and milk in it. I'm also drinking tea more often, just black. It's even recommended in some of the literature I've been reading.

Heck, tonight I even cooked fish for myself. I've never done that. The closest I ever got to that is breading and cooking fresh pickerel at the cottage for my dad and me, and whoever else happens to be around. And tonight, I even had corn with it. I have never cooked veggies for myself.

I'm also learning what I can't eat. Last night, I had take-out Chinese from a place down the street that makes it great. I'm not sure if it was the chicken balls in cherry sauce or the honey garlic ribs, but my blood-sugar reading two hours later was 14.1 -- the highest it's been since I started testing it. The target range is between 4 and 7. Next time, I'll get chop suey or some other veggie-based dish to go with the egg roll and fried rice. If the result is similar, I'll swear off Chinese food. It's all entirely do-able.

So I'm getting there. I had even lost a couple pounds when I weighed myself at the gym last week. Going there is something that I'm going to have to do more often, too, but a lifetime of habit/routine is going to take a bit of time to totally change.

Sighhhhhhhhhh

Here I am, drinking tea that I made in my Tim Hortons teapot that Ma Horton gave me, drinking it out of the Tim Hortons mug that I stole at work (Tim's is a big sponsor of A-Channel Morning), wondering when Ma is getting home from her jetsetting vaykay, so she can dish out some of her humour, innuendo, double-entendres and sage advice.

Where oh where has Ma Horton gone,
Where oh where can she be?

Rrrrrrrrolling up the rim made easier

This morning on A-Channel Morning here in Ottawa, we featured a guy who has invented the rimroller. It's a device that saves you from using your teeth and smudging your lipstick (oh, I hate when that happens) while rrrrrrrrrolling up the rim.

Apparently, the rimroller will soon be for sale at all Lee Valley Tools locations for two bucks.

Try Googling rimroller for more details.

Things that make you go WTF

I just finished off a bag of frozen strawberries that I use in smoothies (crushed ice, banana, strawberries, flax seed and cranberry juice all blended together in my blender -- yum!) and noticed on the bag of Europe's Best brand strawberries, it says "Product of Peru". WTF?

This one isn't new or unusual, but still qualifies for WTF: I have an I-heart-NY coffee mug that, on the bottom of it, says Made In China.

Tonight, our hockey coach noticed one of the players putting tape on his legs above his shin pads, and asked about it. I smartassedly said that it cuts off circulation to his lower legs and feet, so that they're numb, and if he takes a shot, he doesn't feel it. "No," this lovable kid says, "they don't get numb. I just can't feel them." WTF?

This is the same kid who, Saturday night, forgot his running shoes in the dressing room. (The boys go for a brief run and quick exercise routine before every game, to get warmed up and stretched out). One of the other boys picked up the shoes. A few minutes later, I see Mikey in the lobby and ask if he got his shoes. "Yeah," he says, pointing to the dress shoes on his feet. WTF? I told him "Mikey, I love ya, but sometimes you're such a dumbass!" One of the other boys correctly responded "Sometimes?"

The Deal Is Done; the Lease is Signed

Just to prove that I'm not obsessed with my upcoming new apartment, here's a pic of my new Little Niece, Little Brother Dan and Girlfriend Christine's puppy, Maggie, just after getting out of her first bathtub experience last night. Isn't she the most adorable little thing you've ever seen? Fully grown, she might weigh five pounds.

Now, on to the other thing: On May 1, I will totally upgrade my accommodations. I will also totally upgrade how much I pay for rent, and start paying for my own utilities, but I think I can afford it, if I'm careful. This might be the cure for my desire to travel, although I still plan to get to Dubai for a visit with college roommate Rick and his wife and son.

I checked out the under-construction apartment again today, and was shown an identical, although mirror-image of my place that's a bit further ahead. B-U-T-full!

A quick tour: Sunken living/dining area and kitchen; not ceramic but GRANITE tiles in entryway, kitchen and bathrooms. That's right, two bathrooms: One with one-piece tub and shower, the other en suite in the master bedroom that has glass shower stall and short, but deep soaker tub. Master bedroom has a ceiling fan (not sure if the other one does); utility room has hook-up for stackable washer and dryer (which I will buy immediately, looking forward to no longer schlepping my laundry down the hall or to my sister's house); kitchen has beautiful cupboards and four appliances (stove, fridge, dishwasher -- which I'm not sure I'll ever use -- and combination exhaust fan/microwave oven); living room has thermostat-operated gas fireplace.. The entire place is 1,060 square feet, not including the 165 square-foot patio with connection for natural gas barbecue. I face south, which should make a difference in my heating bill; and the scenery is a field and a bypass around the part of town in which it is situated. I think that's it. Oh yeah, natural gas. The entire building is well above standards, because the plan is eventually to sell off the units as condos. I hope to be ready to dive into ownership when that happens. And the walls will not be white! They're being painted a light beige, even though the painter we saw in one unit today jokingly called it pink.

We'll have an online house-warming party in early May -- clothing optional, of course.

One more thing to prove I'm not apartment-obsessed: My hockey team starts the finals tonight. GO, RANGERS, GO!

LET'S MAKE SOME NOISE!

My goodness, it's quiet in Blogland lately. The blogs I drop into and participate in are really quiet the past few days.

Let's start off March (by the way, WHITE RABBIT x 3) by making some noise. I'll start:

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRROLLLLLLL UP
THE RRRRRRRRRRIMMMMMMMMMMM!

You're next.