Archive for the 'Canada' Category

27
Mar

You put what on your what?!?!?!

In an homage to my new worldwide interweb friend Coal Miner’s Granddaughter, I have decided to throw down a shotgun style post covering many topics at a very shallow depth.

After bitching yesterday about 3doh’s inability to sleep, last night was nearly nirvana. Of course, nirvana cannot be achieve with three children. Ever. Unless they are all in their 40’s and you are dead.

The wife said a few magic words:

“Hey, do you know where the Orajel is?”

(Here is where you would insert that sound of someone running really fast as they scramble and slide thru the foyer towards the stairs, followed by the sound cartoon people make when they run very fast and the floor rolls up behind them).

I come running back downstairs and into the den, hands held high in victory, as I showed the wife two Orajels: one regular and one NIGHTTIME!

I was cautiously optimistic, but just in case, I let my excitement get the better of me and ejaculated a little bit…in my mind.

She rubbed some Orajel in his mouth as I put the other ones to bed, and when I came back downstairs, she said he was “in bed.”

That usual means 30-45 minutes until he’s mad and crying again, but not today baby.

The boy that wouldn’t sleep went down at 7pm and awoke at, and I wipe a tear from my eye as I type this, 3:30am, took a bottle, and slept again until 6:30am! I got so much fucking sleep that I was nearly delirious when I awoke.

Of course I left out the part where 2doh screamed several times and I eventually had to go get her and bring her to our bed, meaning that the boy’s sleep was tempered somewhat by the fact that I had an uber strong 2 year old kicking the shit out of me, but it was joyous nonetheless. No crying = a happy daddy.

So, I got in the shower this morning refreshed, revitalized and with my brain functioning at a speed that I would compare to watching two hummingbirds getting it on.

My first noted thought?

“Sweet Jesus. I am so happy that worked that I may have to masturbate with that Orajel. Nevermind. It’s all the way in the bedroom.”

Then I farted.

Last night we had garlic wings from Wild Wings and my fart smelled EXACTLY like the wings did, and that got me to wondering…

When you take a dump, it usually smells terrible. How is it that your body can take all of the good out of food and leave you this horrific presentation in form and appearance, yet you can eat a garlic wing or some eggs, and an hour later it smells like what you ate?

Anyway, the logical path of this thought was, what if your body took the bad stuff out and your dumps smelled like, say, grilled salmon or a nice thick ribeye or some mussels or something? How great would that be?

And that led to me thinking about peeing (because I was peeing) and I thought about that old urban legend about a chemical that would turn purple when you peed in the pool. Does that actually exist? I mean, I’m not bragging, but I pee in the pool every single time I go in the pool.

Yes. That’s right. I. Pee. In. The. Pool.

Fuck you. Your kid pees in the pool every time he / she gets in too. What’s the difference?

But since I can’t get any closure on the chemical rumor, I never take any chances. I always drift around, just barely skimming by some kids playing together. And I’m usually walking backwards. That way, if I see the purple cloud start, I’m pointing at those little uncivilized bastards that peed very near me. And my purple bathing suit.

Next, an American tragedy.

According to this story, one of the greatest American Heroes died yesterday.

Herb Peterson, 89 years young (and survived by fat fuckers like me that have had bypasses), was the inventor of the fast food item that literally changed the world:

The Egg McMuffin.

Now, you have to ignore a couple of facts. First, It’s name is wrong. It’s not an Egg McMuffin. It’s a Canadian Bacon Muffin with egg. They sell a sausage mcmuffin with egg, which means the meat is the variable and not the egg. But I guess back then, putting any breakfast sammich on a menu AND an english muffin was cutting edge stuff, so I’ll give the people from McDonald’s a pass on that. (I will NOT give them a pass on that fucking McRib. I’m guessing the guy that invented THAT abomination is in jail or Purgatory, as it was not ribs, but pressed hog anus with bbq sauce).

Even today, the egg mcmuffin is the perfect breakfast sammich. And it’s the healthiest thing calorie-wise on the menu.

I am sad. I may stop for one on the way to work tomorrow.

God bless you Herb Peterson.  You are an American hero.

And one final item.

Today was the day to do my expense reports from my trip to The Great White North.

I know.  I went in February.  But I’ve heard that the best way to have an accurate expense report is to put your receipts in a lot of different places and then wait a month to fill that shit out.

Anyway, as I was perusing my two week hotel bill, my eyes were drawn to the “incidentals.”  If I had just said incidentals, that would have meant phone calls, meals, and cough drops from the hotel store.  But “incidentals” means pay per view porn.

Fuck you.  You know you do it when you’re in a hotel alone.  Don’t judge me.  And I must say that the fact that hotels have now added digital television (ahem…fast forward and rewind) to your remote options has really enhanced the viewing experience.

So on two occasions, I decided to flip thru the menu of naughtiness. But then I remembered the rest of the story.

Over the middle weekend, I had a few beers and decided to select a film.  I did, watched it for about 15 minutes and fell asleep.  And no, by fell asleep I don’t mean masturbated or “combed my hair” or anything else.

The next morning I got my mid-week statement under the door.

I looked it over and was disgusted.  SOMEONE had ordered a movie that was thirty five fucking dollars!!

Turns out, the title I selected was intended for 24 hours of continued use instead of just one viewing.  I think it’s best that I didn’t know that. If they sent me to a cardiologist in Canada for a sinus infection and the flu, my groinal abrasions would’ve probably gotten me sent to a dentist>

05
Mar

More observations from above

And from above, I don’t mean heaven. I mean above you on the map. Right there by Vermont.

The conversion rate being close sucks ass. You see, in the days of the Canadian dollar being worth about fifty cents U.S., it had to be easy to do your expense reports online, But now, depending upon what method of payment you used, the totals are close to what you remember, but not exact. It’s just annoying, especially considering how ADD affects my ability to organize a two-week stack of receipts. I’m fairly confident that this trip may cost me about $800 Canadian, or $804 US.

I am now of the belief that these people either don’t know anything about steak, or they do and they’ve decided to suck at making them and cutting them.

Last night we went to a place called LeBiftheque, which apparently means “Purveyors of decent but too thin steaks.” Prices weren’t horrid, but for two guys to get dinner, one desert and one drink each, $90 with tip should have left me saying “Yes…now THAT was a good steak.”

Instead, I was left saying “Great Caesar sald and great garlic smashed potatoes, and the steak TASTES good, but again, it’s a fucking waffle house steak.”

Is it so hard to cut a one to one and a quarter inch thick ribeye? Is it a metric problem or something?

Next is the French problem. Not the French people. They’ve been very nice, or at least 99.9 percent of them have. It’s the talking French thing. When you are reliant on a cab for everything, you have to give a local an address, and even if you don’t speak French, the street names and shit are IN French. That leaves two options. You either read them in English and sound like an arrogant ass, or you attempt to read them in what is supposed to be a French accent and then you sound like an ass that’s borderline retarded or has just had a stroke.

I’m tired of the snow now.  Or I guess I’m tired of how everyone’s indifferent about it.  I mean, I am literally in what appears to be the Sahara desert of snow.  I know that sounds stupid, but there are dunes of snow everywhere you look.  Every undeveloped nook and cranny is piled high with layers of dirty but untouched snow.  And the official snow storage areas (how ridiculous does THAT sound) are up to 80 feet high and hold heavy equipment that rides around on top loading semi trailers that haul the snow out into the vast wasteland that is, well, suburban Montreal I guess, and re-stack it there.

At home, snow is feared by drivers but revered by children and adults alike.  No two square foot area is left untromped on, and here, there are miles and mile of pristine snow that would make my kids quite possibly go completely insane.  And here?  Meh.

Well, I’ve got one day and a wake up left before I head home.  I gotta start thinking about packing and when my flight is, and I’m sure that flight isn’t nearly early enough in the day as I should have booked.

02
Mar

Man do I love eatin’ poutine

Got one today from a place called Tony-Mary Pizza (along with a gyro) and HOLY CRAP was it good.

I’m considering moving my family here just so I can be closer to the blessed dish.

Trouble is, Avitable would probably move here too along with his FryDaddy and I’d only live about 48 hours after that.

02
Mar

Sunday in the GWN

When I last left you, I had decided not to go to the game. I took a series of catnaps that lasted about two hours, and left me a smidge disoriented.

I got dressed and called a cab. I felt like a total dick calling a cab to take me to a bar that I can literally see from my hotel. But shit, it was 20 degrees and snowing, I’ve been and still am sick, and if I had a rental car, I’d have driven and only gotten the cab home.

So I cleared my conscience, called the cab (and requested one that took American Express) and a dood showed up about ten minutes later. We headed down the road, me with my head hung in shame and he with a look on his face like he just ate a turd sandwich by drawing the fare that only wanted to go 500 yards.

We were about to pull into the parking lot, and I said “You do take AMEX, right?”

He looked at me and said “Que?”

Grrr. “Credit cards. You take credit cards?”

“Ah. no.”

Dammit. I don’t have any cash. Take me to an ATM please.

We hit a bank across the street and I get out and attempt to enter the bank ATM area. In Canada, and I assume other snowy places, the ATM’s are in a sort of sub-lobby, but they require you to have an account and card to get in.

Luckily, there’s a girl inside who, upon exiting, lets me in to get cash.

I take out money, open my wallet to put it away, and realize that I had a twenty, meaning this was unnecessary. Grrr.

As I walked out of the bank to get in the cab, he’s rolling down his window and putting out his hand. WTF? You’re not driving me to the bar now?

I pay him, get a blank receipt (which I will be more than happy to fill in) and he drives away, leaving me to walk about 100 yards. Fucker.

I entered a place that seemed part TGIFridays and part sports bar. I wasn’t sure which it would turn out to be.

I got similar treatment from the frog behind the bar as I did from the Firegrill people a couple of nights prior. Oh, and did I mention that this “sports bar” didn’t have ESPN2, meaning little old me wouldn’t be watching the Busch race this afternoon. This wasn’t promising at all.

I decided that I wasn’t planning to stay long, so I was going to order dinner or something like dinner, a couple of beers, hit the hotel to watch the game and call it a day. It was nearly 5pm and I couldn’t see sitting in this dead joint for over two hours waiting for the game to start.

But as game time grew closer, folks started filling up the place. This wasn’t a playoff game, but it was Saturday night hockey in Canada and it became clear that these folks took their hockey seriously. Families piled in with young kids and groups of 20 to 50 people filed in and took up residence at what appeared to be their usual tables.

About this time, a guy wandered up and asked if anyone was sitting to my left (the empty chair and no drink were two clues, but I let that pass) and I gestured that he could sit.

We made small talk as he tried to confirm whether or not I knew shit about hockey, which I do.

He then informed me that since The Habs had scored five goals the night before, this bar had given out coupons for eight free wings, and he had several of them. Further, he wanted to know if I wanted some free wings. I was beginning to like this guy.

At this point I was swapping emails with GBD, and I decided that instead of going back to the hotel, I was gonna stay here and get drunk with some Canadians and see how the crowd was during the game.

At 6:45 (15 minutes before the game), GBD sends me this message:

“Are you drunk yet?”

At the same time she was sending that, I had sent this:

GBD:

So I decided to stay. Met a nice canadian guy who game me a coupon for chicken wings. Hope he’s not trying to fuck me or kill me.

Fingers crossed.

xoxoxo

FRT

I then showed it to the Canadian guy. His name is Callum. He laughed.

The she replied:

FRT:

Enjoy your date. Are they garlic wings? Maybe he won’t want to kiss you.

GBD

The game started and I decided that this was gonna be fun. I sent the following:

GBD,

I think he’s attracted to me, but neither of us is ready for a one night stand or a long distance relationship. The 2nd period is about to start.

FRT

Callum informs me that he has two daughters (18 and 16) and has a son on the way in nine weeks. I send this bit on to GBD. She replies:

Good lord! Buy that man a drink (for many reasons). He has teenage daughters, he’s getting his son, he bought you wings. Just start drinking man!!

I replied:

He’s drinking coke and the wings were free.

As for the drinking, I’m doing the best I can. This 6% alcohol canadian beer sneaks up on you.

FRT

She replied:

Well, happy hockey, or whatever the hell I’m supposed to say. Vive La Hockey???

I showed that to Callum and he corrected GBD. I sent this.

GBD,

He said it’s “Bon Hockey.”

Oh and he said that HIS wife isn’t bothering him via email at all.

LOL

FRT

The game’s tied 1-1 going into the third period, and I’m having fun. Instead of ordering specific beer, I am now leaving it up to the frog behind the bar to decide which draft beer I should have. I’m hoping he’s not dipping his penis in it when I’m not looking.  I have fallen in love with the Belgian White they’re serving and am extoling its virtues and ingredients (it has corriander in it!!) to the couple next to me.  She thinks I’m funny.  Her date thinks I’m drunk.  They’re both right.

Then I start talking to Callum about Canadian stuff, like how much cigarettes are (since he steps outside periodically to smoke). He says that they run between six and nine dollars a pack.

WTF? Sixty bucks a carton? That’d be enough to get anybody to stop smoking I’d think.

The game ended with Le Habitants scoring the winning goal with just over five minutes to go, putting them alone in first place.  The crowd’s happy.  The bartender / emcee won’t even look at me as he’s throwing out souvenier t-shirts.  I have now decided that I may be forced to kill this bastard.

It’s time to go, so I paid my sixty dollar tab  and get ready to call a cab.  Callum says “Hey, you want a ride?”

So here it is.  The point where I am either killed, forced at gunpoint to blow a guy in a foreign country or simply get delivered unharmed to my hotel a scant 500 yards away.

I figure “WTF.  I’m drunk.  I’ll take my chances that I’m just resistable enough to be left alone sexually and just non-annoying enough that he won’t kill me.”

I’m right on both counts.  I thank him for the ride.  He says “There’s a game Monday.  I’ll be there watching it.  If you’re around, come on by.”

So I’ve got a date Monday night.  What do you think I should wear?

01
Mar

Saturday. In the park. I (don’t) think it was the fourth of July.

Well, it’s snowing again.  They said we could expect about ten centimetres.  (See how I used the European spelling?)  I’ve been expecting ten centimeters for a while now if you know what I mean.

Oh, and how much is that?  Like a foot or something?  I know a litre is sort of like a quart, and multiplication rock taught me as a kid that “A metre’s just a little longer than a yard.  That’s not very hard.”  But centimeter?

Let’s see.  100 cm in 1 m.  36 inches in a yard.  so a foot is 12 inches or 33.3 cm or so.  So 10cm is about 4 inches of snow?  Is that right?

Let’s do this the reverse way.  10cm, double that and add 30.  so 10cm is 50 inches of snow?

God dammit this is confusing.

Anywho, didn’t do much last night.  Jumped off the give a shit about the price of dinner for the company thing.  Every night it’s the same thing.  Do I knowingly order overpriced stuff here out of convenience, or do I call a cab to take me somewhere to pay slightly less, knowing I’ll have dropped $20 to $30 on the cab, and then it’s a wash.

Whatever.  I stayed the middle weekend on this trip to save the company 900 bucks on airfare.  They can throw me a bone on a meal or two.

So I got a 42 dollar half inch thick ribeye and a caesar salad.  I nearly laughed at it when it came to the table.  I was tempted to make a waffle house steak joke, but they wouldn’t have gotten it.  That and five beers made my bill, with tip, ninety bucks.  I had a good time though.  Sat next to a short Scotsman and talked soccer and rugby and hockey and drunken Irish girls, etc.  Fun was had by all.

Today, I’m taking it easy.  I want to go into town and find a ticket to the game tonight, but everyone’s saying it’s gonna cost me $150 - $200 and I’m not sure I’m okay with that.  I could stay here, hit a sports bar and watch the race AND the hockey game, screw around on the computer, have some beers and bar food and spend less than half that.

Plus, I wouldn’t be out $90 for the cab and I wouldn’t be wandering around outside amidst the snow drifts.

Wow.  I changed my mind and decided not to go just like that.

Thanks worldwide information super interweb.  Is there anything you CAN’T do?




 

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