The New Floodgates of the Mind

Wow. Is the day over already? I can’t believe how quickly it went.

Chantale’s parents came over this afternoon prior to our going out to bring James a gift. Then, the kids and I headed out to Dundees for a tasty lunch. When we came back home, my parents and sister dropped in for a quick visit and cake. It had been quite some time since they were last here so I showed them everything that was new 🙂

When they left, the kids got to play for a bit before bath and movie! James decided he wanted to watch Cats & Dogs and that’s what we did. It was fun and somewhat surprising that he hadn’t seen it yet.

Strangely enough, about an hour into the movie, while they were both snuggling into me (I sat between them on the couch and we had a blanket over us) Melyssa whispered “I miss you, Daddy”. I hugged her and kissed her on the head and told her it was ok and that I was right here, now. A few minutes more passed when she looked up with her sad little eyes and when I asked her what was wrong, she repeated “I miss you, Daddy” and started sobbing. Oh boy.

I hugged her again and kissed her again and told her I missed her too but that we were all together now and that things are going back to normal and that she would see me more often again. I agreed with her that three weeks was way too long but things would be ok again. She got some kleenex and I managed to reassure her enough that she settled back to watch the movie, always snuggled into me.

*sigh*

They’re both in bed now and hopefully will soon be asleep. I desperately needed a coffee but my new-fangled KitchenAid 12cup maker is NOT working. This does not make me a happy camper. Luckily, I still had my 10cup Philips close by so I hooked it in and made myself a pot. Hopefully my headache will go away soon…

Hey! It’s James’ 9th Birthday today! 🙂 He’s currently playing on the table behind me with Melyssa, putting together his birthday gift: The Warrior’s Fortress Dragons set 🙂 Ya gotta love Mega-Bloks! 🙂 And, I must admit, these Dragons sets are really pretty cool 🙂

Let’s see if he has something to say about his birthday: “I hope it’s really good”

(snicker) He’s too busy having fun, as it SHOULD be! 🙂 I’ll be taking him (and Melyssa) to Dundees for a late lunch this afternoon and he’s quite excited to be ordering himself another Shirley Temple 🙂

In other news… twas quite the storm last night, eh? Wow it poured down upon us so quickly we weren’t able to get the windows closed in time before soaking certain indoor sections 🙂 Btw, Alan, been hoping you guys are ok there in Maryland. Local news stated how the power’s been out there and might be for the next 3 to 7 days.

International Talk Like A Pirate Day. Now that’s one for the books!! 🙂 When’s International DRESS Like A Pirate Day? Oh, that would be halloween! 🙂 Who wants to guess how many Pirates are gonna be out THIS Halloween?? 🙂

I’m in a pretty good mood (except for the fact that I can’t get the bloody chicken-dance song out of my head!!)

Just had a big meeting in which my position has been… re-aligned somewhat 🙂 Still doing what I was doing, still same responsibilities, just a different title and some better benefits. Not exactly a promotion, but a positive re-alignment. And now I have room to grow and actually a position to aim for as a possible promotion next year. Tres cool. 🙂

It’s nice to be recognized by your boss AND your boss’ boss. 🙂

If you can believe it, I’m done with my section of Floodgates of the Mind for next issue of Comicopia 🙂

Yes, you read correctly. A pretty large section at about 32 pages which contains a LOT of information, details, and pictures of the Wedding 🙂 You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll feel like you were a part of it all! 🙂

I just wanted to share that. Now I can go back to work 🙂

Btw, for those Neil Gaiman fans out there, check out this link for: USA Today

Cheers!

Ack. I’m stuck for time again and it’s turning into a feeling of not being able to give a proper accounting of the past weekend, since the next weekend is almost upon us!! sheesh!

I know there was a bunch of stuff I wanted to write about, not the least of which was the fact that Chantale and I actually spent a really nice, lazy weekend together. Lots of sleeping and snuggling involved 🙂 In fact, we didn’t get out of bed on Saturday until about 3pm… 🙂 Saturday night, we rented A Walk To Remember. Very nice movie.

Sunday’s church service was really nice and my reading of the Sermon went over quite well. I wasn’t as nervous as I expected to be and am actually in the right frame of mind to do it again in the future should it be required of me 🙂

We’ve been watching a lot of episodes of Babylon 5 lately and thoroughly enjoying it. With a season title of “Point of No Return” you can imagine that season 3 is quite explosive 🙂 I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, the absolutely best part of watching this series again is having Chantale watching and enjoying it right along with me. Being able to share this with her has brought me more joy than I could have imagined. If you don’t understand, then you never will. It’s just as much a thrill, if not bigger, than having her in the audience during the comics panels I’ve been an invited guest at. ’nuff said (for now)

By the way, for the last couple of days, I’ve been staying at work later in order to spend time at the gym working out. My legs have been screaming at me for some power-stretches and I’ve complied. They’re quite happy now as is the rest of my body 🙂 Mrowr on me 🙂 Any how, one of the extra bonuses has been that I’ve been coming home to some very tasty, delicious, and delectable warm-cooked meals. Chantale has always made excellent meals and lately has gotten wonderfully creative. Mmmm… Life is gooood… 🙂

And now, I’ve gotta rush off. LOMA 301 class is about to start. Ciao!

I’m busy.

I’m busy.

I’m SO busy!!!!!!!

Have much to share, just no time to do it in! Ack.

Busybusybusybusybusy.

Ok, last one for today! I think 🙂

Last night, after a month of searching, I finally got my hands on the Babylon 5 Season 3 DVD set. Glorious. 🙂 After the airshow, Chantale and I made supper and sat back to watch the last 2 episodes of Season 2 and the first episode of Season 3. Glorious. Have I mentioned? 🙂

This afternoon, I took a little walk at lunch time and ended up going past the Faubourg. Used bookstore. Fought against going in the first time, lost out the second time. Picked up 2 books only. First is a bio on George Harrison. It’s by Geoffrey Giuliano which made me hesitate to pick it up. But, George actually read and endorsed it so I figured I’d give it a shot. Second, I picked up “the Prisoner – official companion to the classic tv series” which includes a complete episode of the Prisoner on DVD plus “rare extra material”. Hmm. 🙂 It’ll make for some interesting reading and viewing… 🙂

Tonight… PHOTOGRAPHS!!! Lots and lots of them… ooooh boy… 🙂

Remember my post of yesterday where I related how my mom had a dream in which I told her I was becoming a priest? Remember how it freaked her out so much that she called me on it?

This morning, the pastor emailed me to ask if I would read his sermon for him on Sunday since he won’t be available. I immediately replied in the positive and asked him to send it to me so I could review it. After clicking send, I remembered my mom’s dream and I laughed my head off 🙂 So, this Sunday, I’ll be “standing in” for the pastor at church. How funny is that? 🙂

Have two things to post but wanted to separate them. So, let’s begin here.

Yesterday, my father-in-law invited me to the Air Canada base to preview some planes. There was a show wherein different companies were presenting their planes for Air Canada to review for possible purchase. Actually, the order is for 4 Star Alliance partners.

Anyhow, it was really great to be able to walk around and inside the Boeing 717 (cool to see and hear about all the DC-9 parts used in this construction), the Airbus 319 (and seeing the new Airbus 318 and hearing about the Airbus 320 and 321), the Bombardier CRJ900/700/200, and the Embrauer from Australia.

Getting posters and souvenir goodies was an extra bonus, but just simply being able to inspect planes the way I would a car (minus the test-drive, sadly 🙂 ) was an incredible high.

The only bizarre feeling I had was standing in front of a 737 and picturing this magnificent craft being used as a missle. Now I have to tell you that I had NO recollection that TODAY was the 9-11 anniversary, so you can imagine how weirded out I felt this morning when that realization struck. But, yesterday night, looking at the plane, I was struck with sadness. Then, when I went into the plane, the first thing I did was go into the cockpit. Honestly, it was easy to see how the pilots could be attacked in there. It is very cramped. But, just as easily, I could see how quickly I would, even faced with a nut with a knife, have jumped in there and attacked the attackers (a la Pennsylvania). Then, walking through the aisles to exit from the back of the plane, I could almost see the ghosts of passengers sitting in those seats. It was all quite surreal.

This morning, with the radio playing broadcasts and tributes to the tragedy, I found myself thinking back and realizing how far I’ve come in those 2 years. Sad to think of how many of the victims could have been in similar positions and didn’t get the chance to.

Thus endeth my melancholy post.