Great Windup and DVD

When I tell people I coach soccer at the Under 12 age, I usually get the "awe, that's cute" look. I don't think people really understand how good these kids are, especially at the Premier level which I coach. But I'm ok with that...unless you are involved with it you don't truly understand.

Just came back from my soccer windup and it was great. At the end of last season I was telling some of the parents how I wanted to create a DVD of the team on the progress through the season, etc. One of the parents told me he had a friend that does that type of thing and was really good. So he spoke to him and the guy said he would do it. The parents did the video taping and picture taking and this guy put it all together.

Tonight I saw the finished product on a huge projection TV with a great stereo system. I was expecting a really good 5-7 minute DVD with videos and pictures to a song, but this DVD was long (probably about 20 minutes!) and it was awesome. I loved it a lot and the parents gave me a copy as a year end gift.

I tried to post it online here for you to view, but unfortunately I don't know how. So you just have to read me talk about it...if you come over to my house I'll gladly show it to you.

*If anyone can tell me how to do it I would love to show it to you online

So Many Things...So Little Time

I'm a big fan of summer. I could honestly do away with winter completely. The problem is that with such a short summer there is so much to do and not enough time. And the problem I have now is that I like to be good at the things I do. I never expect to be the best, but I want to be good. I'm finding this very hard to do with so little time.

There are so many fun things to do in summer like soccer, tennis, slowpitch, camping, hiking, running events, triathlons and of course golf! And that is just to name the sporting things. I want to do all these things all the time and yet I don't have the time to get good at everything. In order for me to get my soccer skill back I need to be practicing a lot more. I finally got back into tennis this year, but in order for me to get that hard top spin return going I need a lot of practice. I LOVE golfing, but in order for me to consistently shoot below 100 (yeah, I'm not that good) I need to be out there a lot more.

I'm struggling with this because winter is coming upon us and I am trying to decide what to devote my time to this winter. I want to do a mini triathlon and that would mean getting a leisure card and training all winter. I also want to get my soccer skill back as I feel I've lost it, and so I'm planning on playing men's league and co-ed. I also want to get better at tennis and was debating getting a tennis membership for the winter at the tennis dome.

What do you think? Any ideas on how to be good at everything? Is it possible?

Funny Ramblings

This is a hilarious little video so thank you to my sister in law for sending it to me. I was watching it alone and still laughing out loud and almost crying (I think a tear may have even fallen). It's not "football in the groin" type funny. Rather it's more like Jerry Seinfeld type funny...sort of. You'd better just watch it right now!

WARNING: This video is rated PG due to some uses of vulgar/swear words

Going...Going...Gone!

I'm sure most people that read this blog (which is basically me, my wife and some guy from Norway) have all been to an auction. They can be a lot of fun. Bidding on items you really don't want just to increase the price all the while watching the other guy glare at you because he knows exactly what you're doing. Actually, I think I've only been to one auction before and that was a livestock auction as a little kid. I didn't dare move a muscle because I was afraid I'd be bringing home Betsy.

But now there is a whole new type of auction you can go to....a house auction! That's right. Forget Sask Houses or any realtors. All you have to do is hire an auctioneer and hold an auction right in front of your house. With today's market the way it is, this is a great way to get the maximum amount for the house. Here are some great reasons to sell your house via an auction:

1) Don't have to wade through all the offers you receive

2) Get maximum value for your house because people will keep on bidding if they really want it

3) Sell your house in less than an hour

4) It's risk free: If you don't get the price you want, you just don't sell it!

Buying a house via a house auction would also be great. Putting in your bid and finding out later you lost the house by $1000 can be really annoying. At an auction, you would know right away and be able to bid a little bit higher if you knew that was all it would take to get the house.

So if anyone is interested in it I know a great auctioneer in Saskatoon who does exactly this. He's a great guy, very experienced and extremely nice so go check out his website at Bodnarus Auctioneering.

Want a Job with Facebook?

Being on Facebook now has made me be on that website a fair bit keeping up with everyone. And always one to keep my eyes open for opportunities, I happened upon a small word at the bottom of the Facebook login page that said jobs. So of course I clicked it and what came up was amazing...it was like a fairy tale job with so many perks it was unreal.

Here's what they list under their Benefits:

Facebook rewards its employees with great salaries and options packages, plus numerous benefits and perks:

• Medical, dental and vision plans with no premium for employees
• 401(k) plan
• 21 vacation days per year, plus 8 company holidays and 2 floating holidays
• Complimentary catered breakfast, lunch and dinner daily
• Complimentary beverages and snacks
• Dry cleaning and laundry service onsite
• Free downtown parking permit
• Subsidized gym membership
• Catered Friday Happy Hours at the office
• $600/month housing subsidy if you live within one mile of the office
• Standard-issue 24" LCD monitors and your option of 15" Apple MacBook Pro or IBM ThinkPad
• Worldwide notoriety by having your face on sample Facebook Flyers

Wow! Excuse me now while I quickly go email them my resume!

Too Hot to Play Soccer? Never!

On Monday something happened that was absolutely ridiculous. The Saskatoon District Soccer Association decided to cancel all 7:00pm games because they said it was too hot. What's with that! The temperature was about 35 degrees Celsius outside in the afternoon. Of course there is humidity and all that too but according to the weather network, with all that it was still only 39 degrees.

Now I'll admit, that is a hot day compared to what we normally have. But seriously, why would we cancel soccer games just because of that? The only reason to cancel a soccer game is 1) too much rain because the fields get wrecked or 2) a natural disaster. The SDSA cited "players health" as the reason to cancel the games. Give me a break! We are all adults that play in this league. If it is hot outside, then you need to be sure you take care of yourself so you can play soccer. This means drinking lots of water beforehand and also during the game. The league doesn't have the right to cancel games because they think I don't know how to take care of my body and prepare for playing in the heat. There are a lot of places further south that have these temperatures all the time and they don't shut down their leagues all the time because of it.

I'd like to find out which other leagues cancelled their games due to the heat. Did the slowpitch leagues? Did the Ultimate Disc league? I highly doubt it! I'm obviously not the only one to complain about it because they now have a poll on the SDSA site asking if they should cancel games when it is really hot and humid out.

Heat is a part of life and we have to be able to deal with it. Just take care of yourself and you won't have to worry.

What do you think? Should the games have been cancelled? (They let the 9:00pm game be played, just not the 7:00pm game)