Ever since Don Atchison has been mayor in Saskatoon we have had a yearly prayer breakfast for him. It has been a tradition in Saskatoon for a long time, but when Jim Maddin was Mayor he got rid of it. I'm glad Don reinstated it.
The problem is that this prayer breakfast is no longer a focus on prayer for the Mayor. It used to be a time where the people who came actually wanted to pray for the Mayor. Now the focus has completely shifted away from that and I think they just tack on a quick prayer at the end so they can still call it that.
Last year I went and it was a packed house of over 2500 people. The food was great, there were a lot of "important" people there as well as families of all the fallen soldiers Saskatoon has had as of late. The problem was that the entire event was basically focused on these fallen soldiers. Now I have nothing against that at all and am glad those soldiers are willing to fight for our country, but I don't think this event is the time or place to honour them. I would have been fine with a short tribute to them, however it went on and on and the entire event dragged on for way too long (I think it got near 3 hours). Then they tacked on a prayer at the end.
This year they have announced that they will be honouring the three football teams that had great seasons...the Hilltops, the Riders, and the Aden Bowman Bears, and Kent Austin is to be the keynote speaker. What does that have anything to do with a Mayor's Prayer Breakfast!! I also have nothing against football (except that it in no way is as good as soccer), but do we really need to honour the Riders during a Mayor's prayer breakfast?
I think the organizers of this event are simply trying to propel this event into a huge thing and get as many people there as possible. They want to get 5000 people there this year! It used to be a more intimate event of around 250 people who actually cared about the prayer part of the event and the focus was on the Mayor.
So what do you think? Is this event really a Mayor's prayer breakfast anymore or is it ok to tack along all these other things in order to attract a much larger number of people?
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Friday, January 18, 2008
New Favourite Worship Song
I love music although I don't consider myself musical. For Christmas Shiela bought me a satellite radio so now I can listen to music all day of any genre I like. Listening to the Christian station Spirit I have heard this great new song....Song of Hope by Robbie Seay Band. If you haven't heard it yet, stop reading my blog and go to ITUNES and buy the track (or download it for free if you are into that kind of thing)...you won't regret it.
Click here to read the lyrics.
Click here to read the lyrics.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Playing Catchup
This past week was once again spent in Toronto. I flew out Monday and got back home about midnight on Thursday. We were doing training with all our Marketing Coordinators from across Canada for the Hbc Run for Canada and it was great to be able to meet the people I would be working with for the next 6 months. Other years we have always done the training over the phone and this was by far better!
I really enjoyed my time there this time around. We were staying at the Marriott Eaton Centre which is connected to the huge Eaton Centre mall. They have the softest beds ever and my king size bed was so comfortable. They also have large 37" (I think) flat screen TV's in all the rooms with lots of TV channels. I also ended up having VIP status since I was in charge of the group so when I got to my room I had a fruit bowel waiting for me along with a 1L glass bottle of water. I also had access to the VIP lounge which served a free breakfast every morning as well as hors doeuvres in the evening. It was great to use that a bit and I took a few of their mini jams home because they came in little one serving jars which I thought was cool. It was a great time but I only ended up sleeping about 4-5 hours per night as I was always ensuring things were ready for the next day. It also didn't help that at 1:00am in the morning one night the hotel also had a fire alarm. It turned out to be a false alarm but it still woke everyone up in the hotel.
I arrived home Thursday night after a terrible flight on Air Canada. First, the take off was horrible and as we started into the air the entire plane swayed back and forth. Then for the entire first hour they wouldn't turn off the seat belt sign because they were worried about turbulence. So that meant no snacks, no drinks, no headphones (they give you free ones) and they didn't turn the movies on (they also have free movies to watch). Finally they turned off the seat belt sign and the TV's came to life...but after about 2 minutes the seat belt sign was on again. Luckily the TV's stayed on and so those people who happened to already have headsets they had brought (or taken from a seat as they walked in the plane like I did) were able to watch movies. The problem was the person I was travelling with did not have headphones. I told her to just quickly get up and go see if she could grab some off the seats in front of us as we saw lots of them on the way in. So she quickly got up and walked up a few rows. Instantly, over the speaker system on the entire plane, the flight attendant said "Miss, you need to sit down...I don't want to embarrass you but you can't walk around." I guess they take that sign seriously.
So then I started to watch a movie and chose to watch Stardust. But I could hardly hear the sound because the plane was so loud you had to press the headphones to your ears to hear anything. And it was freezing cold as well! Finally the seat belt sign went off and due to all the sitting they offered everyone free drinks, including alcohol. So although I rarely drink, I decided to have a rum and Coke...and didn't really enjoy it, but at least I got my money's worth! Then it happened once again...with about 10 minutes left in my movie they turned off the TV's because we were going to land. UGHHH! That is the second time now. The first time was about a year ago when I missed the last 15 minutes of The Departed (I still don't know what happens) and now I don't know what happens at the end of Stardust. That is very annoying.
Now I'm back and home and glad it's the weekend. Although travelling is fun, it is exhausting and I'm glad I'm home for a while...until we go to the Dominican...but that's another story.
I really enjoyed my time there this time around. We were staying at the Marriott Eaton Centre which is connected to the huge Eaton Centre mall. They have the softest beds ever and my king size bed was so comfortable. They also have large 37" (I think) flat screen TV's in all the rooms with lots of TV channels. I also ended up having VIP status since I was in charge of the group so when I got to my room I had a fruit bowel waiting for me along with a 1L glass bottle of water. I also had access to the VIP lounge which served a free breakfast every morning as well as hors doeuvres in the evening. It was great to use that a bit and I took a few of their mini jams home because they came in little one serving jars which I thought was cool. It was a great time but I only ended up sleeping about 4-5 hours per night as I was always ensuring things were ready for the next day. It also didn't help that at 1:00am in the morning one night the hotel also had a fire alarm. It turned out to be a false alarm but it still woke everyone up in the hotel.
I arrived home Thursday night after a terrible flight on Air Canada. First, the take off was horrible and as we started into the air the entire plane swayed back and forth. Then for the entire first hour they wouldn't turn off the seat belt sign because they were worried about turbulence. So that meant no snacks, no drinks, no headphones (they give you free ones) and they didn't turn the movies on (they also have free movies to watch). Finally they turned off the seat belt sign and the TV's came to life...but after about 2 minutes the seat belt sign was on again. Luckily the TV's stayed on and so those people who happened to already have headsets they had brought (or taken from a seat as they walked in the plane like I did) were able to watch movies. The problem was the person I was travelling with did not have headphones. I told her to just quickly get up and go see if she could grab some off the seats in front of us as we saw lots of them on the way in. So she quickly got up and walked up a few rows. Instantly, over the speaker system on the entire plane, the flight attendant said "Miss, you need to sit down...I don't want to embarrass you but you can't walk around." I guess they take that sign seriously.
So then I started to watch a movie and chose to watch Stardust. But I could hardly hear the sound because the plane was so loud you had to press the headphones to your ears to hear anything. And it was freezing cold as well! Finally the seat belt sign went off and due to all the sitting they offered everyone free drinks, including alcohol. So although I rarely drink, I decided to have a rum and Coke...and didn't really enjoy it, but at least I got my money's worth! Then it happened once again...with about 10 minutes left in my movie they turned off the TV's because we were going to land. UGHHH! That is the second time now. The first time was about a year ago when I missed the last 15 minutes of The Departed (I still don't know what happens) and now I don't know what happens at the end of Stardust. That is very annoying.
Now I'm back and home and glad it's the weekend. Although travelling is fun, it is exhausting and I'm glad I'm home for a while...until we go to the Dominican...but that's another story.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Handy Dandy Man
Now although I’ve watched the movie What Women Want, it is still a mystery to me exactly what women look for when they make that big decision and pick their man for life. But if there is one thing Shiela didn’t marry me for it was my handyman skills.
A couple months ago Shiela and I cleaned up our basement and so now we can actually go down there and hang out if we wanted. But I wasn't satisfied with just that and I wanted to make it even better…so I decided to add a dimmer switch.
So I got started. First things first, I pulled out my handy dandy Home Depot Guide that helps people like me do regular handyman things around the house. I flipped the book open to the “How to install a dimmer switch” and began this very simple task. It looked very simple and according to the book a beginner should take 45 minutes to complete this task. I’m a beginner, I told myself, and I can’t see it taking longer than that. Besides, the book tells you how to do it and I also had the instructions from the dimmer switch.
I finally had everything ready to go. I had the book open, the instructions laid out, my tools laid out and I was ready to go. I had mentioned this idea to a few friends and they assured me that I wouldn’t need to turn off the power. Knowing how my friends are I did the opposite and flicked the breaker and saw the lights go out. I was ready to begin.
It started easy enough and I had the wall plate off quickly. "I’m on a roll," I thought as the cocky meter went up a few notches. I pulled out the old light switch and stared at the wires protruding from it. Then I glanced at the instructions and at their diagram. Then back at the real light switch wires. Then back to the instructions. Then to the book. Then to the instructions. Then to the light switch. The quick head movements left me dizzy and I hit the floor realizing I was stuck. None of the images looked the same and I was not sure where to even begin. So I did the only reasonable thing I could think of…I went upstairs for a Coke!
Once I had some of the sweetest nectar on earth I went back at it. There were more wires in the light switch then there were suppose to be and that threw me off for a bit, but I slowly started to figure it out. I finally figured out which were the two main wires and why there was that extra one and got the old light fixture off. Then I had the simple task of stripping the wires so I could connect them to the switch. Easy enough I figured since I had this tool they call a wire stripper. I clasped the tool around the wire and let go to watch the show. Nothing happened. Ah, I knew the problem. I went to the stereo, turned on some dance music and sat back to watch. Still nothing. Ah, whatever, so much for a wire stripper. I guess you have to help it out. Now I have seen some men use this tool before and it is very easy. Although their's must have been broken too because it wasn’t stripping on its own. They simply clasped the tool around the plastic surrounding the wire, pulled, and the plastic came off. Easy enough I figured. So I clasped the tool around the plastic wire, pulled, and…nothing. The plastic wouldn’t come off. I tried again. Nothing. What the! I finally had to pull out my exacto knife and slowly cut the plastic off the wire which took forever, but finally the wire was stripped and ready to be attached.
Inch by inch I slowly moved my hand towards the light socket wire and was ready to connect the two. It was easier then I thought and I was able to twist them together and put on the little protector thingy. That was simple I thought. I grabbed the next wire and grabbed the wire from the wall to twist them together and it was easy. Wow this was easy. I sniffed the air like a man who was in total control and reached in to the light socket to see what wires were left. The next thing I knew my finger felt like a lightening bolt and I was on my back staring at the ceiling. As I staggered back to my feet I realized that the wires from the other light switch in the same socket (it was a dual light switch) were still live. I won’t forget that again.
A couple months ago Shiela and I cleaned up our basement and so now we can actually go down there and hang out if we wanted. But I wasn't satisfied with just that and I wanted to make it even better…so I decided to add a dimmer switch.
So I got started. First things first, I pulled out my handy dandy Home Depot Guide that helps people like me do regular handyman things around the house. I flipped the book open to the “How to install a dimmer switch” and began this very simple task. It looked very simple and according to the book a beginner should take 45 minutes to complete this task. I’m a beginner, I told myself, and I can’t see it taking longer than that. Besides, the book tells you how to do it and I also had the instructions from the dimmer switch.
I finally had everything ready to go. I had the book open, the instructions laid out, my tools laid out and I was ready to go. I had mentioned this idea to a few friends and they assured me that I wouldn’t need to turn off the power. Knowing how my friends are I did the opposite and flicked the breaker and saw the lights go out. I was ready to begin.
It started easy enough and I had the wall plate off quickly. "I’m on a roll," I thought as the cocky meter went up a few notches. I pulled out the old light switch and stared at the wires protruding from it. Then I glanced at the instructions and at their diagram. Then back at the real light switch wires. Then back to the instructions. Then to the book. Then to the instructions. Then to the light switch. The quick head movements left me dizzy and I hit the floor realizing I was stuck. None of the images looked the same and I was not sure where to even begin. So I did the only reasonable thing I could think of…I went upstairs for a Coke!
Once I had some of the sweetest nectar on earth I went back at it. There were more wires in the light switch then there were suppose to be and that threw me off for a bit, but I slowly started to figure it out. I finally figured out which were the two main wires and why there was that extra one and got the old light fixture off. Then I had the simple task of stripping the wires so I could connect them to the switch. Easy enough I figured since I had this tool they call a wire stripper. I clasped the tool around the wire and let go to watch the show. Nothing happened. Ah, I knew the problem. I went to the stereo, turned on some dance music and sat back to watch. Still nothing. Ah, whatever, so much for a wire stripper. I guess you have to help it out. Now I have seen some men use this tool before and it is very easy. Although their's must have been broken too because it wasn’t stripping on its own. They simply clasped the tool around the plastic surrounding the wire, pulled, and the plastic came off. Easy enough I figured. So I clasped the tool around the plastic wire, pulled, and…nothing. The plastic wouldn’t come off. I tried again. Nothing. What the! I finally had to pull out my exacto knife and slowly cut the plastic off the wire which took forever, but finally the wire was stripped and ready to be attached.
Inch by inch I slowly moved my hand towards the light socket wire and was ready to connect the two. It was easier then I thought and I was able to twist them together and put on the little protector thingy. That was simple I thought. I grabbed the next wire and grabbed the wire from the wall to twist them together and it was easy. Wow this was easy. I sniffed the air like a man who was in total control and reached in to the light socket to see what wires were left. The next thing I knew my finger felt like a lightening bolt and I was on my back staring at the ceiling. As I staggered back to my feet I realized that the wires from the other light switch in the same socket (it was a dual light switch) were still live. I won’t forget that again.
Finally, after only 3 hours and 12 minutes of total working time over the course of 36 hours, I had the dimmer switch installed. I was excited and couldn’t wait to try it out. I went to the breaker box and flicked the switch that had been off for the last 36 hours. As the switch flicked on, the first thing I heard was a motor starting up again. "What did I install?" I thought to myself. But then the noise got louder and I looked to my left. Low and behold, there was our upright freezer that had once again started running now that I had turned the breaker back on. My heart dropped as I realized I had turned off the power to the freezer at the same time as the light switch and hadn’t noticed! I dropped to my knees imagining the steaks starting to moo again as they slowly came back to life from being frozen. But I figured I had enough adventure for one day and as I heard the mooing of the cattle behind me I turned off my newly installed and working perfectly dimmer switch, walked up the stairs, and went to the computer to inform the writers of the Home Depot book that they needed a new category for people like me called “Don’t Have a Stinkin’ Clue.”
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
A Wonderful Holiday
The holidays are basically over and I will be back to work tomorrow. Normally when it's time to go back to work it's a little disappointing because I feel like I never got enough of a holiday, but this time it feels different. Although I could easily stay on holidays for longer I feel that I had an excellent break and it's time to get back into a regular routine.
One of my favourite days this holiday season (besides Christmas day) was the day we set aside for video games. I don't play many video games, mainly because I don't have a new gaming machine, so when I get a chance to play vids I like to play a lot...and a lot is what we did. We set aside Dec 28 as vids day and a friend came over with his Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii along with Guitar Hero III and so myself along with 5 other people played video games for 14 hours straight! My fingers hurt quite a bit from playing Guitar Hero, but that game was so sweet it was totally worth it. You really feel like you are playing guitar for real!!
The rest of my vacation was spent relaxing while watching movies, playing board games and working on a new business idea. It was a great time and each day I woke up I was happy because I still had so many days off still to come.
Now that it is a New Year I once again thought about resolutions. I glanced back at my post I made last year about what I wanted to accomplish this year and I didn't follow it too well. I did not get back in shape, I didn't finish my book, and I didn't accomplish any of my ideas I come up with. However I did manage to go an a date night most weeks with Shiela, and I did work less before Christmas. So this year I'm not making any resolutions, however I do want to finish my book (already started), get back in shape (already bought a leisure card and am actually using it) and hopefully start up a new business. I guess we'll see how it goes!
Happy New Year!
One of my favourite days this holiday season (besides Christmas day) was the day we set aside for video games. I don't play many video games, mainly because I don't have a new gaming machine, so when I get a chance to play vids I like to play a lot...and a lot is what we did. We set aside Dec 28 as vids day and a friend came over with his Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii along with Guitar Hero III and so myself along with 5 other people played video games for 14 hours straight! My fingers hurt quite a bit from playing Guitar Hero, but that game was so sweet it was totally worth it. You really feel like you are playing guitar for real!!
The rest of my vacation was spent relaxing while watching movies, playing board games and working on a new business idea. It was a great time and each day I woke up I was happy because I still had so many days off still to come.
Now that it is a New Year I once again thought about resolutions. I glanced back at my post I made last year about what I wanted to accomplish this year and I didn't follow it too well. I did not get back in shape, I didn't finish my book, and I didn't accomplish any of my ideas I come up with. However I did manage to go an a date night most weeks with Shiela, and I did work less before Christmas. So this year I'm not making any resolutions, however I do want to finish my book (already started), get back in shape (already bought a leisure card and am actually using it) and hopefully start up a new business. I guess we'll see how it goes!
Happy New Year!
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