Another Great Dilbert

I don't plan on posting lots of these, but this one is just too funny! It reminded me of the days when I worked for QuickStructures.

(click the picture to see a larger version of it)

Garage Sales

For some reason I can't get garage sales out of my mind. Spring is coming (although you wouldn't think so by looking outside) and that will bring the season of garage sales. But for some reason garage sales are bothering me.

Why do people have garage sales? I think it is mainly for two reasons: 1) to get rid of old stuff and 2) to get more money. Every year you see hundreds of garage sales in my city. Everyone is selling off their old used items and pocketing the cash. The problem I see is why do we feel the need to get more money? Why do we go through all the work of selling off old items, labelling them from $0.25 to $5.00 and then spending an entire weekend selling it off. Then we pocket the extra cash and are so happy because now we can go buy more stuff. It really bugs me when I see garage sales in the richer neighborhoods! Really, do those people need that little extra money!!

I'm sure there are people out there who really need the money they will earn from a garage sale. But in my life I don't seem to know very many needy people. The people I know are pretty well off with good jobs. I really don't think many of them need the small amount of cash they will earn from a garage sale. Oh, sure it would be nice to have a little extra so we could go buy something. But for some reason my heart is being tugged to do something different with all that stuff we would sell at a garage sale...give it away instead.

Recently it was brought to my attention that there are families out there with a lot less than what I have. I'm not talking about the homeless people that are begging or anything. I'm talking about non abusive, loving, single (and two) parent families that struggle to make ends meet. They cannot even afford to buy new clothes for their kids. I'm sure they would love to have a little extra money to spend on necessities for their family.

So what should we do about this? I think rather than have garage sales why not instead try to find someone who can use the items you are selling and give it away instead. Nothing feels better than to give something away knowing that you are helping someone out. I've been on the receiving end of many things: tennis racket, knife, golf clubs, clothes, etc. and it is great to have things given to you. Need some ideas? Selling dishes and other kitchen items: give them to a new refugee family that just moved here and has nothing. Selling old furniture: donate it to a small church youth group or to a family that doesn't have any. Lots of old baby clothes: ask around at churches, etc to find an expecting or new mother who doesn't have a lot and give them to her. Old board games you never play: give them to some young kids. If you feel you don't know anybody you can always donate items to Community Living or the Salvation Army.

So what am I going to do about this? I hate to disappoint everyone but I'm far from perfect. Am I never going to sell anything again? Probably not. But I think I need to do two things. 1) Give away all the items that my wife and I were going to sell after our move in December 2) Get to know more needy people. #1 is easy. #2 is where I will struggle. I like living a safe little life where everyone is doing well, good jobs, decent money, nice houses. But I feel the need to start to get to know some families that are not as well off. I think being able to help a particular family and building a relationship is far better than dropping off all my old clothes and items at the Salvation Army (although that's a great start).

What do you think? Am I off my rocker? Are you having a garage sale this year? I would love to have some discussion on this in the comments.

I Love Dilbert

I never used to get Dilbert. I'd read the comic but I just never found it very funny. Then I started to work at Cover-All. Now, don't get me wrong, Cover-All wasn't a bad place and the people there weren't all like the people in the cartoon. But once I had worked in an office setting with many different departments (Marketing, Sales, Engineering, etc.) I suddenly found myself laughing so hard I would start to cry sometimes.

For all those out there who do "get" Dilbert I've posted a couple recent ones from the 2007 Dilbert desk calendar I received for Christmas.

Alumni Soccer Tournament 2007

Another Alumni Soccer Tournament has come and gone. I was looking forward to playing in this tournament again. It's fun to play with people you only see once a year, you are all out of shape and you are playing against a bunch of kids who just came out of high school and have tons of energy. And, once again, I was planning on winning this year.

I was totally prepared this year. I had brought my old set of jerseys so our team would all look alike. I had put a number of pump up songs on my IPOD shuffle to listen to before the game while warming up. I didn't drink Coke between games and instead opted for Powerade, granola bars and fruit. Basically, with all that, I figured the other team should just hand us the victory because we were bound to win.

Not quite. We played Bethany in our first game and got trounced. They were flying off the walls and we were getting worked over. We managed to escape that game with a 4-0 loss. Then an hour later we had to play the younger Alumni team. This was a much slower paced game and although we played well we just couldn't score. We ended up losing that one 4-1.

So although we lost our 2 round robin games lucky for us everyone made the playoffs! After a hearty brunch of pancakes, sausages, toast, and cereal (thanks Glenda for the bowl!) I was ready to play again. This time our team came out flying. We changed up our formation a bit and it worked well We dominated the other Alumni team and won the playoff game 5-1. That put us into the final where we had to play Bethany again.

The final started off well and we scored first giving us the 1-0 lead, but Bethany bounced back and at half time it was 1-1. The second half was going ok, but 2 quick goals from Bethany and we were down 3-1. We came back to 3-2 but a little scrambly goal by them gave them anothehr 2 goal lead and it was 4-2 with about 6 minutes left. We then went on the offensive and pushed for a goal. It also started to get dirty. It had been an extremely physical game and not all the Bethany players understand how to play safe when you are playing around cement walls. I got checked into the stage one game by a guy twice my height and one of our players also got hit into a cement wall at the final by that same guy. We then started to fight back and some of the hits that were given by both teams were more geared for hockey then soccer. In our push for a goal we actually ended up giving up 2 more and lost with a final score of 6-2.

It was once again a lot of fun and I'm already looking forward to next year when we can once again try to win the glorious Bethany Cup!

Snow Removal Incompetance

I've never really thought too deeply about snow shovelling. In my mind it's pretty simple. When it snows you go outside, shovel your walk and get the snow out of the way. I usually shovel my walk (or at least I did before I paid condo fees and someone else now does it) and put the snow off to the side so that it wasn't blocking the sidewalk or my car. If I was to hire a kid to shovel my walk, I usually assume that mens he will also clear the snow out of the way. If he were to shovel my walk and then pile it all up in one big pile at the end of my driveway I wouldn't pay him because the job wasn't done. He needs to actually move the snow out of the way. Apparently not all snow removal companies have that same philosophy.

After the big blizzard last week we had a lot of snow. The next day we had one bobcat show up and start shovelling a little bit of the road right in front of the garbage cans...that's it. No sidewalks, no roadways, just the area in front of the garbage cans. Whatever, I didn't really care and figured they'd be coming back later. The problem was how incompetant that bobcat driver was. Although he cleared the snow away from the garbage bins, he piled all the snow up right behind my neighbors car. So now my neighbors car was blocked in with a 10ft high snow drift behind her car.

(Above) My car being covered in snow

from the "snow removal" people

Late that night I heard a loud machine outside and I peeked my head out. I saw a huge front end loader trying to maneouver around our parking lot and dig out my neighbors car (who by the way is a single lady and I'm guessing around 5-6 months pregnant). I talked to my neighbor later on and she told me she walked down the street and found this city front end loader and asked him to come and dig her out!

So luckily she could now get out and go to work the next day. But it wasn't over. I was working in my office with my window facing the parking lot out front. As the day wore on I would glance outside and watch 3-4 bobcats driving around and shovelling out our entire townhouse complex. I never paid much attention to it and couldn't see directly below into my own parking stall. After work that day my wife came home and asked if I had looked outside at our neighbors parking spot. I told her I had seen it and she had been shovelled out last night. My wife said I should look at the latest update. I opened my door and looked outside. There, in my neighbors parking spot, was not a car...instead there was a 15ft high pile of snow! Those bobcats had dumped all their snow from the entire lot right into her parking spot!

What is wrong with these snow removal companies. Do they not have any brains at all? This is not the first time they have shovelled snow out of our townhouse unit. They know where the parking spots are and yet they still piled all the snow right in her spot. Now she has to park in the visitors parking spot (which has no plug in by the way and it's been around -25 degrees out all week).

And it's not just our townhouse unit. I drove to Staples on Saturday and what did I see. The snow removal company had piled all the snow from the entire parking lot (about 30 ft high) right in the parking spots closest to the store. Those are prime parking spots! They should be dumping that snow in the far back corner of the lot where nobody wants to park! And to top things off, some of the places where they piled the snow were handicap parking spots! Now there are no designated spots for handicap people to park.

All I know is that if I ever run a snow removal company I would be sure to shovel it and remove it properly, or at least put it somewhere where it is not affecting anyone. It's common sense you snow removal people!

If anyone does needs snow removal services, a high quality and efficient company is called FastCat Services. He will do an excellent job without making these mistakes.

Coca Cola Adventure

The day started off like any other normal day. My alarm went off, I lay in bed listening to the radio and then about an hour later I finally get out of bed and shower. The only difference was the howling wind outside. The news on the radio also said it was bad weather outside but I thought nothing of it. We live in Saskatchewan and nothing stops us! I was going to work no matter what!

After a quick breakfast I decided it was time to get to work. I opened my front door and looked out into what was the worst Saskatoon blizzard I have ever seen. The snow was about 1 ft high against the front door and my car had snow all around it. I shuddered, closed the door and was so thankful I worked from home!

The day progressed as normal and I occassionally glanced outside and watched as my entire front steps disappeared under a big snowbank. We no longer had a sidewalk as the snow was up to your waist. My wife phoned around 4:00pm to say she might not get home. I told her to just drive slow. She asked me if I had looked outside or knew what was happening in Saskatoon. I hung up the phone and quickly turned on the TV for a news break. There it was...the entire city of Saskatoon shut down. Schools were closed, businesses were shutting down early and everyone at once was trying to get home.

Now that was the city's first mistake. They shut down the schools, the buses weren't running and the schools decided that no one could walk home and that parents had to pick up their kids. So suddenly at 1:00pm EVERYONE at once leaves their work to go get their kids. Visibility is absolutely zero and the cars are gridlocked across the entire downtown. The police shut down almost every main road that people normally use and so the only way to get home was through the downtown. A regular 10 min commute was taking people 3-4 hours!

And I continued to sit in my home office and work. And then it happened. I wanted a Coke. I ran downstairs and looked in the pantry...no Coke. I looked in the fridge...no Coke. I looked at my antique Coke collection and picked up a bottle filled with the sweet nectar....NO!! I quickly put it down and ran back upstairs. I couldn't drink away my Coke collection. There was only one thing to do...venture out in the blizzard.

I put on my jacket, toque, gloves and headed outside with my shovel. I went out the back door and trudged my way through waist deep snow drifts to get to the front door. And I began to shovel, and shovel, and shovel. I was only wearing thin gloves and I suddenly could no longer feel my hands. The snow was blowing in my face and I barely made it back inside. If I was going to get a Coke it was going to be even more work than first anticipated. After thawing out my hands I ventured back outside with my shovel. I had to clear the parking spot so my wife could park when she got home and also clear a path to our front door.

I once again braved the outdoors and this time with thcker gloves. I was just finishing up the shovelling and had managed to clear a very small path to our doorway when my back gave out. I hobbled back inside thinking my Coke dream was over. But I refused to give up. I bundled up again with every piece of clothing I had and just as I stepped outside my wife came home. I thought my adventure might be stopped by some common sense, but no! Instead she decided to join me and our quest to Extra Foods began.

The wind was howling, the roads were slick and the Extra Foods seemed a long ways off. We walked in the middle of the road as the sidewalks were non-existant. As we trudged along I continually kept wiping out again and again as the roads were so icy. As my eyes began to water, my cheeks blown red by the wind and my nose as red as Rudolph's I suddenly saw the glorious lights through the blowing snow...no it wasn't heaven, it was Extra Foods. As we neared the front doors we were so happy to be there we ran to them just to get inside. As we approached the AUTOMATIC doors at full speed we realized too late that they weren't opening. We both crashed into the glass knocking ourselves to the ground. As I lay on my back and looked up I questioned my own sanity, but when I glanced through the glass window of the store there I saw it...a 2L of Coke just waiting to be bought. I staggered to my feet and we had to manually push open the doors like we were breaking into a sealed vault. Once inside I grabbed my Coke and made for the exit.

After once again prying open the doors to get out we headed home, but this time against the wind. Conversation was non-existant as we trudged on home, heads down and hoping that no car would hit us. As we rounded the corner exhaustion was setting in. My wife was up ahead when I hit some ice and slipped to the ground. She never saw me and as I lay there face down in the snow I realized my time had come. People had always told me that Coke would kill me and it was finally coming true. I was slowly drifting into unconsciousness when a thought suddenly struck me. If I die, I can't drink any more Coke. With renewed vigor I pulled my face out of the snow, staggered to my feet and forced one foot in front of the other as the journey continued. We rounded the final corner and our house could be seen. As the door was unlocked, I stepped inside and collapsed on the floor.

My wife, being the EMT, knew just what to do. She ran to the kitchen, filled a cup with ice and poured me a glass of Coke. She knelt down and touched the glass of Coke to my lips. The wonderful sweet nectar flowed down my throat and I sprang back to life. I held the wonderful cup holding the magic life giving potion and settled onto the couch for the remainder of the evening. As I slowly drifted off to a peaceful sleep, the last words going through my head were "It was worth it!"

Napoleon Dynamite

So I'm a little behind the times, but last night I watched Napoleon Dynamite for the first time. I had heard so much about it. Nobody said anything bad about it, but everyone admitted it was a funny, pointless movie. I wasn't sure I totally believed them. How could a movie have absolutely no point, have no big actors, no real plot and yet still make a lot of money. What studio would let that movie be produced!?!

I sat down on Friday night and watched it. My wife had been called in to work so I was home alone. I put in Napoleon Dynamite to see for myself what this movie was about.

My answer: It was stupid. I sat there and watched the whole thing and finally it was over. Most movies about highschool have a plot to them where a nerdy girl turns beautiful, or a guy goes after a girl and gets her, etc. But this movie was basically reality. It showed Napoleon in a real life high school situation.

Was it funny? Well, it was funny in its own way that I had never seen before. It wasn't slapstick comedy which was good because I can't stand slapstick comedy movies. I like comedies that are funny, but not stupid funny. Some example of stupid funny movies are Scary Movie 4, Hot Shots Part Deux, etc. But this movie was funny because it was basically the real life story of a nerd in highschool and how he was treated. I just can't believe that someone would be quite that nerdy. I never saw anyone quite like that in my highschool, but then again our school didn't have mirrors!

Should you see this movie? That's irrelevant because I'm so far behind the times it's like giving a review on Back to the Future...you've all seen it already! But if you haven't, why not? Rent it, laugh if you can laugh at how stupid his life is, and use it as an excuse to eat a lot of popcorn and Coke!

Did you like the movie? Anybody willing to admit they dance like Napoleon?

I Want to be a Better Soccer Coach

For the last many years I've been coaching soccer. Started right after Bethany in 1998 and haven't really stopped since. I've coached a lot of different teams at a lot of different age groups...and I LOVE it! Often I only feel like a mediocre coach and I've always wanted to get better and improve my coaching ability.

Then a couple years ago I decided I wanted to pursue the next level of coaching - my Provincial B License. I started to work with some other coaches and we did practice sessions with players. The problem was I never fully dedicated myself to making it a priority and never went to take the exam as I was never ready.

Well, that has all changed. I forgot to mention it in my list of New Year's Resolutions, but it really isn't a resolution...it's more of a goal. By the end of this year I want to have my Provincial B License for soccer.

Now it's great to have a goal, but this time I also have a plan to back it up. I, along with 3 other coaches, are in a mentorship program with the Eastside Soccer Technical Director. He is going to work with us from now until October and prepare us for the Provincial B License. And he's not making it easy! I am going to have to perform 40 training sessions (above and beyond the 2 training sessions I do each week with my current team) before October 1st. They will be with all sorts of age groups and all sorts of skill levels and genders. The Technical Director will be at each one and will basically treat each one as a test, just like they will at the Provincial B License exam. He is also making us write a written exam to prepare us too!

Now I could go the easy route and just attend the Provincial B License in October on my own with the knowledge I currently have. But these 40 training sessions will definately help prepare me so that it is second nature to me. That way I will lower the nervousness I'll feel on exam day and can be confident in my abilities.

Tonight we had our first meeting and now I need to plan out when I want to do all my sessions for the next 3 months. So stay tuned as I keep you updated on my progress!

The OC is Finished

NEWS FLASH!

The OC has been cancelled by FOX and the last episode will air February 22. I'm going to log out and go cry now.

New Years Resolutions

I am not a fan of New Year's Resolutions. I feel it is a great way to set yourself up for disappointment when you don't fulfill them. So in the past if I did make any resolutions, I just had them in my head and never shared them. That way if they didn't get fulfilled no one was the wiser.

But this year I'm singing a different tune. I've decided to make some resolutions and actually stick to them. Here are some of them:

• Get back in shape - I'll do this by running and also lifting weights downstairs
• Have a weekly date night - I want to spend more time with my wife
• Blog more often - I've been having trouble with Google lately, but this will happen
• Work less - The month before Christmas I worked way too much. Not again.
• Write my book - This will be my book of stories
• Play more poker - Resolutions don't have to be negative!
• Attempt to do one of my many ideas I come up with

Well, there you have it. So far I'm doing pretty good on them. I have some big plans for 2007 and I'm looking forward to getting started.

A New Beginning

The new year brings new beginnings. It has been just over a year since I started this blog and I've decided that changes need to be made. I'm trying to accomplish too much with one avenue. Therefore, as of today I will no longer be writing Fact or Fiction stories on this site.

WAIT WAIT WAIT!!! Don't go yet! Hear me out!

As I've said, I'm trying to do too much with one avenue. The original focus of this blog was to write stories and post about my life. I really want to do more with the stories part of the blog and in order to bring it to the next level I feel it needs it's own website. So, the stories aren't disappearing forever...I'm just working on setting up a separate site for just my stories.

So stay tuned for the big announcement when I launch my story page! As for the rest of my life, this is the place to be and I'll continue to update this blog on a regular basis with all the fun filled happenings in my life!

"I'm Back!"

Pack, Pack, Pack

My life is only consisting of 3 things right now...Work, Soccer and Packing. We have some big programs coming up for work and I'm spening alot of time working on it. Things aren't happening quite as fast as I want, but when you are hiring people you are going to have to work with for the next 8 months you want to be sure you hire the right people.

I've actually been writing my cheerleader post, but for some reason Blogger won't let me put up pictures. I seem to have that trouble all the time and it's terrible. I'd have a lot more pictures on this blog but half the time it won't let me put up a picture so I just end up posting without one. So, once I get the pictures to work I'll post the cheerleader write-up. But I'll warn you now, the pictures aren't great as it was dark in there and so a lot of the pictures are hard to see.

We move in one week and there is still quite a bit to do. Shiela has been packing lots and when I can get away from work I help out too. We should be all set once next Saturday comes around. If you are interested in helping to carry some boxes or do some fun cleaning give us a shout...we'll find a spot for you.

Grey Cup Hangover

I'm finally back home again after having an amazing time at the Grey Cup parties. Unfortunatelyl I had so much fun that I completely drained myself and now I am sick. I've got a cold, runny nose and I somehow bit my tongue while sleeping and it hurts all the time now. My boss (who happened to be in Winnipeg for the Grey Cup) said it was Grey Cup hangover (even though I wasn't drinking) when I emailed him to tell him I was calling in sick today so I could get better. And that's a good description...the Grey Cup festivities and excitement is so amazing that you literally are hung over afterward.

I'll post more on the Grey Cup later, but for now I'll just leave you with a picture of some of our Brand Ambassadors we had for our Frank's event at the Argos party on Friday afternoon/evening. Anyone know who the guy is?

Partying at the Grey Cup

I'm in Winnipeg now for the Grey Cup Party. Notice I didn't say the Grey Cup game. That's on purpose for two reasons:
1) I don't have tickets to the game
2) I'm realizing that the game iteself is just a small part of the Grey Cup.

I flew in a day early (Friday morning) because we ended up doing a Frank's RedHot event on Friday night for the Argonauts party. Now unfortunately it wasn't just a bunch of Argonaut players, but rather for fans. But not just Argonaut fans, there were fans there from everywhere...and nobody cared what team you cheered for. i now realize that it is irrelevant which team is actually playing in the game...it's more about the atmosphere and the party.

The party on Friday night was awesome. There were three different sets of cheerleaders there...Toronto's (obviously), Winnipeg's, and finally....SASKATCHEWAN'S!! It was cool to see them. The coolest part was that two of the Rider cheerleaders worked for me in Regina for a Frank's event and so i chatted with them for a bit and we talked about the Grey Cup, etc. They were having a lot of fun. Each group of cheerleaders put on a big and long dance routine and they were literally amazing. I feel bad talking about it because people are going to think I'm just obsessed with cheerleaders and good looking people, but that's not it. The routines these girls did were amazing. I fogot that my camera can take video so all I have are some pictures. I was trying to get a picture of the girls doing their cartwheels and backflips, etc. and trust me, this place wasn't very big so they didn't have a lot of room. I'm going to devote an entire post just to the cheerleaders where i analyze the three groups, tell you who was the best and I'll throw in some pictures. Not just because they are cheerleaders, but the routines they did were great and it almost made me think that maybe cheerleaders are athletes? (what do you think?)

i also got my picture taken with a few celebrities. First off, Kerri Joseph was there and i ended up getting a picture with him. i also got a picture of him with my four Frank's girls so maybe I'll post that one since that may be more interesting. Then the next person you probably all could guess if you put two and two together as to where I was. That's right, Pinball Clemens. i shook his hand and briefly talked to him when he arrived, but then he was swarmed. It was impossible to get a picture so i went outside and waited for him to leave. Sure enough, he came out and although his "handlers" were trying to get him inside the vehicle to leave, he was willing to get a picture taken still and was extremely classy. Of course the stranger who took the picture cut off part of my head, but since Pinball is shorter i got all of him! I'll post those pictures when I get back home on Tuesday night.

Well, it's off to go party some more. i need to buy a Rider shirt for the party on Sunday so i fit in. Wearing business casual at these events makes you look like an idiot. Then it's off to the parade after a visit to Riderville and possibly the Lions Den!

It's Basically Official

Shiela and I are now property owners. We have purchased a townhouse, the mortgage has been approved (they just need to verify some documents) and we are excited!! Our original possession date was January 8, 2007 as the previous owners needed time to find a house. However, they found a house over the long weekend and asked if we could move the possession date up to December 8th!! So we are going to be in our new place in less than a month. The people we are buying from are really great too. They were very helpful as we made the offer on the house and they are just very nice people.

We really feel that God gave us this place. When this house was listed on Saskhouses I phoned her immediately to go and look at it. I phoned so fast she didn't even know it had been listed yet! We went and looked at it at 8:00pm that night and were the first ones there. The lady told me she had so many phone calls about the place that she pretty much had to turn her cell phone off at work. They let us look around and figured we weren't going to buy it since we were just the first people to look at it. We had spent some time looking at other houses and townhouses and we knew exactly what we wanted. We loved it and went upstairs to chat with them. I asked them what their bottom price was and then offered $10,000 below that! Just kidding...I offered them what their bottom price was as it was right about what we wanted to pay and said ew'd buy it if we could sign the papers right away (because I knew if we didn't get a deal done right away we wouldn't get the house). They were shocked that they had sold it so quickly and were very happy to sell to us for the price they wanted.

Not having a clue what we were doing, we made the offer and signed the deal...but we had left our cheque book at home and so we couldn't make a deposit. So we went home to get the cheque book and then came back. When we got back a realtor was there and the owners told us later that he had told them his clients would pay above the asking price for their place. They told him sorry, it was already sold.

I had wanted to view it on Thursday night because on Saskhouses they were advertising an Open House for Sunday. Shiela and I had made plans to go to Calgary for the weekend and we knew this place wouldn't last through the weekend. As it turned out, if we had waited one more hour before buying it we would never have got it as the realtor would have offered more and we couldn't have gone that high. When the realtor had said his clients would pay more for the place, the owners son thought they should have a bidding war on it, but the mom was adamant against that and was just really happy they had sold it so quickly. We found out later that during the open house there was one man who really wanted to buy it. He was telling the owners he would write them a cheque right now if they would sell it to him. They told him no, it was already sold. These people weren't even worried that other people were offering more than us...they really liked us and wanted to sell their place to us. They had already phoned their neighbors to tell them they had sold to a really nice couple!

So Shiela and I are very thankful for this place and praise God for his work in this process and how he worked everything out. Now we just need to try and furnish it somehow LOL!!

Go here to see some photos of it: http://www.saskhouses.com/listing.php?id=6409

My Video Biography

It's pretty rare when you find your own video biography on the internet. But I saw it this weekend. Once I sue them I should be collecting royalties for life! No more work! Let me know what you think.

**Update:
Does anyone know what ROTFLOL means without googling it? Here's a hint: If you aren't ROTFLOL after watching that video I'd be surprised!

Did That Really Happen

I think Shiela and I just bought a townhouse...am I dreaming? Somebody better pinch me (ok don't unless you want my fist in your face (inside joke)). Guess we'll wait on that financing...stay tuned.

A Helping Hand

Last night our LIFE group (that's just another name for a small group for all those who may attend other churches with your own lingo) went to the Canadian Food for the Hungry International. The plan was to help them fold linen that will be sent overseas to hospitals in other countries. Judy, the lady from CFHI, started off by giving us some background information on the organization and what they do. Basically, they send containers (like the really big ones you see on barges and railcars) full of medical supplies, medical equipment, beds, machines, linens (like the ones we folded), etc. to these other countries to help the doctors there provide care for needy people. It's an amazing organization. Judy was a great lady! She has basically devoted herself to this organization and she does amazing work there with adminstration tasks, tracking all the shipments, arranging for medical supplies and pickups all across the province, etc.

With Christmas approaching, CFHI has produced a Gift Catalogue. This catalogue is really cool. It allows you to buy gifs for people in other countries. Not regular gifts like Ipods, cell phones or jewellery, but useful gifts that will greatly enrich the lives of these people. Some gift ideas are a pig, fruit trees, a wheelbarrow, etc. Now that may sound weird, but here's two exerpts from the gift catalogue:

The Gift of a Pig
"Pigs are a favourite animal because, in return for disposing of kitchen garbage as food, they produce manure for the farm, and new piglets each year which can be sold for income or used as a source of meat. A pig can greatly add productivity to a family's agricultural and income-generating activities"

The Gift of a Wheelbarrow
"In hilly rural Rwanda, a wheelbarrow can be the deciding factor in the success of agricultural production. Farmers often live as far as 15km from their fields, and since they travel by foot, carrying a fertilizer or other products in large quantities is next to impossible. Consequently, their farms and their incomes suffer."

I would highly recommend going to their website and browsing through the catalogue to find a gift you can buy this Christmas.

If your LIFE group (or other small group, group of friends, co-workers, enemies or even yourself) want to do something to help out other people, give CFHI a call and Judy will gladly accept any help you are willing to offer. And for you guys out there that like machines, they could really use some help with fixing up some old medical machines (one of our guys in the group calibrated a few weigh scales, I helped him with one) so there is something for everyone.

Another One Day Trip

Looks like I'm taking off in about 1 hour to go to Regina just for the day. Unfortunately I don't get to fly and have to drive there and back. I honestly can't believe I'm even going. The reason for the trip is I have to pick up the ballots from the promotions we did while we were there. That's it. Drive to Regina, pick up the ballots and drive back home. Silly if you ask me. Oh well, at least I'm getting paid for it.