the funny thing here

via Lisa

i was rolling in laughter over this one because i didn't get it at all until Wendy explained it to me. from there she was just laughing at how much of an idiot i am sometimes. that's my lot in life sometimes.

somebody out there fess up that they don't get it either. or perhaps i'm the only idiot out here.

tenacity

it's just so damn sexy.

Wendy has endured a fight for health for her entire adult life. endometriosis, an eating disorder, depression, chronic pain, migraines, chemical sensitivities, food allergies, fibromyalgia and the weight of a husband who doesn't know how to help the situation whatsoever. she has been fighting the start of a migraine for a solid week now while the mercury on the thermometer rises daily and she endures hot flashes from being thrown into premature menopause from a partial hysterectomy to rid herself of the endometriosis problem.

and she still gets up everyday and continues the fight.

i have always LOVED Wendy's heart. it encourages me no end because she constantly fights for better things. her heart was a major thing that attracted me to her oh so many years ago and it keeps me coming back. when she is in good spaces she laughs readily and it thrills my soul to hear her cackle from anywhere nearby.

she's just so damn sexy.

Wendy, i love you. you're like my favourite type of pitcher, the kind that comes right at you and says if you're going to beat me then you'll have to beat the best stuff i have. you're a bulldog, a very cute one. your tenacity inspires me.



you're just so damn sexy.

mental problems

via of all the liars in the world

there's also a dyslexia comment on that link that i don't get but i suspect that it may be a guy thing.

take off your shoes

I plead the blood of Jesus over you
I plead the blood of Jesus over you
And over every f---ing thing you do
Seven times I plead the blood of Jesus over you

Take off your shoes - you're on hallowed ground
Even you can't lie when I'm around
Take off your shoes - you're on hallowed ground

Behold on the last lamp light at the very end of your street
I'm whispering something
Come closer to me
Come closer to me

I say you're running out of battery, you're running out of battery
And I don't see no bunnies around here

If you believed at all in your breviary, if you believed even in just the ghost of me, you wouldn't now be so surprised to see me

In vanity you took the name of me
You brought me into infamy
And now you're so surprised to see me, and now you're so surprised to see me

a devastating thing

we live in a part of town where every house (it seems) is close to 100 yrs old, i know ours is. lining the streets of our beautiful section of town are elm trees that are as old as the house. we have had 2 beautiful octogenarian elms on either front corner of our property for the 15 yrs we have lived where we are. i cannot express my mourning this week to come home from work and see the tree that we don't share with our neighbour having been tagged for removal due to Dutch Elm Disease. my first thought was "there's nothing wrong with that tree, it's just old, why can't they just leave the old guy alone?" and then i saw the literature that accompanied our devastating loss. the symptoms of Dutch Elm are typically a withering of leaves near the top of the tree in the height of what should be their prime growing time. that's exactly what has happened to the old fella.

i very literally mourned. it will affect our property values and much of the shade of our home will be lost but i wasn't mourning any of that. i was mourning the loss of a living thing that had brought joy and comfort to us. a tree is a beautiful and majestic thing and when you live in a city in a forest which is what Winnipeg is then you sometimes forget to look at the trees while they surround you. this old guy is a gnarled veteran who has seen more history than i ever will. he isn't a pretty tree but he obviously used to be and there is still plenty of majesty there in those limbs and a solid trunk.

i was nearly moved to tears to see it marked like it was. i will mourn his loss when he goes. i may need the day off even, and i'm not joking.

it's just plain devastating.

Lutestring

you wrote some words recently that i wholeheartedly agree with.

as a man of faith let me try to explain some faith things that i react to when i see it.

God is not a magic genie in a bottle, he doesn't respond to superstitious little prayers because you want all the best for yourself, and he doesn't stand by with a club in his hand waiting for you to step out of line. In fact I think it's the folks who aren't toe-ing the line that have something going on that God is pleased with. If you don't have your toe to the line, you're free ... and freedom is truly a beautiful thing in a spiritual being. Freedom speaks to the point that God was making when he introduced the concept of grace in the first place. Freedom is the intent of God when we were wandering around the garden and it will continue to be his intent when we end up in whatever garden in the end.

Scream! Go ahead and let me join you. Let people be locked away in their theological boxes if that's what they want but if they're willing to come out in the sun with you then encourage them to do so also.

Come out in the sun and let's remove our shoes and run out of sheer joy. Freedom is a beautiful thing and we can be free indeed.

Blessings on your journey.

was i rude?

sometimes i just don't know.

i was on a transit bus from central Winnipeg to a Community Center in north Winnipeg so that i could umpire for the day at the City Championships. as i neared the bus stop i wanted, i came up to the front of the bus and asked "can i get out at the corner here instead of the bus stop?" the bus driver looks at me and says rather forcefully, "well don't you think that please isn't too much to ask?" i was actually caught off guard by this reaction so i simply responded "no". quite frankly i felt like he was treating me disrespectfully with his response ... and i decided that i wouldn't say the word please in that moment. the driver heard my response of "no" and simply drove to the bus stop without opening the door for me to get off the bus at the corner. i left the bus without saying another word. he didn't say a word either.

was my question rude? did i behave wrongly? i don't think it's unreasonable to ask to get off a bus where its most convenient for me, especially if he has to stop the bus for a stop sign anyway. there was no safety issue to worry about, in case you're wondering.

how do i get into these situations? i'm a nice guy, really i am. maybe he was just having a bad day, i know i certainly wasn't and didn't. it was just an odd little interaction in my day.

sometimes i just don't know.

yeah, i know i'm supposed to stop

yesterday i'm biking home and i come to a lazy little 4 way stop about 6 blocks from home. it's a quiet, muggy day and as i approach the corner there is a car coming in the opposite direction from me and nobody else around. the car i'm facing is going straight and so am i.

as i approach the stop sign on my bike i realize that i'm not in the way of the car coming in the opposite direction, there are no pedestrians or any reason to stop at this stop sign. it's a quiet lazy street and i've built up a lot of kinetic energy that i don't want to cancel around the corner from my house. as i reach the stop sign the car across from me decides to put his left turn signal on right in front of me and i lay on the brakes to avoid the collision that apparently i'm about to get into.

i stop in time and the car proceeds into the intersection going straight ahead, turns his signal off and rolls his window down to tell me that i'm supposed to stop.

yes i realize that i'm supposed to stop at a stop sign but at the same time i wasn't in anyone's way and there was no danger of me getting hurt ... until you turned on your signal. so i laid on the brakes, nearly killed myself just so that you could tell me that i'm supposed to stop. you didn't even have to turn, and you didn't turn so i still wasn't in your way.

i'm supposed to stop. hear me when i say that. but you sir, are an ass. thanks for nearly breaking my neck when i wasn't in your way or anyone else's way. i'm so glad that the heart attack you gave me taught me a lesson.

the lesson i learned though wasn't about stopping for stop signs, it's that people are vindictive jerks who will go out of their way to prove that assumptions shouldn't be made. i assumed i was not in your way and you proved that you would just rather force me to learn a lesson i didn't actually have to learn.

whatever, i learned. i learned not to assume anything because you know what happens when you assume? you make an ass out of you ...

nobody does that

nobody gets frustrated with some kid who's trying to be funny and doesn't realize that comments and actions can be taken personally.

nobody stares into a mirror and wonders who the guy on the other side is.

nobody wonders if his life is going where he wants it to go.

nobody gets sad because life is just hard sometimes.

nobody wonders if he's still good looking anymore.

nobody wonders where the 20 yr old kid full of life went, or the 30 yr old dreamer disappeared to.

nobody questions if there's still a future out there worth chasing.

nobody wonders if he's still got it or he ever had it.

nobody pushes to be better anymore.

nobody wants to know that he's loved still.

nobody feels like he's wandering around in a fog where everything is going in slow motion because his brain won't process things as quickly as he used to.

nobody creaks and groans as joints ache.

nobody questions whether the day to day stuff has to get done.

nobody does that.

liar.

the last thing she said as i headed out the door

it was bright and sunny and i had scored some tickets to the minor league baseball team in our fair city. the park is beautiful and i have a special love for baseball that i cannot begin to express. i had coerced 3 friends into joining me for the game and i brought my own peanuts to share with the buds over the course of what was sure to be a lazy summer day at the ballpark. i have this tradition whenever i go to watch a ballgame i need peanuts, a hot dog, and a beverage; and no substitutions allowed. i was really looking forward to enjoying this day.

i watch a lot of baseball. usually i have the best seat in the house as i ump from about 5 feet behind home plate but this was very different. i wouldn't have to carry around an extra 15 lbs of equipment, i could wear shorts and shades and i could kick back and bask in the sun. little did i realize the differences in this day than any other day that i usually spend while umping. when i ump most of my body is covered in material, it's sweaty and warm but there's little chance of roasting.

as i headed out the door Wendy said, "don't you think you should put some sunscreen on?" my first thought was, no. i should never go with my first thought when Wendy is making a suggestion.

we got to the park and there was a rain delay for an hour and a half. no worries then, i thought. when the clouds cleared and we took our seats on wet plastic chairs it then became painfully clear that we were about to be baked for the next several hours. did i do anything about it? of course not, what am i? prudent? cautious? smart?

not even close.

i did get to enjoy my hot dog, my peanuts and my beverage. we discussed the game as it wore on and the home team got smoked. and i basked ... and baked. no hat, no sunscreen, white pasty legs that hardly ever see the light of day.

i now have the worst burn on my knees than i have had in many years. my face looks like a racoon where my shades have blocked out the burn that the rest of my face endured.

it was a fine day at the park ... but boy will i be paying for it. i've already doused my face and legs with aloe several times and it still stings whenever i bend my knees, smile ... or breathe. maybe i should just stop doing that stuff eh? it'll probably just be a lot easier to take my wife's advice.

i can't believe i have to learn the same lesson over and over and over again.

not only that but i have to deal with all the "i told you so" attitude if i dare to complain about my sunburn. so no complaining allowed ... except here of course. you won't tell Wendy that i'm complaining about it though, right? right? seriously, don't tell her.

baseball update

it seems that July is going to be a busy month for me.

first of all i scored some tix for 2 free Goldeyes games and i'm hoping a few friends will join me there.

secondly i've been locked into playoffs for the City Championships over the course of the entire month. in particular i'll be doing a lot of plate playoff games for the Peewee AAA division (aged 12-13) nearly every night for most of the month. i'll also be doing Bantam AA (aged 14-16) or Midget A (aged 17 -18) playoffs over the course of next weekend. i was also asked to be the Peewee A Umpire in Chief but it seems that'll conflict with the other playoffs so i may have to bow out of that.

finally, i have been told that i will be recommended to ump the Peewee AAA Provincial Championships at the long weekend in the beginning of August. it has been several years since i have been to a Provincial Championships but they have always been amazing experiences in the past.

it'll mean a lot of late nights for me if these lads can't hit the strikezone.

good times.