The camera went back, with promise of a newer, spiffier camera in the near future.

The spammers are winning. Adding to my hectic life these days, my e-mail address has made it onto a rather active spam list. This morning, I have 157 messages to go through. I had a clean inbox as of 8 pm last night.

For some reason, I have a very zen attitude this morning. Grant thinks it's my shirt.

Guests from China, guests from Vancouver Island, a wife going to a marathon and two kids involved in different sports are all contributing to the kilometres put on our little Jetta these days.

I'll write more when I'm retired, I promise.

The softening of our language is a sad thing. People not saying what they're meaning and making small talk instead. Frittering the precious minutes of our live away with niceties, safe topics and bullshit that holds no value. Conversations like this stay with the recipient for no amount of time and do nothing to stretch the perspective of the speaker or listener.

Wanna hold my interest? Talk to me about religion, or tell me a dirty joke, or tell me what or who you really hate or love.

The time has come to do something rash. I've not yet settled on any particular rash act, but I feel the need to cut loose.

Now, if that don't make you want to stay tuned, I don't know what will.

Two days without any form of exercise, other than household chores, sure makes me get grumpy.

It was all I could do to be civil to our young houseguests - we're hosts to a sleepover this evening. We hosted a pizza party for Banana's ringette team today. It was fun but tiring to keep everyone active, adding variety in activities at the appropriate time. They played outside in, on and around the treehouse; made up and filmed a puppet show (with some tidbits that suggested sexual awareness, which I found interesting); ate pizza and other assorted junk foods; posed for team pictures and generally goofed around with each other and strengthened their friendships.

I was worn out when the group left, but Banana and McMonk weren't. They called a three friends over and suddenly, we were feeding them the leftover pizza and offering to give their sick (stomach flu) dad a break and have them stay for the night. We negotiated a 10 o'clock in bed/ 10:30 lights out arrangement, then toothbrushes, pillows and pajamas were acquired (through a quick run home). Meanwhile, the cleanup from the party proceeded with not as much effort as was originally expected.

Still, I found myself being short with the kids as they fooled around, getting ready for the scheduled bedtime. A swim would have done me good this evening.

There used to be time for play at work, but work is just work now. The demand for my time in the office is great - it's crushing sometimes. If it weren't for the personalities of my officemates, I'd be in more urgent need for a break.

My coworkers seem to be gentler with me - I'm taking this gradual transition as a show of respect. Two, in particular, seem to have a more personal tone. I'm grateful for that.

Courtesy of my buddy, Jay, an addendum to my definition of fit (or not fat):

Having the energy and ability (strength, agility, flexibility, endurance) to do all the things that you want and need to physically with relative ease.

Tomorrow, I'm looking forward to a trip to a family gathering. When I get there, I'm going to see relatives that I haven't seen for ages, I'm going to eat sandwiches and vegetables from an assorted caterer's tray, I'm going to sing songs that I love to sing, but best of all, I'm going to hear stories. Most of the stories will be about Anne Walker, my grandfather's second wife. She died late Saturday night or Sunday morning - I'm not exactly sure.

I only fleetingly knew her as the quiet, mature, intelligent, square-jawed woman that won the heart of my dear grandpa, and then later as a frail, old woman in a nursing home that had been left with a body and a mind that she didn't deserve in her final years. I really don't know too much about how she grew up, what she did for fun with her first family, what her favorite meal was to cook, what her favorite song was .... These are all things I hope to learn tomorrow.

Thoughts of going to a funeral have filled my thoughts today, in spite of the mayhem that work and my home presented me with. I know the missus has been thinking about Anne's demise and is steeling herself for her own parents' time.

We're all a bit fragile right now.

McMonk doesn't need parents anymore. She needs staff.

I just overheard her dictating (in a really nice and positive, leading way, but still dictating) to her grandmother the type of costume that would be required for Hallowe'en. McMonk even threw in, "Grandma, you don't need to start on it tonight."

She'll go far, once she has a few good people underneath her.

Guess who went to Costco yesterday? Guess who was lured into the technology section and ended up looking at digital cameras?

Yep, me, the proud owner of a Minolta Dimage F200 camera. Expect a few more pictures to accompany things in the near future here at nuther.com.

Running under an assumed name (purchased race number, actually), I completed the Melissa's 10 kilometre run in a very respectable 47:23, finishing 189th out of over 2700. And that was a training run.

I love my new legs.

Someday, I hope to be able to have a party like this.

A tension headache has come to visit me. Life is getting too busy. I need to simplify things. There are too many concurrent processes running.

I've reached an interesting point in my athletic endeavors. An explanation is coming, but first, a bit of background. My daughters, bless their innocent souls, have already brought up the notion of being "fat". We've discussed what fat is, and how fat do you need to be to be "fat" (I could complicate things further by discussing what phat is, but that's a different topic altogether). What the girls and I came up with is that you are not fat if you have the energy and ability to do all the things that you want and need to do, physically. This should shoo away the demons of anorexia and bulimia for a little while.

I am now fit enough to do all the things that I want to do. Should I now drop into maintenance mode, or continue on in pursuit of a fitter me?

Last night, I lay in bed and felt an ache in my legs from a challenging set of weight repetitions I did, right before a moderately hard hour of swim practice. I am the fittest I've been in a long time, perhaps rivaling my early-twenties. I'm enjoying the energy I have right now, but I am worried that if I push much harder I'll risk injuries or burnout. I'm also enjoying a deeper friendship with my training mates - I know I'd miss spending less time with my newfound companions.

I'm going for a run today, but I will be listening to what my body tells me as far as, "keep going" or "rest now." I promise to heed any urgent requests.

Today, I sat in a meeting and found myself looking at one of my coworker's arms and hands. I noticed that they were completely hairless. He has a full head of hair.

I wonder if he removes the hair or whether his arms and hands are naturally that way.

I'm just about done getting stuff for myself. It's time to purge some possessions.

The dreams, they've been graphic lately. Too much work and concentration makes the subconscious show funny pictures.

I'm in a drab bachelor suite with dingy, mint-colored walls that have the un-removable odor of stale cigarette smoke. My whole extended family is there, talking amougst each other in small groups. My brother and father have fallen asleep on the floor, with their backs leaning against a ratty brown sofa with a carved-pattern velour. Their heads are back and they are snoring loudly. Someone puts harmonicas in their mouths and they begin to play (in unison) Brahm's Lullaby. Suddenly, from nowhere, they are accompanied by bagipes.

I step out onto the balcony and see that we are at least one hundred stories up. Someone hands me my parachute (a beautiful, day-glo colored one that nicely accents the grey jumpsuit I am suddenly wearing) along with helmet, goggles and handicam. Twelve or so of us are crammed onto the balcony as I hear the countdown to jump. We do a group exit from balcony and do a nice BASE jump, landing in a field, miles from any building.

Peeling out of our jumpsuits and gear, we rush for seats at the table (we are now in a restaurant) and start bragging (lying, really) about the grossest kinds of pizza that we've eaten.

Now, that's just the brief snippet I decided to remember. I need to play, I think.

Been a long time, yes it has, but that's OK, 'cause you're so patient.

As I sit and wait for my operating system to move some files, I'll blog a bit.

Should I run across the street and get a pop to keep me awake? Hmmmmm ....

Better late than never, here are some pictures from our June hostelling trip.

Oh - CRAP.

I just created about three weeks of work for myself and Sporadicus.

Tired.
Tired.
Tired.
Tired.
Tired.

But tonight, I am going to bed early. At least, earlier.

A number of things combined to signal the end of summer for me.

• evenings have been appearing in our back year earlier and earlier - often before I'm done all my outdoor things for the day
  
• my first season of triathlon competition is drawing to a close. The last race is this weekend, and today I was told by the race director that it was "not a competitive event."
  
• homework and extra-curricular lessons now fill the cooler, darker evenings for the kids
  
• our local outdoor pool is now drained and being prepared for hibernation
  
• school has started for elementary and university students alike
  
• the old farts swim team I belong to has started up for the season
  
• today was a cool, cool day - much cooler than yesterday's 30+ heat and stuffiness
  
• I felt that long pants would be appropriate today

I know that we are not done with lovely, warm afternoons, or outdoor exercise opportunities or barbecues or time sitting on my deck in a t-shirt and shorts, listening to people play in the park behind our house, ... but the essence of summer - the long evenings and carefree, vacation feel that come along with them have been folded up like lawn chairs and put into the shed for the rest of the year.

Not that I'm dreading the approaching fall and winter. I'm sure they'll hold some fun of their own. I just have a special place in my heart for all that summer means.

It sure was a great summer.

If you have an extensive MSN buddy list - especially buddies with nicknames - sometimes you forget who is who. Apparently, so did someone else.

I was going through my web referral logs and noticed someone who had come (and viewed sixteen pages!) from a link from a page on members.msn.com. Curious who was linking to me from MSN, I visited the referring page and found out it was ... me. My visitor had most likely found me by viewing my profile via the MSN buddies link.

When I first started using MSN Messenger, I was given the opportunity to create a personal information page. Being a straightforward, up-front kind of guy, I decided full disclosure was the best policy and so I created a totally ficticious identity and posted it to MSN member page.

I had forgotten I had done this, so seeing it (at first) surprised me. Reading through the profile, I recognized some of my handiwork. I was also surprised that I'd taken the time to fill in all this info. At the time, maybe I was into trolling for geriatric babes. Who knows?

All in all, I don't think it is a bad avatar. I hope I DO look like that when I'm 97.

I was disappointed that my visitor didn't leave a comment.

Work is more than just steady - it's backing up. I don't dare complain, though - no one else does and they're all just as busy. That's what happens when you're growing a company.

Exciting and tiring.

Just two weeks away from my daughters was enough to make me notice the difference in their maturity. McMonk's face is quickly changing from that of a little girl into a pre-teenager. Banana's mannerisms scream teenager. The things they talk about, the books they read, their actions, their looks ....

The Missus and I Planned to walk them up to school today, the first day of Grade Four and Six for McMonk and Banana (respectively). As soon as we left the back door, they ran ahead to meet their friends in the alleyway, leaving us to walk 15 metres behind the gaggle of girls. Almost oblivious of our presence, they headed straight into this first day routine that they'd been through before and knew well.

With nary a glance backwards. Sigh.

I am also noticing that they are very involved with friends, sports and other activities. They are gaining independence and growing into mature young women. I know that this is what is supposed to happen and seeing their social and personal development is a signal that we are doing a good job as a parents. That's the intellectual Sean talking.

The emotional Sean is saying, "I'm losing my playmates!" and that makes me more than a little sad.

Monday got busier and busier around my little bachelor pad.

First, I picked up the family at 10 am who came home and unloaded two weeks worth of laundry, souvenirs and pent-up energy. Then Banana and McMonk called their friends who promptly came over with their new puppy proceeded to play in the house and back yard, start craft projects and burn off the excited energy of seeing each other for the first time in a month. Amongst all this, my parents showed up for dinner with bags of fresh, yummy Taber corn.

Welcome back everybody, my life is crazy again.

In honor of my last evening as a temproary bachelor, I am about to sit down in front of the TV and eat my dinner of weiners and beans right out of the pot.

At 9:15 pm. Hoo hah!

Recent evenings at work had me sampling a buddy's MP3 collection, which included some FooFighters. I'm rediscovering their music, thanks to a quick road trip to Montana this morning. I was heading out the door and needed something to listen to. I knew radio reception would be spotty as soon as I got 30 kms from Cowtown, so I loaded my MP3 player with the Foos' The Colour and The Shape album.

The CD has edgy yet well-thought-out and musically well-executed songs. The Foos have a hard, metal sound in some of their songs, but aren't afraid to throw some ballads with rich vocals and harmonies on the CD. Some of their songs (like Learning to Fly and Monkey Wrench) have seen some radio play, but they are a bit dark and heavy to be mainstream. Many of the songs have surprisingly upbeat or fun lyrics. The worst part about listening to their music was that I had to sit still while it was playing.

I first heard these guys back in my lifeguarding days in Edmonton. It was just what I needed to keep me awake for a long drive.

This is all to distract you from the bigger question, which is, "Why did Sean drive to Montana this morning?"

As my hedonistic days of temporary bachelorhood draw to a close, I have noticed a few things about myself.

• I produce mostly dark laundry
  
• two litres of milk a week is plenty
  
• my grocery bill would be very, very low, as the temptation to 'grab a bite' while you are out and about is greater when it's just you having a meal
  
• I should not be left in charge of houseplants, let alone pets
  
• unless I (or somebody else) create a "To Do" list, I don't get much accomplished in my non-work life
  
• I would be spending a lot of time at work if there was no dog or family waiting at home for me
  
• I love having music around me - it creates a necessary auditory backdrop
  
• chocolate chip cookies for breakfast is an idea that's not that far-fetched

I have enjoyed having some Sean time, but I'm also going to enjoy being back in the hubbub of family life on Monday.

Techno-gilligans?

I like that. Jane, you make me laugh.