One of the young hotties at work told me I was "looking pretty buff" lately.

Nice.

It put a swagger in my step for the rest of the afternoon. I'm old enough to be her dad, but I'll take complements from anyone.

Thanks to one of the developers at work, I spent the better part of an hour going through a photo journal of the Chernobyl area. A woman from Russia describes (in sometimes wonderful broken English) and shows us the cities and countryside around the Chernobyl area. She travels by motorcycle and we get to come along.

Frightening, engaging, touching, intreguing. Makes me want to travel by motorcycle.

Maybe someday.

It's OK, I found my keys. Call off the search party.

A new coworker (who also happens to be a young, attractive woman) has inadvertently raised the testosterone levels in the air around here.

You can almost hear the chests being thumped.

I found myself watching golf this weekend.

Golf.

What's with that?

Parents of preschoolers are the majority at work, but I'm happy to report that my two charges are well past that mark and sailing quite nicely into teenager-dom. This coming week will see them (for the first time) supervising themselves during the day as Spring Break descends upon Calgary.

Though Banana is going through a stage of finding her style by dressing out of our costume box, she continues to impress me with her level-headedness in her approach to friends and interpersonal dealings. Boys are entering into the scene, but there is no "love interest" in these Y-chromosomed beings. They are just interested in the same sports as she is. The change to womanhood marches on, as I am now finding sports tops in the laundry much to small for The Missus. Banana and McMonk are eating like horses, too, but it all seems to be pasta-based. Go figure. They must be growing.

In the vein of growth milestones, McMonk turned ten today. It was a quiet event, as we had the party last weekend, ensuring that none of the party invitees had left our little town on their Spring Break sojourns. As a result, McMonk's big day consisted of:

• sleeping in
  
• a casual, non-healthy (by her own choosing) self-made breakfast
  
• an early morning visit from my mom and dad - the proverbial doting grandparents - bearing gifts and offers of an afternoon at the shopping mall
  
• a few hours of time at Gramma's House of Fun Kid Things, playing with Bo, her hyper-everything white, poodle-like dog
  
• lunch out
  
• dinner out
  
• staying up way past regular bedtime, thanks to no school tomorrow
  
• sleeping in Big Sister's room.

McMonk, we're impressed by the things you're learning, the questions you're asking, the way you are dealing with others, the activities and areas you're showing interest in, and the interesting and incorrigible little kid that you've become.

I'm still enjoying being a dad, no matter how bad it cuts into my triathlon training efforts.

The queue at the free-for-relatives-and-friends Computer Repair shop is being taken care of, finally. We've managed to steal time from our sleeping schedule and make great headway into the pile of machines that had been accumulating in the office. We've got reinstalling applications down to a science, and we're learning that Ghost Enterprise edition is a handy tool, even for home-based fixer-uppers. If you are waiting on your machine, you are third in the queue and it will be ready on Thursday. And this time we mean it.

So, did ya get got?

As I lay in bed last night, planning my upcoming morning, a memory of an April Fools day from 15 or so years ago came back. At that time, I was a lifeguard at a pool in Edmonton. I was guarding the morning shift (from 5:30 am to 1:30 pm) - an excellent time for pranks. Having done a bit of prep work, I had brought my sunglasses and an old driver (golf club) that had the head removed and the shaft painted white. I had my regular guard uniform on and took care to stand on the opposite side of the pool from where the changeroom exits were, sunglasses on, standing motionless, facing straight ahead. When the patrons emerged from the changerooms, they looked across the pool and were greeted by the sight of ... a blind lifeguard.

I had people come up to me and ask what I was doing. I replied that I had been changing a caustic soda barrel last night and had splashed some caustic soda in my eyes. I'd been to the Medicenter and been treated, but because of the short time between the accident and this morning, combined with the early hour of the shift, I hadn't been able to arrange a replacement. So, I had to work the shift. Besides, I could hear any trouble that people were having and could call for help.

Some people actually bought this story. Not many, but some did. Most of the regulars (who knew me) came out, looked at me and just laughed. It gave me something to amuse myself with in what can sometimes be a quiet job at a length-swimming-only pool.

Skydiving, skydiving ... someone's put that bee in my bonnet again.

I could a swam all night. I was in the groove, doing 100 I.M. after 100 I.M.. I'm looking forward to a great season in swimming and for triathlons.

So much has gone on lately, and I've had so little time to document any of it. Work has been quite consuming and what litle time that I've had to spare I've been investing in family and friends.

Yesterday, I had one of those moments that you absolutely live for.

I was sitting at a stop light beside a car that had pulled slightly ahead of me. I look sideways out my window and notice a large dog directly across from me, sitting in the back seat of the car beside me. The dog (a Wheaton Terrier) was staring intently at me while the driver and his passenger were carrying on a conversation. I stare back at the dog for at least ten seconds, and then for some reason decided to feign a lunge at him. Then, the silent comedy unfolded.

The dog goes absolutely nuts, barking at me (although I can't hear it through the two sealed windows of our cars) and scaring the bejeezus out of the passenger. The passenger does a classic head-thrown-back-and-hands-shooting-up-in-the-air move, along with the silent (to me) scream.

It was all I could do to keep my enjoyment to a mere smile as the light turned green and I drove away.

Classic slapstick comedy. What a treat.

This Week's Favorite Quote:

"... so many good times I can't remember .... STUPID BEER!"

Curious about New York? Have a peek at the album.

Just realized that I only have (theoretically) 6 more years to teach Banana everything she needs to know to be an adult.

Wow.

There's 5 inches of fresh powder that have fallen onto the 7 food base at Lake Louise, with 8 more inches forecast in the next 24 hours. What the heck am I doing in Edmonton?

Oh yeah - I have kids.

I saw my first set of frisbee players engaged in an outdoor game of catch. Can spring be far behind?

Family Updates:

• McMonk is growing her hair out. It's shoulder length and looking good. Swimming every second day is takin git's toll, but she seems to like the style it's becoming.
  
• Banana and her buddy are working on a Science Fair project that has been accepted into the city finals. The project is all about how age effects peripheral vision. Smart cookie.
  
• I got back from my second trip to New York in three weeks and I was feeling out of touch with my family. A few days together for a ringette tournament whould cure that.
  
• Oh yeah, ringette. We're off to Edmonton this weekend for Petite B Provincials. Banana's team got the wildcard spot. And 'wild' it will be.
  
• Devon (our 15 year-old dog) got a good brushing tonight. She really needed it, as she is looking rougher and rougher all the time, with thinning fur and many cancer-like spots on her skin. She rarely jumps up on the bed (I suspect her hips are giving her trouble), she loses her footing when walking on the floor and doesn't sleep much during the night - she just wanders and wanders. I think it's just about time.
  
• work has many things on the go - thank goodness I have help in Tech Services Land. I love being busy but hate being overwhelmed. Work is steady but I feel like I'm keeping ahead of it.

I'm remembering today what a precious commodity time is.

Congratulations Sheldon and Kim. Your priorities have just changed.

Take good care of Ella Lilliane.

Our house is ringing with peals of children's laughter. One of Banana's buddies is over for a sleepover, and we are home to the class guinea pig for the weekend.

I better watch where I step.

Swimming tonight was so hard, I thought I was gonna die - no, wait.

Swimming tonight was so hard, I wished I could die, but knew I wasn't gonna be that lucky.

_{(to tell the truth, it felt good to have some healthy hurtin' going on in my arms and chest.)}

I'm back, I'm tired, I'm sluggish from lack of exercise, I'm ready to eat properly again.

It's nice to be home.

Business trips are a workaholic's dream. You are relieved from all family and personal habitat responsibilities. You don't cook, you don't clean up after yourself, you don't have to deal with relatives (face-to-face, anyways), you don't even have the regular at-your-desk trivialities ... you are free to slave for The Man until you drop.

I *am* putting in quite a bit of time at the office, but I did notice the sun shining through the window just after lunch today and took a whole Saturday afternoon off. After all, I'm in New York for the first time. I walked through most of mid- and lower Manhattan, seeing Times Square and Union Square, Soho and Greenwich Village, Little Italy and Chinatown, Battery Park, Liberty Island, the World Trade Centre site, the Brooklyn bridge, Wall Street, Broadway, Park Avenue, and lots of interesting folks on the street. I'm totally impressed by the vertical scale of this place. Everything is straight up.

The entrepreneurial spirit is deep-rooted in these folks. There are thousands of junk shops, operating under the guise of "Trading Companies". The goofiest, tackiest stuff is up for sale - plastic purses, shelf dust collectors, throwaway electonic and cloth goods, ... and there's SHOPS full of just one or two things. And there's several shops with the same twisted idea that this stuff will sell. I guess they have the best chance of finding someone buy it, here of all places. There are so many people around, all of the time.

Boy, I must sound like a country bumpkin. I do love the excitement and scale of it all.

Coming here for work means that I get to hang out with the locals, too. I was taken out to a homey Italian restaurant on my first night, and a swanky Manhattan place called the Park Avalon on the second night. They've threatened to take me to Dukes next, so I get to see the seedier side of the city. I hope they come through for me. I haven't felt threatened in the slightest during my trip. I've been all over, but just not to upper Manhattan or over to Brookyn or Queens. Maybe I'll save that for next trip.

I'm taking pictures with my trusty digital camera, which I hope to make available as soon as I get home to my required cables. By Monday evening, I'm sure I'll be ready to tear myself away from the office and all the work that there is here, but for now, I'm still digging right into getting things set up my way.

Whoo hoo!

Surprise, surprise! Things got moved up on my trip. I'm getting packed, preparing to climb on a plane to New York. I hope I have everything I need.

I certainly am able to pack a lot of fun into a week. This week includes:

• big hullabaloo at work while we sort out some last minute details of a big, big deal
  
• a surprise outing to a Calgary Flames game
  
• a social get-together for my old farts swim team
  
• booking airline flights unsing frequent flyer points, for eight people, all with different arriving and departure dates
  
• a trip to New York for myself with only two days notice
  
• Banana's city final ringette tournament
  
• Geek work that just won't seem to leave me alone

Pile wanting to spend time with my kids on top of that, along with the fact that I am single parenting this week (The Missus is in Newfoundland with work), and my life begins to feel pretty busy.

On the drive into work today, I passed by one of my coworkers as he was walking into work. I saw him and drove right by.

The reason for not stopping wasn't a snub - it was done out of respect for his privacy. We all need quiet time to be with ourselves and prepare for the day. For me, the trip to work has become a transition period, where I put away all the home thoughts and mentally pull out the work "to do" lists and bring forward the knowledge and memories necessary for dealing with coworkers and job issues. Having someone cut that time short really throws me off.

As I drove towards him (he on the sidewalk, me on the street), I saw him purposefully striding towards the office, still blocks away. I decided to let him have his time. A simple gift that will go unnoticed, but one that would be missed if it were snatched away.

Another weekend spent in Edmonton. The ringette tournament was a great success as long as you don't look at the standings. No deaths, minor injuries and a good time had by all.

A drive from Calgary to Edmonton with my dad meant a little bit of father-son bonding. Being with my dad brings out the redneck in me. We rode in a pickup, made some ethnic slurs, bemoaned our in-laws, cursed the eastern government and ate a greasy-fried lunch at a truckstop just barely off Highway 2. You can't get much more Albertan than that.

I'm needing some new music.

Everything I listen to these days seems to sound like Top 40 radio or 'old-rock' radio. Some of my work buddies have shared out their iTunes playlists. If I was sitting still at my desk for long enough, I'd troll through their selections. Yeti has some interesting stuff.

Perhaps tonight ...

Tonight was a tough workout. 2900 metres, but they were hard ones. 10 x 200 m with 10 seconds rest in between seems to be a blast from my age-group-swimming past. After the good, healthy hurt I feel from my shoulders, lats and biceps, I'll happily revist more of those memories.

We be building some muscle for summer!