First Post of '08

Well hello! It's been a while. Sorry for the big gap in my blog, but you know how it goes. Gonna try to do better. I seem to need a good photo to kick off blog posts, and then I just let it come on the fly. After this post, I'm going to let the screen saver decide what I should talk about -- maybe pull the first three images and tell their story. That should be good fuel for thought.


We had a super holiday season, plenty of family visiting, friends gathering, and time for just the two of us (or three, counting Penny). I found myself working on Christmas and Boxing Day this year -- the morning of the 25th, I started at 5am! But people were thinking of me as I read the annual Vatican and Bethlehem news items -- Mom even drove downtown with some warm cinnimon buns, a Christmas morning tradition at our house. This was the first year ever that we didn't do a Christmas morning at Mom and Dad's, both Robyn and I were elsewhere. I must say it was kind of strange, and just a bit sad, but Mom's visit at the station went a long way to lifting my spirits. I even thanked her on the air! Cheesy and mushy yes, but there ya go.



Bethy and I were able to get away over New Year's to Ucluelet. That place is becoming our retreat here on the island, done the cabin rental thing twice now. The photo up top there shows where we spent three nights, and in the daytime we drove around and walked some beaches, soaking up the West Coast winter quite literally. It's great living on such a large island, we get the best of both the city and the island life. Ucluelet rules!


So I turn 30 in a few weeks here on the 27th. One day after my dad's and Wayne Gretzky's birthday, and two days after Kyle's B-day (bethy's bro) and Robbie Burns day. Where did I picture myself at age 30? Well, I didn't. The furthest ahead I can recall wondering about when I was a kid was where I'd be for New Year's Eve 2000. We're well past that now. But things are looking rosy for sure, with a wedding and a cool honeymoon coming up. We've decided to visit my namesake country, Ireland! It's my island, after all. We'll be renting a car and moving at whatever speed from town to town, along the coastline of course.


Work is going OK, really nothing new happening there. Our station will be moving into the top floor of the A-Channel TV station in March, so that's the big news for us. I'm still pulling three beat reporting shifts and two air shifts in a typical week. I haven't been out to cover anything too interesting recently, nothing comes to mind anyhow. The winter season is slow for that stuff.


Had a fun weekend catching up with friends, got to watch some football with Pete and Pax Saturday and visited Mike and Matt's awesome new apartment on Sunday. Hopefully going over to Van for the 'Time to Visit Gas' weekend of fun and hockey games in Feb. Also going to Van to play in the annual transit tournament later in Feb., which I've done three times before.


Lots of puck these days as always, that's far and away my #1 leisure activity still. I've been getting more into helping run my own team, the Knuckleheads, this season -- helping with the scheduling, the beer cooler, booking icetimes. Rewarding I guess, stressful at times. I suppose it's me paying it forward in a way, as I played many years of hockey just showing up and suiting up.


OK! Bethy's coming home soon and we're off to the Farmer's Market for a super stacked sandwich, the best deal in town I say. $4.25 for this thing, it's loaded! Maybe I can find a photo......












mmmmmmmm. Blog ya soon!