The More Things Change......

Alexandra's just getting over the formidable Pig Flu, but right now she's over on the PC playing Webkinz at the moment.  The doc gave her a free pass from school for a week last weekend, and she didn't suffer a heck of a lot, more like a really bad cold more than anything.

There's an awful lot of alarmist rhetoric going around about this H1N1 thing.  I know some people have died from it.  I also know some people die of the flu every single year.  A whole lot more people die of car accidents they're not expecting to be in either, or of heart attacks they never saw coming, and I bet every minute someone somewhere dies falling out of bed somewhere in the world.  Fact of the matter is, if your time is up, you're going.  If some kind of flu doesn't nail you, something will someday, so relax and enjoy they ride.  It doesn't last forever.  Neither does the flu.

The three of us just got back from the Y after a pretty good round of exercise in the gym.  We've been going very steadily now since April, and speaking for myself, I've never been in better shape than I am now.  I know if you're a guy reading this, there's a fair chance that you're wondering if you could beat me in an arm wrestle now, or if your arms are bigger than mine, or you're thinking "I bet I could bench press more than you".  Now most guys don't think that.  But to those who do, I have this to say:  You're right.  You would beat me in an arm wrestle.  Your arms ARE bigger and you CAN bench press more.  I bet you can piss farther than me too.  In other words, I don't care.  I'm doing this for me, not to measure my penis up against the other guys.  And if Janice likes what she sees, then bonus.  She's the one who sees me more than anyone else.  And she truly is the only one I want to impress.  God forbid, if  we're ever apart, I'll be done with relationships and I'll walk alone.

But, there's nothing like that on the radar that I can see.  We're doing quite well thank you.  Janice is kickin' some serious ass at the gym, going just about every day, pumping up the cardio and also going to taekwondo classes.  She and Alexandra are now working toward their 3rd degree black belts, and maybe with a little luck they'll be able to test in the springtime for it.  She's doing well at the post office that she's managing, save for a bit of employee trouble and growing pains with a new computer setup.

We were at church this morning and saw my brother Rick, but he skipped out quite promptly after mass was over.  Alexandra served on the altar, Janice subbed for someone serving Host and I read second reading.  I'm hoping I'll be on the Christmas mass list of lectors.  I really enjoy doing readings, and it was nice seeing at least one of my family members out there.  Rick's a good friggin' guy, the guardian of the Cook clan, and I think everyone in the family would agree with that.

As of November 3rd, I've been with Vail's Laundry Care for a whole year.  It's had its ups and downs, but I've kind of settled in there.  The money's not super, but the Monday-Friday day shifts definitely are. It's probably most stressful when holidays come around, then we have to work extra hard to get ahead to make up for the time we won't be at the plant.  That's what's happening right now, with Remembrance Day coming up.  Christmas will be even trickier, but we'll get through it.  A Christmas staff party is coming up December 12, which I won't be attending.  I'm not big on those.  Last time I was at a staff party was for the Shoppers Drug Mart I last worked for, and I even had to be prodded a fair bit to go to that one.  Before that, it was years since I'd been to a staff party.  I don't my guard down around a lot of people.  Janice and Alexandra of course, my buddy Pete, some family members (not all though), and my pal Marshall at work, but not really hardly anyone else.  If you're reading this and I didn't mention you, don't be offended.  It doesn't mean I don't value you immensely.

Yesterday we took a little day trip to the Calais, Maine, for one of our fun little trips to get a bunch of treats we can't find here in Canada.  Holy crap, what haul we got!  We actually might've overdone it.  But, we'll have lots of fun knocking down the quantities of stuff that we got.  We gave Lex some American cash to get some things that would interest her, so we all did some shopping to get stuff that tickled our fancies.  But I was disappointed in not finding any KISS stuff that was supposed to be made available at Wal Marts everywhere with the release of their "Sonic Boom" CD.  There was nothing at all.  There was supposed to be Mr. Potato Heads, M&Ms, fleece blankets, t-shirts, trading cards and lots of other stuff, but there was nothing.  What a disappointment.  Still, we got lots of other stuff.  We stopped at Rotten Ronnie's for a bite, and Janice and me got a bacon cheese Angus burger.  Wow, was that great!  In a blind taste test, I bet no one would guess that it was a Micky D's burger.  Lex got a hot chocolate after her meal that I tried and it nearly melted my lip right off my face.  Holy shit-- they looking for another lawsuit or something?  I thought I'd just put a branding iron to my mouth.  Anyway, on the way out of Calais at the border, we made sure Janice was at the wheel because we had a lot of booty.  She put the charm on with the border guard, offering him the receipts we had, joked with him a bit and we got through without paying any duty.  A note to any families going south for any reason via land... get the wife behind the wheel to do the talking on the way back.

I was at the doctor's this week to follow up on my kidney stone problems.  He kindly informed me that I have four (4) stones in my left kidney.  FOUR stones!!!  "Are you kidding me?  Seriously?"  "Afraid so.  But hey, look," he assured me, "people can have stones in their kidneys all their lives and they may never pass them.  They may be so small that you'd never know it."  Ultimately, I've got four time bombs in my kidneys ready to wreak havoc on my sanity, possibly.  In any case, he's sending me to a urologist to figure out a plan of action and figure out what I might be able to do about it.  Honestly, I'm not worried.  I've got my Oxycodone and Percocets if I need them and I'll just have to deal with it if/when the time comes.

I am looking forward tomorrow (Nov. 9) to getting a car starter installed.  With installation it came in at under $200 and it's gonna be plenty worth it when the sub zero temperatures start becoming commonplace.  Speaking of November dates, it's my friend Michelle's birthday at the time I type this.  And she's celebrating with her own bout with the H1N1 virus.  Michelle, if you're reading, get better soon and keep staying in touch via your status lines on facebook.  Also in November, on the 28th exactly, is our anniversary.  Eleven years!  That's quite freaky really.  But when things are going good, time flies.  I have to say that time's going at warp speed.  But, we enjoy every minute.  We go out to eat somewhere every year, and since on the evening we got married at the Wesleyan Church back in 1998 there was a Santa Claus parade on an icy frigid Saturday night, this year there it's also on a Saturday night with a Santa Claus parade.  That night we got married (by surprise, at least for her), I'd planned on bringing her to Swiss Chalet.  No dice, it was packed.  How about Ponderosa?  Closed.  Boomerangs?  Forget it.  With time ticking, we were all decked out for the Nutcracker at the Capitol Theatre (which was non-existant and just a rouse to get Janice dressed up to get married... again, unbeknownst to her), we opted for Wendy's!  We had to have been quite a site, all decked out for the end of the world chowing down on burgers and fries with root beer.  We joked yesterday... only halfways really... that we should return to Wendy's in memory of the occasion.  This time with Alexandra, who when we got married that night was actually waiting at the church for us to arrive.  Little 2 year old Lexy even did a little burlesque dance at the reception reciting the Barney "I Love You" song.

I am, as of right now, 186 lbs.  I told Janice if I got down to 175, I'd wear a Speedo and go swimming at the Y with it.  That would scare most people, but she's chomping at the bit to get that to happen.  Problem there is, I think I'm gaining muscle and losing fat, so.... could be tricky.  Janice herself is doing amazingly well along with Lex, with both of them going to TOPS.  Janice is down something like ten pounds or something, maybe more, and Lex is down around five or so.  I'm really, really proud of both of them.

We saw an old friend we haven't seen in ages in Sara Carter, who visited us here at the house on Friday night as we had some fun with Wii games.  That girl plays a mean guitar on Rock Band, let me tell you! And funny, holy frig... there's a Wii Fit game that she brought over, and the motions and body movements you have have to make with some of those things--- it's pretty hilarious.  But the vibe that we had that evening was like we never skipped a beat hanging out, even though Sara hadn't been around in years.  But things kind of reverted back to happier times and now it feels as if though things are as they were.  I would hope Sara would agree.  She's such a sweetheart, and there's such a sweet connection between her and Alexandra.

I guess that's going to be it for this outing.  Thanks for checking in, and please come back!


JANICE says:

K, well I have to chime in on a few things. I want to get Mike down to 175 lbs so that he will come to the Y and go swimming in a Speedo. I think all well proportioned men should wear Speedo bathing suits. I myself do not care what he wears because he is perfect just the way he is. I just think a Speedo is a bonus. Lex and I are members of TOPS because we need to change our eating habits. Speaking for myself I need to lose some weight so that my arthritis would be easier to manage. Lex just needs to learn to watch her portions. I am really proud of her, she is doing really well. She has become somewhat of a pet there to our fellow members. As for the gym, I really do like going there because I feel so good after I leave. I am back at TKD with Lex, and it is so nice to have our old master Chris back teaching and you can just see he is happy. I am so glad for him and his wife Tina (plus one, plus one in the oven!). As Mike said it is our anniversary in a few weeks, and I love the fact that we still look forward to being together every day. I believe we truly were meant to be together forever. I know he is reading this. I Love You Honey. That is all I have for now night all