Coaching again

I have agreed to coach an Atom girls basketball team that my daughter Daniella is gonna play on.
It's been a few years since I have coached so I'm looking forward to doing it again.
I'm not sure how it will all work with 10-11 year old girls. There is lots to teach at that age and some very real limits to what they are capable of running. I hope that with some work we can get them to be fairly well rounded players.

34 and still have my hair!

Damn I'm getting old.

Big Yard

So me and Julia, went to the play "Big Yard" last night. It's a Jamaican comedy staring Oliver Samuels. All around a pretty good time, although I didn't understand all of the humour in the show. Julia really enjoyed sharing it with me and we got to see the new theater in Brampton.

Still no good burn!

So I'm trying out silkscreen printing t-shirts as a hobby. I bought a kit from an art store last year and I'm now attemting to put an image on the screen. I'm using a method called photo emulsion. It uses a chemical, emulsion, that hardens under sunlight to 'burn' an image into the screen. Basically the area that gets light on it drys and the area that do not get light on them stay wet and can be washed out to leave an image on the screen.

So I printed the image on a transparency sheet and then taped the transparency on the emulsion coated screen and then placed it under a bright light. Unfortunately either the light wasn't bright enough or I didn't leave it long enough. The result was that too much of the emulsion rinsed off the screen so I can not print a clean image and have to start again. I did do a couple of test prints with my kids though and that was fun for them.

Oh well, try it again this weekend

Dental Surgery day 2

So my recovery from the surgery seems to be going well. I'm not too sore, but I'm gonna take my meds and ice to keep the swelling down.

Wisdom gone...

So I had my wisdom teeth removed today. My mouth is all numb from the anaesthetic and filled with gauze, so I know speak like Marlon Brando in the godfather. Kinda sounds like I'm drunk I guess.

This is my after pictures.

I've had a lot of bleeding, I hope it stops soon.

Brilliant Ideas but no follow through

I'm full of ideas, particularly small business ideas. I come up with good stuff and listen and read about how to market and organize, but then when it's time to make it happen I just don't follow through.

I have to complete some of my projects and move forward with them. I just seem to be willing to settle into getting home and doing nothing.

I tell you I want to do more with myself and I'm jealous of those who do.

My first T-shirt project

So I bought this book 'Save This Shirt' last year. It's and instruction book on how to make T-shirts into better items such as: fitted T-shirt, bag, skirt, etc.

Well I've read it a few times now and my cousin in-law Kerriann has even made a bag. This weekend I'm starting my first project from it. Gonna try making a bag.

Rain, rain go away.

Well I play in NBA 3on3 event every year with some guys from Seneca College, where I assistant coached for two years. It's today and it seems like every year I sign up for this thing and it rains like crazy.

Sucks real bad since I have to plan time off work and trade shifts to be here. Making special arrangements and spending the day in my car is not my idea of a good time.

Good to see those guys again though.

Starting a Website

So I've been wanting to get back into having a basketball based website for awhile now. Well I've spent the last month or so listening to small business start-up entrepreneur podcasts. I have found some useful websites, particularly www.Microsoftofficelive.com

At Microsoftofficelive.com you can use all the office products online and save files, but I am more interested that I can register a website name and build a site at officelive. I'm very excited and am gonna try this.

Evil Mom

Just saw this car this morning. Perhaps one of the best vanity plates ever 'EVIL MOM'. Someone obviously has a good sense of humor.

Nation building and Facebook

So I was interested to see 'Council of the Haida Nation Building Committee' has put a group on Facebook. The Haida's are an aboriginal nation here in Canada on The Queen Charlotte Islands/Haida Gwaii and they are using Facebook as a real tool for communication and moving forward in the building of their nation. Using Facebook as a means to build a nation seems like a good idea to me.

www.haidanation.ca/

Names

Apparently it's important to be good at remember names of people you meet, makes you seem more genuine.

Been a having a tough week. Cracked a tooth and have to go get it removed. Not looking forward to it.

I am working on this Canada Day holiday which kinda sucks, but the overtime pay for it really helps.

I've been keeping busy though. Won my men's league championship game at Hoopdome, took the kids to Canada's Wonderland and two Blue Jays games over the last week.

Life and the universe

Well my grandmother passed away last week and was buried last Friday. She had a long life, 92, and lived to see great grandchildren. It has been over thirty years since my grandfather died, so it is time for them to reunite.

I couldn't make it overseas to Scotland for the funeral. It will be strange next time I visit there. Her home is the only place I remember visiting my dad's family there.

I hope all my cousins, uncles and aunts deal with her passing well. We continue to be a testament to the effect that her life has had on all of us.

Rest In Peace Gran

Drained

Been sick with the flu for the last week. I was on vacation and got it from my daughters, it's been miserable and I'm just drained of energy.

Day 4

I took my car to get the brakes done this morning. This really sucks I had to get new pads and rotors on the car that I've had for six weeks.

I haven't been able to get to the gym either, but I'm still pretty sore from earlier this week. I am coaching Daniella's basketball team tonight so it looks unlikely that I will get into the gym.

Day 3 'The imense pain!'

So now the muscle pain is getting to me. Didn't make it to the gym this morning and I'm not sure when I will make it in today.

I have to go into my work tomorrow and see my manager about my education plan. I want to do some university courses and finish my degree. After that I have to take the info down to city hall, I work for the city, and get it processed.

Really down with my new car, 2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara. I bought the demo car right off the lot with 30000 kms on it and now I already have to get the brakes done after only 6000 kms. It's really frustrating.

Day 2

So I made it back to the gym today. Basically getting about 15 minutes of cardio and then 45-60 minutes of weights. I'm getting a lot of muscle soreness now and some nice bar marks on my shoulders from doing squats. Gotta really stretch tonight.

Other than that I went for massage today, which helps with the muscle pain, and bought Singstar microphones for Julia (wifie) to use with her ABBA Singstar game that the kids gave her for her birthday!

Day 1

Ok so really this is day 2 of my week off. I had planned on trying to work out every day this week, but yesterday was my wife's birthday and I just chilled and celebrated with her and the kids. I even baked a cake!

So today was my first workout day and I got in some cardio and weights, more tomorrow to get in a grove.

Ready to jump in the madness again

I am ready to really start coaching basketball again. My schedule at work is finally good enough to give me the nights to devote to practices. I applied for a college coaching job and hope to get a bit of a look, if not it'll be coaching rep teams and wait for the next job to come available.

So starting tomorrow I'm on holiday for a week. I'm not going anywhere for the week, sadly I don't have enough money saved to really vacation. My wife's birthday is tomorrow and I need to figure out a gift for her in the next 24hrs.

During my week off I'm planning on hitting the gym and diet and try to drop some weight while getting into a workout routine. My youngest daughter goes to kindergarten in the afternoon so after I drop my oldest daughter at her school bus in the morning I'm going to head to the YMCA and get in a solid 2hr workout.

I'm looking to have a Biggest loser week 1. I'll track my food all week and see if I can get into summer shape by the end of May.

Gonna be a painful week, wish me luck!

Gran brings us together

So I got some not so great news this week, but with a silver lining. My Grandmother has had to move into a care facility. She is in her 90's now and needs help with her day to day.

The good news is that I have finally gotten in contact with my aunts, uncles and cousins via e-mail and facebook. This is pretty exciting for me because all of my extended family on my fathers side live in the United Kingdom and this is the first time that I have tried to contact them.

So now I have people to get to know and connect with. So my conclusion is that my Grandmother has brought us all together, gotta be impressed with that. I hope to visit everyone soon.

I hope she stays healthy and comfortable in her new place.

Ready to workout again

Well I'm getting back into working out. I've been really lazy over the winter and need to lose some gut.

I'm getting back into the gym again, but not as often as I'd like, only once or twice a week for about a half-hour. I hope to start running again as the weather improves and also ride my bike to work weather permitting.

79 Honda Civic

Just saw a 1979 Honda Civic in mint condition. Awesome!

New Car Frustration

So I took my kids to see Disney on Ice last night in Toronto at the Rogers Centre. After the show when I came to get my new car, a Suzuki Grand Vitara, but it had a flat tire. It was really cold but I got the tire changed. My flat tire had a crack on the sidewall. My Suzuki dealer now says that the tire is not covered under any warrantee and I must have hit a pot-hole or something. This has been a frustrating day. I've had the car for two weeks and now I'm replacing the tire. So much for having a new car so that I don't have to worry about repairs. No peace of mind from this car so far Both headlights have needed replaced, belts have needed tightening and now this tire. I hope this tire is an isolated incident and my luck improves with this car.

As for the dealership. Well they have been rude to both and especially my wife since we bought the car. We went there obviously upset about having to pay for repairs on our new vehicle and instead of just dealing with the fact that we were upset they basically insulted us and attempted to make us feel petty. They were so terrible with their softskills that they really insulted my wife and now we are gonna take our service business to another dealership. All around let down with warrantees, especially for tires.

Life in suburbia

So I've gotten to thinking about how my life has significantly changed now that neither me nor my wife work in Toronto. I live and work in the suburb of Brampton, where I grew up.
I was listening to the radio about issues with wifi in the city and realized that it's been a long time since I even went into the city. These are issues that don't even effect me, kinda liberating but also kinda depressing. Now I'm really seperated from a lot of interesting things. Just joe suburb now.

Oh well maybe I'll get a lawnmower with a nice big attachment.

Back to Back Yeah!

I went and watched the local college womens basketball team, Sheridan College, win the Ontario Championships yesterday. It was a nice victory over Seneca College, who had been undefeated in their regular season. I had helped out with Sheridan over the last few years and my daughter, Daniella, goes to summer basketball camp there so we were happy for the team. This is back-to-back championships for them, so hopefully they will have good showing at the national championships.

It makes me even more interested in getting back into some coaching, I figure I can make enough time for one basketball thing next year. I was listening to a podcast last week about taking advantage of every basketball opportunity that comes ones way, it really applies to all things. I'm really gonna look around and focus on seizing opportunities that are around me. I think I like being busy better than being idle anyhow.

Buying stuff on credit

So I finally have gotten into some new credit and bought a vehicle. I bought a Suzuki Grand Vitara. I think I may have paid a bit too much for it, and got a really bad interest rate, but at least I got a decent working car. Given that I'm coming off some really bad credit I was expecting to get a bad rate, but I had hoped to get a car for a good price since the market is down. I guess if I wanted a cheaper car I should have bought north american and stayed away from all-wheel drive. It's not an entry level car so I'm happy enough with it. I'm nervous about getting back into loans and payments. I think I will just work overtime at work until I feel better about paying the bills.

First game, first loss

So I played my first game in the Hoopdome men's C league today. Unfortunately we lost by 6 to a much bigger team. I had 8 points in the loss. I had hoped to score 10-12, but being that I haven't really played in any leagues for over a year and that I put on about 20 pounds since then I feel pretty good with my effort.

Apparently the team we lost to was one of the champs from last year. I am on a team of guys who all signed up individually, so we don't even know each other. I figure that as we get used to playing together we will get more easy baskets. I figure that I missed about three shots I should have made, so I should be able to score about 14 a game if I get into better shape.

Outside of that I saw all the old crew from Hoopdome, which goes down as the favourite job I've ever had. My old boss, Ted, was there. My young buddy Eylon is back from playing pro in Israel, which I thought was pretty cool A lot of the other guys that work there I know from when they used to just play there, now they are employees.

Anyhow it's fun to go back down to the Hoopdome each week. Hopefully next week will be a win for my team!

Family night at the movies

So I'm attending the family night movie, Igor, at my daughter Daniella's school. It is crazy here, kids everywhere, but my daughters wanted to come and so here I am. Julia's at home resting up for work tonight, so I'm at this on my own.

I work all this weekend and that kinda sucks, but such is life.

This Sunday I start playing basketball in the Hoopdome mens league. I'm looking forward to it. It's been over a year since I played in any leagues. I'm hoping to get back into a few basketball things this year.

Twitterpated

So I'm getting set up on twitter so that I can record my every move. It doesn't seem to complicated except that my phone won't register with it. The joys of a Palm with Windows Mobile phone. It's great for some things but doesn't seem to work well for SMS based stuff. Well I will try to keep moving towards being more tech savvy than ever.

Get ready for the pain

So as I have vacation time approaching in April and May I am going to have to do some overtime to get some money to enjoy my vacation.

I really want to go to Scotland, but if I don't have enough to do that I want to at least go somewhere and enjoy it.

Maybe I'll go to Boston and see the Celtics and visit the friends I made lst summer that live on Martha's Vineyard. Or I'll go to Montreal or Ottawa and enjoy the museums and stuff there.

What I won't do is just hang out at home. I will go somewhere!

Off days

So these are my days off work. I have four days off before I start my new shift.

Yesterday was Family day, a holiday here in Ontario. We went to the zoo with the kids. It was nice, but I wish I had remembered my gloves and touque

Spring time!

Well it's supposed to hit plus 7 today and I'm loving the good weather. I can't wait for summer to come. Wish I could move somewhere warm and get away from winter weather.

My new shift starts February 16th and sadly I didn't get any weekend days off, but I get Tuesday and Wednesday. Because of the change-over on shifts and family day holiday I will get four days in a row off.

A four day weekend in a warm week. Nice!

Raptors suck

Watched the Raptors game last night. It was really a must win against the Milwaukee Bucks, who are without their best player for the rest of the season. The Raptors lost!

They have been a frustration all season long, losing important games and really needing some personnel changes. Hopefully those happen soon.

Burning through the snow!

So today it is snowing yet again. Pretty tired of winter now.

It was Robbie Burns day on January 25th and being Scottish I am always excited about the worlds most famous poet's birthday. So I've been reading up on the bards life and exploits as well as his poems. A lot of works for guy who died at 37.

I think I'm going to buy a biography about his life and read it through to pass the time during this long cold winter.

Worthless Trustees

So tired of dealing with my trustee in bankruptcy. I booked an appointment at his office three weeks ago to meet with him and hand in the final payment and paperwork for my bankruptcy. So I got to the office this morning and he's not there, in court all day, and I'm supposed to meet with someone else. Why would I book an appointment with him and wait three weeks if I wanted to meet someone else. I'm scheduled again for Monday.

Inspiration

I think that at this mundane time of year I get down the most, but really just the day to day kinda wears on me.

I guess everyone goes through this, but I will say that I am looking for inspiration at this point in the year. Just need something that will kick me into gear!

Days off

So Sunday was my only day off last week. I punish myself with one day of overtime each week to get a little ahead.

Makes it hard to get into a schedule routine, except for working. Hoping to start going out with the family a bit to enjoy my evenings.

Went to see my glorious world champion Boston Celtics beat the Raptors on Sunday and had a great time. Celts won last night too.

Just working on another snowy day today.

Shifting Gears

So on a new work schedule. For the last two years I have worked evenings and now I am working days. I'm two days in and still trying to get my sleep schedule right.
I have high hopes that this schedule will really fit me and my family's needs and wants.

So far I've had trouble sleeping when I'm supposed to an doing anything constructive with my new spare time.

Well hopefully I get my body on schedule and get to enjoy my new evenings off.

Mobile business

Hey I was thinking as I often do!

The future of communication is clearly mobile. With the rise of mobile phones with internet and WI-FI ipods and walkman the role of the internet has really changed. Now web pages will need to be mobile friendly to better reach a customer that expects as much. I hope to figure out some programming for mobile web and possibly make a business out of that.