how i quit smoking

tomorrow will mark either the fourth or fifth anniversary of me quitting smoking...i can't remember. and maybe it doesn't matter when and much as that i did. i smoked like a champ and if it was good for me, i'd still be the champ. i sure loved it. and it's funny because there are friends of mine, the garbs and corie, to name just two, who also were superstars in this field...and they have come out the other side of it but i know, if it was as good for you as we wish it was, they'd be yellowing their fingers along with the rest of us...but alas, it's not so good for you and i guess, it's good i have put the pack away.
tomorrow will be wednesday and the next day will be thursday...that's all. i know at one point in my life, long ago, new year's eve meant something...it meant getting loaded or at least a good attempt at that...then it crossed over into working every new year's eve - bars and restaurants - and making cash and instead of getting loaded that night it became getting loaded the next day at english bay before plunging into the water there and staying in until they, the lifeguards, forced us out of the water - 52 minutes my personal best...ten years of cold water and i finally had to give it a pass...
i think like most of the holidays i have given a pass to the drinking and such and adopted the odd dinner with pals, hanging with issy, eating at the grove and hanging with one or two pals on the eve of a new year....and that's what it will be this year. tomorrow night megan will be coming here and we'll either make our way to a movie, get a snack out or watch movies here and keep it local...i decided a while back that i need to watch, from the beginning, 30 Rock, so that may be on the agenda tomorrow night...i'm also hot to see the new clint eastwood vehicle 'gran torino' as well so...and i kinda want grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner...man, i know how to party...
if any of that appeals to you...come on by...
today was more coffee with 'he who can not be named on the blog' and tomorrow may be the same thing as we've finally settled into a groove of actually seeing each other as opposed to talking about it...
ok...
have fun...be safe and we'll see ya next year...

i love each and every one of you. i really do.

g. xo

best use of the hand...2008

the fawnz!


i love you.

g. xo

one ringy-dingy...two ringy-dingy....

telus. those fuckers sure make it hard to get through to them. today i decided, since i don't really use my home phone but still, kinda, feel like i need it, to reduce the options on it to basically nothing. i can call, you can call, but don't think of leaving a message, because after tomorrow, you won't be able to. it'll ring...and just keep on ringing. and if i'm actually using it, and you call while i'm on it, i won't know....no call waiting either...fuck it. i'll be saving over 20 bux a month not having that jingus bullshit...and if you need to get ahold of me, you know how...

love you.

g. xo

meet ya at layla's.

after i got my shit together today, which took a bit after my little lie down, i drove up and grabbed 'he who can not be named on the blog' and headed down to layla's on fourth ave. for coffee. sure, some people call it 49th parallel coffee, i prefer to cal it layla's...just 'cause.
and it was a bit of a meeting place today...i ran into a woman who used to be the receptionist at tech 1 where i got my hair cut for many years by the fabulous colleen kent, and then as we were leaving we ran into diana - who got herself a rather special xmas present this year - and jen with one N. diana's in from NYC for the holidays and jen's in from kits.
afterwards i headed to headquarter in richmond for a little meeting of sorts...man, that town, richmond, is a nightmare...but what can ya do?
now it's ranch style baked beans for dinner and ...well, nothing.
have a great night....

i love you.

g. xo

kim enjoys her latte...

di shows off her xmas present.


the gals.

maybe next year...literally.

last night in an effort to get a decent night's sleep i went to bed reasonably early - 10:00ish - and tried hard to drift off...it wasn't until at least 11:30 pm - you never really know when you fall asleep after all - that i finally fell off. and i had to be up around 6:30 am to get ready to head over to floyd's on vancouver island. well, around 5:00 am i was up and couldn't get back to sleep...so why not get up, do the dishes and head to floyd's...megan was gonna come along for the ride, see the island and have some food with floyd and janine.
as i was getting coffee at jj bean for megan, who i was meeting in west van, janine called and told me that floyd was very sick and that we should not come over...ok. it's been a bad year for getting floyd's for dinner...first too much snow, then more snow, now him being sick...i hope he feels better soon...
megan and i decided to not bail entirely and went to the tomahawk for breakfast and visit..it was a nice breakfast but by the ned of it all i could think of was lying down...by the time i got home i had that wierd i'm super sleepy and need a nap feeling but also had just enough caffiene running through my body that i just got up from a rather restless nap/sleep...i'm outta sorts i gotta say...not as bad as floyd i'm sure but...whacky...
ok...
have a great day...

g. xo

a first for everything

i have seen a lot of movies. a lot of films. lots. lots of shitty ones and a whole lot of good ones...yesterday i went and saw the new brad pitt movie 'the curious case of benjamin buttons' and while i have no problem at all with brad pitt as an actor, i was less than impressed with this baby. i'm not going to give a long drawn out review here excpect to say this, i was bored...but while i was deciding whether or not to go see it i was scanning the georgia straight looking for other options, and one of the options was at the film festival theatre on seymour street, they were showing a remastered version of the godfather...then it dawned on me..i've never seen that...sure, i've seen bits and pieces over time, which is true for a lot of films i haven't actually seen. which made me think about fixing that. there are many films i should have seen by now...i've never seen a full dirty harry movie, couldn't get through lord of the rings, and whole host of others...so after i finished watching the godfather today, i decided to start renting dvd's of the films i should have seen by now...if you have ideas of some i should have seen by now, let me know...
i've been doing a lot of walking the last few days as i just can't get into driving...and i've been liking it...reminds me of not having my licence again...not that i'm looking t repeat that trick.
ok...i'm off to bed soon....well, in a bit, i'm gonna go to floyd's tomorrow....

g. xo

i saw the kids at jj bean today...lyndsay's so excited that she made a few of the best of the blog photos...or not...i dunno.

i ran into, for the second time, my friend katja and her new husband...damn, i've forgotten his name....he seems like a great guy..they live in helsinki...

i grabbed a couple sandwiches todat from social and took them down to the island to have snacks with the garbs...

happy dec. 28th....

have a great day...

i got nothin'.

g. xo

the final, best of the blog...

more muc...

that muc, he loves his hockey....

i love that guy.

g. xo

picking up the pieces, walking for miles...

yesterday i left my phone charger at the pickle and kinda thought i should get it but didn't feel like driving, i also had to go by headquarter on burrard to see ricky, one of the new crop of headquarter dudes, about a job i'm doing for him so...i decided to walk...holy crap, talk about a million shoppers looking for deals. i walked through the pacifc centre mall just to get out of the snow for a bit and it was mayhem...after i got to headquarter and ricky wasn't there, hhmmm, i decided to keep on walking and go get my charger at the pickle. it was quite a walk - you can't make time as you would if there was no snow. not many people had made their way across the bridge some no real paths had been trampled down yet - even less so as you got closer to the island...but i got there and it was a nice walk really..grabbed my charger and headed back downtown via the granville street bridge this time..and after a short stop at choices for some staples, i made my way home...good times...
muc just called and asked if i wanted to go see the knuckleheads game....sure, i'll go watch those losers get whacked by the mighty oil...right after i eat my leftovers from issy's last night...

g. xo

the view today from the burrard st. bridge.

it was snowy. nice coffee stain on my toque.

more snow action.

go issy! go issy! go issy!

i was telling issy i needed to get a ball for doing some of the back excercises my chiro dude wants me to do and she offered up hers because she says she keeps falling off it...it's actually too small for me, not a surprise, so i'm gonna have to go and buy one...today she sent along this amazing photo - up there for photo of the year - of her giving it her all on the ball...

good times.

g. xo

breakfast extra....

i had originally omitted this photo from the grove breakfast yesterday....but it really is a classic....

g. xo

issy rocks the turkey, the grove rocks the eggs.

yup. it was the grove today my friends (after a short nap after taking shauna to the airport..). sure, they now serve sushi as well but we/i just ignore it - it's in the back and kept away from the eggs, i hope. i scooped-up the grabs and when we got there k-win and al were already there and ready to enjoy the goodness that is the grove breakfast. in fact, they had been so excited by the thought of it that they had already ordered their plates of steamy greatness. the garbs just had eggs and toast - no hash browns...just the basics...i, of course, had the eggs florentine..once a year i'm in that shit...once a year. see ya next year.
after breakfast i headed back to the garbs and mishi's to see the award winning door and open up my box of goodies they had gotten for me...unexpected as i hadn't gotten them anything...although the garbs said he had nothing to do with it and that it was all mishi...well, thanks mishi - some good jingus in that box ....
then i went and opened the pickle...sure, i had my doubts i'd sell anything. the rest of the island stores were closed, not a lot of folks heading down there, but i had faith. i settled in, after setting up shop, and began to read a new book shauna had bought me and expected nothing...then, like a beacon in the night....a couple of customers..no sale...then, a while later, a family came in...and like a miracle not unlike the baby jesus, they bought something..and they were stoked about it...and i felt good about my day...thank you jesus, thank you lord.
then it was of to issy's where she had a turkey in the oven big enough to feed the neighbourhood...a few more folks were suppose to show-up but in the end it was just gary, kat, issy and me...four of us trying our best to get through a 25lb turkey...and all the trimmings...good work issy! another winner....
ok...i need a nap...

i love you all...

g. xo

ho ho ho ho ho...

hey kids it's christmas! mishi and garbs won the in-house draw at the manhattan building where they live ... they won the prize for the best door decoration....good work...and the garbs donned the crappy topanaga cafe santa suit as well yesterday and vanessa was there to capture the moment...oh christmas..it's just so wonderful.
ok...it's 4:30 am...i'm off to the airport...

have a good day... i'll see you at the grove.

g. xo

best of the blog pt. 7