stevie moves fast, i pull the trigger and chris gets topanga'd..

last year wendy's introduced a burger called the baconator and the garbs and i - but really more the garbs than me because i had just gotten back on the meat wagon - wanted to give it a go...but we just didn't seem to ever be able to pull the trigger. we'd drive by wendy's and give each other knowing glances but we just didn't do it...but yesterday as i was on my way back from langley with a car load of steel tube and chairs i decided that today was the day and pulled into the wendy's just off the highway and ordered up the prize. i had to. and for the record, it's not as big as the ad would have you believe...sure it has all the bacon and the double patty but, it's medium sized at best...tasty for sure but it looks nothing like the ad, none ever do, well, with the exception of the white spot double double which looks almost perfect....most look like cans of smashed assholes but not the white spot double double - and it's a wicked burger so...anyhow...
yesterday, after i got the tube back to the shop i convinced stevie janz that he should help me put it all together and after we mocked on up, actually we welded on right up, we decided to give it a full go today and make all the rails today. the rails are for the new headquarter store in richmond - a new store that should look great...so this morning i went to the shop a couple hours before stevie was suppose to get there and made all the plates and drilled all the holes, etc., so that when stevie showed up at 11 am we were ready to rock. and rock he/we did and by 1 pm we were done and the stuff was at the chromer down the street...is chromer right?...anyhow, they're getting chromed. thanks stevie...i then went, as part of our deal, and cut stevie's lawn and did a bunch of weed eating in his back yard....good deal.
i think i may have to break-up with one of my lawn order clients due to an over abundance of dog crap in thier yard. i made mention of this to them previously but when i was there today it was worse than ever...i don't know if i can go back....or maybe i should, since i'll only cut their grass two maybe three more times, just take the money and be done with it at the end of the season...i dunno.
i got some gas in my eye today as well when i was at joel's...so there i was in joel's kitchen trying to wash out my eye while joyce, joel's wife and fourth or fifth degree black belt, kept asking me how i got it in my eye and the kids did arts and crafts paying little attention. it was like of you were cooking and cuting peppers and then put your hand to your eye, except i was filling the gas tank and some gas must have gotten on my hand and then i rubbed my eye when i had an itch...and then wham! it starts to hurt more than...well, a lot of things...shitty...fine now, but shitty then.
tonight the garbs and i took chris from jj bean out to topanga for a snack. he'd never been so who better to go with than us?...it would have been that much better, as a guys night, if corie had joined us but he didn't make the scene...chris seemed to love his margs and his food so all in all it was a success....we dropped him off at his place just off main street a little tipsy and full of topanga goodness...good times...
ok...i'm sleepy...this is the second time i had to write all this as firefox crashed and lost everything the first time around....
plese enjoy the fine pics below....

g. xo

chris helps michelle garnish the food at topanga.

chris really enjoyed his cake.

so happy with his meal he had to jump.

the garbs joined in of course.

chris meets the man who made his dinner, serge.


stevie moves to fast to be photographed..

the baconator. tasty.

like being on parole.

it's a strange sensation driving a car after having a three month vacation from it. the steering wheel feels like it's in the wrong place, the rear view mirror somehow seems too small to actually see anything behind me, etc...it's weird. and to think it was three months ago that i had to hand it over, my license, seems so long ago but somehow i made it through without freaking out. i kind of made a decision when it happened that i had no choice but to not freak out. sure, there were days i say here thinking, "how the fuck am i going to get to (fill in the blank) without having a car?"...but i did, most times. there was just more planning involved in getting shit done, riding the loser crusier, slipping onto the skytrain to get to work at vancouver studios, enlisting the help of others when the need arose. and thanks to my pals for that....
thanks to issy who drove me to set one day at 6 am in delta like the champ that she is...thanks so much to ang and the garbs who helped in the biggest way possible keeping lawn order alive and functioning by driving and cutting along those three months, to shauna who gave me rides to the shop, around town to get shit done and in so many ways got me to where i needed to go knowing it was hard for me to ask, to marcy and mishi who both drove me a few times to get some lawns done when ang and garbs couldn't help me and sat there while i cut and then brought me back to home base, to cam and corie who made no bones about picking me up so i could play some bomber hockey, ian korver and eric who gave me rides to and from set so i could check out craft service and make a little cash as well...thanks also to the queen, k-win and the fawnz who gave me rides during my time in the penalty box as well....
so it is now that i drive around - or really drove around yesterday - constantly looking at the speed dial, making sure my seat belt was on, that i was usimng my signals, etc...scared t make one wrong move, but i made it through day one unscathed...here's to a hole lot more of that....

thanks again to everyone who helped out....

g. xo

razorburn....

oh god it hurts!!! make it stop...my face hurts....

i love you!

g. xo

watch as the face gets redder and redder...good times.

30/50/80

yesterday i went for a walk.
i had a dvd to return to the blockbuster at main and 14th so i decided to walk there. it was decent out and what the hell?....after i dropped it off i decided to walk down to granville island and see the kids at the pickle, but after getting there i saw that they had decided to take the day off...that's ok, i needed a pound of coffee at jj bean...hhmm, now what?...i thought, "i'll go get a snack at the templeton and see jessica and whatshername"....nope, not there once i had walked over the bridge to see them...ok...then i decided to go and see tropic thunder because i was told it was good....um...well, i saw it, and it was....well, it was a movie for sure. then home and later on out to vera burgers with my pal jane...nice...pretty good walking day....
today i have a ton of shit to do. cut a lawn, pick-up some steel in port kells, get some chairs in langley, go to the shop, plus a whole lot more...
good thing i have a car, that i can drive, by myself, on the road. legally.

back later...

g. xo

the time is now! lawn order swag!

ok..
so i've dragged this out long enough.
this week - hopefully - i will order all the new lawn order gear.
people have asked about ordering so i thought i'd post links so people can see the options for colors etc.

so...

the guy's t-shirts are at:

http://www.casualimpressions.ca/?q=node/103

the color choices are all there. the original lawn order shirt color was LEAF but there were some made in OLIVE as well...so pick a color and size and let me know.

the women's t-shirts are at:

http://www.casualimpressions.ca/?q=node/134

the original shirt was KELLY GREEN, but there were some LIGHT BLUE as well. again, pick a color and size and let me know.

and for hoodies....go here.

http://www.casualimpressions.ca/?q=node/378

pick a color and size and away we go. but please note, the darker the color the harder the design is to see....if you care....

shirts are 20 bux and hoodies are 40 bux.

let me know by the end of the week if you can.

g. xo

what are they saying?....

ang and i kicked some lawn ass today in north van and then headed over to whole foods to get some grub...i know, i know, "that's quite a report garn..." whatever. thanks ang for the help! we ate like champs and then got the hell out of there....
i stayed home and watched, for the first time, the show MAD MEN, after stealing the dvd from mr. tornack last night. i had heard a lot about it and while not completely convinced i did like it and will try another disc to see if i'm gonna continue. and for those who keep asking me if i've seen THE WIRE, i will very soon start in on that as well so i can change my answer from no to yes...first, however, i have to watch THE CORNER, which came before THE WIRE and was written by the same guy. lucy i got some watchin' to do....
fawn invited me to tag along with her and two other fabulous babes - tanya and jen with one N, to go see some action at bard on the beach tonight. it's usually bill shakespeare fair but tonight it was opera, don giovanni to be exact...pretty cool. really, i really liked it, them kids have some kinda pipes....thanks fawn!
ok..time for more pie thanks to that great pie shauna bought me...thanks shauna!

g. xo

me and jen with one N.

pie.


wicked sweaters at the bard thing tonight.

they can really belt it out.

i didn't have a clue what they were saying.

nice night.

fawn gives her patented hand shot.

peach pie, blue sky and bbq at corie's....and katherine's..

i just have to say...shauna bought and dropped-off an an amazing peach pie, from aphrodite pies on fourth ave, that was, well, amazing. actually, it's still amazing as there's still half left. the garbs came over today and missed it completely, good thing. he didn't miss the eggs, big yummy or bacon however. he was out last night at auntie fanny's 80th birthday party and was hurtin' a little. thanks for the pie shauna!
ang was here as well this morning and she enjoyed some coffee as well as some bacon...and then she split. afterwards the garbs and i rode our bikes down to granville island to see mishi and get a coffee. oh, and we saw chris at jj bean and have made dinner plans with him for thursday night. we're gonna take him to topanga cafe. he needs a burrito or two and a few margs. it'll be good for him. i'm kinda excited about it. i think he's a little scared.
dinner was at chez tornack which is now chez tornack-fraser...so great them kids is shackin' up. katherine had prepared some great grub that corie did up on the bbq...it was great...some pork tenderloin - which i have in my freezer and need to cook-up - some steaks and some salmon...along with some great veggies and such..thanks for dinner kids.
i then booked out of there to meet-up with megan. we had plans to maybe see a movie, rent one, or just watch tv...by the time she got her it was all about tv...and peach pie. we watched home reno shows and megan made comments about how stupid some people are/were while eating cereal...after she had goten over the pie.
ok...bed time...

have fun.

g. xo

kristy - who we ran into at the market - had bought a stuffed raven/crow for her husband...as was wearing it on her head.

nice.

bearded mouth breather

bearded coffee drinkin' guy.

corie's deck and all his freakin' tomatoes.

garbs gets down.

lawn speed record, garbs grabs the camera and full on pickle action

yesterday ang and i made our way outta here reasonably early and got started on a whole whack of lawns that needed to get done by 3 p.m. when i had to be at the pickle to take over for the garbs. he had to go to aunt fanny's 80th birthday party so i was enlisted to run the pickle as best i can...which isn't saying much. and what a sight i must have been in my lawn cutting clothes and shoes covered in grass selling goods to the fine folks coming into the store...oh well...
so ang and i managed to cut 10 lawns in just over five hours - lawns that were spread all over hell's half acre - west van, horseshoe bay, east van, vancouver near boundary, richmond and the west end....we kicked some lawn ass. thanks ang...
when we got to the pickle i told the garbs i had to get a snack before i started my pickle shift and ang and i left there and headed over to the market - leaving my phone and camera behind...the picyures below are what happens when you leave your camera at the pickle with the garbs...
i love that guy.
ok...i need to get this day going i have to phone the fawnz and see if we're going to get some snacks and coffee today....and maybe a movie with megan later on...two fabulous babes i don't see enough...

ok...have fun - and don't let the garbs touch your camera.

g. xo

puzzle pieces, new places, old faces...

well, i have to say it's been a couple of days - if ya get my drift. so much to tell, so little space, or ...well, no, lots of space but really, you don't need to know every move i've made over the last few days...
ok...
just as a FYI, and you may already know all of this but, i'm gonna put it out there to stop people from making faux pas when they run into me or shauna...shauna and i - while very much in love - have decided to go to our separate corners and as such shauna has moved into a new place, a very nice place, in the west end. it not something that makes either of us super happy but suffice to say, some things - as much as you'd love for them to fit and be perfect (and a lot was so great, it really was), sometimes love isn't enough and things have to turn into something else...in this case, a great friendship - which we already have - will, hopefully, continue and we can drive each other crazy as friends instead. i know i've probably said more than enough but, i just wanted to say that...
her new place is really a nice pad, with newly finished hardwood floors, new paint, and feels good. she's in ang and allison's building so that's cool having pals so close by - easy stumbling distance home late at night. good times.
i have been fumbling along as best i can, and i have to say my back feels at least reasonable right now as i write this. i have been doing the home traction still and my excercises - even though they - or really just my doctor - basically said none of it would do any good. and even if it'll never be 'fixed' it's more about managing the pain so this is the only way i know how to do this for now. my pal lena suggested a pilates place she did some training at and i dropped them a line but haven't heard back yet...maybe i'll have to rattle their cage a little more...
i was hoping to go to santa cruz before the tenth of sept. but it doesn't look as though that will happen...i am still heavy into the headquarter job - that keeps getting pushed along and the on the 15th i start my two week run at hammered and pickled maning the store while the garbs and mishi are in england. so come on down and see me there if you're so inclined.
the countdown had officially begun...i just forgot to start it at ten and count down...come wed. morning i should be a driver's licence carrying member of society once again...i can't decide if i should shave this itchy thing on face into some good male trimmage or if i should keep it full or shave it off....a goatee and sideburns could look pretty good...so many options...

i think i'm gonna have a shower and then go roam the streets....look for me...

g. xo


i ran into jessica, owner of the templeton restaurant on granville st., i don't think i had seen her for at least a year...so we played catch-up and now i feel like going there and getting danielle to make me a milkshake...

shauna's new pad...before she gets settled in...you always need a couple before pics so the after seems so much better...it's a nice place...


i had to go up on the roof of my building the other day to see something...something you'll hear more about in the coming month or so i'm sure so i won't try and get into it here...just have a look at the lovely view...

you farted, i'd ike to have coffee...

what the ?......

from craigslist today...the 'i saw you' section is always good for something....like this...

nice.

g. xo

mr. itchy to you pal....

ok...so this not shaving thing is getting out of hand...and fuckin' itchy. it's like having steel wool glued to my face...i know, i know, shave it off...but i have a new driver's license picture to get ready for so...for now it stays.

i love you.

g. xo

better yet

yesterday i got a phone call from a co-worker and, as far as i'm concerned, a friend who had issues with something i had posted on 'the blog'. he was angry and, after having time to reflect on it,i can see where he was coming from. now, i don't have to completely agree with everything he said to understand what he was saying to be on side, and to him to want to say i'm sorry if i crossed a line i had no intention of crossing. i'd also like to say i take my job in film seriously, do the best i can every day and in no way take my responsibilities lightly or want to appear flippant in my attitude towards my work, or my co-workers.
my friend took issue with things i had no intention of presenting as a joke, although i do admit i made light of some terminology we sometimes use to describe a certain work object - i'm sorry about that as well.
all in all i just want to publicly apologize for anything i may have said or posted in that blog posting and any lines i crossed we crossed accidentally and again, i'm sorry about that - i'll use my head a little more in the future.

sincerely,

garnet

greetings from venice...

my good pal, and all-round good guy, craig, was on a family holiday recently and sent this picture that was taken in venice. that's his awesome better half barb in there with him...i love that he's wearing the garbs shirt. he loves that shirt. i feel like a proud papa...or something.
today was a day of getting shit done...a list that's too long to put here - and it would be a boring one as well..you know, went here, went there...but we did have a good snack at the purple onion in crazydale and picked-up some rugula at kaplan's star deli on oak street...nice.
this week could be a busy one...more on that later.

have a great monday!

g. xo

let's see now

i got up at 5 am yesterday...i was at work by 7 am..and then got home again at 5 am(ish)....
that was a long day...
ok...i need to go and cut some lawns.

have fun.

g. xo

saying good-bye to emilie - for now.

emilie has left town...but before she did we ran into her on granville island and said our last good-byes...she's off to berlin to do an artist's residency. good luck to her i say....

ok..i need to have a little relax...

have fun.

g. xo

i've been walkin', yes indeed, i'm talkin'....

today was a day to try and get shit done...and it started off ok. i left the house, went and dropped off my ct scan results to my man tony at yaletown sport and spinal - he'll tell me what he thinks...hopefully he doesn't give me the jelly donut talk as well and tell me there's nothing that can be done - and thanks to all of you who have phoned and e.mailed me about my doctor's bedside manner. i just want you to know, i have not exaggerated what he said one bit. he told me what he thought and that i should just not worry about it and deal. so...i'm off dealing...
anyhow....thanks for the support.
so, after the ct drop-off it kinda went south for bit - in an ok way, it just wasn't getting shit done. i met-up with shauna and we went to caper's for snack, then walked down robson, and then decided we needed coffee at artigiano - where we saw the voltage kids taking a well deserved break as well. so after some procrastination, shauna headed to work and i headed to headquarter to talk with ricardo about getting shit done at his new richmond store...but he wasn't there so i headed over to don bull's place to give him a little iphone tutorial. his first ever cell phone. our little boy is all grown-up.
the it was back to headquarter where decisions were made and shit ordered. the new store is gonna look great. i just hope we can get it all done on time and on budget...cross yer fingers.
ok...i need to have a little relax...

g. xo

i seem to have lost my razor.

devon sticks up, bbq goodness and shitty bedside manner.

devon unveiled her latest creation the other night at emilie's birthday party...what are they? i dunno the name she's given them, but it'll be good since her other creations are called doodlepuffys...these little finger shaped worm-like babies are the perfect fridge magnet. every morning when you go to get your shit out of the fridge they're there looking at ya....i like e'm. devon will be selling these along with some of her other creations at upcoming craft fairs and off the back of trucks around the city...



so...here's the deal with my doctor and his estimation of what's up with my back and what can be done...and i quote here..." you have old man's disease.", "your back is like a jelly donut. and the jelly is getting squeezed out." (bad discs)
so what can i do about it?
"there's nothing you can do."
so the traction, the..(he interupts me...)
"nothing. not traction, not acupuncture, not chiropractor...nothing. maybe if it gets bad to the point where you can't function on day to day, then maybe surgery, but..for now, you do what you can and take it easy when you can't."
huh?
really?
that's that?
ok...
so i got a copy of the ct scan report and i was away. he has this weird casual nature that i'm not crazy about. he's sort of this 50ish hipster ,no socks, frosted tips and choker dude...at one point, a few weeks ago, he said in regards to my pain, "i think you are going to be fine..." and he was kinda smiling and half smirking...now, there's nothing that can be done. nice.
so, i'm getting some other opinions as i should and will continue my home traction, which i stopped on the advice of my sport and spinal guy until we got the report back...and i'll do the home stretching etc..mishi also looked up some stuff on the old interweb and sent me some links that i'll be looking into as well....but i can't believe that at 44 there's nothing that can be done and i'm to live with pain for the rest of my life...
bullshit.

ok...have a great saturday....

g. xo

we had buffalo sausages the other night with other jingus...nice..

stuff i kinda like...

today i found out the results of my ct scan - kinda weird, kinda disheartening - but i'm gonna soldier on and get a second and maybe third opinion. i have to, and i will get more into this as the details come in, go onward and hopefully upward because i think my, new, doctor my not be the right man for the job.
ok...so after that i headed over to the icbc offices and had a chit chat with the folks there about my license and when i can get it back. now, it was suppose to be three months but they also but the number 90 in parenthesis indicating the actual number of days i was to go without. well, today they told me it's sept. 03 that i get it back, which is actually 93 days. so...i've got to make a few phone calls, but it seems kinda shifty to me. not that three days is the end of the world but after you've been cooling yer heals for 90 days, three more is a drag.
ok...so i just got off the phone with icbc and it's three months not 90 days...so it's better to get your license suspended around feb. than may...seems kinda shitty but whatever...they're the boss. i feel like getting mad and such but i don't think i have the energy. so sept. 3rd it is....fuck.
here's a couple things i think are kinda cool...

g. xo

new leatherman gardening shears.

pantone coffee cups.