The 12 Days of Epicness

Anyone who knows me is well aware of my new found love of all things Scott Pilgrim. The movie is awesome and I am now into volume two of the book series of the same name. I never thought that I would like anything non super hero related as far as comics go, but Scott Pilgrim is loaded with really good humor and characters.

With Christmas approaching I thought that I would start into what whould make a great 12 Days of Epicness for my holiday season.

Number 12 : Todd Ingram shirt. Need I say more?

Ok DC, Here is Your Chance

So after a pretty lengthy layoff from all things DC, I took the plunge yesterday and picked up some Bat-titles. Bruce Wayne is back from his "death" and time travelling exploits, and this is suppose to be a "good jump on point" as my comic friend put it. The new direction is called Batman Inc. and I will read it with an open mind, putting aside my rage for Dan Didio and Grant Morrison. The worst thing that can happen is that DC gets $5 out of me, potentially what could be the last $5 they ever see.

More Hooked on Phonics Fun.

I know that this will be a pretty obscure reference for anyone who missed the original George Bush Sr. years in the White House. His vice president was a man named Dan Quayle. Dan was constantly called an idiot by the press and they liked to hit the "incompetent loser" button as often as possible when talking about him. One day the press hung him out to dry over something as simple as adding an E to potato. I was probably the only person who found this sign funny, or who remembered Dan Quayle in the first place.

Halloweeeenie is Coming!

So I usually don't take part in Halloween each year, and I'm not quite sure what puts me off about it. You'd think that an epic nerd of my rank would want a dress up day each month.

After going shopping with my son, who is three, for a halloween costume I found myself a little more into the costume thing. He is in love with his Eeyore costume and wears it all the time, it may not make it to the 31st. I put some thought into what I would like to do, that doesn't require a seamstress or a Tony Stark sized bank account. What I came up with was Madrox, no suprise here. Luck would have it that some dude on Ebay was selling the T-Shirt for $7 each. He apparently had to do a bulk order when he tried to get some printed up and is selling the extras. For the first time in recent memory I am feeling the Halloween spirit, and actually have the day off for once too. Family trick or treat will be done for the first time and I am very excited to see how my son will react to free candy, at every house. Save for some face paint, people will probably think that I'm just being myself, oh well.

So here is a cheer to my son, who allows me to see the world through the eyes of a child. Older eyes sometimes miss the silver lining in things.

The Three R's, or the Closest Thing

Here is a quick little dandy I found at work a while back, enjoy!

Yes, I have been a bad, bad blogger. The last update was in, um, spring? I will try to put more thoughts and stories up on a regular basis to get me use to writing. Part of my new HR schooling involves writing on a consistant basis, and this will help me get the rust off.

See you soon, or in Spring.

Ten Steps to Being a Better Person : Episode 7

Be More Positive

I've come to realize of late that I am becoming more negative about my whole life situation. I hold anger inside over so many things, big and small, that it turns me into a seething cesspool of rage. I feel that I am starting to take some of this bitterness out on friends and family around me. That can get ugly fast, so I am going to take better time to reassess these things and put them into two categories :

1. Deal With It or Get Over It
If something that is bothering me is beyond my control, then I need to deal and move on. Harping on something and continually digging it back up will just further frustrate me. I will do my best to overcome large obstacles, and then move on knowing that I did indeed do my best and move forward.

2. Don't Sweat the Small Stuff
Little things that happen over the coarse of a lifetime need to be kept in perspective and not allowed to boil out of control. I have a bad habit of letting a pile of little things build up around me and smother me. Being more aggressive about dealing with these things as they happen will thwart any chance of a meltdown in the future. If any of these little problems resurface frequently, then they may need to get moved to #1 and have more effort put into them.


I need to spend some time each day counting the blessings I have around me. I have a good job, great friends and an amazing family. There are people in the world in much worse situations than my own and it really is petty of me to gripe over little things. When something like Haiti comes along, it serves purpose to keep reality in check.

I don't think that I will ever become that really annoying happy guy that people hate at their jobs (with 15 pieces of flair), but I do vow to never be a source of negative energy for others.

Goodbye Facebook, Hello Mii

So I came to the realization the other day that there is no excuse for me to sneak in a twenty to thirty minute workout four days a week. Granted yesterday I had to do it around a dancing toddler who was trying to mimic my exercises, but yes it is doable.

A while back I had posted that I bought a Wii program called EA Active. Until recently I have not really bothered with it, or the thought of working out at all really. Well the winter blues have caught up to me, combined with working with skinny ass university students all the time. I have started an option in Active that is called the 30 Day Challenge. I will admit that I have had to restart it twice now because of not being totally into it, but this newest time it seems to have stuck. I really enjoy how it is fun, positive and still a great workout. I have been left exhausted from it a couple times now, pretty impressive for a "game." At the end of each days workout, you take a short survey of your previous days eating and drinking habits. I found this a nice passive way of keeping you thinking about what you are going to eat each day. It specifically asks how much pop and fast food you ate the day before, and for myself I started to feel guilty typing in that I had consumed those things. I'm already starting to feel a bit more energetic only after a couple weeks, now to see if my body shape moves in a better direction.

What does Facebook have to do with this you may ask? I found myself spending a few hours a day on it reading peoples status updates and playing apps. Cutting this life sucking web site out of my daily routine has opened up more time to do better things....like blog?

10 Steps to Being a Better Person : Part IV, V and VI

I've been away for a while and need to get caught up on my goals and do what is right. Here we go :

Number 4 - No More Pop
I have tried this before and failed, and this time I will make the biggest go of it. One of my greatest addictions is drinking WAY too much pop. I would cut myself off in the past, get wicked headaches and run right back for more. It's not good for my health, teeth or sanity. My body will probably rejoice at the fact that I will actually intake the proper amount of water in a day now.

Number 5 - Exercise Regularly
This is a tough one that I have also tried to get back into on a semi day to day basis. Now with the fantastic programs on the Nintendo Wii (EA Active rocks!) I can try to sneak in a twenty minute workout five times a week. Hopefully this combined with some better eating choices will provide me with more energy and a positive attitude once again.

Number 6 - It's Not Always Beer O'clock
Ending each shift with a pint or two to unwind, and then fall asleep is not a sound weight strategy. It is bad enough that I already work at a pizza/pasta joint and take in a ton of carbs after 9pm. At 35 I need to take a bit better care of my body, who else will?

The Return of the King of the Ring

Tonight I imagine will be one of the rare times now in life that I will get goosebumps. Bret Hart makes his long awaited return to the WWE tonight, after a twelve year hiatus. The 1997 Montreal screw job as it is now remembered by all wrestling fans, was the last time Bret was ever seen working for Vince McMahon. Most of his time after that in WCW was spent floundering in a company with no idea how to use him. Bret retired after a severe concussion suffered at the hands of Bill goldberg. In a sport where many people stay too long and become a joke, Bret was taken away far too soon. For a former finalist for Canadian Athlete of the Year, and probably one of the most well known Canadian celebrities ever, you should do yourself a favor and catch him one more time. I know I will.