June 1st. 19 Days.

Plenty has been happening in the last couple of weeks here. Mostly it revolves around Project shutdown, of which mine is fairly simple. Since Stonewall is coming back as a Project next year, the shutdown does not involve packing up a lot of the house...merely sanitizing it.

I went horseback riding a couple of times out at the Miracle Ranch, riding a horse named Rattigan the first time around (who was quite amicable) and a horse named Goliath the second time. Goliath was huge, which made me huge, which made me hit some tree branches on the way through the forest. He also liked biting the horse in front of me. Good times!

I went home for a few days to attend a wedding of a good friend and then to a party to see many other good friends! It was a great time in Saskatoon. Throw in a little family here and there, and it was even better.

The Ag Society fair was canceled due to the saturation of their grounds with all the rain we had, so it has been put off until September. Which is a cancellation for me, but not for the next year's program I suppose.

Stoney Mountain Prison was pretty cool too. Quite a bit different than the PA prison. They had a "Lifers" recreational room where you had to be a lifer to get in. It was an interesting social club within the prison.

I am off to the Zoo this weekend, then to a local festival called the Hintz Fest, and on to the Prairie Dog Central - a train ride through a bit of Manitoba.

19 Days. And counting!

May 14th. 5 Weeks

I am pleased to report that I have but 5 weeks left before I head out to BC. It's going to be a crazy ride to the end getting everything ready for the next year's project.

Other than that, I am headed to Saskatoon/North Battleford for a wedding and a party this weekend. Good times indeed! If I have my GPS by then, I may do some geocaching too.

We had a baseball game the other day! It was good weather. Hit a few hits, struck out once thanks to me swinging at every single pitch that came my way, and I ran a few bases. I was just happy they had a glove for the 'ol right-hand.

This next week takes us horseback riding at the Miracle Ranch. I have never been. I think large animals freak me out a little bit...I have never quite been comfortable around horses.

I also found a comic book store in Winnipeg that was selling back issues/compilations of Arsenic Lullaby. I had not read it for quite some time, so I picked up the first nine issues. It's still as demented as I remember. I love it. To pieces. Little fetus pieces. Yummy.


Cheers, folks!

May 5th. Back in Manitoba

My trip out to British Columbia went really well. Got to see some old friends, got to meet some new ones, got to see an ocean! It was truly a great time. I took a few pictures, and I have posted them here:

British Columbia Trip Pictures - featuring Burpy

I am now back in Manitoba for the next six weeks. This summer I am off to Whistler, and I have now been accepted to Quebec for the Odyssey program. So that'll be another nine months or so starting in September (provided everything goes smoothly).

This week has us doing some Geocaching out at Oak Hammock Marsh, and then we're helping with a dinner theatre for the Quarry Choisters. Monday brings us a Career symposium in Bausejour, and Tuesday we are headed out to the Miracle Ranch to do some yardwork (in exchange for free horseback riding).

Spiderman 3 is out in theatres, so I might head to that too. I hope it's a good time!

There's a chance I'll be heading back to Saskatoon for the May long weekend. Something about a wedding in North Battleford and a house re-warming in Saskatoon. Plus, family and friends and all that jazz.


Cheers!

April 19th. Out West.

Well. It's about time. I'm headed for vacation. I am on my way to Vancouver for ten days, starting Saturday. Huzzah!

I went to the zoo just recently, and I pet the pygmy goat named "Star" there. It's not something I like to admit, but there should be a picture forthcoming as well.

As part of my vacation prep, I have played some silly games. Check them out if you like.

This is a little odd.
Hand-drawn Game

And this one has a robot that you make do things. Pretty simple, but kind of cool once you get into it.
Gateway 2


OH, and Fallout 3 is on the way. That should be awesome.

April 15th. Countdown Continues

This week has had a few things happening here in Stonewall. Had my first French lesson at the University of Winnipeg, which was pretty basic (numbers, alphabet, salutations) but should pick up complexity in the next few weeks. It was a very comfortable first lesson, which means I am far from being over my head.

I was able to find some gaming people this week as well! We played a fairly simple game called Trans-America where you build railroads across the States, trying to connect your five colour-coded cities. There isn't a lot of chance to screw your neighbour over with your actions (not that I would), but it does require a bit of thinking in order to get to where you're going without giving your opponent the advantage. Fun game. And I lost. But still fun.

I became a member of the Royal Canadian Legion! I found the community service values of the Legion to be the reason for joining moreso than the military service reasons, but it takes all types to serve the country.

AND, I got flowers the other day. How special is that!


In other news, I have 6 days till I am in BC, and 66 days until I am finished this project. Huzzah!

April 8th. Easter Sunday.

We are about four weeks into the third and final bit here in Stonewall. If you take away the two weeks of fun out in BC I am going to have, I've got about eight weeks left of work.

Back from the Junos! Went to Saskatoon, saw the family, saw the show, sat with the stars, was on TV for a touch behind the host of the Junos, and then came back. It was a tough ride on the way "home" to Stonewall.

This week is pretty bare for the crew, but not bad for me! I head out to Portage la Prairie on Wednesday to try and recruit more folks for this program next year, then I head to my first French class at the University of Winnipeg. Thursday gives me a bit of time off...I think I'll spend it in the Exchange District and in Chinatown if it's warm outside. I stumbled through there the other day but did not take a gander at much! Winnipeg has a boatload of things to see.

Saturday the crew is doing some Resume Writing, although there is a Japanese Cultural Sale going on that same day. I might see what I can do about seeing both.

Saturday NIGHT, is where it is at. And will start a new adventure for me. I am becoming a member of the Royal Canadian Legion. It's the ceremony this Saturday night, so I get the whole kit - membership pin and card. As for the adventure, well, now I can head to any Legion...which I shall enjoy doing. I plan on photologging all of the Legions in Winnipeg before I go. Now I have an agenda.

That's about it. But here's some fun. TWO games, one a little more involved than the other:

Indestrctotank

Desktop Tower Defense


Cheers, folks.

March 30th. Junowned.

I am headed to Saskatoon today to partake in the Junos on Sunday evening. 10 hours there, 10 hours back. It'll be a good, long trip. I am staying at one of the crew's houses.