33 Is the Number for Me

Well, if birthday presents are any indication, this year's going to be full of warmth and fitness.

Although my actual birthday is on October 19, the celebrations began as early as Thanksgiving weekend. My family all gathered at my mum's to eat Jerk-Turk (a Jamaican jerk seasoned turkey) that's to DIE(t) for. That alone could have been my birthday present and I'd have been quite happy with that.

My family, with exception of Eric, all gave me presents that weekend that ranged from a gift certificate to HMV (which I used to buy Colin James' "Little Big Band 3" album and Gnarles "the Charles" Barkley's "St. Elsewhere" album) all the way to a thermostat for my home (a programmable one, nonetheless). Although it might not sound exciting, when you've just recently moved to the "snow belt" a programmable thermostat is music to the ears.

Another present that my family pooled their hard-earned cash together to get me was something I'd desperately wanted - an Xbox 360 wireless adaptor, so I could finally sign into Live and download Zuma! Little did my family know that I had previously happened upon an "open box" one at Future Shop just days before that was reasonably priced.

Luckily for me, the adaptor wasn't thrown at me or stuck in places I'd rather not have things stuck... but I was given cold hard cash for my birthday in its place - something that's very rare with my family.

That money, pooled with a generous gift certificate to Lululemon from Eric on the actual day of celebration, bought me a pair of shorts, a crop top, and a great pair of workout pants. I guess there's no excuses now!

I guess being excited about being properly dressed for the gym is a true sign of getting old. What's even worse is the depression that set in trying all the clothes on. *Sigh*.

Are You Ready for Some Football?!!! Maybe Not

It all started on August 4, after weeks of searching for the right tickets, that I landed 8 tickets to the Seattle Seahawks game against the Lions in Detroit... the home opener nonetheless! I was ecstatic, to say the least, since the 'Hawks are "my boys"!!

Everything was planned for what seemed like it would be one of the best games ever: a group of friends and family, parking tickets for a lot we could tailgate in, Seahawks jerseys for me and Eric, and a spread that the Seahawks could certainly cover seeing as they were playing the Lions!

Sunday morning started out EARLY, giving us enough time to meet up (although we were late meeting the other 4, seeing as we had to wait for a certain someone... ahem, John). But we got to the tailgating lot, with no problems, by 11am-ish.

Eric and I stuck out like sore thumbs, us in our 'Hawks jerseys, as there was a sea of Lions fans amongst us. BBQs were sending out the all-familiar scent of cooking street meat... mmm nothing like a good dog at a ballgame. Buses were blasting out the tunes, new (Audioslave/Zombie) and old (Doors). And there were all kinds of characters amongst the crowd. Heck, there was even a HURSE - at the back of which were its passengers, cooking up a bbq feast in COFFINS! What a crowd. Not to mention a prim and proper older blonde woman, who looked out of place at a football game. Wow did she ever have an arm! Talk about a perfect spiral!

A case of beer and 2 packages of hot dogs later, we decided to make the trek to the shuttle so we didn't miss kickoff. The bus was filled with Lions fans, but no one even said a word about the two lone Seahawks jerseys in the crowd. The only yelling on the bus was that of a man saying, "Who here thinks the Lions have a chance?!!!" One lone voice of a woman cried out, "I do. Anyone has a chance." Oh what pride. Lions fans sure do hold out hope, even if they're bad mouthing their team on the radio 2 hours prior to the start of the season opener.

We arrived at Ford Field. This would be the first visit to my third NFL stadium (I'd previously visited the Bills' Ralph Wilson stadium twice, and the Seahawks' Qwest Field once). There was a HUGE but orderly crowd around us, lined up in queues for "men" and "women" - talk about an organized pat-down search system.

As I passed through the turnstile I received the first of a few mentions of me being a Seahawks fan, "Seahawks, huh?" How non-threatening for a city whose citizens I thought would lynch me at the very sight of a competitor's shirt.

I waited inside the huge foyer of the stadium, waiting for Eric to get through the "men's" security line. I waited. And I waited. And I waited. No Eric. "I'm going to miss kickoff" I thought to myself. Even worse... I thought I might pee my pants - the morning's coffee had definitely caught up to me during the 2-hour drive. And the beer at the tailgating lot didn't help matters!!

As a last-ditch resort I called his cell in hopes he had it on his person. Ring, ring, ring, "hello"... Yes!! He remembered to bring it and it was ON!! "Where are you," I cried as I was being jostled by Lions fans. "I'm urinating". No. NO!! We had a plan... we'd meet inside the doors. I could be killed by a pack of Lions' fans... me the sole Seahawks' jersey wearer in the crowd!! NOOOO I have to pee more than you!!!! But, being the gentleman that he is, Eric zipped up his pants and rushed down the escalator to save me from the horde.

We rushed to our seats, so as not to miss the ever-important first kick. What great seats!! We could see the whole field, albeit from a fairly high viewpoint.

The kick happened... the game (and the season) had begun. You could feel a buzz in the air. Or was that the alcohol? Either way, it was so exciting. I thought to myself, "Yes, what more could you ask for than a good Lions ass-kicking from the Hawks in their home opener?"

But it wasn't as ass-kicking as it was supposed to be. What was supposed to have been a rout ended up being a farce. The game consisted of bumbling quarterback plays, a fumbling Shawn Alexander, and a disappointing contest of who could win by field goal only. There were no breakaways to the end zone, there were no wild interceptions, there were no touchdowns. Just 4 lonely field goals. That's all there was to this momentous day at Ford Field.

At one point it looked as though the Lions were going to win. No!! My Hawks couldn't lose to the Lions!! How could the Superbowl runners-up be defeated by a team that's known for their lack of trips to the playoffs?

Luckily, by some miracle of the football Gods, the Hawks eeked through with a 3rd, and final, field goal. They won the game, with a very quiet clapping from their devoted fans, 9-6... ending what could quite possibly have been the most boring game in the NFL's history.

All that hype, all the emotion that had been bottled up for months prior to the big occasion, all the planning... fizzled out with a whimper rather than the thunderous roar that it could have and should have been. This game came in like a Lion and went out like a Lamb.

So with that, I anxiously await next Sunday's game: Seahawks vs. Cardinals. With hopes that the fight of the birds will bring more action.

Lucid Dreaming

I guess it was about 10 years ago that I stopped drinking caffeine. Yet I still have troubles sleeping. What's up with that?

I'm sure the almost 2 hours of constant Hexic playing on my 360 - which got me to level 50, by the way - and the 2 bowls of Heavenly Hash ice cream didn't help. But it was good while it lasted :)

For the past 3 or 4 nights now I've been having troubles sleeping... or have I? I mean, I feel as though I haven't slept the whole night; that I've remembered everything that happened to me during what should have been my sleepy time. But then I also remember crazy dreams.

Now, sure, lucid dreams are supposed to be exciting, colourful, etc. Well these dreams are downright angry and scary. Yet, they feel so real.

Take last night, for example. I actually told off a customer service dude over the phone... in my dream. Yeah, these people from our Hot Water Heater rental company keep calling to ask us if we want extra insurance on our furnace and A/C. I've told them countless times (at least 3 or 4) that we don't want that service and that we'd like to be taken off the calling list.

Last night, sure enough, Eric took TWO of their calls... again. I guess I was so ticked off about it that I dreamt they called me up. And I laid into them :P

The night before, I dreamt that I got into an elevator in Vegas with the CFO at my company and some stranger. Before your mind gets too far ahead of this story, keep it clean... it wasn't like that!! No, no... instead of it being a happy, "colourful" lucid dream it was horrific... the elevator got stuck! Now, I don't like the thought of being stuck in an elevator on a good day. But being stuck in an elevator in Vegas with your CFO and a stranger REALLY doesn't appeal to me. Don't ask me if I ever got out of there alive, because I had to get up and hop in the shower so as not to be late for work (in "real" life).

I don't know why this is all happening right now. Maybe it's the alignment of the stars or something? Whatever it is, though, I wish it would stop... I need my beauty rest!

In the Beginning

Day One

Wow, my first blog... I've only been thinking about doing one for the past ermmmmm year or two! It's about bloody time, I know.

Now that I have one, though, what to write?

I suppose let's start with the move. I made the move back "east" in June, leaving beautiful Vancouver for small-town London, ON. The move itself went really smooth. So smooth that we bought a house having been in the city just 2 days! Three weeks later we moved in!!

I have another site filled with pics for anyone who cares to wade through them: http://www.lesleymilner.shutterfly.com/action . I've got the new house in there, as well as road trips, weddings, and Vegas. Stay tuned to that site, cuz there will be more Vegas pics posted in November, after a much anticipated trip!

And, as more pics are added, more blogs will come... so stay tuned to this space as well. For now, that pretty much sums it all up.