Golfing

So as I said, I tried my hand at golfing... It was an experience if I've ever had one...

Went with MattyK and Darren (ex-Boss) which was a treat in and of itself (<3 u mattyk!)...

Now I have never golfed before... Matt and Darren both have minimal experience... So I assure you, it was a sight to behold (for the entertainment of it... not just because we're stunningly good looking... although we are stunningly good looking)

It took me two balls to get off the tee... I kid you not... My first shot went straight into the bushes... Which is quite sad, but few of you know the layout of the course... so just accept this... there are no bushes for you to shoot at... unless you're a terribly bad shot... *raises hand*

So my second ball is somewhat less pathetic... It was a grounder (which is amazing since the first tee is off a cliff/hill)...

Matt and Darren were filled with helpful advice like "ha!" and "*laugh*" and "bwahahahha" even though they didnt do much better... They're balls, really, only went about as far as mine did...

Needless to say, my first hole didn't go so well... Live and learn, I suppose...

But I didn't learn, or so it seems..

My second hole was, by far, the most pathetic of the night...

It was a par 5... I stopped counting at 15 hits... Really, I would have done better to just kick it with my foot...

And the green KILLED me... I would hit the ball and it would go flying across the green... I would lightly tap it, and it would roll to the other side... The wind changed, and I think it rolled halfway back down the fairway...

*sigh*

I did get better though... There were a few times where I was within about 30' of the hole and able to say "this is for par"... well... actually, that was just once... and then Neal's curse of the green kicked in...

On the plus side, I did manage to not get a ball stuck in the water hazzard... I use the word stuck because although i hit one dead centre into the water hazzard, it bounced out and into play...

Oh, and the play of the game was a tie... betwen the bank-shot off mattys foot for 1-over-par... and Darrens swing of death (which somehow managed to detatch the head of the club, sending it flying down the fairway further than the ball it hit... He's lucky no one was killed)...

yes... so that was my golfing adventure...

(and some clarification... I will not delete your blog unless you have not updated it sometime between june 1st and june 30th...)

Two Things

First off: I tested out the golf course today... It was good fun, and I think I can make a story about how we turned a par 5 into a par 15...

Second off: I haven't pruned my "other blogs" section since last year... If your blog is listed and you would like to keep it listed I would like to see a post, of any sort, in the month of june... THat's all... Even if the post is 4 words... 'Please don't delete me' or 'I love you Neal'...

Any blogs that don't have a post by the end of june 30th will be cast from my memory...

Also, if you would like your blog added to my list, leave a comment... I'll review, and add (please no spam though... I don't care if my friends write about boring things... but if some stranger posts 100 comments about cheap vaccuum cleaners, you can be sure it's not gonna make it....)

Choir Boy at <3

*sigh*

I probibly shouldn't have been as entertained by this as I was... so hopefully this workes...

Sleep

This whole sleep thing is getting lame...

oh well..

It's only a few more days till payday... and then I can afford rent... and food... and god only knows what else I can do with money and free time (I'm assuming that i'll develope free time once money provides sufficient reason to stay awake)...

I am determined to attempt golfing... I'll let you know how that goes... it might end up being quite the story...

I really shouldn't be awake right now... goodnight

Fight

Todays work experience was sizing up to be quite boring... and for the most part it was... assides from the fight I got in...

I was cleaning up my machine (cuz you do that when you're done your shift) and I headed over to the wash basin in order to hose it down...

I turned on the hose, and thats when the fight broke out...

The hose started flying madly throughout the area, hosing me down intensely (although it looked like it only hosed down my crotch)

I was absolutely stunned by the first wave of frigidly cold water that I was in no way prepared for the second wave that hit me moments after.,..

It t0ook a good 15 seconds of the hose flying around and sraying everything before I finally pulled myself together and turned the hose off...

Thankfully only like 1/2 the people working managed to see the spectacle...

He Said

So my boss looked at me (well... two of us) and said

"You guys impress me!"

Very sincere, looked us in the eye's, no laugh afterwords (or "just kidding" gestures)...

And then he put us back on weedwhacking...


On the plus side, starting work at 530 in the morning makes the day go by a lot quicker (plus it allows me to finish my other duties faster - due to the lack of golfers in the way - which allows me to start weedwhacking even earlier...)

Now I know weedwhacking is a major part of the job, and I knew that before I started working here... but seriously, I've logged about 10 hours of carrying those things in the last two shifts...

and my arms are tired ='(

On the plus side, it gives me something to complain about... and we all know how much I likfe to complain (and bug morgan about being on the 3100)

Tidbit About Me

Turns out I don't like having little pebbles shot up my nose as unbelievable speeds...

I'd like to thank weedwhackers for providing this revelation...

Adverse Effects of Work

So I have come to the realization that although i appreciate consitet work, there are a few things that are left to be desired...

1) Bed starts calling my name at 9pm... by 10, it's screaming my name... by 11, it's having little tantrums...

2) I cannot sleep in past 5... I've tried... If I set my alarm for 5:15, I'm awake by 4:45... eww... I didn't even know there was such a thing as 4:45 in the morning...

3) I do not appreciate rain as much as some people (yes yes, rain is good... I will give you that... but seriously, you have to admit walking around in the pouring rain (with thunder in the distance) carrying a gas powered lightning rod is not cool)

4) I tire of doing weedwhacking... I mean, it's not a particularly difficult job, but I'm not really entertained by it in the slightest... Although the idea of having to do the 'girly' jobs is far more frightening than being forced to carry a weed whacker around all summer...

5) Shorts and weedwhackers are NOT a cool mix (why I was wearing shorts in the rain, I will never know)

6) Soup is not a valid lunch option, in and of itself... I need something more... One of the guys was eating peach yogurt... and I wanted some... thats how hungry I was...

yup... such is my life...

Bunkers

(bunkers are the sand traps on a golf course... I had someone ask me that, so I thought maybe I should clarify)

So far my job has mainly consisted of bunker detail, which is fine and dandy, and I enjoy it quite a lot... Well... asides from the fact that my back feels like ass afterwards...

Anyways...

Bunkers are fairly easy to do so long as you remember three simple things:

1) Old rich people like to complain, so try not to leave anything they can complain about

2) Old rich people like to complain, so try not to make any distractions to complain about

3) Always enter and exit the bunker from a low point in the border

Now as I said, these things are very easy to follow... mostly... Sometimes it's harder to gauge where places are sufficiently low enough (since I've been told to try not to always enter or exit from the same spot... since the grass gets worn away)

Now, before I get too far into my mistakes: REGAN DROVE OUR CART INTO A TREE!!!

My first story happened way back on day two... I had, more or less, just learned the jist of being a bunker rake driver... and I was getting quite proficient at my swirly-swirls and my double backs... My boss is sort of a geek, so I take it when he was making victory arm jestures and 'woo' sounds, that my skills were becomming quite admirable...

Now, as I said, it was day two, and I hadn't quite yet picked up on the entirity of the capabilities of the little tractor rake... They seem to have a lot of power, and the tires have a lot of tread (indicating a lot of traction)...

So whilst finishing my last swoop of one of the bunkers, I begin eyeing up potential exit sites... trying not to make it the same as my entrance... I notice a spot along the east side that looks quite fitting so I drive right for it...

everythig was fine and dandy... until I realised that I had left the rakes down...

Not a problem, I stopped just in time to avoid doing some serious rakage damage to the well manicured lawn... I lifted up the rake and proceeded on my way... But not quite...

Although the lip was an acceptable height, the hill on the other side required a little more momentum than comming from a dead stop... The tread on the tires, rather than acting as traction to get up the hill, we're acting as graters tearing their way into the grass... not cool...

So I throw the thing in reverse, back into the pit and clamour onto the hill praying to god my boss doesn't come around the corner to see how I'm doing...

I try my best to make my mess as disguised as possible (really it looked like a divet... just in a place a ball wouldn;t naturally come to rest) then fixed up the bunker, and drove off like nothing happened...


My next story was today... I was, again, on bunker detail... And after my experience two days before, I was trying to be quite careful as to where I entered and exited... Not a general rule of thumb is wherever there is quite a bit of sand is most certainly the spot there the tractors come out... This is because residual sand is usually knocked off when you hit the bump of the lip...

Turns out there are lots of other reasons for there to be sand on the outside edge of a bunker...

So whilst driving towards my new bunker, I eyed up the spot I would enter... I was downhill a bit, so I couldn't see how much of a drop, but there was plenty of sand, so I figured I was safe...

There wasn't even time for me to brake when I realised how much of a drop it was going to be... And I had to wait a good 5 minutes before one of the mower people came around to help me get my cart off of it's recarious position (I had bottomed out and neither the front nor the back tires could get enough traction to go anywhere)...

Thankfully, no one important was around so I don't owe any beer... But yes...

Karma

The world is starting to even itself out... well.. as far as my job is concerned...

a fricking rock was in one of the bunkers today... So my tractor raking was all f-ed up... cept the rock wouldnt come out of the sand so I didnt know what the problem was... after three sweeps (and about 6" away from a nervous breakdown) it appeared, and I kicked it... hard...

no more rock (I kicked it in a direction that made it a problem for no one)

so to even everything out (including the act that I had to do another 2 hours of weedwhacking, and 2 hours of pushing a lawnmower up a hill) there was beer!

Apparently someone was supposed to glue something... and didnt... And the rule is, if you screw up you buy a 12pack of beer...

I like beer now, btw... mmmMMmmm beer...

that is all

New Job Begins

So today was my first day at the golf course... EXCITING!

today I got to rake EVERY bunker on the property (well.. except the few holes that are out of commision...) but I was put on manual detail.. meaning I was actually in there with a rake in hand pushing sand around until someone came to drive a tractor over it...

I did get to try out the tractor though... fun!!!

After dodging golf balls for a few hours (something it appears my co-worker isn't very good at... judging by the welt left on his leg at hole 16) it was time to weedwack... Everything...

Now, it's been a while since I've weedwacked... but I forgot how absolutely wretched those things are on your arms...

So, between being hunched over bunkers with a rake, and carrying a gas powered "I hate you arms" machine... I can officially say everything is sore.

But I still enjoy my job... good times!

I hope I get to sit on a tractor all day sometime soon

Bacon

Ladies and Gentlemen (not that I expect many of you to be either) I present to you the newest (and greatest) Turf, Alluvium, and Sanitation Engineer for the exclusive Highlands Golf Course...

Okay... I tried to make that sounds prestigious...

Anyways... I'm the maintenance staff... well.. a member of the maintenance staff...

So expect me to be well tanned and in bed by 10 for most of the summer...

I wish I could say I was proud to have achieved this job, but really, the first question was "when can you start?" so I oppose they don't have the highest expectations for their employees (the person who hired me had also never seen my resume, so he had no idea of my work experience, references, name, etc)

Ah yes... summer employment...

Just think... soon I'll be able to afford all the luxuries of life... food, rent, a table mounted usb air dart system for my computer (in action)

So yes...

adios

Gah

Just when I think american people are FINALLY beginning to see what the rest of the world has seen since November 2000 (bush's approval in the US now sits at about 29%... which is around what I remember the worlds approval rating being quoted at not too long ago) I get proof that the american people are just selfish twits (collectively... I know a lot of really decent american individuals)

If I could present to you, image number one...

please note that the gas price is reciprical... meaning that the higher the number, the lower the price...

so yes... bush's popularity is tied to gasoline prices (although other things are affecting it as well)...

Happy Birthday MattyK

So today was mattyk's birthday... you would have thought it was mine...

Everyone visited me tongiht... well.. not everyone... But everyone that counts...

Oh, and I didnt have to eat peanut butter or noodles tonight... Such a nice change...

Actually, come to think of it, I love peanut butter... I really shouldnt complain about it... It could be worse...

Yes...

I wish i could desribe to you just how boring it can be when my roommates are out of the house...

Needless to say, if you are reading this, and in the edmonton area, give me a call, and come hang out... I have board games, you bring the beer =)

And if you don;t know how to contact me, you're probibly some creeper who has no idea who I am, and you;re just reading my blog in a selfish desire to be closer to me...

No thank you... I have enough nuts already (peanuts! hahahhahhahaha!!!)

yes... I should go do something else...

Yup

So needless to say, this whole living out of dorm (or my parents house) thing is quite novel to me... And needless to say, there are quite a number of things that you just never learn when the only places you've ever lived were a dorm or a farmhouse...

First things first...

The dishes don't clean themselves... Holy dear... I think I may have thought that my parents bought new plates every week... but now I think I may no different =)

(oh, btw... if my 'rents really wanted me to do dishes, they should have bought a dish washer)

Second, I've learned that furniture doesn't come with the room... Dorm really spoiled me there... Well... thats not to say that i didnt ahve a lot of furniture back home as well... but being an ra allows me furniture for two... which was nice... But alas, no longer...

And the third and most important thing I've learned in my day of being off on my own...

If you run a load of dishes and a load of laundry at the same time, DO NOT TAKE A SHOWER! I cannot stress this enough... After fiddling with the knobs to get a constant temperature, i hoped in... only to be scalded and ice blasted at the same time (dont ask me how it's possible)... I can honestly say this has not been one of my brightest mornings... But in my defense, dorm has enough water to run 8 showers and 2 washers at the same time and still keep a nice temperature... and my 'rents house has never had a washer or a dryer...

Yes...

So today, I'm going to try to track down those cheques I should have gotten... and hopefully find a way to feed myself =)

adios

Postcard Competition

So last year was the first year of the international ugly postcard competition...

Many of you may have heard of it, many of you may have... One of you has sent at least 10 of them for me (which, apparently is the reason i didnt win... because I sent to many... or something lame like that)...

Anyways...

This years competition officially opened a few weeks ago, and the first post cards have come in, so I figure I'm game to put this on here...

Please send postcards to:

A. Vanweerden
11158 65th St
Edmonton Ab
T5W 4K1

A little bit about this historical competition...

It was started may years ago by a creepy old man, named Scott, who ended up being shipped off to colorado for the summer as a job placement (fun!)

He made the request, and his friends complied, and out of this came the ugly postcard competition (if any of you would like to add to the histry of this, feel free to do so in the comments section of this post)...

Anyone can participate... Just send in an ugly post card... You don;t actually have to know any of us, or anything about Edmonton, or Canada... if you are reading this, you are eligble...

Prizes are awarded (as first runner up last year, I can attest to the joy I recieved in knowing that my prize was as ugly as my postcard)

So yes...

Send now, send often...

Moving

The worst part about moving, by far, is packing...

I suppose looking around and thinking "this isn;t my room anymore" is pretty hard as well...

Not to mention that foundershall has been a defining part of 'Neal' over the last four years...

For 4 years i have endured people who have sleeping habits completely opposite of my own (for the first year, the people that went to be after 11pm were the ones I hated... now it seems that anyone that can do anything before 2pm are the ones i've hated)...

You should see my room... it's depressing... Well... I suppose to the untrained eye it doesn't look all that different that it did two weeks ago... But let it be known that before everything was on my floor... now only stuff that i don;t want (and thus, haven't packed) is on my floor...

I can;t really speak from experience, as i am reluctant to go off and view the 'other side', but I know a few things for certain.

1) Regardless of what kind of budget i need to keep myself on, I will not regret cafeteria food...
2) My life and happiness has not been well served by the excessive amount of rules required to live in dorm
3) This has been a long time comming, and I am very thankful for the support I have recieved (espeially those who I am constantly pestering to drive me everywhere... you know who you are and I hope you know how much i love you)

Yes...

So i packed my towels... and thus I have no towels still in dorm...

Thankfully theres no one else in dorm, otherwise it might be a little akward walking naked...

"why hello... I'm naked and wet"

yes... thats a pleasant conversation starter...

I have since put on pants and proceeding to air dry as we speak... erm... type... as I type...

Sometimes i wish this wasn't sucha public forum... I can think of a million things I want to say, but only a handful of people i want to read it... I read about it all the time in other blogs... and it's true to me as well...

I want desperately for someone to ask me just the right question that starts me off on this big long tangent in which everything that I desire to talk about gets discussed. And the sad part is, I have AMAZING friends who are asking just such questions, but I ignore, simply so I can go on thinking that no one cares about what i think...

I suppose thats the one good thing about alcohol. Inhibitions, although sometimes very benefitial, are often very VERY annoying.

but throw in a little dash of the "truth serum" and I am able to speak freely (although not always about the things I should be talking about...)

*sigh*

Yes...

And thus begins my summer vacation...

I hope i can figure out my paycheques soon... I don't know where they're being sent to... I have one address in the school computers, one address which i specifically requested things being sent to, one address which i used for many years, and one address which is dorm...

And since it took a phone call to say i wouldn't be able to be in edmonton in person in three days notice (from surrey, back when I first got accepted to concordia), and it took 5 months before they aknowledged I lived in dorm (because commuting from surrey is a very valid option) and since my name is spelled wrong more often than right (and i could have sworn computers did most of this), I figure I'll just throw this out there...

If a paycheque from concordia with my name ends up at your doorstep, please hand deliver it to me (and do not return to sender)...

Yup yup yup...

I think my ramblings are done for now...

The rest of days

okay...

so big scary guys (about 350lbs)... with calloused fingers, buzzed hair, and fire marshal jacket... can listen to euro trash pop... SooOoOOoOo odd... (seriously he was bobbing his head to some funky rythyms)

Sunshine only comes out when you don't need it (tour boats up galcial river = sleet... day off = sun)... but still enjoyable...

Did I mention I <3 vince (sorry about the wakeup, pookie)

Concert Saturday:

McDougal United Church (downtown edmonton)
I've said it before to some of you... but I'll say it again...

It's saturday at 730, and if you're not there, you're not my friend =)

(just kidding of course... but seriously if you can be there. you should, it's gonna be wicked cool)

adios

note to self...

threat of silence time works as well...

note to self...

I <3 vince: bringer of booze!

Day 3 4 5

well...

rhubarb pie is good when the pie is still cooling (and the vanilla icecream has white chocolate chunks...

rednecks tell innapropriate jokes about natives (surpised much?)

children can behave properly and can be quite cute when given the chance....

more to come...