A Light Friday Offering...

I know what you're thinking: "Is he going to talk about those fargin' shoeboxes again. Thankfully, no. I think we've beaten that horse sufficiently for the week. Actually, okay, I am going to mention them, but only as part of a broader narrative in which the shoeboxes are not the protagonists (nor are they the antagonists--they're just bit players).

Okay, I will say one more thing: thanks, Christine, for joining in the conversation as well. I know that you're intention was good with your comment (and hey, you're allowed to have an opinion, even a controversial one, about tax receipts), and I'm glad we could clear that all up with our little comment exchange. Like I've said before, I always welcome engagement and open dialogue, even if I disagree--iron sharpens iron, after all, and that always makes sparks. I don't feel insulted (if I had, I would have just deleted your comment--ah, the power), so don't worry about that either. And don't start being anonymous with your comments--it takes guts to sign your name to something, and even more guts to come back and clarify, so kudos to you.

And that's really the last word in that discussion.

Moving on. It's Friday, and since I don't want anything too controversial to be up here for the weekend, for the remainder of this posting, I'll just talk about light things. The weather, for example. Boy, you BC people sure have it bad. I'm actually really shocked at the weather over there for two reasons: (1) it's really something else, and I feel bad that you all have to suffer through it; (2) I really like a good storm, although I likely wouldn't be saying that right about now.

By way of contrast, the weather here is, of course, beautiful. In fact, my parents are flying in this Sunday, and it'll probably feel like a total reversal of how things should be--they're leaving the crappy weather to come to some really nice weather. It's almost Vancouver-like weather out here, except for the fact that as soon as the sun goes down, the temperature drops well into the negatives. Cold, I tell you; cold. But sunny.

Of course, there's some rather delicious irony to this whole thing. Well, I guess it's only delicious if you like bitter things. Let's not carry the metaphor too far, though. Anyway, what I was going to say was that I was an integral part of convincing my parents that they should fly out rather than driving their car because of the way winter was going about two weeks ago. So they went through the hassle of flying and renting a car, and now the weather is supposed to be beautiful for the next little while; all the snow is pretty much melted, too. It's not shorts and a T-shirt weather, but it's nice. Stupid meteorology.

Had a rather nice evening tonight, after a not-so-eventful day. The usual Friday fare: chapel in the morning (way too early, as far as I'm concerned), class right after, gym in the afternoon, haircut by my professional (and sexy) barber (my wife, if you didn't get the reference--I would have a lot more to worry about than my hair cut if I called my barber "sexy" on my blog and it wasn't my wife. Especially if it was a man). Best haircut I've ever had, actually.

*Brief interlude* I forgot to mention yesterday that Theo is back to his teething self again, although at least not as crazily as last time. Two more top teeth coming in now, and it's a painful experience yet again. We've got a new herbal (no wait, "homeopathic" makes it sound more medicine-like) thing for it that works like a charm. Better than Tylenol, I say (collective gasps from the drug industry). Seems to be doing the trick, but I have no desire to feel the pain that he's feeling right now. Due to this teething, we had a really rough night on Wednesday, and I feel like I'm still making up for it. That's why chapel seems to come too early every day.

Okay, back on track--the nice evening. Since Steph's mom is here, we were lucky enough to take advantage of some free babysitting (or, more appropriately, the only babysitting we can take advantage of in the first place) and go out for dinner. Initially we considered heading into Red Deer to go somewhere exotic like Earls, but we opted instead to stay in Three Hills so that we wouldn't have to have a big drive (Steph went to Airdrie yesterday and we're going to Calgary tomorrow to drop her mom off at the airport--another day of driving just didn't sit well). Went to the lovely Harvest House restaurant here in town--great place. I had this chicken Monterey that was so big I could barely eat it. And I have a big appetite. Plus, it was really reasonable pricing.

Those factors are probably why it's nigh impossible to get in to that place on a Friday night. We had a 25-minute wait, but since we didn't have the boy with us, it was actually fun to wait it out. We went and perused the Bargain Shop next door. Everything from zen rock gardens to snow shovels. Good times.

It's been so long since just Steph and I have been out together, but the secret of a great marriage (if I can be so bold as to call ours that)--and write this down, kids--is that you can always dive into a really meaninful conversation no matter how long it's been since you've talked about something other than baby food and diapers. Great times were had.

After our dinner, we headed over to the campus coffee shop to get some authentic Pakistani chai tea (made by someone in Three Hills. Hmm). It was a reward to the student body for making shoeboxes, you see. In fact, there were several different stages of rewards, all of which involving something fun for the student body (yes, I am in college, not high school, just to clarify). For example, the student union's academic commissioner shaved his eyebrows, an RA wore his clothes backwards, the coffee shop manager dyed her hair blonde, and the student union president got a perm (a male president, that is--it actually looks quite nice). And one of the rewards was free authentic Pakistani chai to the first 100 customers after 7:45 tonight.

I'm not a chai fan myself, but I still got one and gave it to Steph's mom (nothing wrong with buttering up the in-laws, right?). Then I went and got a Slurpee. Anyway, there must have been something "special" in that chai, because tonight both Steph and her mom were buzzing. In fact, I'm usually the last one to bed after blogging, but tonight it's close to 11:00 and they're out there chatting on the couch. Ah, caffeine.

And really, that's all I've got. I know, not very interesting. Like I said, it's Friday. To finish off, however, GO LIONS!!!! My parents get here just in time for Grey Cup on Sunday, and it'll be fun to have my dad out here to watch the game with. Steph's alright with football, but really, I can't whine about the officiating or play selection and have her know what the heck I'm talking about. She's so supportive that I'll get a knowing nod and agreement, but I know it's just charity. But we're not talking about charity. Not tonight.

Anyway, my dad and I can sit there and swear at the TV and the officials, and the women can make us sandwiches and get us beer. I'm so just kidding. Really, I am.

Happy weekend, everyone! I'll see you back here on Monday, either totally dejected because my Lions choked, or elated because we have a championship team in Vancouver. I can't wait to find out which one it'll be. See you then.