Encana

Last night was my last night working for Encana. It's kind of a bitter-sweet ending to my illustrious career there because money may be tight for the next while, but it will also be nice to be able to focus more on school and to somewhat have a life again.

The event passed with little fanfare but on Thursday, one of the guys on the dayshift, who is a baker, made an amazing cake for me and for Lana, who is also leaving. Last night, Lana and I and my friend Emmanuel, who also works there, went out for dinner to sort of say our goodbyes. The three of us had a lot of fun working together and I think Emmanuel is some choked about us leaving him. He and I have been good friends since before high school and it's been great to be able to hang out almost every night, make nonsense jokes, talk about old times, and come up with projects we want to colaborate on in the future.

I worked for Encana for about three years I think, and while it wasn't always the most exciting or fulfilling job, I am very greatful to them for employing me. They have been very flexible with my school schedule and working there has helped Tammy and I be able to buy our home, stay out of debt, and pay for tuition. Hopefully we can hold out for the rest of the semester and until I can start working a summer job....or until we can win some money.

Julie and Phillipa

Last weekend I had the opportunity to go into Carstairs to watch a basketball tournament and meet up with two of my close high school friends, Julie and Phillipa. The three of us planned our 10-year high school reunion late last year, so we've definitely been keeping in touch more often since then. It's been great. Both of them are married and they each have a child - Julie's boy, Hunter, will be 2 years old in May and Phillipa's girl, Amalie, will be 1 year old at the end of April. Julie's expecting again, her baby's due the middle of March. Julie, Phillipa and I - along with our other good friend, Corrie, were quite the bunch back in school; always having a great time together, and always laughing. Ahhh....those were the days.....Now I've got Mike to keep me chuckling, whether he does it on purpose or not.

Big News

It's almost old news now but when Tammy and I announced to her family that we were having a baby we managed to get a picture of all their reactions. It was an idea we stole from Heather and Tyler when they told our family a few weeks before that they were expecting. Tammy's family has a tradition of taking a picture of everyone whenever the whole family gets together. I volunteered to take a picture of all the Olsens (of course having a crafty plan in mind all along). I told them to all say "cheese" and took a picture (the before shot) and then as I was taking the second picture (the after shot) I told them all to say "Tammy's Pregnant". At first they all laughed thinking it was just another one of my classic jokes, but when they looked at Tammy and realized that it was true, they exploded, and I snapped a picture to capture the moment. Thanks Heather and Tyler for the idea, it worked perfectly.

Happy Birthday Kelly

Last Monday (Feb 7th) was my sister Kelly's 19th birthday. I don't think the family ended up getting together to do anything for it, but she did get the chance to go spend the weekend in Edmonton with some friends. Kelly lives in Calgary now with one of my other sisters (Jodie) just down the street from us. She has some pretty big shoes to fill coming up soon as she will be taking over my job at Simo when I go on maternity leave in May. It's been a lot fun training her on the job over the past few weeks and it makes the days go by faster too. Despite what the rest of the family says, I think she's alright.

Two Weeks Notice

I was given my two weeks notice last night at work. I guess with how busy they are getting they need to hire some full-time night staff, so those of us who can only work part-time are no longer needed. It's kind of bad timing but I'm sure everything will work out. I'll probably write more on this in two weeks.

Churchill

Tammy and I just got back from watching her uncle Tom's grandson play in a basketball tournament at Sir Winston Churchill High School. He plays for the Cardston Cougars and they were here to play against the Churchill Bulldogs. Churchill ended up winning 83 to 71 but it was a close game throughout. It was a lot of fun to watch but the best part was being back at my old high school again. I think this was the first time I had been back since I graduated in 1996. Some of it has changed but a lot of it is exactly the same as it was almost 10 years ago. Churchill has some significance for Tammy as well because she worked there as a janitor while she was going to college. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) she didn't start there until the year after I had graduated. That would have been some kind of weird if we had met there; the old classic tale of a student falling in love with the janitor. We walked around for a bit after the game, took some pictures, and relived some memories. We saw the picture they have up of my graduating class and as I looked at all the faces and names I realized how many people I still hang around with that I became friends with (or became better friends with) in high school. In fact, almost everyone that I was pals with back then I still keep in touch with on some level. Excluding class time of course, I would say that those three years were some of the funnest years of my life. Next year will be my 10 year reunion so I'm hoping something will be organized to get the gang back together again.

The Lurgy

Everyone I know is sick, getting sick, or just getting over being sick, including me. Ever since I had my tonsils out a few years ago I've been able to avoid all the pox's, plagues, and bugs that seem to blow through town every time the wind changes. But not this time. I've come down with a full blown case of the vapours. I was beginning to think that my tonsils just may have been my one weakness and that having them removed had rendered me invincible, but alas, I'm just as human as the rest of you.

Dinner at the Walkers

Last night Dave and Cheryl Walker and their son Brayson had a mess of folks over for a dinner party at their home in Mackenzie Lake. The food was top drawer and it was great to catch up with friends we don't get to see very often. The company included Jeff and Jen Whitehead and their daughter Abbey, John and Jen Gilchrist and their daughter Mikayla, Kevin and Elise Wolff and their son Mason, and Tammy and I. This list doesn't include the 4 unborns that were there too as Tammy, Elise, Cheryl, and Jen Whitehead are all expecting. Thanks to Dave and Cheryl for putting on a great time and also a special thanks goes out to Zinedine Zidane and Zarley Zalapski for helping the guys win the game.

Mom's B-day

Last weekend the family gathered down at Alison's place for my Mom's birthday. She turned 51 this year but I don't think she's aged a day since I was a kid. It had been a while since I've been down to Turner Valley and I sure enjoyed it. On the drive down we had to stop to let three young deer cross the road, which was great to see because the only wildlife we seem to get at our place is rabbits. I love the scenery out there too and just the whole feeling of being away from the spaz of society. Tammy and I hope to someday move out to a small town somewhere to raise our children but we're not sure where or when just yet. Alison and Trevor have built themselves a really nice home there and they're currently developing their basement to finish it all off. So anywhoosh, thanks be to the Ganchars for having us all over, everyone enjoyed themselves and wished we could stay longer, and Happy Birthday Mom!

Scott's Wedding

This story comes from Carol Anderson who, along with her husband Jerry and their 8 children, have been friends of our family since the dark times (ie. before I was born). It's about her youngest son Scott and his new bride Ale on their reception night and I think it's classic.

Scott and Ale were married on a beautiful, sunny and warm day. Ale looked like something out of a fashion magazine. She was so gorgeous. After the wedding, we drove back to Coaldale and all met at the church for dinner. Ale called her parents and spoke to them (we just listened, not speaking Italian), and then Mitch read a letter that Ale's father wrote to be read on the wedding day. A companion of Ale's from the mission field translated it into English. It was very touching and it just broke my heart that they couldn't be there. I feel like we know them though.

There was one funny event I think you will like. Marin's husband, Michael, who has worked as a mechanic with his uncle, wired the car (it was Marin's car that they borrowed since they felt their car wouldn't make it to Edmonton and back) so that whenever he hit the brakes the horn would honk. When it was time for him and Ale to leave, all the siblings went outside to see them off...just waiting for him to put on the brakes. As he drove away down the alley behind the church toward the highway, they were rewarded at the end of the block when they heard the first, "BEEP". They figured that Scott would figure out that they did something and phone and Michael would tell him how to fix it (there was a little toggle switch that he only had to turn). Well, he called all right and said that as he pulled onto the highway there was a police Check Stop. He pulled to a stop..BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!...and the policeman came over livid.."What do you think you're doing?"

Poor Scott,..."It's not what you think, I don't know what's happening....I just came from my wedding and every time I hit the brakes, the horn goes off".

Police: "Let me see you hit the brakes".

Scott: Beep Beep.

The policeman glares at him and calls the other three policemen over to the car with poor Scott and Ale in her wedding dress, and tells the others about the situation, and they all start laughing their heads off. Apparently one of them collapsed on top of the car's hood with laughter. They let him go....and Michael did tell him how to fix it. What a story to tell the grandchildren.