Monthly Archives: April 2011

April 21, 2011

Thinking About The Future

By Canadian Bald Guy

Sometimes I don’t think I can enjoy the present because I don’t want to even think about the future.

The future is something that can be scary and foreboding, and most of the time I just want to try to make it through the day and worry about the future another time. But the problem with that line of thinking is that I end up not allowing myself the right to enjoy the present. The future is unpredictable and is molded by the choices I make in the present. If I don’t let myself live in the present, then what else can I live for? I mean, what good will it do me to just go through the motions?

My family is the present. My children are the present. My friends are the present. ** I ** am the present. To cast that aside or to let the negative outweigh the positive will only lead to an unhappy future…especially if it’s already pre-determined in my mind that the future is an unhappy one because I’m not allowing myself to enjoy the good things about the present.

I’m currently in a position where I’m having a difficult time enjoying the present because I’m concerned about the future. This is a thought process that I have control over, though.  I would like to believe that it’s a matter of the choices that I can make now in the present that can alter, mold, and shape the future…even if those choices appear to be small and seemingly insignificant now.

Nobody can predict the future, obviously. I’d like to believe that if one is willing to at least be open to possibilities, then anything can be possible. Feelings shouldn’t be ignored…feelings shouldn’t be set aside…they need to be brought up and dealt with, whether it’s a complaint or a concern or a worry.  But I know that this bond I’ve created with Sunshine is so strong that there is nothing that can’t be overcome if we truly want to overcome it.

3 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in relationships, Thoughts on stuff

April 20, 2011

Reality Sucks

By Canadian Bald Guy

Y’know, my relationship with Sunshine isn’t all wine and roses.

I’m not a big fan of wine, actually…but that’s not the point of this post.

And no, we’re not fighting. It’s not that type of post, either.

This whole long-distance relationship thing can really SUCK after awhile.  And because Sunshine and I watched this movie over the weekend, thoughts of our situation crept back into my brain both Monday AND Tuesday and it was very tiring.

Y’see, the reality of our situation (as I’ve mentioned many times before) is that because of our children and our ex-spouses, we can’t move to the other’s city.  And what makes it worse is that when we try to come up with possible solutions to our dilemma, we can’t find any.

At best, it’s going to be YEARS before we’re finally together…and that’s a really tough pill to swallow.

At this stage in the relationship, it looks like I’m probably going to be the one more likely to move…and I feel a bit of pressure because of it. I mean, I’m not being pressured by Sunshine or anything, I just feel like we could finally be together if I became that “every other weekend” dad that most single fathers are anyway.

But obviously I can’t do that. I see my son a couple of times every week outside of just our weekends together.  I’m always around in case my ex needs a hand in some way.  Just this week, for example, he’s staying overnight with me tonight and tomorrow night (before our normal weekend together) because she just purchased a small home of her own and is moving in this week.  And y’know, I’m MORE than happy to have the extra time with him.

So clearly I cannot chose the wine in front of me.

Sunshine mentioned to me yesterday that the reason I haven’t fully embraced my new home and unpacked or decorated isn’t just because I was more occupied with my mom’s health, but rather because I was simply living here…waiting for the day that we’re eventually together.  I’m uninspired to do anything.

And she’s right.  It’s a very depressing situation when I really sit and think about it. Doing this…traveling every other weekend, not having any extra spending money, sleeping alone most nights…is going to be the norm for quite some time.

I think Sunshine said it best to me last night:

It’s like I only feel like I’m “living” when we’re together. The rest of the time I’m just waiting to live.

But at the end of the day, I couldn’t imagine my life without Sunshine in it.  I couldn’t imagine not being in a love that most people never get to experience.  I knew the risks of a long-distance relationship going into this, so I just have to suck it up because things aren’t changing any time soon.

I’m really looking forward to that eventual happy ending.  It’s going to happen, folks…it simply has to. 

7 comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in love, relationships

April 19, 2011

The Weekend in Pictures

By Canadian Bald Guy

We started out the weekend, as we normally do, by going to the Halifax Seaport Farmers Market. On the way there, we made a quick pit-stop at a bank machine. While Sunshine was getting some cash, I just took a moment to appreciate the beautiful downtown area of Halifax, Nova Scotia. I am not the biggest fan of the city, but I do enjoy the downtown area.

We then made our way to a new favorite weekend hangout, the "Crazy Market". We only call it that because the vendors are some of the most unique people you will see in this city. This particular market is really just a glorified flea market, but Sunshine and I always seem to enjoy making our way through the craziness. http://www.facebook.com/harbourviewmarket

When you enter the Harbourview Weekend Market, you head to the left and walk through their grocery store (fresh produce...frozen entrees...lip enhancers...) and then you find yourself staring at The Book of Joe, the resident book store/clothing boutique/fridge magnet spot. You can check out their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/thebookofjoe.

In the same corner as the book store is Nakamal Cafe, which is a small organic coffee/tea shop run by a friend of Sunshine. He is a very polite and friendly guy with one heckuva kick-ass beard.

I dunno...I am sure other people can make this cupcake (Sunshine has made them before) but it is still quite impressive to me.

I am not the biggest hockey fan in the world, but I do think this Toronto Maple Leaf rubber duckie is kinda cool. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lil-Duckie-Bath-Boutique

There was an amazing location within this market (The Monkey Paw) that had "modern antiques" and was just a VERY cool spot. I mean, they had a 1 litre bottle of Pepsi Free (Back to the Future II, anyone?) that still had the pop inside of it. Anyway, this poster...I thought...was really something. Back in the 60s, 70s, and 80s (and to a lesser extent still today), the most popular wrestlers in Mexico starred in movies. This one featured Blue Demon, who is considered one of the greatest Mexican Lucha Libre performers of all time.

In fact, they were filming a short video at the Monkey Paw for their Facebook page when Sunshine and I were there (we were standing directly behind him). Check it out (and see what we mean about “unique people”:

This was a very cool collection of old stuff (for lack of a better term) that was found at The Monkey Paw. If you look closely, you can see a bottle of OFF bug repellant...which looks to be at least 20 years old and STILL has the repellant in it!!

Ummm...how can you go wrong with having a statue of Jesus, a CHiPs action figure of Erik Estrada, and a stuffed weasel on your shelf???

For the second time in two visits, we made our way to Sams Seafood & Grill for Saturday brunch. Being totally honest, the service is very friendly but terrible...as once the food is on your table they forget you are even there. But the food is good, fast, and cheap!

I made Sunshine wait until 11am before eating. Why? Well...I just had to order The Twins!! Seriously, I do not care how poor quality the filet mignons actually are because they taste amazing and are tender and, quite frankly, taste like filet mignon!! And how can you go wrong with the price???

Seriously...does this NOT look like it is worth $8 to you??

Im not much of a drinker. In fact, Sunshine has never seen me drunk in two-and-a-half years. She tries, though. We ended up spending Saturday night drinking beer and watching Titanic (I am king of the world!!!). This picture would be of us about to enjoy some Twistee shots. I cannot say that I disliked them...at all.

I do NOT normally like anything other than beer. But after seeing these in the liquor store, Sunshine made an "impulse buy" and picked up these Twistee shots. Vanilla and butterscotch? Yeah...they work well together.

This is where Kiddo had her birthday party on Sunday. The premise is simple...you choose what you want to paint, you paint it, they cook it and make it all shiny, and then you have a nice piece of whatever that you made yourself. Seriously...the adults had more fun here than the kids did.

A view from inside the Clay Cafe in Halifax, Nova Scotia. http://www.claycafe.ca

This was a wall of painted tiles inside the party room at the http://www.ClayCafe.ca location in Halifax.

This was the wall of paints to choose from, with each tile showing you what the paint would look like with a few coats.

So here is where you can choose whatever pottery you want to paint. The prices are a bit on the high side, but really...they supply the paint and then cook & glaze them later to give them that really good dark & shiny appearance. There was definitely a lot to choose from.

Happy birthday Kiddo!!

And that was pretty much the weekend. Hope yours was a good one, too.

This weekend will be CRAZY fun as I’m heading to Halifax with Ankle Biter to spend Easter weekend with Sunshine and her two girls. Can’t wait!!!

4 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in photography, Weekend in Pictures

April 15, 2011

Where Are They Now?

By Canadian Bald Guy

I was getting ready to re-launch my “Guilty Pleasures” blog when I stumbled upon a recent live performance from an 80′s singer who hasn’t done much of anything since.  So then I started wondering how many artists from the 80′s were still around performing.

So where are they now?  They’re still singing!!

The first one is one of the most recent. Remember the classic “Safety Dance” by Montreal-based band Men Without Hats?  Well…Ivan hasn’t done much since his follow-up “Pop Goes The World” (trust me…it was a HUGE hit in Canada) but for some reason showed up for a concert at the SXSW event last month in Texas.

Luckily for him, he really didn’t sing a whole lot in the original song so it’s not like you have to worry about his voice holding up…

Y’know who else has been out-and-about in the last year?  None other than Rick effin’ Astley!!  And honestly…he doesn’t sound too bad.

And one of my all-time favorite songs from the 80′s is by Billy Ocean, who I thought was an amazingly talented pop singer/songwriter who seemingly disappeared after a pretty darn successful career.

Well fear not, kids…Billy is still doing concerts at venues all around the world singing some of the best pop hits of the 80′s like this one…

And what about everybody’s favorite dreadlocked Reggae sensation, Eddy Grant?  From what I can tell, he doesn’t tour very often but every once in awhile will pop up at a music festival or open up for an act like UB40 (really? isn’t he bigger than them??). You gotta love the showmanship and interplay with the crowd at the end of the song…

God I love his music.  Anyway…where was I?  Oh yeah…

I decided to look around for a couple of artists that I really thought wouldn’t still be touring.  The first one was Wang Chung.  I really liked these guys.  From “Dance Hall Days” to “Everybody Have Fun Tonight” to “Let’s Go” (my personal fave even though the video sucks major ass) to…well, that’s about it.  But still…they had three or four songs that really were great.  And yes, they’re still touring around…

Remember Nik Kershaw?  Remember that mullet and the video with him glowing?  Well, he actually went on an acoustic tour last year and is still playing some great music (I’ve always been a fan of his).  It’s amazing how much better some of these guys sound today, 30 years later, than they did when they first started…

Going through some musical possibilities and found OMG…why in the hell is this one-hit wonder still performing as recently as December 2009???

And this one is for Sunshine.  Apparently, Rick Springfield has been hosting CRUISES for the last few years now (on Carnival, at that!!), and this song features both him and another of her 80′s crushes, Richard Marx.  This is from the 2009 cruise, but they both still tour every year.

So what about you?  Ever look up a favorite artist from your youth to see if they still perform live today?  Anybody REALLY good?  Anybody out there who should really stop?

7 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Fun-Music Fridays!

April 13, 2011

The Anniversary

By Canadian Bald Guy

Today is going to be tough for my dad.  REALLY tough.  It’s going to be tough for me, too.  It’s going to be one of those days where you wish you could be alone but know you need to face the world.

Today would have been my parents’ 43rd wedding anniversary.

I had initially forgotten about today, to be honest. Thank goodness I’ve got reminders set-up on my computer because I think my dad is really going to need me today.  I’ll be in my home town this morning for a dentist appointment, anyway…so dropping by or visiting him won’t be a problem.

I just don’t think I’ll know what to say to him.  I mean…how do you bring it up without making the situation worse?

I want to ask him how he’s making out, but I think that might trigger the tears.  I want to see if he needs anything, but that might trigger the tears.  I think anything I ask about today might trigger tears, actually…but I’m pretty sure my dad needs me today and maybe the tears will be a good thing.

This is one of those days where I wish I didn’t have to go through.  I wish I could continue on…completely unaware of what day it actually is.  That old saying “ignorance is bliss” really is true at times, because this is one of those days where memories will be forced upon me…where thoughts and images of my mom will be floating through my head…where the realization of her passing will again hit me like a ton of bricks.

Happy anniversary, mom and dad.

I miss you, mom.

xox

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On a related note, I wanted to give everybody an update on how my online fundraising efforts were going so far on the Relay for Life I’m doing in June in memory of my mom.

For those unaware, my beautiful mother lost her battle with cancer on February 20th, 2011. I will walk and continue to walk annually in honor of her.

I am really excited about participating in this year’s Canadian Cancer Society Relay For Life in my home town of Amherst, Nova Scotia because every step I take in Relay raises money to help the Canadian Cancer Society save lives.

Please join me in the fight against cancer by supporting my participation in Relay For Life now. It’s really easy – just click on this link.

I appreciate any assistance you have in helping me reach my online goal of $500. And if you’d like to join my team (even if you can’t actually physically be there), join up and raise money on your own! It’s not about physically being there, it’s all about the cause.

Online pledging is secure and it saves the Society money by reducing administrative costs – it means the money you give can go further to help the fight against cancer.

I’m currently at 58% of my online goal thanks to some really great people. Thank you!!! Hopefully we can reach the online goal of $500 by June 3rd.

Thanks for your continuing support!

6 comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in cancer, death, marriage

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