Give the gift of re-gifting

Nothing beats re-gifting.

I don't know how this guy does it, but he finds gifts for us homeys everywhere.

I'm not talking about local shops and malls in TO, not even Pacific Mall.  He sources them globally.  Best Westerns, Super 8, you name it, nothing but the best for the guys who have been his best friends since childhood.

Always thinking about my hygiene and gastrointestinal health, as well as my mental health.

I've never heard of BLANK tissue.  But it must be good.  And who hasn't heard of Veggemo drink or juice or some dairy alternative that must be good for my heart or colon (or cleaning windows and drains).  Since I can no longer get Vioxx to put me in the heart attack zone, or constipate me.


That pillow with the 'A' on it is for - A class Act.
What else could it be?

That's my NHL2016 EA sports 2015 (cuz he had shingles last year we are 1 year behind) partner.

Even if we lose when we play the 2016 season a month into 2017, cuz he'll be in the EU spreading the Fr-Exit plan,  which involves beach houses in a 3rd world nation, exploiting the locals for cheap labour, it'll be ok since he single handedly took the game controller by the reins and brought the Cup home!

Check this out. Luckily the tree just fit. It's the Christmas tree Kieran and I brought home.  Watch how it opens up.

Best Dinner Ever!

This is our 3rd straight year hosting, but we like hosting.  I think it was 3yrs ago when we didn't have a kitchen, and no flooring, just subfloor.  I forget what we ate.  Might have been chilli.

But honestly we enjoy hosting.  Now that we have a new kitchen, and bathroom to go with our basement that's pretty much designed and set up for hosting our yearly game console Tag Team NHL hockey.  We love having the guys come.  We really want the rest of the family to come too.  It's not a big space, but it's cozy and warm. Like our furnace is a few years old and we've insulated this house from the inside out.  So it's good!  And who doesn't love a heated bathroom floor?  Your feet do!

I really like how Tresa puts a dinner together. It's simple and fresh.  A bit Euro-ish with a fusion of Food Network Canada.  If it were up to me, i'd be ordering 20lbs of wings and celery and carrots, and extra wet naps.

But instead we go through a fury cleaning house from top to bottom and inside out, and I'm not allowed to go anywhere near FoodBasics or NoFrills, for dinner shopping.

Although I love taste of the cabbage mango, pomegranate, and other fresh stuff with carrot dressing or something, it was giving me some gas fuel.  But still awesome.  Couldn't stop eating it.  Glad it didn't affect me for the game.

Maybe it was the 4 different bomba's she had me get from the Cheese Boutique or the cheeses Kieran and I got there too.   All of the above could have given me gas, including the beers I was downing trying to calm my nerves and be steady like a defensive rock for the game.

Or the cheese cake chocolate things.  I may not be lactose intolerant but gasiness is a family trait.

2010, that's the last time Tony and I had our names on the Cup.
Seems like it was NHL99.  It all fun, but no matter how you slice it, it sucks to lose!

I wore my Drake Toronto Raptors Tee for some #PoundTheRock inspiration.



Gm1 Derrick and Hong 6-2
This was a blowout game.  We just stank.  No team work going on and we were just getting schooled.  It didn't look good initially.

Gm2 Ray and Tony 2-4
We were up early and remained in the lead.  A bit of a scare in the last minute of the game with a late goal, but we held on for the win.  It was now a best of 5 series.  It looked to be a see-saw battle of two very evenly matched teams.

Gm3 Ray and Tony 4-8
This was crushing them like wine grapes.  It was total game domination.
The beer was flowing.  We were firing on all cylinders.  One team was on a mission this year.  A mission to win it all.

Gm4 Derrick and Hong 8-7
A 3-1 lead in games seems too much to overcome, but a team has come back from elimination to win the series. But did they want to be in that position again?   It seemed that almost certain.  But with a 1 goal lead with less than 3 mins remaining, it was about trying to not make a mistake.  You could tell we were tight.  And that usually leads to a turnover.  They needed a quick goal and we needed to play keep away for 2-1/2 minutes and prevent scoring opportunities. Sure enough a turnover in our own zone led to a tying heart breaker goal.  You could feel the room to the left sink.
Time was winding down and it was almost inevitable that OT would be coming.

But OT did not arrive, a cheap goal in the dying seconds of the 3rd put Gm4 away and level the series at 2 all.

Gm5 Ray and Tony 6-7
This was about putting that last game behind us and responding.  And respond we did.
Getting out to a quick lead.  It was insurmountable, but again as the clock was ticking down and the comeback duo stormed back.  But they had dug a hole early and it was too deep to climb out.
It was in the books and 3 games to 2.
Their backs against the wall. Again.  But if any team could come back it was this one.

Gm6 Ray and Tony 6-7
It was close.  We were up 2-1 after 1, and down 2-3 after 2.  And it seemed like all was lost late into the final frame at 2-5 with 2 minutes to go. It was frustrating watching them score as they were interfering with our goalie to score 3 third period goals. And that 5th goal was a cheap one.  I looked at the replay and we put the goal into our own net.

But magical things seem to happen in the last 2 minutes.  It's like time slows down.  The will to come back takes over. Passes that shouldn't get through do.  And teams in the lead, tighten up and blow the lead.  Teams should win when up 3 goals.  They should.  But not today.

Two quick goals swung the pendulum the other way.  Now it was our turn to put the pressure.  They were talking to themselves, questioning moves, what-ifs.  It was a whole new game within the game.

Fierce determination, and wanting that puck more than the other can and usually does make good things happen.  With less than a minute to go a Blue Line to Blue Line pass was on the tape, a spin-o-rama move to the net, tied the game! It was the tipping point.  Momentum had swung past the point of no return. One team trying to hold on to OT and the other going for the WIN!

With less than a minute remaining. 2 more old school Sega style goals put the nail in the coffin.  Five 3rd period goals by the same team is crazy! It was almost over.  Almost!  But with seconds remaining, a goal made it 6-7.  But it was too little too late.

Sorry, but WE WIN! Finally after years of 7 games series and always falling short.  Last time it was a blown 3-1 series lead and unable to win just 1 more game.  Redemption.

And it was well past my bedtime when we finished, and it took some time for the adrenalin of finally getting the monkey off our back that keeps saying "get it out!", and play keep away with the puck to frustrate us for the past 4 years, wear off and I was able to slip into a state of happy slumber.

So I was a bit tired in the morning when my alarm when off and shocked me out of REM.  I'm okay with feeling a bit wrecked, cuz we won The Cup.

OOAK Professional

This is OOAK - One Of A Kind Show - Christmas edition.  It's the bigger of the two shows.  The other is the Spring version.  My OOAK wife told me all this.

I don't think Tresa goes to the Spring one.  But I could be wrong.  She goes to the Christmas one like it's her religion.  Then in a few weeks when the Visa bill comes it's time for the sacrament of confession.

In my line of work we have what is called the Definition of Done.  She texts me that she is done with the show, and I get this text at home.  When I arrive to pick her and our friend Marika up, they're still inside.  I text that I'm there, and it takes a phone call to get them to come out.  I thought they were done?  Obviously the definition of done here is vague.

Marika is great, she is as indecisive as Tresa.  So they get along great!



What can you get at the One of A Kind show?
Lots.  Because I get the bill.

You know Tresa is a lot like the Jehovah witnesses that used to come around our house chatting with me, until I googled how to get them to not come around any more.

They are nice enough people, but i'm not converting, and I was just being polite.  But ask them to put you on their 'no knock' list and you no longer have to pretend you are not home.  You can roll the blinds again and let the sun shine in.

Anyways. Tresa is like the Jehovah's, she brings people to this One of A kind show like it's her ticket to the Pearly Gates, if she gets at least 10 friends to come with discount coupons, tax free coupons, sign up for an additional 10% and if you show your passport coupon you can come back into the show and not have to pay the entrance fee.

It's like those spam emails.  Except a live version.

Stuff comes home, no return policy.
The food stuffs are good, our freezer is full of this garlic butter spread. I've never actually tried it until the other day, but i've seen it in our freezer for about a year now.  I've also seen it disappear.

She's got to be a professional OOAK attendee.
She has a defined strategy.  First it's the email notifications.  And the scheduling of vacation days at work.  Then it's the waiting for the discounts emails, free parking email, free parking if you bring a friend, relative or pet email.  And printing of those emails.

Then it's the recon mission on the first day.  Checking the time, and the map  and where specific vendors are that know her like she's a childhood friend that lived on the same street back in the day.

Then it's walking a marathon in a convention hall.
Some people have to train to attend this show with her.  Otherwise they will bonk and look for the nearest bench to crash on.

That's why i don't go. I do not have the physical and mental fitness to do it.
It's easier for me to do an Ironman.  So instead I am the Uber driver that takes her and whoever there and picks them up.  Because even if she gets a discount on the parking, that visa bill comes to me anyways.

This is our One of A Kind tree from Ikea.  I'm just glad it's alive.  I think.
It looks better in the shade.  It'll look way better when decorated.  Hoping it doesn't lose all of it's needles by the end of the week.  Or catch on fire from the LED lights.

It's great for $22.90 plus a $20 Ikea coupon.