Friday, December 31, 2004: Birthday

I woke up and went for my Birthday run. It was really cold again today. I almost gave up a quarter of the way into it but then decided to go on. Zach was zipping around on a trike so he would drive by me then go up and down into the ditch and through the snow. Like I said it was really cold. My beard was all frozen with the condensation from my breath and I was glad to get back into the Ice Station and have a hot shower afterwards.

I hung out with Anne and Zach at the Ice Station and later we went over to the Homestead. At some point I fell asleep listening to Rufus Wainwright back at the Ice Station. There is some thing about running in the cold that just wipes me out more than running in the heat.

Rob and Val were supposed to be back today but Rob’s truck had some difficulties in BC so he parked it at Keith and Jenny’s in Hope. They rented a car and were heading back but it was doubtful they’d get back in time for dinner, which is a shame.

Tonight of course was the 20th anniversary of my 21st Birthday. Or the 21st anniversary of my 20th Birthday, which ever you prefer. Jen came over after dinner to join Bruce, Carmina, Anne, Zach and me for the cake portion. Carmina made a plum cake since Val wasn’t there to make whatever it was she’d planned to make. We hung around and tried to stay up for Rob and Val. There was a count down but at about 1:00 am everyone sort of collectively gave up on waiting and went their separate ways to bed. They got back safely at about 2:30 am.

Thursday, December 30, 2004: Cold!!!

It was so cold this morning I didn’t run. I later wished I had since it might have prepared me for standing outside for a few hours. George came by at around 9:30 am and we drove out to Tomahawk where he lives. Our first stop was at the local café which was once the hardware store. The inside of the place would make the people from “Restaurant Make-Over” crap their pants, with ugly table cloths, a mural of a “country scene” that looks like it was painted by a nine year old who failed art class, and weird trinkets that belong in a yard sale. In the “free” box too.

BUT… The food. Oh man, the food. Farang food that is good… I had and absolutely amazing hot turkey sandwich with gravy. As home made tasting as you could ask for. There was a table full of old farmers yapping away who George seemed to know. We sat and ate and had some really good coffee. Anyone who finds out I have been in Thailand wants to know about the Tsunami. I wonder if people in Asia would be surprised at the degree of concern and regret some folk in a little place like Tomahawk feel over what happened.

After we ate George and I drove over to his place and I got the grand tour. I managed to get a photo of the bear that George had to shoot in self-defense on Vancouver Island. It’s a story I’ve told to a few people but I think none of the British have ever really believed it. The pelt is on his living room floor. The head of the thing is bigger than I remembered it being.

George unlocked the gun cabinet and showed me the collection. Many rifles and several Lee Enfields. I’ve seen two 1916 Lee Enfields since I’ve been out here, George has one and Zach’s Dad has one as well. George has a 1943 Lee Enfield as well as a few others that I’m unsure about the age of. I think three of the rifles are Bruce’s and George is storing them for him. Amongst the others was the lever-action Winchester Buffalo Bill 3030 repeater that saved him from the bear.

We took out the 243 bolt-action, his 8mm Magnum hunting rifle and his Chinese SKS 7.62 semi-automatic as well as his Browning .22 pistol. For some reason George felt it important to take me around the property, which would be fine if it wasn’t freezing cold with a nasty bitter wind blowing off the peat-moss fields. Eventually we moved into the woods and to the little area where George target shoots. We hung some old pop cans up on a tree and spent the next few hours shooting them.

The SKS soft-jammed a lot because of the cold. That was sort of annoying. The two hunting rifles were bolt action so they weren’t a problem and the 8mm was like firing a cannon. I wasn’t much use with those largely due to my absolute inexperience with a scope. That and the fact I was shaking from the cold. Try dealing with bullets and reloading a gun in the cold. Its something I’ve never seen in a movie. Trying to slide the rack of bullets into the SKS was really hard to do, then it would jam up and there would be the process of trying to get the round out and or find it once it fell into the snow. Try that under fire? No thanks. I had the best luck with the pistol probably because I’ve fired them more than anything else. George of course was an excellent shot with the rifles although he agreed the SKS looks better than it shoots.

Eventually it was just too cold. The guns all soft-jammed, including the pistol and my various batteries for my digital camera and my video camera started to fail. By that point we were starting to fail too, so we packed it all up and headed back to Georges. After the toys were all locked away safely we headed back to the Tomahawk café for coffee and some pie. I had some home made cherry pie that I will be thinking about for some time to come. Afterwards George drove me back out to the Homestead then went to meet Betty.

Tonight I had dinner at the Homestead with Carmina, Bruce, Anne and Zach. Carmina made some amazing spaghetti which I had lots of. I had forgotten how hungry the cold can make you. Bruce told me that Brengun had called me from Vancouver but I unfortunately missed the call.

Wednesday, December 29, 2004: Black Out

Tonight Anne and I went out with our Brother George and his wife Betty. George came by the Ice Station at around 5:00 pm and picked us up and drove us out to Drayton. The plan was to meet up with Betty at a restaurant in town and have a meal. By the time we got to Drayton though we could see the whole town was blacked out. We got to the Inn where the restaurant was and went in anyways. Betty was inside waiting by candle light for us. The staff seated us and gave us luke-warm coffee and made the necessary disclaimers about there being no food and not knowing when the power would be back. We made due and had a good visit anyways. Thankfully after about an hour the power suddenly returned to a cheer from everyone in the place.

Dinner was good and the portions were huge. I think that is to be expected when the clientele are often oil and forestry workers but it still surprises me. I ordered ravioli and the waitress asked me if I wanted cheese on it. I said “sure” thinking that she meant a sprinkling on the top. When my food came in what looked like a metal dog dish I thought they’d brought me lasagna by mistake, but under a layer of mozzarella cheese was my ravioli in a meat sauce. It was outstanding.

It was in all a good night. We got a lift back and they came into the Homestead briefly to say hello to Bruce and Carmina, then they headed out. Tomorrow George will be by and we’ll go try out some of his rifles.

Tuesday, December 28, 2004: Moose Meat

Not much happened yesterday. Anne and I went with Carmina into town. I bought some stuff for the Ice Station as well as some proper warm socks.

Today I was up early despite a poor sleep. I ran at around 10:00 am, was barked at by a farm dog and saw the guy who checks the batteries on the oil pumps as he did his rounds. Today he had his dogs in the back of his truck and they barked at me. He has passed me every day I’ve run and always gives a little wave. He must think I’m nuts running in this cold. I got back to the Ice Station and showered then Anne and I had some turkey soup while listening to the Rufus Wainwright CD Jen got me for Christmas. The M factor makes listening to Rufus problematic but it is an excellent CD.

Zach and Mat got back with Zach’s Dad, and then they headed off again to go hunting. I said goodbye to Mat since he’s off to his Grandmothers now. I napped out later this afternoon, falling asleep on the couch then after an hour moving to the bed for an additional hour full of weird dreams about going to some Nordic looking islands on a dingy. I woke up all sore and achy as if I had actually been on the dingy riding these huge waves. I had a tea and played on the computer.

Tonight we had a dinner over at the Homestead. Val was missing as she went off with Rob on a four day run in his truck. Zach and his Dad joined us and we had a big feast on moose on and deer steaks. Moose is simply the best tasting meat there is. We had a little visit and around 7:30 pm Zach’s Dad headed back to Rocky Mountain House.

Sunday, December 26, 2004: St. Stephen's Day

Today’s big event was going with Rob to get hay for the horses. We headed out at around 3:00 pm with Carmina’s truck and a trailer hitched on the back. We drove over a little past Drayton to this old farmer’s place to get two bails. Each big roll of hay weighs about 1200 pounds. We parked and were greeted by the dogs then Farmer Bill pulled up in his tractor and there was a little chat. It was pretty cold I must say. Rob moved the truck and trailer to another spot then Farmer Bill rode off in the tractor with one of the dogs in the cab and grabbed two rolls of hay with the forks and loaded them on the trailer. Then there was the whole effort of securing the hay to the trailer with this long belt thing. I was only observing all the fun, but my gloves were definitely not adequate for the degree of cold. I was glad when we were back in the truck and on our way.

Off loading the hay was another story. It was dark when we got back so that added to the challenge. First Rob had to try and back the trailer up between the Homestead and a shed. This was complicated by the snow and it seemed to take as long to back up as it did to drive from Farmer Bill’s. Once he’d parked the trailer where he wanted it we unhitched the belt thing and went through the Herculean effort of trying to convince a 1200 pound roll of hay to roll off the back of the trailer. The first roll was the worst. The second came off quite easily. Rob unhitched the trailer and parked the truck then we went into Rob and Val’s for some hot turkey sandwiches and coffee.

Saturday, December 25, 2004: Christmas Day

It snowed a little last night. I got up and had a tea then did my run. Anne had already headed over to the Homestead. I went over for the Christmas festivities once I’d finished the run and had a shower.

My Brother George came by this afternoon for a visit. We all hung out at the homestead and had a tea (or coffee). George showed us a photo of his new Grand Child who was born two days ago. He had to head out at around 4:30 pm but we plan to get together in the next few days.

There was a big Christmas dinner at Rob and Val’s tonight. It was the usual spread of turkey, potatoes, squash, stuffing, cranberry, kibbles and bits. The highlight of the meal for me was the apple pie at the end, even though it was store bought. We called Val’s Mom and Dad in Ontario (my Aunt and Uncle on my Mother’s side) and sang out of tune Christmas songs at them as well as talking to them. Anne retired for the evening and I uploaded some images while Val, Rob, Bruce and Carmina played Yatzee. I personally would rather get a tooth filled than play Yahtzee so I opted out.

Friday, December 24, 2004: Christmas Eve

I spent the early morning hanging around the Ice Station then eventually wandered over to the Homestead. It was “warmer” today in an Alberta sort of way. The jump from – 20 C to around zero seems like a tropical heat wave. I have definitely acclimatized now though. Jen and Rachel showed up to work on Todd’s gift at around noon.

This afternoon I went with Val into Edmonton to pick up my sister Anne from the airport. We stopped in Drayton Valley and I was horrified when buying a pack of gum and 8 AAA batteries cost me $15; a purchase that would have cost me 150 Baht at 7-11 in Bangkok (and Sandy would have moaned at me for spending too much on the batteries) We also made a brief stop at the Leduc Wal-Mart on the way to get a few things but were pressed for time so we decided to come back afterwards.

Anne flew in from BC and arrived at 3:30 pm. She was already disembarked when we arrived and I found her by a pay phone talking to Bruce, presumably asking him where on earth we were. We collected her and her stuff and went back to the car then drove on to Leduc and back to the Wal-Mart.

This was of course my FIRST Wal-Mart experience. I have heard all the discourse about the place, both positive and negative but all I could think of was how much it reminded me of K-Mart. That might have been due to the clientele. In any event I don’t see the big deal. I would expect if you had a dozen kids to feed and clothe, or if you don’t have the luxury of living somewhere as cheap as Bangkok then a Wal-Mart would come in handy. It sort of annoyed me after a while but that may have been low blood sugar. I bought lots of unclear food for the Ice Station and what ever items Anne tossed into the wagon. Val did some shopping for the Homestead. The store wasn’t actually all that busy considering it was Christmas Eve. We drove back to The Homestead which apparently took longer than the flight from BC took. It was a better drive this time as it wasn’t blizzarding like the night I landed.

We had a Christmas Eve dinner of Roast Beast and fixings. I don’t think it was ever fully decided which animal the roast had come from; moose, elk or deer. After we had eaten we sort of just sat around and talked while we waited for Rob to get back from being on the road. He pulled in at around 11:00 pm hauling a container full of kitty litter. Anne is staying at the Ice Station so Val took her over and set her up there. I stayed over at the Homestead until I was starting to fade, then I came back over and started up the fire place. Anne was already asleep so I watched the first bit of “Blade Runner” and ate nachos and salsa.

Thursday, December 23, 2004: SIM Cards & Barbeque

Yesterday afternoon I went into town with Carmina, Val, Zach and Mat. I had to change some money so I went with Carmina to her bank to do that. I just handed the money to her to change for me rather than go through the frustrating soviet exercise of trying to change money without an account. Afterwards Carmina, Zach and Mat went to the grocery store but I went over to the shop where Val works and visited her there before grabbing a tea at the café next door.

We made a stop at the local mobile phone monopoly only to find I can’t buy a SIM card separately. You have to buy some antiquated and or enormous phone with the plan etc etc. It was sort of annoying and the lady working there was at best dismissive. She also informed me that my phone “wouldn’t work overseas”. Oh really.

Last night we all went over to our friend’s Jen, Todd and Rachel’s for dinner. It was a feed of first world proportions. Todd had a barbeque fired up outside on the porch despite the temperature of – 25 C and he cooked up some outstanding piggy tenderloin. We were given a tour of the “new” house which is being on their property. It is a monster home affair with many rooms and toilets.

Today was warmer than yesterday although it supposedly got down to – 30 C last night. I ran this morning then joined everyone at the Homestead for a breakfast. Bruce’s friend Preston was over and he had a bunch of gifts for Bruce, Carmina, Val and Rob. Mat and Zach joined us and later some of Zach’s family came by to pick them up for the holidays.

I went back to the Ice Station and snoozed out after they left. I fell asleep to Rufus Wainwright and the fireplace then relocated to the bed where I slept like a log until about 6:00 pm. My body clock has no idea what time it is. I think running in the pure cold air is also making me sleepy.

Wednesday, December 22, 2004: Winter Wonderland

A shot I took on my run. There are lots of new photos on the Images page.

Tuesday, December 21, 2004: Acclimatizing

I woke up at 8:00 am. I slept like a log last night. Except for waking up at around 4:00 am with a brutal charley horse in my leg. I got up had a HOT bath and then had a tea with Mat who was about and stoking the wood stove. I talked with him for a bit then went for a run. I ran from the driveway, down the “range road” to the highway which is about a mile. Then I ran back. It was weird running on the snow covered gravel road, and it was weird running in – 9 degree C, but it was absolutely beautiful out. I must be acclimatizing to the cold again because it didn’t bother me that much. The run didn’t seem like two miles. In fact it seemed like half a km. I guess that is why most runners like running outside instead of on treadmill.

I got back, showered and changed then went over to the Homestead and hung out with Bruce. Carmina had some really good beef soup made so we had that, and were joined by Val and Mat. I lasted about another hour and then was hit by this wave of fatigue and had to return to the comforts of the Ice Station where I promptly fell asleep on the couch by the wood stove. I woke up about an hour later, thought about joining Carmina and Val on their trip into town, but opted for the bed instead. I then slept for another hour.

Tonight after dinner Bruce, Mat, Zach and I got out the croquinole board and had a few games. Mat had never heard of the game but we filled him in on how this was what people did before the internet.

Monday, December 20, 2004: Alberta Bound

I woke up at 5:30 am. It was dark. I didn’t want to get up. But…

I finished packing up what was left to pack and got ready. At around 7:00 am the airport limo guy showed up and off I went. It was – 25 degrees C out… Brrrrrrr.
I got to the airport and got my boarding pass then went through security. I have to say the “improved” more secure security is retarded. My shoes got x-rayed because of what ever reason I set of something and they made me take them off and put them through. This tiny Asian woman in front of me was rudely searched in a rather violating manor. It made no sense at all. I realize they are forbidden to “profile” so there is randomness to how they search but what is the point of even doing a search at all if you are going to spend you energy searching the wrong person? While they were busy searching the tiny Asian student and I could have been some kind of Afghan-trained nutter. They were still hassling her when I headed out to my gate.

I walked down to my gate and bought a tea while I waited to board. They let us on at around 9:35 am but then we had to wait and hour for the pilots to show up. They were flying in from Halifax and they were delayed due to bad weather. The flight itself wasn’t too bad. It was only four hours so it seemed quick compared to the epic journey from Bangkok. They played Elf which I watched while I listened to some mix tapes that I had pulled from the M box. There was a sad lunch served. It was a cold chicken affair with some cold pasta. It was sort of Air Laos like. Clearly Air Canada is on its last legs. Maybe I’m spoiled flying Cathay Pacific all the time.

We landed at 1:00 pm Alberta time and disembarked. There was no customs to go through so I just walked out and there was my Sister-in Law Carmina waiting for me. I had checked one of my bags so we had to wait for that. The circumstances of my arrival were sort of weird though because Cousin Rob had just had an unexplained incident while driving and the plan was to take him directly to the hospital after I was collected. Originally the plan had been for Carmina and Cousin Val to pick me up. Rob was driving his big rig, and there was a possibly of meeting for a coffee. Then while he had been driving he had suddenly felt a weird tingly feeling in his head and shoulders, and lost about 70 percent of his vision. This forced him to park and call Val for a rescue pick up. By the time I got up to the car where Val and Rob were waiting he was feeling a little better, but it was decided to go to the hospital anyway just in case.

We had to drive into Edmonton which took about half an hour. We went to a hospital that Rob had gone to a few years ago for a surgery, but I think the deciding factor was the proximity of it. We took him in and they had us stick him in a wheel car and I rolled him down to the triage station. He was admitted and Carmina and I went off to find some food. I had to change some US Dollars so we made a stop at a Bank were they gave me a hard time about not having an account. The woman changed my cash but she did it out of goodness and was obviously breaking some kind of stupid policy. That’s twice I’ve run into this in Canada. Very Soviet. No wonder I left.

We went for a meal then got a call from Val that Rob was done so we went back to the hospital. By the time we got to it the back out thing was happening again so we readmitted him. The first doctor he’d seen had been rather unconcerned and uninterested in the whole thing however the second guy was brilliant. Rob’s condition turned out to be “classic migraine” opposed to the more common “common migraine”. He explained the whole condition and proceeded to give Rob some pills to take. The other guy hadn’t even bothered to do that.

We finally got out of there at after 6:00 pm. We drove over to the truck stop where Rob had parked his truck and had a meal. I had an amazing hot turkey sandwich with gravy and mashed potatoes. I don’t really feel that I’ve arrived in North America until I’ve had one of those. I also had one of the best vanilla milkshakes I’ve had in years, and that’s a feat considering it was the waitress’ first time making one. I think the quality was partly due to the fact it was made on one of those 1950 style milkshake making contraptions. After we’d eaten Rob took the rest of his pills and we took him over to the truck and dropped him off. Then we headed on to Drayton Valley.

The drive to Drayton wasn’t an easy. It was snowing and blowing so at times it was difficult to see where the road was. We endured that for about an hour then as we got more towards the foot hills it cleared and all was well. We got to our destination at around 9:00 pm. I am staying in what is referred to as “Tom’s House”. It was described to me originally as having a wood stove so I’d sort of imagined some kind of hillbilly shack or North Pole outpost. Even from the outside it sort of has an Ice Station Zebra ness but on the inside it’s very modern and Scandinavian looking. The “wood stove” is amazing. I am actually warmer here than I have been since I left Thailand.

Once we dumped my kit off at Ice Station Tom we walked over to The Homestead where my Brother Bruce and Carmina live. I haven’t seen Bruce since 2002 so it was good to see him under better circumstances. I also got to meet the adopted one Zach (17) and his friend Mat (12) who is staying in the other half of Ice Station Tom.

Sunday, December 19, 2004: Back to Toronto

I slept rather poorly last night. In fact I only managed to fall asleep at around 6:00 am and was awake by 8:30 am. Arielle went out for a run, then to yoga while I hung out at her place. The Bowmaster was to drive me back down to Toronto so once Arielle got back I sorted my kit out, packed everything up and called him to tell him I was ready. We headed out at around 1:00 pm.

It was snowing quite nicely when we left but once we got out side of the Kingston zone it was just windy and cold. I felt sort of spaced out on the way back due to the lack of sleep. We listened to a mix CD I with me which also added to the effect. The strangest thing was listening to songs that I am used to hearing when I ride with Kaboom in the Zero on our way to and from Cambodia.

The Bowmaster was up for the full road trip so we made a detour on the way to Toronto and headed more or less North West towards Uxbridge. It was GRH’s big winter solstice party tonight so we headed to the Art Haus for that. We arrived at about 5:30 pm and it was a chilly -24 degrees C outside. The walk from the car to the door was a challenge.

Once inside we were greeted by GRH and led to the food and drinks. There was a pretty good crowd of folk there; including old familiar faces who I haven’t seen since about 1998. Makinson and Struthers (the Dude) where there and later Thom, and Colin showed up. The Bowmaster and I mingled and ate. There was a shortage of non-alcoholics so I was forced to drink red wine despite being mildly off since Thursday, last nights popping of some anti-malaria pills, and this morning’s talk with God on the white porcelain telephone. Angel Blue ran about enjoying the visitors and Dalmen was well in the Christmas spirit. I gave (lent) GRH the painting I’d bought in Montreal. It works better in the Art Haus than it would at the Redoubt, and I don’t really want to lug it around the globe with me. GRH promptly hung it at which Angel Blue shouted “hurrah!” for some reason.

The Bowmaster and I headed out at around 7:00 pm and drove along the 407 toll way to Bathurst then made the Bathurst pilgrimage south towards the Grape Fruit Moon. We dropped off all my stuff at Chez Moon then walked over to the GFM where the staff Christmas party was in full swing. For some reason “Vanilla Ice” was on the stereo and it seemed to have a chilling effect on the affair. Once the CD was changed things perked up. The Bowmaster and I only stayed until around 9:00 pm though. He had a long drive back ahead and I had to sort out what I am taking to Alberta tomorrow. I also needed to do a load of laundry and charge a variety of batteries.

Saturday, December 18, 2004: The Stuff

The only day that has hung over me more than the day of return for the last four years was the day I’d go and get whatever belongings were still at M’s. That day was today. The arrangements had been made over the last while in short, to the point emails and in the end the arrangement was for me to extract the items from the enclosed porch while M and the Chosen One were conveniently out and about.

Arielle drove me there, a long two hour drive in which I passed through a variety of emotions. Then the country turned to city and our exit came. I had a print out of the directions to the “new” house and we found it without difficulty. Arielle stopped across the road and I got out and went to the house while she turned the car around. I went up the driveway to the porch, which was covered in a layer of snow, following the half covered up foot prints of some flyer distributor. The house looked empty but in also struck me how I was truly locked outside. No greeting, no hello, no goodbye, no closure for me in a way. Just a bunch of stuff in a box and a few bags of clothes. They may as well have been my Dad’s clothes.

I made several trips from porch to car and back, taking the stuff, then one last trip to make sure I hadn’t missed anything in the low light. There was no sunset; it simply got dark in the few minutes between us arriving and my moving all the stuff to the car. Then that was it. Over. Finished. Off we went.

We made a stop for gas then headed back towards Arielle’s. I was less emotional going away from it than moving towards it. I felt sort of cheated in a way. I wanted to say a goodbye. But that wasn’t to be so whatever. We made one stop at a Wendy’s in Brockville for some food. Our blood sugar both being low we needed to. Then we went back to Arielle’s and off loaded the stuff.

Arielle left me alone to go through the stuff. The main box contained some photos of 2000, as well as some pictures of me as a kid. There was also a few books, some CDs, lots of envelopes documenting the demise of my portfolio in 2001. There were strange bits and pieces of stuff that had no meaning except they took me back to something involving M. There were some items I’d hoped to find that weren’t there. The main item I’d fretted about for the few years was there though. A 35mm film container that held a chain and cross Nicole had given me, a ring I’d picked up with Elizabeth in Kensington in 1998 and the most important thing of all.

My father’s wedding ring.

The clothes were mostly winter stuff as well as the expensive suit I bought in 2000 and wore twice. The clothes are the clothes of a dead man. There was a bag of envelopes of junk mail crap addressed to me. That stuff must have driven M crazy. No wonder she moved. The surprise item was a painting that I’d bought on the street from an artist in Montreal when we’d gone there in the summer of 2000. It’s a guy walking along, bag over his shoulder past several houses. It’s actually spooky in the way it depicts what my life has been since 2001.

Arielle made salmon steak tonight. We had it with spinach and salad while we watched Elf on DVD.

Friday, December 17, 2004: Dinner Party

I sleep in rather late. This would be the first time I’ve done that since I got back. Arielle had already gone off to work so I schlepped around until she got back at about noon. Then we headed out to a place called “double diamond” for some food. Her Brother Drew who I used to live with in the before time has been kept in the dark about my visit since August so today we got our big surprise. Drew and Arielle had been planning a dinner so they needed to meet up this afternoon in order to shop for it, so Arielle had him meet “her” at the Double Diamond. I was sitting with my back to the entrance so he wouldn’t be able to see me. When he came in he walked right by me then got the big surprise. He was pretty shocked and it was pretty funny. Arielle was ready with my camera so she captured his surprise pretty well.

We went to the grocery store and they shopped for the ingredients to be used for dinner. I had no idea what they were going to make, but since Drew is a chef by training I didn’t ask or worry. They spent about 100 bucks on what looked to me like 1200 baht worth of stuff (I miss Big C) then we headed back to Chez Angel where the preparations began. I stayed out of their way. At about 7:00 pm everything was ready and people began to arrive. There were eight of us total but the only person I knew before hand besides Drew and Arielle was The Bowmaster. He showed up last and it was great to see him.

One thing I must admit I’ve been sort of wondering about how I’d react to when coming back was a dinner party. It was really awkward for me at first. I have the novelty attachment of not living in Canada, but to be honest I was tired of talking about that a week and a half ago. It was at times very weird for me. I can’t exactly explain why. The feeling that I somehow didn’t really belong might have been part of it, but then when have I not felt that? Hearing people talk about the real value of Canadian Tire Money was quite strange though.

Dinner was unbelievable. There were many courses, and each came with a different wine. I didn’t have that much of any but still it was more wine than I’ve had in a long time. Each course was amazing. The appetizer was hand made spring rolls, but to call them “spring rolls” doesn’t do them justice because the name conjures up images of deep fried Mr. Wong delivery abominations. These were unbelievable. Very Thai tasting due to the spices used. The soup was a squash affair but it was thick thick thick and so good it was observed by The Fireman that it was almost like icing. There was an outstanding salad that Arielle made complete with a bit of brie. Oh man. The highlight for me was the pasta though. Drew made (hand made) pasta; ravioli stuffed with some kind of goat cheese combo in shrimp/lobster flavored cream sauce. Unbelievably good. I must not forget the other high point. SHRIMP. Not little tiny sad ones either, big proper size ones. I ate all of Drew as well. He was more interested in the marlin, which was good, but I’m a bigger shrimp fan than fish fan. Except for salmon.

Hungry?

It was a great evening, and I met some really nice people. Perhaps I shouldn’t be so afraid of Farang.

Here is the official list of what we had;

Appetizer – Fresh Spring Rolls in candied ginger and chili rice wine volute

Dessert – Molten Chocolate cake with natural vanilla ice cream and candy cane

Thursday, December 16, 2004: Visa and Kingston

I was up at around 6:00 am. I met my ex-Aikido pal Jeremy at GFM for breakfast at 8:00 am.

The new bistro style paint job is really attracting undesirables. This morning some bossy Boomer with a middle-age mullet was there and moaning that the music was "too loud". It wasn't like they were playing Rage Against the Machine either. It was OLD Elton John. Still this guy was pestering the staff to either turn it down or turn it off. Finally Shea the cook said "no" and the guy stomped off in a huff.

After breakfast I headed down to the courier place and picked up my passport, which now sports a nice big 1 year class B multi-entry stamp. Thank you very much. From there I headed back up to the Annex and packed my stuff up. I got a hair cut then waited for Arielle to show up at the GFM.

She got in at around 2:00 pm and we headed up to Kingston. The drive seemed shorter than I remember. We made on Tim Hortons stop on the way. We got to Kingston at around 5:00 pm. I hung out at Arielle's while she went out to teach yoga at 6:00 until 8:00 pm.

When she got back in we decided to go out for some food. We tried this supposably Khmer/Thai place nearby but they failed to bring us what we had ordered then argued with us about it. So we left. Instead we went to this Tex-Mex place that was so Farang it hurt. But the chicken fahitas were good.

Wednesday, December 15, 2004: Many Visits

Cold!

Have I mentioned that?

I was up early again. Sandy (Noodle) and I have been texting each other a far bit. I am sort of homesick for Bangkok. And her. Go figure. Home is where the heart is as Lene Lovich once said.

I had my breakfast at GFM as usual. Then I ran around the Annex. I had some stuff to do this morning, but afterwards I stopped in at By The Way Café to see Sue. I had a latte then headed down towards China Town. I was supposed to meet Richard F. at 12:30 pm so I thought I’d see in TOCC wanted to join us. I caught him just as he was about to head off to get his car overhauled. I managed to convince him to join us, so we walked down to the Pho place and waited for Richard to show. It was fun to have an Applicators reunion pho lunch.

Afterwards we all headed separate ways and I started heading towards the Annex but GRH called and said she was downtown picking up some supplies. We met at The Stem on Queen Street for a coffee then I walked her up to her car in Kensington market. She headed off and I went to Paul’s Boutique. A lack of Midi cables prevented me from checking out the “Phat Boy” box. Perhaps in the New Year.

I walked over to College and stopped by the Treen’s and saw everyone. Peter was of course my room mate back in 1985. I hung out there until 5:30 pm then went back up towards the moon. I had to meet my friend Kim A. at 7:00 pm there. We had dinner and talked. It was cool to talk with her again.

I got a call today from the Royal Thai consulate. I can pick up my visa tomorrow.

Tuesday, December 14, 2004: Cold Journey

I ran around a little bit today. I sort of melted down by this afternoon and had to rest. The jet-lag should be gone but some how it lingers. I met up Toby at the GFM this afternoon. We hung out for a while and talked. Later my friend Bobo and his son Chris who’s now 7 or 8 joined us there. Toby had to head out so I headed over to Bobo’s for an hour or so.

Tonight I went over to Justin and Kim’s for more musical madness. We recorded on thing, and it was less goofy than what we did on the weekend. I put down some strummed guitar, Justin added some mandolin then we iced it with some bass and sounds. I am not sure what it will be, if anything… but the exercise of recording it was fun. Afterwards I headed back to the GFM.

It was a cold journey!

Monday, December 13, 2004: Down Town Visa Run

The process for putting in your application to the Thai Consulate in Toronto couldn't be weirder. After my trip to Singapore in the summer I was prepared for the same kind set up. Namely standing in line, filling out forms and so forth. Here it was bizarre. I phoned up the Consulate and was informed I had to drop off my application at this courier company located on the ground floor of the Scotia Plaza building off of Adelaide Street down town. Fine.

I took the TTC down and found the place. The staff gave me the cover form which I was to take off premises and fill out. It came in a envelope with the Royal Thai Consulate's address on it and some instructions. I went off to change some green-backs then found a nice little cafe and filled out, as best I could the confusing cover form. Then I put my lawyer's forms, a photo, 200 bucks and the cover letter in the envelope, sealed it up and dropped it off at the courier's. They gave me a receipt and supposably in 3 days PRESTO I have a visa. I never even saw a Thai Consulate staff. Bizarre.

That done I wandered around down town some what aimlessly. I was suppose to meet up with my friend Daryl but I had forgot to bring his number so I couldn't call him. Eventually he called me but we had to arrange to meet later so I went to PHO for some lunch. I met Daryl at the marketing company he owns and chatted for an hour or so which was good. Then I headed back up to the Annex.

Sunday, December 12, 2004: Oakville

Yesterday I went over to visit my cousin Jayne and her family in Oakville. It snowed a bit so it was a very Christmassy trip there. I remember always thinking the GO Train ride to Oakville being this long quest-like journey. For some reason this time it seemed so straightforward and easy. I'd forgot Jayne's number so when I got to the other end I had to look it up in a pay phone booth. I called and Jayne came out and picked me up. Then we drove back to Chez Oakville.

Jayne's husband Paul and their two kids Wil and Alexa were about. It's been five years since I've seen them so the kids are significantly older. It was a good visit. At one point Paul and Wil had to go to some Christmas function rehearsal, and Alexa went to her friends for a sleep over.

Jayne decided on stew for dinner so we drove off to Sobey's Grocery Mart for supplies. There is aparrently a new trend in North American grocery stores of not putting thing in any logical order. This is supposably to induce impulse buying. What it really does is make trying to find something like cheese a frustrating and annoying event. Imagine putting all the dairy products in one spot. Clearly the focus group who thought up this new way of doing stuff couldn't imagine that. So instead of "impulse buying" we wandered around looking for Brie. Once we'd stocked up on stew stuff and some bagette and brie we grabbed some cooking wine and headed back to Chez Oakville.

Paul and Wil had picked up a giant inflatable "nut-cracker" guy and posted him up infront of the house. Before we'd left we'd had a good laugh watching Paul struggle with Mr Nut Cracker who just looked like he'd had far too much egg-nog and was in no condition to stand. We were surprised to see him up when we got back.

The process of making the stew was great. I chopped and pealed the veggies while Jayne prepared the beef. Bing Crosby crooned Christmas songs and Wil and Paul played some on line game called "Rune-Quest". I had a bit of red wine and with the fire place burning and the tree all lit up it was the most Christmas spirit I'd had in five years. I really enjoyed it. While the stew stewed I toasted my toes by the fire.

Dinner was good, and afterwards we sat by the fire and talked. It took a while to finish my wine but combined with the nice heat from the fired I slowly began to fade. I had planned on being back in Toronto for Sandy Moon's return but... I crashed there for the night to return in the morning.

Paul drove me to the GO Station and I went back to Toronto. I met up with Richard F at the GFM for breakfast. Before he arrived Sandy Moon made a brief appearance. She came in then spotted me, ran over and hugged me, then had to take off again. Richard showed up at around 10:00 am and we hung out and talked, catching up on all the news.

This afternoon I headed back to Chez Morrison for some digital four-track freakout. Justin was trying to rig up some Christmas lights to the tree infront of their house when I arrived. He was successful with the first batch around the base of the tree but when we attempted to extent it to the higher portions and the branches it turned into a comedy of errors so we abandon it to the warmth of the house. We had a tea with Kim then retired to the "music room" and proceeded to record a bunch of stuff that may or may not see the light of day.

Justin has built himself a Theremin so we managed set that up for one track and came up with some rather ridiculous Rocket Robinhood space sound effects. We were laughing pretty hard when we recorded it.

Friday, December 10, 2004: Pho Day

Crappy weather. If it would just snow and be cold that would be fine by me. But the weather swings back and forth between wintery snow and yucky rain. I can live without the cold yucky wind and rain. This afternoon was sort of grim. I have been feeling a bit out of sorts. I think it is partly missing Sandy, and partly missing the sun. Some of it must be jet-lag. The rest must be confusion and culture shock.

This afternoon I went down to TTOCs and we took a stroll to Paul's Boutique to look at all the pretty (old) keyboards. There were a few pre-FM Yamaha's that were very knobbular BUT... one thing I don't need is more heavy old keyboards. I did look at a little analog midi box that was sweet... hmmm... We met Paul and talked to him for a bit. He is a bass player so TOCC and him had something in common.

From there we headed to the Pho place on Dundas West that I had gone to since about 1992. The owners remembered me and were happy to see us there. Robin joined us for a meal. Later TOCC and I headed over to Yonge to hit the CD shops there. It was raining and horrible again. I found a couple more items I wanted and from their we headed back towards Spadina and College. The rain and wind had died down. I headed on and paid a visit to Chez Smallwood. Wendi and STELLA!! were there. After that I headed back up to the GFM for a camomile then it was back to Chez Moon.

Thursday, December 9, 2004: Catching Up

Last night Justin M came by the GFM and we hung about and talked. It was sort of like old times, except it wasn't and can't be, because its now. After we loitered there for a few hours we went down to Bloor and poked around at CD shop for a while. I found a few items of interest.

Today I met LLBean for brunchables at GFM. Afterwards I watched while she refilled her punctured tire with a can of "gunk". That was sort of entertaining. Then I caught a ride down town.

I stopped by Chez Treen for a brief visit then headed back up to the GFM. I always end up back there.

Tonight I went to Justin M's. He and Kim have a nice house over in the Westend past High Park. Very nice. Justin pulled out some of my old gear, as well as introducing me to the Sherman Filter back. We made lots of silly noise. Afterwards I headed back to the GFM for a camomile tea before returning to Chez Moon.

Tuesday, December 7, 2004: Hannuka Dinner

I was up early again. I had a coffee and chatted with Damiel once he was up. When GRH got up we had breakfast. Damiel had to head into town, but I hung out until later in the morning and talked with GRH. I caught the 11:00 am GO bus back to Toronto. The snow had turned to rain by this point and it was an unpleasant ride back. I video taped it so Sandy can see what she might be in for some day.

Once I was back in downtown I bought a SIM card for my phone. That was expensive but a relief to have. I took the TTC back up to the Annex and went to the GFM for lunch. Afterwards I went back to Chez Moon for a nap. Jet-lag continues.

The rain stopped and it was just cold this afternoon. I got a hold of Tiff and went to visit her at her & boyfriend Paul's place. She was under the weather so it was a short visit. It was great to see her though, and meet her cats. Paul owns a music store down in Kensington Market so I'll have to check that out with TOCC some time this week. Tiff began to fade so I headed out and back to Chez Moon.

Tonight I travelled up to North York for a Hannuka dinner at Commando's. Momma and Poppa Commando came by and we were later joined by Talkative Tom. It was a nice evening. I hung around after the Parental Units left but by 11:00 pm was starting to fade again so I headed south and west. It was a difficult journey. I kept fading out on the TTC.

I continue to feel a bit out of sorts. A combination of reverse-culture shock and something else, as well as the cold cold cold. Hopefully if I can continue to get some good sleeps as the week moves on I will be able to shake the jet-lag.

Monday, December 6, 2004: Snow Day

I woke up early early. This is no doubt due to the jet-lagging time shift. I was greeted when I when I headed to the GFM for breakfast. Snow was falling and it looked all very pleasant. Sue was about so I talked with her and the staff. I am still learning names.

I called GRH and got the instructions on how to reach her new homestead which was once a general store out in the far aways but she and Damiel have renovated into a studio and living space. I took the TTC down to Union Station and got my GO bus ticket then found the depot to go from. By the time I came out above ground it wasn't snowing in a nice way. It had turned nasty with wind and snow that was closer to ice or freezing rain. I was not impressed that the GO bus depot was exposed to the elements. Our bus was delayed due to the weather but eventually it came and off I went.

I got off in GRHville and walked over to the GRHernal Store where GRH and Angel Blue were peering out. It was cold. I was glad to come inside. The rest of the day was visiting with Damiel, GRH and meeting Angel Blue, who is now 2. I was sad to learn that Chico went to the otherside at the end of October. I'm sorry to have missed him.

I was struck by jet-lag plus at around 4:00 pm and fell asleep until woken at around 7:00 pm for a big Hungarian meal. I probably could have slept on until morning but it was such good food. Afterwards we sat around and talked. GRH and I yapped until about midnight.

Sunday, December 5, 2004: The First Day

I woke up at about 7:00 am. Because of the level of light in the room where I was I thought I was Bangkok. My first thought was "where is Sandy?" Then it dawned on me.

I had trouble sleeping last night and I had actually wallked around for about two hours. I went down to College and Spadina to hang on TOCC's bell but he was out playing a gig.

Today I started off my day by going over to the GFM with Sue and having a bit. Later I called TOCC and told him where I was. He showed up not too much later. We headed over to the TRANZAC club on Brunswick to see Robin who was selling items at a craft show there. That was a bit... much for me. I felt sort of freaked out by it. I can't exactly put my finger on why, beyond it being so first world it was disturbing.

I ran into the Artist Roth on Bloor and got his number. Then we headed down to Chez Chiasson so I could check email and rumage through the dusty remains of my former life. TOCC is hold several boxes of journals that date from the pre-Y2K period, when men were tiny and cars not yet invented.

At some point we headed back up towards bloor and I was confronted with a horrible cold wind heading in the opposite direction. It was cold. I did not like it. I was feeling rather jet lagged. We went to the GFM for a bit then I felt the need for sleep so I headed back to Chez Moon for a snooze.

I got a message that Justin M would be at the TRANZAC CLUB at around 8:00 pm to sing with the Morris Men. I had difficultly attending that event as my batteries needed charging but a short snooze held me through and I enjoyed the night.

Saturday, December 4, 2004: Day of Days

9:00 am. I am currently at the TOT internet cafe located in Terminal One of the Bangkok Airport. I am using a computer which seems to be loaded with Windows 98, but looks and acts as if it is running Windows 3.1.

Yesterday consisted of trying to do everything I should have done last week. Sandy was at the Hospital with her Sister all day and got back to the Redoubt at around 9:30 pm, in time to watch me trying make sense of all the power supplies I now have. Each one seems to be bigger than the device it is intended for.

I packed my bags (last night preflight etc) and then had some much needed wonton soup. At one point I was hugging her and I said "I don't want to go..." to which she replied "you have to go..." which reminded me of the ONE THING I couldn't afford to forget which up until that point I had forgot.

My Visa application.

I packed that in with Lappy 486 and thanked her for reminding me.

We fell asleep at around 2:00 am.

I was up at 5:30 am, which isn't an unusual thing. What was weird is how in my head I still can't quite get around the fact of WHERE I am going. I feel like I am flying to Singapore, or Hong Kong. Somewhere normal. Somewhere close by. I repacked one bag and had a tea. Sandy got up at 6:00 am and hovered around while I fussed with stuff.

BBC news was running a piece about the South of Thailand. The reporter said "500 people have died this year in the south of Thailand, the government says its due to Islamic Insurgents but here on the ground its another story..."
What the "OTHER" story is was of course about the 98 guys dying in the transport to an army base. Nothing about the preceeding 9 months of daily killings of teachers, monks, government officials, tree sappers, students, and anyone who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. There was some guy denying "outside" involvement although there is no doubt JI is involved at some level in this, as well as funding and training having come from elsewhere. As for the Thai soldiers and Government people, I've seen footage of them weeping at the sight of a Buddhist Temple having been blown up. Students weeping because their school has been burnt to the ground. No mention of that. Everything is everyone elses fault. Not the extremists. Why does the press cut these bastards so much slack?

On a side note. I haven't heard the call to prayer in over a week. This may not sound that unusual but it is. For nearly four years now I've heard it at least once a day. 5:30 am for sure. On weekends if I'm lazing around I'd hear it 4 or 5 times. But now NOTHING. It's actually sort of weird. This comes after a week of what Police claimed were "fireworks" being let off in the middle of the night.

ANYWAYS...

At 7:00 am I got myself together and dressed then waited for Kaboom to arrive while watched the second disc of the Bowie Video DVD. I normally do this before I go to the gym, starting on track 8. I'm not sure what was going on with him in the mid 80s but those videos are unwatchable and the songs are unlistenable.

At 7:30 am Kaboom texted me that he was downstairs, so off I went. Sandy came down, insisting that she would help carry one of my bags, which I fear weighed more than she does. We put everything in the Zero and off I went. Sandy opting not to come to the Airport. We got past one main road and I realized I'd forgotten my shades so I called Sandy on the new phone and we turned back.

"Need anything else?" was what she said when she gave them to me. Such a smart-ass.

Off we went again. Sunny, nice, warm. I got the jitters as we hit the express way. Kaboom gave me my replacement phone... Its a T600, just like my old one. Oh well. I have been seduced my the fanciness of my new phone.

We got to the Airport at 8:15 am. I checked in and went through customs. It was fast and easy today. I'd feared a repeat of the last time I went to Singapore and the Blue Sashed Weirdos clogged up the passport control with their silly outfits throwing the Thai Immigration Officers into security overdrive.

My flight doesn't leave until 11:35 am. Time to kill. So I'll go kill some time. I am not sure if I can get on-line again but I will update this as I can. I will also keep notes during the trip, as having re-read the notes from my 2002 trips too and from Vancouver they were pretty amusing.

Now its 9:30 am. I am hungry. Next stop Hong Kong.

3:30 pm Hong Kong time. Some where near Japan.

What else can I say? I keep thinking that I'll wake up any at moment.

Friday, December 3, 2004: One Day Short

Good old Kaboom. What does he do after I voiced my original displeasure at being given the crap for crap T100? He went back to the service centre and gave them hell. So yesterday afternoon he calls me up and tells me that he wants to pick up the T100. Apparently they are taking it back and giving me a tri-band. Even though I don’t need it. I guess it is a good thing I didn’t let Sandy sell it to a used phone kiosk at MBK.

Meanwhile I am trying to do everything I should have taken care of last week…

By the way. I appreciate the concern BUT… The storm in the Philippines… it is in the Philippines. I am not in the Philippines. I haven’t been there since 2001. The only effect the typhoons have had on me here is that I couldn’t sit by the pool for 3 days because it was cloudy. But I sat by it anyways.

Sandy's got a new NEPHEW by the way. I am not certain how to pronouce the name. It's one of those Thai names a Farang can't pronounce. It hovers between "Plig", "Ping" and "Pluck". Or at least that's how it sounded to me.

OKAY.

Here we go.

Thursday, December 2, 2004: New Phone, Camera, Baby

Sandy and I took a stroll to MBK today in search of a phone. I ended up buying a Sony Ericsson T610. If I had my druthers as Lil’ Amber once said, I would turn back time and buy a heap of T600s as they are small, light and straight forward to use. The T610 is immense in comparison, and contains a wealth of useless things like a joystick, colour screen and camera BUT it was the cheapest of the tri-bands at only 7000 Baht. Still I know every time I pull it out I will miss my old T600. I am so sentimental when it comes to electronic kit and shoes.

Sandy loves to shop. I don’t mind it if I am not the one buying. Not out of cheapness but out of the frustration I find in looking for what ever it is I am looking for. I went through this with buying a video camera, and have been going through this with picking a digital camera. The phone situation was an unexpected shopping trip.

I also finally bought a digital camera. That may mean resurgence in photo posting in the images section…

Sandy’s sister had a baby today. I am uncertain of the gender so for now I will refer to it, in the tradition of Look People, as Baby X. Details to follow.

Wednesday, December 1, 2004: Crap Phone

So much for a "free phone". My nice little T600 is replaced with a crappy T100. The phone that looks like an air-con controller from the 1980's. It's not even a tri-band so I can't use it in North America. This means I have to go and find a new phone after all. 6 weeks later. As much as I like Sony Ericcson phones I have to say the service in this country blows. I'm not sure if that's Sony Ericssons fault of it is just a Thai rippoff thing.