Gonna Go Back in Time

So the other night Hayley and I were watching the show "Bones", as is our routine, and they dropped in an intriguing plot distraction. The show itself has gotten pretty bad in the last couple of seasons. It really has followed a similar tragectory to "House". Starts out focused on a science and problem solving core with some drama and character development worked in. But every season it becomes harder and harder to come up with new problem-solving tasks and so they have to start working in more and more drama and character work. And soon it becomes a sitcom with some technical stuff worked in when necessary to keep the plot moving. Anyways, the distraction was the concept of time-travel, and if you could go back in time to relive 1 day/event what would it be. This decision becomes a little more complicated for me. I'm sure most people who know me know I have a very laid-back attitude towards even life's big events. While this is great is staying calm and relaxed and being able to enjoy things without getting stressed out, it comes at a price. I often miss out on the 'gravity' of big events. When you treat things like just another day, the big days lose some of the excitement that comes from acknowledging that it's not just another day and handling all those extra emotions and extra stress. I've been this way for a long, long time and this is no surprise to me. It all stems from a pretty dark summer after freshman year of high school. Aka, the same thing every all teenagers go through to one extent or another. I caught a couple bad breaks while some good friends caught some really good breaks. Couple that with the standard-issue turmoil that comes from that age and you can easy get a bad situation. Nothing horribly bad, as I did have a good group of friends around me, but still getting to a pretty dark place for awhile. I just couldn't handle the lows that stem from getting all excited about the possibility of something happening and then watching it fall through. Sometimes it's a girl, sometimes it's a big event that you're planning, whatever. That crushing low you get when everything falls apart would wreck me. So I responded by just not getting that anticipatory high. If I stopped getting excited ahead of things, the potential low was greatly reduced. So I gave up the big highs to prevent the big lows. I'm sure there's some ingrained part of my personality that allows for this to work. You have to be naturally laid-back to go this route. If I'd lived for the rush you get at the possibilities and the thrill of the chase, I'd never have ended up this way. So when I start looking back at the big days in my life, part of me would really like to go back and do them again and let myself get swept up in the roller coaster. I have so many great memories of our wedding day (not the least of which is our entrance to For Those About to Rock, one of the greatest songs in the history of music), but I still lack that depth that comes from the stress emotions. Myles' birth is a bit different, as I'd really like to go back to Wednesday 6/27, 2 days before he was born. I still remember making some dinner and getting ready to go play hockey when I got The Call. She was being induced and it was time to run Tyler to boarding, grab our bags, and run down to HUP (all without doing anything silly like blasting around the Schuykill Expwy at 80+ mph). What I'd like to do is go back and tell past Jarod that we'd have a day and a half to kill and that I should play hockey and THEN go to the hospital. No need to rush down there. And to bring our air mattress so I'd have a reasonable place to sleep Wednesday and Thursday night. Details. And with that, it's time to take the aforementioned Myles up for a nap. He's a stompy little eye-rubbing fussyphus right now. Fingers crossed for a solid 2-hour nap and not a 20-minute cat nap. While I won't get excited at the possibility of a long nap, I can still get disappointed if it doesn't happen. PEACE!!

I'm an underappreciated minority!!

I realized the other week that I'm finally a part of an under-appreciated and ignored minority; fathers who take on the bulk of household and child-rearing duties! There are plenty of articles and conversations regarding the plight of the stay-at-home dad. But little is ever discussed about the dads who work full-time and still take on the bulk of household and baby duties. I never really thought much about this until a couple weekends ago. Running a household was something I signed up for when I married Hayley. Back in Boston she was working ~100 hours/week during residency, which meant that I took on just about everything else. All the cooking, taking care of the dog, house/yard chores like garbage and mowing the lawn, maintaining 2 cars, and fixing anything that broke. When we moved to Philly and she started Fellowship, I knew not much would change. We were renting, so there was less house repair, but otherwise nothing changed. And when we decided to have a baby, I knew that I was going to have to shoulder more of the work. Hayley and I talked about it and it was no secret. She'd have to start chipping in more, but her schedule really didn't allow her much flexibility or openings. No biggie. If we wanted to have a baby before 2015 that was the sacrifice I'd have to make. It was a easy decision. I never really thought about the way most people view a father's role in the home/baby world until the other weekend while away for a weekend ski trip. Most people, including myself until recently, pretty much assume that the mother does the lion's share of the work and the father just fills in when necessary and fixes the house when it's broken. Except in our case, that's not even close to the truth. Because of Hayley's schedule, which is completely inflexible and often requires 12+ hour days, she has trouble keeping up with day-to-day activities, let alone emergencies. Unless she comes down with the Marburg virus, she doesn't get a sick day. On a good rotation she's able to handle either a drop-off or pick-up at day care every day along with putting him to bed every other night and helping get him ready in the morning. On a bad rotation, sometimes she can't do any of those things. Which means it all falls to me. On top of everything else going on. If Myles gets sick, guess who takes the day off of work to stay home with him. Dog hurts his leg again (we have the canine Kerry Wood), I'm taking a 1/2-day to run to the vet. Hayley's over-night and weekend calls? Me. And so on and so forth. But again, nothing I'm upset about or regret or want any sympathy for. I'm thrilled with my life and love everything that goes on. I've got a fantastic wife, the cutest happiest baby ever, a loyal goofy injury-prone dog, and a job I really like. But then comes in a friend of a friend who decides to take a couple of pot-shots at me for leaving the wife and baby behind for a weekend snowboard trip. The first time I've spent more than 12 hours away from Myles in his entire 7-month life. And yeah, it pissed me off a bit. Cause I know they wouldn't had said the same things to a new mom away for a weekend. Quite the opposite, I'd wager. They'd likely be telling a mother how much she deserves that weekend away and how her slacker husband can shoulder some of the work for a change. (At least I'd hope so. No one should ever give a new mom a hard time for anything.) So why would an otherwise overly nice person give me a shit for enjoying a couple responsibility-free days? Hopefully it was just some friendly ribbing gone horribly wrong. Cause when a single person with no kids and no pets implies you can't handle being a dad, it's a pretty safe bet they have absolutely no idea what it takes to be married to a doctor and serve as the primary caregiver for a family while working full-time. If they did have an idea they'd have gotten me another beer and asked me if I needed a back massage. So why do I bring this up? It's not for some selfish need to get sympathy or pity or anything like that. I'm perfectly content with where I'm at and would really prefer NOT to get those. Unless pity means bringing me a Hop-15 and a deep-dish pizza. Then I would like some pity. Yeah, partly it's to air a grievance in a passive-aggressive way. But the primary reason is just to make people think twice before they give a dad a hard time. In this day, where women place a higher priority on their careers and men place a higher priority on being an active dad, it's irresponsible to assume that the woman is handling the majority of home duties. So when you see a dad out for a drunken night with the guys, or a weekend away with friends, think twice before you give him crap about his skills as a husband and father. He's likely shouldering more responsibility on a daily basis then you'll deal with in an entire year. PEACE!!

Nature vs Nurture

So we're getting down to crunch time. We're down to only 9 days until the due date, so I realistically could be a dad at any moment. Lately I've been thinking about the various personality traits that Hayley and I have and which will be picked up by the baby. I'm not sure exactly how much is nature vs nurture, but I'm not sure that's really going to matter much. Whether or not you pick up traits from your parents because of your genes or because they raised you, you still pick them up. And at the end of the day that's all that matters. I figure the one thing we can count on is the kid being anal and borderline OCD. That's the one thing we both share. It's not bad for either of us, but it pops up. Most of mine show up as the various "superstitions" I have about sports. For hockey, I get dressed in the same order every time. I hang up my stuff to dry a specific way. Baseball had similar OCD things. Hayley likes to clean up the table at restaurants when we're done eating. Stacks up the plates and silverware and napkins. I typically then un-stack everything just to provoke her. Re-spread the used napkins and straw wrappers across the table. Good times. I think the first that will start to come out will be how the kid reacts to situations that require help. When Hayley is working on something and needs help, she usually just wants the solution. She's not interested in getting some help getting back on track to figuring out the solution; she just wants the answer. I on the other hand like to go through the process so that I know what I did wrong and what I was missing. Naturally I also assume everyone else does. That is what usually leads to trouble in our house now and what might lead to new trouble very soon. My niece Evie shows a 3rd option; never wanting any help. If you try to help her with a puzzle she can get pretty upset at you. I'm hoping our kid picks option 1 or 2 so we don't have all 3 of us butting heads at times. One of the other ones that will probably come out early will be reaction to pain/injury. Hayley tends to be more normal. When she hurts herself you know it. She makes an audible noise, tends to avoid covering it up if something is bothering her, etc. I on the other hand will do whatever I can to hide it. I can drop a pot on my foot and would make barely a sound. It's not that it doesn't hurt; I just don't want anyone to know that I just got hurt and so I silently swear and writhe in pain. And playing sports only reinforces that. If someone drills you in the leg with a slap-shot you don't want to give them the satisfaction of knowing it hurt. Same thing if you get plunked in the ribs with a pitch. You bite your tongue and play even harder to act like it didn't affect you. And If you are hurt, you do whatever you can to not come out of the game. This one might take a couple years at least to show up. Obviously we're not going to be helicopter parents that run over and dote over our kid every time they get a bump or a scratch. But until they are old enough to decide for themselves how they want to handle it, we won't know the path they take. Obviously there are dozens, maybe even hundreds of behaviors and personality traits that will be decided. And I'm sure we'll discover new ones every month. Every time the baby does something...unfortunate we'll be arguing and who they got that habit from. And then fighting to claim all of the good things. And what I'm really hoping for right now is that the baby inherits my propensity for sleeping soundly and eating heartily. If I get nothing else on what will very likely not be my first father's day, I'd be a happy man.

Bahamas Drunken Moron

A few weeks back Hayley and I decided to take 1 last vacation before the baby showed up. A last hurrah, if you will. So off to the Bahamas we went for a 5-day mini vacation in the sun. And while the entire trip was full of great memories of sun, sand, fishing, snorkeling, relaxing, there was 1 particular hour that really capped it all off quite nicely. One of those great “dude, you gotta hear what this retard did” stories. It’s late afternoon, sunny, and a little bit cool, so we decide to stroll down to the pool deck and hang out in the lounge chairs for awhile until it’s time for dinner (late reservation that night). There’s really no one down there so it’s rather peaceful…to start. We’ve got a small group of ~3 girls and 1 dude near us just chilling out relaxing by the pool. At some point the 2 dudes drinking at the pool bar decide they need to get their attention. I’m not sure if there is history b/t the groups, but it appears likely. Especially when our main character, we’ll call him John, yells from the bar at one of the girls “Hey, sorry I called you a bitch!” Needless to say, their requests that the ladies come have a drink in the pool with them fall on deaf ears. Another 5 minutes of harassment and they all get up and leave. The time eventually comes for me to refresh my own adult beverage. And naturally John and his less-drunk buddy are now on the non-pool side of the bar, raising my odds of getting sucked into their game of shots, cat-calls, and yelling. All things I’m normally down for, except when on vacation with my pregnant wife in a foreign country with questionable legal and medical systems. Fortunately I escape, drink in hand, with just the not-surprising knowledge that John isn’t there to get a girl, or a guy, and just wanted to get f**ked up. That was his actual response when the bartender suggested he back off on the shots cause if he got too drunk he wouldn’t be able to score any girls. Classy guy, that John. I’m sure everyone knows how the next 60 minutes go. John is really happy and trying to get all the employees to do shots with him. And degrading the ones that won’t. The staff just laughs at the stupid college kid making an ass out of himself. But that magical tipping point is reached and it rapidly descends into anger and stumbling around getting combative. The polite tux-wearing staff come outside and try to talk him into going to his room. His buddy tries to talk him into just heading to his room. John response? Telling them to ‘step to him’, while staggering around. Several attempts at sitting on lounge chairs end in him flipping the chair over and crashing to the deck. So now at this point people are watching from their balconies. Hayley and I are keeping an eye on this to judge when it’s time to just get up and leave before we’re on the wrong end on the developments. Hayley is also concerned about having to do some doctor shit on this moron when he falls and cracks his head open on the pool deck. At this point Miguel comes strolling out to the pool area. Miguel’s dressed in dark kacki and just has that look in his eye. You know he’s the closer. Part of you hopes John realizes that and just walks away; part of you hopes John asks Miguel to step to him. When John’s buddy puts his hands in the air and leaves, it’s a pretty good sign you know how it’s going to end. Some talking later and Miguel heads off to get a wheel chair to roll John out of there. Seems he’s having a little bit of trouble staying upright enough to walk. Shockingly, he does get in the chair and appears ready to just call it a day. But at the last second, as they were about to leave the pool area, he hits the brake and starts mouthing off to Miguel. When he loudly tells Miguel that he’ll kill him, Miguel calmly tells him, “You do what you have to do.” (One of my favorite parts of the entire exchange. It was delivered just like in a bad action movie immediately preceding the hero busting up some guy.) Apparently what John had to do was jump out of the chair, stumble a few feet away and continue to shit-talk Miguel. Now, I didn’t hear exactly what he said, but he found Miguel’s trigger. And that didn’t end well for John. He dodged the first punch, but that second right hook landed. And before the rest of the staff could get in and pull Miguel off he’d landed another head shot and a half-dozen solid kidney shots. Of course John isn’t done. No one tends to him, so he drags himself up off of the pool deck…and proceeds to stumble into the pool. At which point Hayley, and an EMT we befriended during this exchange, anxiously pray that he surfaces. He does, resumes lobbing profanity-laced taunts at the staff, and wanders across the pool to the far side. Now, that side of the pool had a dozen concrete lounge chairs rising a couple inches above the water. Just high enough to keep your body out of the body for some in-pool sun bathing. But the important part is that they’re made out of pool-deck material. So cement, covered in ceramic tile. Jutting above the surface of the water. So in yet another scene that appeared ripped from a bad movie, John drags himself out of the pool, stands just long enough to yell something at Miguel, then takes that one fateful misstep over the edge of the pool. We all just watch as he falls face-first into one of the slabs of tiled cement. And yeah, it makes that sickening, slapping a waterbed sound in real life. Luckily for John he landed face-first, instead of back-of-the-head style, so all he got was a busted-up face. He bled pretty good and likely suffered a broken orbital bone. Given what just happened to him, he didn’t look that bad as they wheeled him out in the now-acceptable wheelchair. But he still looked like a dude that was about to go to a Bahamas hospital to have his face stitched up and x-rayed before going to visit a Bahamas jail. I was chatting with one of the tux-wearing staff as they wheeled him out and asked if he’d been a problem before that afternoon. Turns out he’d been causing trouble the night before and almost got knocked the f**k out. See, you never know when seemingly harmless hotel worker you’re barking at and taunting is also an amateur boxer trying to make ends meet. Miguel looked pretty proficient in throwing hands; an amateur boxer would have needed just 1 quick shot to end John’s night. And with that, we were free to resume reading on the now-vacant pool deck. Cause we still had a few hours to kill off until it was dinner time. And surprisingly there wasn’t any line at the bar, so my pina colada runs were even quicker. Good times.

Limbaugh is a twat, but should absolutely keep his job.

Rush Limbaugh is at it again. I’m sure no one is shocked that he said something extremely conservative and shocking on his radio program. He’s the right-wing version of “shock jocks” (a term that is kinda ridiculous) like Opie & Anthony and Howard Stern. He just keeps his rants to the right-wing conservative agenda and avoids stunts like having listeners engage in sexual activity in a famous NY church. In case you’ve been living in seclusion for the past week here’s what happened. Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke has been advocating before Congress to increase the availability of contraception methods such as birth control pills. Rush Limbaugh, and many other conservatives, felt that insurance companies and pharmacies should not be forced to cover and distribute these products. As a part of his broadcast Rush went on to label Ms. Fluke as a slut and prostitute based on the incorrect idea that you require more birth control pills if you’re having more sex. Now there are various groups calling for Rush to be suspended and/or fired for his comments. Celebrities and other personalities that have gone through similar circumstances in the past are being interviewed for their opinions. As I see it, there are 2 main issues raised in this little exchange. First is the obvious one regarding a woman’s sexual rights. This is one of the few times that I actually see eye-to-eye on a social issue with my friend Julie. She believes strongly in a woman’s right to stand on the same sexual footing as men. She has participated in the Slut Walk in Boston and often engages in conversations on the issue at gatherings. (Yes, these often become uncomfortable to watch.) Essentially the root of the issue is that women are expected to remain chaste and never have sex. Any woman that does engage in open sexual relationships with multiple partners is labeled a slut, whore, etc. Men that do the same are either applauded for their efforts or at worst simply seen as doing what guys do. Men aren’t held to this same, archaic, sexual standard of chastity. I don’t hear anyone complaining about their insurance covering Viagra and Cialis. And those are drugs whose dosage is dependent on frequency of sex and therefore do lead to men being paid to have sex. Do Christian Scientists rally against having to pay for medicare even though they don’t believe in medical science? On the other hand, a company’s insurance plan should not be forced to cover any specific medication or treatment. I’ve had many plans over the years and have had various medicines covered to different degrees. Your employer should be free to decide what level of coverage they will provide for their employees. If the employees don’t like it they are free to purchase additional insurance or find a new employer that provides an insurance package more to their liking. The federal government has no business telling private companies what they do and don’t have to offer. Issue #2 is Rush’s right to say what he said about Ms. Fluke. The first amendment does protect Rush’s right to go in public and call Ms. Fluke a slut so long as it does not impact her pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness, or cause a danger to public safety. The fact that he did it as a part of his radio show is a slightly different situation, but given that his job is to express his personal views to anyone that wants to listen, he should be protected. If you don’t want to listen to what he is saying you don’t have to set your radio to his broadcast. Simple solution. He in no way has impeded Ms. Fluke from pursuing a career and living her life. I get called much worse things by better people than Rush and it doesn’t bother me. I do what I do knowing that not everyone will like it. Now then, people are freely allowed to get upset by what he said. But just because someone said something that upset you doesn’t mean that person needs to be silenced. If that was the case no one would be able to say anything to anyone. If you’re riding the subway and mention to a friend that you support gay marriage you very likely offended someone within ear-shot. Does that mean you need to be silenced and chastised for your view? How about we expand this to the international realm? Different cultures have different moral standards. Should all Western media be banned and silenced in Islamic regions because they find our views on women to be offensive? I’m not, however, saying that people should just take it and do nothing. If you find Rush’s comments to be offensive and against your values, don’t listen. He will remain on the radio as long as ratings dictate it. Try to enlighten other people on why you feel his comments were wrong without attacking him. Stop using products/services that advertise on his show. I even support people contacting those advertisers to inform them that you are no longer purchasing their product/service because of their alignment with Limbaugh. What people shouldn’t be doing is campaigning to remove him from the airways. If we start setting this precedent that people that say things that upset someone get silenced, where does it end? Who decides what is a noble cause to revolt against and say offensive things about and what isn’t? When a conservative is attacked and insulted as ignorant for not supporting gay marriage why is there no outrage? Why aren’t stations pressured to fire those personalities? It’s a double-standard and a dangerous one. At the end of the day I don’t think anything is going to happen. Rush will possibly receive a paid suspension and temporarily lose a few of his 600+ syndicated stations and numerous advertisers. And 6 months from now it’ll probably be like nothing ever happened. Sandra Fluke will keep up her campaign for contraception availability and be in no way hindered, and likely helped, by what Rush said. People are just too easy to become “outraged” and too easy to move on. (While I think Julie is insane and rarely agree with her methods and delivery, I do respect that she does not back down for the things she believes in and feels strongly about. She’ll attack me today no differently that she would have 5 years ago for saying the things I sometimes say. And she actively supports and campaigns for her causes.) I’d like to add that I fully support gay marriage. It’s just a very good topic to use as a counter-point in this discussion. In no way am I advocating against it or against the people that support it and rally behind it.

New Years Resolution

Ahh, the New Year. 2012. Everything seems so fresh and clean….and then you read the news and find out Philly was able to book 5 murders in the wee hours of the night number 1. That’s one hell of a pace. I’m hoping Philadelphia is the Tuffy Rhodes of cities, or we’re looking at some kind of record here. ($1 to the first person who gets the reference WITHOUT using the internet.) Regardless, this is the time of year that most people start making resolutions. It’s all you hear about on the news. It causes a noticeable rise in the number of exercise-related infomercials. Every douchey morning talk radio show has a bit about what resolutions people are making. I’m not a big fan of New Years resolutions. If you wanted to make big, sweeping changes in your life, why do you have to wait until the middle of winter to do it? Do you really need the changing of the year to motivate you? Why not just decide to do these things when you think of them instead of stacking them all together in January and claiming you’ll do them all before the next January? Even worse are the people that talk about how they make resolutions every year and actually do very few of them. You’d think they’d be smart enough to just stop making the resolutions every year if they know going into it that they’ll fail. Or at least be smart enough not to talk about how you make claims and promises that you can’t keep. Of course, the fact that they already assume failure while making new resolutions is part of the reason they fail. Once your expectations are set for failure, there isn’t really any punishment when you do fail. It’s why Cubs fans are so happy year after year. We talk a big game, but we don’t really think they’ll win it all next year. When they’re mathematically eliminated by the end of June it hurts less when you kind of expected it. Except for this year. 2012 is totally the year they finally win it all. It’s all part of Armageddon. Here’s one of the few times where I think we can take something from the corporate world and actually make it useful in real life. Think of your resolutions as a year-end performance review with yourself. You review how you did last year and then set your goals for the upcoming year. The real trick to making this work is having some system of rewards/punishments. At work, your reward for achieving your goals typically is a raise, bonus, and/or some type of promotion. Failure means not getting a raise, demotion, and eventually being told to hit the bricks. Real life can be much more fun, especially when it comes to the punishments. If we steal a page from How I Met Your Mother, you can make a Resolution Slap Bet with a friend. Let’s say you make 5 resolutions. For each one that you fail at, your friend gets to slap you in the face as hard as they want. That will definitely make you think long and hard about the resolutions you do make to ensure that they’re reasonable and can’t be undermined by outside parties. Saying you’ll get a 10% raise at work would be a pretty stupid one, as that is more dependant on the company’s performance rather than your own hard work. You’ll also make sure that you have a really clear pass/fail system in place. Nothing vague like ‘I resolve to be nicer to people this year’. You’re going to get slapped for that one no matter what you do. This probably wouldn’t work for everyone. You need a malicious friend that has no qualms with hitting you in the face. I have several, but I’d like to think my friends are degenerate animals and other people wouldn’t have such a deep talent pool. But even if you don’t go for physical abuse, you could just as easily set a non-violent reward/punishment. I’m sure most couples can think of dozens of things they’d like the other person to do that could be used. You could bet money on each resolution, so long as the money isn’t being exchanged b/t people sharing accounts. I have no problem giving Hayley $100, since it’s just going back into a joint account. Whatever it is, it just needs to be something that only can be triggered by the pass/fail of the resolutions and is strong enough to motivate you. Betting a friend $5 that I’ll do 10 crazy resolutions isn’t going to do squat. Now if you put some extra 0s in there, then you have something that will get me moving. And no, I’m still not making any resolutions. I don’t really feel like getting cracked in the face on New Years Eve 2012. Besides, there’s usually a non-trivial chance of that happening anyways, making it pointless to tie that to a resolution.

Bling is Bling...Even if it's on the Inside.

Our dog Tyler has finally suffered his first major injury. It’s debatable exactly when this happened, but he has a complete tear of his Cranial Cruciate Ligament (doggie ACL). He’s had some intermittent problems with that leg since winter, but it was never very serious and nothing that a couple days of rest and NSAIDs completely fixed. So it’s possible that he ruptured it months ago and just did extremely well until recently, or he started a tear before and ruptured it last week at the park. Moo point, since either way he’s going under the knife.
He’ll be getting a procedure known as TTA. Tibial Tuberosity Advancement. It’s not a fun thing to look at the descriptions of, so I’m going to skip that. Suffice to say I’ll no longer be the only one in the house who’s had metal surgically implanted in their body.
His rehab will be much shorter than a person’s, but still not really fun for Hayley and me. From the vet’s brief intro and what I’ve read, it’ll be a couple weeks of minimal walking just to get outside and go to the bathroom. Maybe some short 5-minute walks outside if he seems to be okay. After that, each week he gets to move around more and more until about the 8 week mark when he can start getting back to normal activity levels. By 12 weeks he’s supposedly going to be back to 100%. And technically he should be better than he’s been in the prior months since his knee will be fixed instead of broken. Hopefully that means he can return to the dog park and run like a mad dog with all of his new doggie friends.
One important question we still have is whether or not he’ll really be back to normal afterwards. If you read the description of the surgery you’ll notice that they aren’t really restoring the joint’s full stability. They’re just changing the dynamics of the joint in order to hopefully not require the full stability. The vet and the majority of internet searches do confirm the fix, although I haven’t talked to anyone with 1st-hand experience (except the vet, but she’s got a vested interest in making me feel confident). I have a line on a lab that had this procedure done, so hopefully we’ll have some trusted words on what to expect in the coming years.
And why do they do this instead of just replacing the ligament? Seems that since you can’t get a dog to completely stop using their leg for the 6ish weeks it would require to let a replacement heal, they have to find other solutions. Using suture thread and other materials anchored to the bones to simulate the ligament works in smaller and/or less active dogs, but not for large dogs with high energy levels. Aka, our 70# wrecking ball. If he wasn’t so active he wouldn’t have done this in the first place.
So, now that I’ve calmly done the background on things, I’m going to shelve this for another day and finish up after the surgery. Why am I explaining that now instead of just doing it? If you’re asking that question you clearly don’t read many of these and really don’t know me.

And week 1 is coming to an end. He’s doing shockingly well, which I kinda expected. Yeah, that should make it not shocking, but here we are. The first couple days were pretty tough on all of us. He was all knocked out from the annestesia; we felt pretty bad watching our tough guy hobble around with his freshly shorn leg. But it was but a few days before he was starting to get his energy back and feel well enough to try to sneak onto the couches and play his old games. He’s still got very little energy, which works great for us. He’s got about 30 minutes where he wants to play with his Snoopy (kindly donated by the good people at MetLife) before he goes back to just laying around.
But he’s walking much, much better already and only chewed out 1 stitch. We’re not 100% sure he got 1 out, or when he would have done it, but it sure looks like 1 is missing. And since he sleeps without his cone of shame, he had plenty of opportunity.
He gets his 2 week check-up next week at which point I’ll try to get a copy of his x-rays showing his new inter-bling.
PEACE!

No Other Primate Takes Medicine, But That Doesn't Stop Anyone.

So it's my final day of The Summer of Jarod. And as such I'm spending my afternoon watching the first half of the 2nd season of How I Met Your Mother. Granted I did some crunches and push-ups, but that doesn't count for much. The only other exercise I'll likely get today was Tyler and my walk down to Wissahickon Creek this morning.
Anyways...recently a couple friends watched a movie touting the benefits of living a vegan lifestyle. The movie even presents a few freak cases of people that can live normal non-protein-deficient life given the correct mix of expensive and exotic supplements and powders. And I have no problem with that decision. If that's how they want to spend their time and money, that's their call. I like expensive craft beer; they like expensive rice protein powders. Tomato; tomato.
However, one point that got made stuck with me. The remark that humans are the only adult animal that not only drinks milk, but also the milk of another animal. And that furthermore it's wrong. So because we're the only animal on the planet that does something it's wrong. Naturally that leads into all the other things that humans are either the only ones to do or not do.
Medical Sciences. What other animal on the planet can manufacture drugs like antibiotics, NSAIDs, antivirals, etc. What animal can perform life-saving surgeries? I don't think I've ever seen an ape performing a triple bypass, so we should probably give those up.
Cultivation of Crops. As much damage to the environment as we're doing with excessive fertilizer and proprietary seeds, it's still the foundation for our society. Without our ability to cultivate crops to feed our populations, we'd be down millions of people.
Written Language. Even see a jungle cat writing in their diary? Possibly a grizzly bear opening up a newspaper to catch up on current events? And while I have seen birds poop on a crossword puzzle in seemingly methodical fashion, that certainly doesn't count.
Cooking and Food Preservation. I'll admit that all other animals seem to be doing okay without cooking. However, since they have no means of preserving food or changing the nutritional content of their food to a more digestible form, they have to just accept what they can get when they can get it. It's partly tied to medical science, which is what you need when you eat old raw meat. Our expansion across the continent was fueled by our cultivation of crops and means of preservation and cooking of perishable meats and cheeses.
Not Resorting to Cannibalism. I'd wager a guess that most animals on the planet will readily resort to cannibalism given the chance. Monkeys and bears are well documented to do it. The great cats? Yup. Bugs? Constantly. Humans? It's really something we frown upon. There are remote tribes rumored to do it, and evidence that former colonies of humans have done it, but it's not something we accept. Clearly, that's a poor decision on our part as humans.

Alright, I think I've made my point. And I'm really running out of steam and need to refocus on my stories. Doesn't count as the Summer of Jarod if I'm putting in a non-trivial amount of work. And I need to go find some snacks.
The real point is that just because no other animal on earth has figured out a way to collect a nutrient and calorie packed food source does not mean it's wrong. I joked about it on facebook before, but I really do believe that if a monkey could figure out a way to collect milk from another animal they'd do it. Rock-hard starchy unripe fruit vs a delicious glass of lemur milk? That's a rhetorical question.
Mmmmm...lemur milk.
PEACE!!

New Town, Same Me

So the move to Philadelphia is complete. It's been just over 2 weeks and we're already settling in nicely and learning the area. Helps that we're in a lively neighborhood with plenty of bars, restaurants, shops, etc within walking distance. And I already managed to find myself a job. 6-month contract gig at a medical company. Hopefully it goes well for both parties and we can make it permanent in '12.
Another upside is that this is an extremely dog-friendly area. There always seems to be people walking their dogs everywhere. Anyone with outdoor seating has no problem with dogs chillin' under the table while you eat/drink. In fact, most shops have bowls of water on the sidewalk and treats at the counters. It's great. Now we just need to get Tyler to realize he's a 70lb monster and can't act like a puppy when we're in public.
Now then, the bad side. Seems that every major city in the north-east and mid-atlantic has to have some terrible city planning thing going on. Boston had that maze of twisting 1-way streets combined with an apparent fear of signs. Our little neighborhood of Manayunk has an even better problem. For whatever reason, they decided that streets should maintain their names even if the street ends for 3 blocks before picking up again. Let me give you great example (Dexter St in 19128 if the link fails):
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=dexter+st+19128&hl=en&ll=40.026037,-75.215642&spn=0.005529,0.011362&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=46.543597,93.076172&z=17
Dexter street starts nearby at Green Lane, goes for 1 block to Lyceum, takes a heathly jog, continues to Monastery and takes another jog, then goes for 3 blocks before ending at Roxborough Ave. But wait, that's not the end. It resumes 5 blocks later at Shurs Lane. And that's not an isolated case. Most streets in this area seem to just stop and start randomly at some point. So combined with the frequent 1-way streets it makes navigating by car a bit of a challenge. And since it's built on a pretty steep hill, I get lots of clutch work.
And naturally there are annoying blue laws. Beer can only be purchased from authorized distributors and only by the case. Except that some bars can sell 6-packs at horribly inflated prices. Wine and liquor? Those have their own special stores. So not only do I have to abandon my habit of buying 6-packs of lots of things to try, if we're having a party we'll have to hit 3 different stores to get the required adult beverages.
Car titling and registering? That was outsourced to the private sector. So you go to the DMV to get your license, then head over to a private business in order to get your plates and PA title.
All in all it's been a great couple weeks. The bars here have an incredible array of microbrews from around the country and globe. (An especially great one is roughly 100 paces from my front door. And we're on a first-name basis with the manager already.) We met a great group of people that bring their dogs to the park every day for some off-leash play time. The array of trails along Wissahickon Creek is a short 5-minute drive from our place. That includes some serious mountain bike trails as well as some more tame cruising trails along with miles of walking trails.
So here's to hoping that my job goes well, that Hayley settles into her new hospital well, and that this is more than just a 3-year bump in the road for us.
Also, if anyone is in or from the Philly area feel free to pass on any tips on favorite places to visit, eat, drink, etc. There's only so much we can figure out on our own.
PEACE!!

I'M not welcome at YOUR party?!

Let’s say you’re a group of people (a demographic, if you will) that have a history of being repressed and are looking for acceptance into the general public as equals. You decide to rent out some space at a popular bar and have a little celebration where people in your demographic can get together and support each other. With the support of your employer, you then hang up posters for the event on the bulletin boards around work to share the event with others. What’s something you probably shouldn’t do if you want other people/groups/demographics to accept you as equals? State that only members of your demographic are welcome to attend. So much for equality and acceptance.
That’s exactly what the LGBT group here at work has done. On multiple occasions, no less. Every time they have a meeting, party, gathering, etc, they state in no uncertain terms that only other LGBT people are welcome to attend. Straight folks? Sorry, you’re not one of them and can’t join in their reindeer games. But wait, if any other group organized a party and told the LGBT crowd that they weren’t invited there would be protests and lawsuits.
{picks up dictionary}


hyp•o•crite noun \ˈhi-pə-ˌkrit\: a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings.


When they had their pride event here at work, in a conference room in the building, and stated that only LGBT people could attend, I was annoyed but was somewhat understanding. Maybe some of them didn’t want their straight coworkers knowing they were gay and it was the only way for them to make that first step. Even with that in mind, it’s still not really kosher to have an exclusive event for a group that’s asking for inclusion. The Asian pride event wasn’t exclusive. African American event? All were welcome. Every other pride event was open except for the LGBT event. (Insert closet jokes here)
And when you think about it, what other demographic can really have their own event at a local bar without it causing some problems? I haven’t seen the Chinese people here organizing a night out for their families. Black night at Tommy Doyle's? Guess what would happen if I put up posters for a straight white guy night at CBC? I can pretty much bet that HR would be giving me a call within minutes of staples hitting cork. And I’m sure the more vocal members of the LGBT group would have some choice words for me. Even though that would be well within my rights and exactly the same thing they did. It’s unfair, I tell ya.
I fully support repressed groups moving to organize and fight for their rights to be considered equal. But part of being an equal is letting everyone else play in your sandbox. It’s a tough step to take, going from your tightly-knit community with your personal identity to just being anonymous people among the masses, but that’s what you have to be if you want to be equal. If you don’t want me to act like it’s a big deal that you’re gay, then you have to act like it’s no big deal.
And to me, it isn’t a big deal. Do I necessarily want to see gay guys making out at a bar? Not really, but I also don’t want to see a lot of straight people making out either. Not ideal, but you need to be happy with what you get from me sometimes.
PEACE!! (and inclusion for all races, creeds, colors, and preferences)

Blackhawks Woes and Tyler Too

The Blackhawks have dropped to first 2 games in their series against the Canucks. And it kills me to say that I'm not too surprised. The Canucks have watched the Hawks end their season the last 2 years and really really want to get that monkey off their backs. They're the top team in hockey (record-wise) while the Hawks snuck in the playoffs on the final day. But those issues aren't the key factor in the 2 losses. In my opinion things have been very close in all aspects of the game. The teams are well matched in terms of raw skill, experience, and goaltending. The Canucks, however, have something that the Hawks lack this year. A player or 2 that makes the game uncomfortable for the other team. For all their skill, the Hawks just don't have that pest this year that gets under peoples' skin as well as forcing them to always look over their shoulder. Last year we had guys like Versteeg, Byfuglien, Bolland, Eager, Burish, Ladd. They all...most of them...had good skill and were threats to score key goals, but most importantly they knew how to take the ice and get teams out of their game. Crushing hits, poking, proding, yapping, tough physical play, they just wore you out physically and mentally until you just didn't want to play any more. You couldn't focus on what you wanted to do in the game because you had to spend so much time and effort worrying about them. That not only keeps teams from getting into a groove against you but also frees up your top skill guys to get their work done.
This year it's the Canucks that have those guys. Guys like Elder that just keep coming at you all game long. That really strong forecheck that throws your break-outs off by just enough. That presence in front of the net to distract the goalie and get some cheap rebound goals. The Hawks don't have anyone that can get down low and piss off Luongo this year. Guys try, but it's too easy to move them out and they just don't have that instinct to piss people off.
Game 2 was much better than game 1 and we finally had some things working. Luckily Corey Crawford is proving to be the real deal and has made several monster saves. Newbie Ben Smith has really come on and is playing incredible hockey (for a rookie in the playoffs) right now. Hopefully a trip home is what they need to get the energy back and right the ship. This team has the skill to go as far as their heart wants to take them. Here's to hoping that's at least to the second round, sending the f'n Canucks home to clean their panties for a third straight year.

Hayley has officially begun her Jamaican vacation with her mom today. So far it just feels odd to have the house to myself for this long. I don't remember the last time that happened. I'm also realizing that talking to Tyler is actually more rewarding than talking to Hayley most nights. On most nights she's too buys and exhausted to even hear what I'm saying, let alone act like she cares. Quite often she doesn't even realize I'm talking to her. Tyler, on the other hand, acts like I'm unraveling the mysteries of the universe. Ears perk up, stops whatever he's doing, listens intently. So even though the comprehension is roughly the same, it just feels better. And if I'm talking details/strategy for hockey or baseball the comprehension is really about equal. Actually, Tyler might win this round. Anything new things Hayley does learn probably pushes something else out. Most of what's left in her head has to do with doctoring. So if she is able to absorb something hockey-related that I'm talking about she's probably walking away with a net drop in IQ. Since Tyler's head is only full of strategies on how to make the insides of all his toys end up on the outside and which of the dozen holes in the yard his good kong ball is currently in, he's not losing anything.
Okay, time to get back to my full night of Cubs and playoff hockey. Tyler is in his usual spot on the couch inches away from me. Apparently he can't nap unless he can touch me. I think he's trying to soak up my wealth of knowledge through doggie osmosis. That, or he knows that's a great place to lie in wait for food scraps.
PEACE!

Don't beat up the Ignorant

So I've been watching alot of Californication recently. Really great show. I've been pleasantly surprised by the writing. Definitely not something I'd want my parents watching. Or something I'd watch with them if they did decide to watch. Or even something I want to think about them watching. But that's all besides the point.
A few times the main character, Hank Moody (David Duchovny), who is quite the ladies man, has found himself in more than his share of infidelity situations. Usually through no fault of his own. That naturally doesn't stop the scorned man from trying to take out his anger/frustration on Hank. This, I feel, is completely inappropriate. Especially in real-life situations. I know you're pissed and need some outlet, but before you throw down with some stranger for defiling your betroved, make sure he's done something wrong. If your girl picked him up at some bar without mentioning her boyfriend he's not wrong and doesn't deserve a beating.
I've actually been on the first half of this situation. Luckily not the 2nd half. Before I continue I'd like to mention that this all happens prior to any more-than-friends conversation with Hayley. Many years ago I was attending the fall party at a local brewery. Big outdoor event with good beer, bands, food, extra. As the night wore on our small band of merry makers ended up mingling with a group of female merry makers. Things between myself and a young lady started to head in a non-friendly direction. Flirting and...what not. A gentleman never kisses and tells. That seems like a safe policy so I will also adopt it. However, once the party was over and we were all exiting, things seemed to change. Didn't seem so eager to continue hang out, not really interested in getting together later, nothing. After consulting with her friend as to what was going on, it turned out she actually has a boyfriend. Obviously with some issues, but a boyfriend none the less. And while nothing really happened, had he showed up in the middle of the night and saw some of the events, he would have been none too pleased. And naturally I would have likely been the target of his displeasure. All's well that ends well and no one was hurt.
Obviously no one ever wants to discover that their one and only doesn't feel the same. And doesn't act the same. But take 30 seconds and find out what the real story is before you do something unjust. One of the very few morals I try to live by is never punishing the innocent. I've been punished as an innocent and it just sucks.
And now it's time to put this week, and myself, to bed. Tyler successfully stayed home all day by himself, with a lunchtime walk courtesy of Tail Waggerz, and didn't wreck the house. Encouraging sign for the next week when he needs to do this every day until his face gash heals up completely. He just walked himself upstairs for bed time and I shall follow.
PEACE!!

Fish Counts as Meat

So recently I was sent into another of my cycles of anger at people who calls themselves vegetarian or vegan yet still eat things like fish and shellfish. Hell, some 'vegetarians' eat chicken from time to time.
I'm not a big fan of labels. I've never really fit any typical labels and never tried to. (No, sarcastic prick does not count as a label.) And I really don't care what other people decide to label themselves if they so choose. If you to make a life decision and put a label on it, that's your call. I will however get miffed if you don't actually live up to that label. The only thing worse that giving yourself a label is giving yourself a label that you're not. Do you see me walking around telling people I'm half black?
Back to my earlier beef (pun intended), fish and shellfish count as meat. There is no moral difference between a tilapia filet and a filet mignon. They are both the muscle tissue of something that used to have a brain and feelings. If the only meat you can bring yourself to eat is clams and mussels I have no problem with that. You just can't call yourself a vegetarian.
This time I did give it real thought and softened my stance a bit. Turns out pretty much everyone does this at least occasionally. Raise your hand if you call yourself Catholic and actually follow every letter of the laws set by the bible and Pope. Anyone? Thought so. Not even priests can claim that they do this. However, without getting into a discussion regarding my stance on the Catholic church and their slowly changing bible interpretations, I will say that it is different to bend the laws of one's religion than the details that determine a semi-arbitrary label. There is no central dogma of being a vegetarian. It's not ethical or no vegetarians would wear leather and suede. It's not about responsibility to the planet, since they don't make any concessions for locally and responsibly raised livestock. And it's definitely not because meat is icky, as you can turn most 'vegetarians' back to the good side with just a couple strips of delicious thick-cut smoked bacon. Mmmm...bacon.
And now that I'm thinking of some delicious grass-fed pasture-raised ribeye steaks from my meat guy I need to go. It's pretty much impossible to put together an intelligent thought when all I can think about is grilling a locally raised cow.
I will take a second to recommend that everyone take some time and check out www.epicmealtime.com It's absolutely incredible.
PEACE!

Friday Night Party!!

So here it is; Friday night! Time to rip it up! Unless your wife is a doctor and you own a furry wrecking ball of a dog. Then you have to stay home alone managing this 70lb monster while the wife pulls a 24-hour shift. Yes, your Friday nights take on a whole new meaning.
Funny thing is, I revert back to college Jarod as soon as Hayley leaves me home alone on a Friday/Saturday night. Almost. In college we'd be over at the 406 spiking beers (whole 'nother story), throwing parking cones into a ceiling fan, and probably roaming campus looking for couches we can rip apart and throw into trees. But since I didn't want to come home to a ruined house, I was home around 7:30pm to start entertaining the monster. If it wasn't for Tyler I'd still be out enjoying our post-work wobbly pops instead of home doing this. But that's when the downsides started.
Dinner tonight was essentially a child's dinner. I had a hot dog sandwich and tater tots. That means 3 kosher beef hot dogs, a handful of shredded sharp cheddar, 2 slices of bread, and a toaster oven tray of tots. Yeah, that'll seem like a great idea tomorrow morning. How old am I again?
I do get to enjoy some truly bad action movies that I otherwise wouldn't be able to watch in peace. Hayley requires silly things like plots and acting skills in her movies. I'm plenty happy with good special effects, car chases, fight scenes, and scantily clothed actresses. Tonight's selection was Death Race. A quality flick that even gave me a topic for a future blog. Puppy wasn't as much of a fan as all the explosions and gun fire seemed to interrupt his sleeping. It was 2 hours of everything I love and Hayley hates.
And now it's only 10:45pm and I'm running out of energy and bad TV to watch. It's a little disturbing how little watchable TV is on for a Friday night. You'd think there would be some reasonably garbage on right now. And you'd think I'd be able to put something a bit more interesting/coherent together. But I guess that's what happens you drink delicious craft beer while watching bad movies and wrestling with a now snoring loudly dog.
PEACE!!

Selling our House

So the process of selling our house is officially underway. 1 open house has been completed, we're listed on MLS as of last week, and our boy Phil Smith (Prudential Realty) is working his magic to get this thing sold.
I know it's clique-ic, but it's very true that your house never looks as good as it does right before you leave. In our case that's mostly due to laziness and scheduling. Hayley's schedule didn't leave her much time to paint and decorate and the like; my laziness did the same. I also don't really have the urge for decorating. I'm more of a fix-it and project guy. Painting rooms, hanging pictures, that's just not my thing. I personalize through things I build and the messes I make. And of course my TV rig and my butt-dent in the couch. Watching countless hours of college football and Cubs games teach you nothing if not how to properly set up your couch, tables, and remotes.
The other downside to selling is putting the glaring light on all of your house's flaws. What seem like quirks to you are issues that need fixing to someone else. The little patch of bad carpet in the landing from where I built that linen closet and moved the attic stairs? Hayley and I know exactly how awesome the new setup is and gladly overlook that spot. But not these strangers that are wandering around my house poking at everything. It's just another thing on their "this will have to get fixed" list. If they only knew what it used to be. Same with the yard. It's rough, I know it. But 4 years ago it was mostly crab grass with a touch of real grass mixed in. I've worked awfully hard to get it to where there is very little crab grass left.
But I'm not entirely sad about all these things. I'm proud of the jobs I did and I will miss finishing a few and not doing some others. But I'm glad to have had the experience. This being our first home I learned quite a bit. It's one thing to grow up helping your dad do all these projects. But once you're the big man with the tool belt and power saw it's a whole different ball game. Suddenly the phrase 'measure twice cut once' takes on a whole new meaning. Pads of graph paper left over from college once again have a use. The fine folks at Lowe's become your favorite people in the world. And the next time I get to do these things I'll be that much better at it.
Speaking of which, 1 big bummer is going back to renting for 3 years. While we initially wanted to buy in Philly, it's just not going to be cost effective. We'd have to close June 1st and hope the market doesn't drop just to break even. And then hope we like our new sight-unseen neighborhood. So no more ambitious house projects. No more randomly tearing things apart just because I can. And while we will still have a yard, it won't be as rewarding to spend all those hours working on it. I guess I'll just have to befriend people with homes I can work on when I'm bored.
In the interim, wish us luck in our selling efforts and our ability to find a nice house to rent in Philly. And of course keep your eyes and ears peeled for notice of our going-away party. Hayley will cry alot; I'll drink alot; all will be as it always was.
PEACE!

Tackling Drills

Maybe it's just me, but it seems as if NFL defenders get worse and worse at tackling every year. I'd like to think that it's just the offensive players getting more and more elusive, but from the look of the terrible technique that isn't very likely. Everyone seems to be going for the giant highlight-reel hit instead of breaking down and making a solid form tackle.
I just watched Michael Turner run through 3 or 4 Packers defenders en route to a touchdown. And most of those guys were just throwing shoulders and arms trying to bring down a big powerful running back. That's just not going to happen. Does it look glamorous to have a guy bowl you over while making a tackle? No. But it's better than whiffing on the hit and watching him run down the field for big yards.
In high school you work on form tackling starting on day 1 and continuing until the very last day of the season. Every practice involves some type of tackling drill. You get trained on how to come in under control, get you head across their body, shoulder into the midsection, wrap up, and drive with your legs. You don't tuck in your arms and try to knock them down. You don't throw your body at their knees. You don't sprint in out of control so they only have to move by 12" to make you go flying by.
I remember my senior year playing on kick-off coverage. We were playing Palatine HS who had their stud (who was voted Mr. Illinois at the end of the year) returning kicks. The guy was a beast. 6-4 240lbs. And sure enough me, all of 5-9 180, had a shot at him on the opening kick. I'd love to say that I came in there and blew him up. Quite the opposite. Tackling him was like tackling a telephone pole. But it was a perfect form tackle. Shoulder to the gut, wrapped him up, and even though he ran through me, he only got a couple more yards before I had him on the ground. (And not for nothing, the coaches did single the play out in our video session on Monday.)
I'd love to see a return to some quality tackling in the NFL and college ranks. I love to see big crushing hits as much as anyone. But I only really respect the guys that did it with good technique. With the renewed focus on limiting shots to the head and dangerous hits, I think we may see a return of proper form. Players will finally be rewarded for tackling the correct way instead of glorifying the guys that don't.

Drunk Driving Overhaul

I’m sure everyone has their opinion on the perfect way to spend your Columbus Day. Some people hit up parades and rallies in support of Columbus and what he did. Others go out in protest against the way our society praises him for what he did. Others have to go to work knowing they’re missing out on a free day of fun, however you decide to generate that fun. The one thing we can probably all agree on is that a poor choice for your Columbus Day would be rear-ending the chief of the Massachusetts State Police at a red light at 11:45am … while driving drunk … for the 5th documented time.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/10/12/driver_faces_oui_charge_after_hitting_cruiser/
This is now her 5th DUI charge. 5th!! They already suspended her license and probably have collected a pretty good pile of money in fees from her. If this was an isolated case I’d brush it off as just a random moron. No matter what you do, there’s always a moron that just refuses to obey the laws. However, this is far from an isolated case. You often see reports of people getting caught for driving drunk with previous DUIs. I don’t have any hard numbers, but it’s pretty common. This to me says the system is just not working. The punishment is clearly not serious enough to serve as a legitimate deterrent. And the potential effects of the crime are severe. If drunks would confine themselves to single-car crashes I wouldn’t really mind. Even if they had a passenger. If you get hammered, decide to drive your car, and wrap it around an oak tree and kill yourself, that’s none of my concern. If someone was foolish enough to get in the car with you while you were in that condition, that’s also none of my concern. The affected parties did something stupid and paid a price for it. However, that is not always the case. Drunks usually take an innocent person out with them when they go. I’m not saying that drunk drivers usually kill a person every time they drive. That’s stupid. I’m saying that when they do wreck their car while driving drunk, they rarely go solo.
Unless someone can think of a way to keep drunks from killing innocent people, we need to find a way to keep people from driving drunk. And find a way that actually works. I think Mark and I came up with a pretty good solution today. First step is really just taking the current penalties and harshening them up. After you first DUI, you lose your license for a year. After your second, you lose it for good. But now is where it gets fun, and where Mark and I diverge. Clearly just suspending a person’s license isn’t sufficient. The woman that triggered this story was driving on a suspend license. And you’re dealing with people who have no concern for the DUI law, so why would they care about the license laws?
Mark’s solution is for every time you get caught after your 2nd DUI you lose a finger. Feel free to keep doing it if you want; you’ll just want to have a good priority list so you know how many, and which ones, you can afford to lose. Eventually people will either lose too many fingers to keep driving or they’ll finally get down to the fingers they can’t afford to lose.
I’m okay with going the non-mutilation route. If you get caught driving on a suspended license, whatever car you were driving, and everything in it, is now the property of the state and will be sold at auction. Assuming of course that the car wasn’t stolen. But before your buddy tries to claim it stolen before you get busted, know that you’ll then be charged with grand theft auto and will be facing some additional prison time. The prison time for the DUI offense will go up exponentially every time you’re caught. 3rd time, 2 years; 4th time, 4 years; 5th time, 8 years. Etc, etc, etc. And if we can find a way to sneak an extra clause into the law, the cops each get to take 1 shot at you when they pull you over starting with offense #3. Anywhere except the head, and with anything they normally carry with them. The no-headshot part pretty much rules out pistol whipping, but taking a baton to the ribs ain’t no picnic. Butt of the gun to a kneecap? That stings a bit. Or just a good old fashioned kick to the gut. But I doubt there’s any legal way to get that in there. And since I’m not a total monster, the state would offer discounted home breathalyzers for a short time after the change was announced. That way everyone could just keep one in their car and check real fast before they drove off. It also removes the argument that people had no idea they were over the limit of 0.08%.
This solution fixes so many problems. First and foremost, I have to believe this would put a sizable dent in the number of people driving drunk. But it also would generate extra revenue when the state gets to sell off a bunch of cars full of stuff. Think of all the bonus goodies that are common in cars. After-market stereo equipment, GPS units, CDs, iPods, laptops, cell phones. Everything in the car becomes the state’s and gets sold for profit. Genius! I think we all should start lobbying our politicians now to get this reform put in place. The Chauncey Michaels Statutes are the new future!!

Camping 2008 Part 2

Sorry for the delay. Seems even when I'm just copying and pasting someone else's work I still can't update this in a timely manner. Oh well, here's the 2nd installment of the '08 journal.


9-1-08. Monday.
To celebrate Labor Day, we had hot cocoa and pancakes for breakfast. It is so much faster when using the stove and the first cakes don’t turn out with a black hide on them. It was so warm that we slept with both ends of the tent open last night. With the new angle of the tent, the sun sets out the back and rises in the front. Now that is a dream house. I had a very restless night sleeping on the uneven ground. Getting enough restful sleep is a real trick.

The sun was hot but it was tolerable once we got in the wind. There were whitecaps all day, so that worked well for us. Alpha was the first stop of the trip. There was a new law that did not allow leaches and all hooks had to be barbless. Bending the existing barbs was allowed. Leaches were always the sure fire thing for all these years, so we were feeling very anxious without them. We brought a wide variety of Berkley Gulp to have scent on the hook and hoped for the best.

We got a few Walleye and smallies but not the fast action we looked forward to for the last 50 weeks. I did get a 19” smallie and Jarod got a 28” walleye. The slow action was the same on Beta and the south point to Fillet Island. Jarod hooked a sinker to his Rapala Fat Rap and worked it on the bottom. It did as well as jigging at several times. Adapt and survive. Later in the day Jarod also got a 28” pike.

We noticed right away that we were loosing hookups. This never happened in previous years. As much as we told ourselves that it wasn’t the barbless hooks, by the time the trip was over, we were sure of it. Even thought the TV commercials would never lie, we saw right away that the Gulp was no match for live leaches. We never did get into action as fast as previous years. If these two new rules were to slow down the fish catching, it was a big success.

In the morning one canoe came from the Wawiag and crossed over into McVicor bay. In the afternoon a canoe came from the south and crossed into a camp north of us. It may have been the same canoe. We had lunch on the cliff but moved into the shade rather than sit out in the sun. Without the wind, it was way too hot to enjoy sunbathing today. We came in early to cool off and planned on going out after supper when the sun and wind settled down. I washed my head, took a standing bath, and then just sat with my feet in the water to get my core temperature down where I felt comfortable.

A gull found our entrails and would follow us for the rest of the week. Alpha gave us nothing at sunset even though we threw stick baits, jigs, spoons, and anything else we had. We have never done well fishing on Alpha at sunset but we also never regretted trying. This night we stayed out late and watched the Milky Way from the middle of the lake. What a great experience.

One of the other new items we brought this year were LED headlamps. Jarod had high and low beam, I had white and red light. We laughed that his high beam was so bright we could almost see shore. The lights sure made it easy to get the canoe in after dark and we would use them around camp every night and in the tent. Hard to beat hands free light. We smoked cigars and went to bed about 10:30 PM. Both of us were very tired from fighting the sun and wind all day.

9-2-09. Tuesday.
The south wind blew all night and again today. This was the 3rd day like that but at least today was solid overcast. Hopefully it will be better fishing without the sun. While we ate breakfast, the canoe from the north camp settled on Alpha and stayed all morning. They must have known about it before they saw us on it yesterday.

We started on Beta but again didn’t do well so we moved to Filet south point where things were better. The constant wind blew in rain which started as a slow drizzle, then built to rain, and finally turned into a heavy downpour. The fishing was good, so we sat tight while the canoe began to fill up with rain water and things started to float inside the canoe. It poured so hard we couldn’t see shore for awhile. After about an hour it stopped and the canoe on Alpha was gone. Wimps. Several years ago we found Alpha in the rain; didn’t they know rain was good?

We fished a little while longer and then decided to have lunch at camp. Any shore lunch spots would be soaked which would require us to eat lunch in our rain suits. After sitting in the rain suits for the last few hours, we looked forward to getting out of them. Our camp was flooded but inside the tent was nice and dry. That was another new thing this year; a new ground cloth for inside the tent.

We took our time in camp and got a late start hoping the wind would go down; it didn’t. Alpha gave up fish for supper and we saw 2 gulls fight for the entrails. We hadn’t seen that in years. By the end of the day the wind shifted from the NW and cooler air was coming in. It cleared up enough for us to watch the stars for a short while before they were covered by clouds again.

By the time we went to bed, I was sleeping in my long johns with the tent flaps zipped up and I was inside the sleeping bag. Now that is more like it. Jarod woke me up at 4 AM concerned that the canoe needed to be tied down because the wind sounded awfully noisy in the trees. We got up, with our headlamps on, and satisfied ourselves that it didn’t need to be tied down. It was safely tucked into rocks and a tree, but it was better to be safe and check it out anyway. It started to rain again after we returned to the tent. It felt good to be inside and dry, out of the wind and water. All there was to do was sleep so we got busy doing it.

9-3-09. Wednesday.
We both slept about an hour later than usual and got up at 7 AM to a very wet campsite. Yesterday morning was warm, dry, and we were glad for overcast. Today was 60 degrees, wet, and we were hoping the clouds would go away. The heavy overcast slowly changed and by midmorning the sun came out and it was a beautiful day.

I was actually glad to have to put on a wool T-shirt, shirt, fleece jacket, wind breaker, long johns, and mittens. The wood was nice and dry under the tarp and a hot wood fire sure felt good on this cool morning. Our traditional roles were for Jarod to fix and care for the fire and for me to prepare and cook the food and wash the dishes. Today I noticed that Jarod was getting the food out of the packs, doing some mixing, and caring for the food while it was on the fire. If he saw it needed being done, he just did it. In all the years of camping, this was the first time he had done that. I could tell that being the cook at home had conditioned him to do those things out here. Once I was aware of it, I leaned back and thought how proud I was of him.

We stayed layered up all morning as we sat on Alpha and Beta in the north wind. The fishing was slow although we did catch several fish. Jarod got a 33” pike and I got a big walleye on Alpha. Jarod had several hook sets that were lost before he could get them to the canoe. I got bit off once and broke off the white helicopter jig. Wally caught a nice pike which when filleted for lunch, had a 10” smallie inside its stomach. We saw one canoe heading east and one canoe in the north bay.

Today was a perfect day for lunch on the cliff. It afforded us to get out of the constant wind and strip down to only two layers of clothes while we sat in the sun. We saw an eagle sitting on gull rock and earlier during breakfast another was in one of the tall trees above camp. They never did take the entrails while we were on the cliff. Even on Fillet Island, we had to be out of site before the eagles would come down to the ground.

Being out of the wind was nice so we fished the west bay next to gull rock. I paddled slowly as Jarod cast a spoon for pike as we did a slow counter clockwise circle around the bay. He had a few strikes and did catch a very nice pike. It was very enjoyable to just watch him cast knowing that every cast could be a fish. We were in no hurry, so we just savored the moment of working together in the canoe on such a perfect spot of the universe.

After supper, we cast from camp shore in the dead calm water. Once again Jarod caught something with his homemade perch topwater. That thing is a fish catching machine. I gave up on the jitterbug this year and bought a new Rapala Skitter Pop. On one of my casts, I stopped reeling about half way in and I saw a pike do a slow roll out of the water to swallow it. It is so exciting when the fish come out of the water to hit a topwater.

As we sat smoking our cigars, we noticed a thin line of white clouds directly to the north. It took a few minutes for us to realize that it was dark and we couldn’t see white clouds. This was the northern lights! Right on the horizon, one white spot appeared, then a couple more, until a continuous line was formed. Then they started to swirl and grow taller, then fall, then start over again. We sat speechless as we watched something that appeared so spectacular that it must be man made but we knew it was all natural.

Slowly the entire sky to the north lit up with a white, illuminating haze. The sky and lake to the left of us was black while the sky and lake to the right of us were bright white. Every 5 minutes something else developed that we had never seen before. Then the haze developed into several bands that stretched over us from the east horizon to the west horizon. Under them to the north were bands of northern lights. It was like watching a screen saver in slow motion as it kept morphing into different designs.

It was still going on when we went to bed an hour later. When I got up to pee about 1 AM, it was still dead calm with light spots in the north and a heavy white haze all around the sky.

9-4-08. Thursday.
This is the day that signals we are half way through the trip. It was only 45 degrees this morning as I loaded up with all the layers that I had before climbing out of the tent. Now we were camping! The heavy dew deposited tiny water drops on everything in sight. A solid overcast sky prevented the sun from burning off the fog which was rolling across to the west. There were dozens of thin white spikes of fog all the same height which gave the illusion of an army of fog soldiers slowly marching across the water. As the fog began to lift, a family of 12 mergansers left the rocks just north of camp and swam off across the open water to the east.

Our buddies were sitting on Alpha again so we decided to return the favor and fish by their campsite. We went to the rock pile that is in the middle of the north channel of the bay that leads to the Wawiag. Jigging 12 cranks deep, we got several walleye, pike, and small mouth. Jarod caught a pike with his big bucktail so it gets to come back next year.

Next we moved to Walleye Island. As we paddled past Alpha, our friends had moved up shallow close to the rock piles. The rest of the morning was spent catching walleye and smallies in the little bay behind Walleye Island. We had lunch on Suick Island at a little campsite on the very tip by the main channel. It was good to see that the whole island was full of 10-15 foot pine trees spaced about 4 feet apart. The branches were all touching each other which made it a small thick forest. Lunch was spent the usual way for a cool day; sitting in the sun, out of the breeze, watching the lake and the sky. In this case we had a great view of the SE end of Kawnipi and Suick Bay.

The afternoon was spent moving around Suick Bay catching dozens of pike and smallies. We started out in the deep main channel and slowly moved into the shallow back bay. The larger pike and small mouth were in the deeper channel water and the smaller pike were in the shallow weeds. I got a smallie on a Johnson minnow while trying to catch pike. Jarod did well with his homemade perch bait, as always. We laughed as a pike jumped completely out of the water trying to hit his bait. A little while later he pulled off a fishing first and had a hooked pike jump into the canoe. He reeled the fish in next to canoe when it made a predicted run. The water exploded, the pole bent, we heard the metal sound of the lure hitting the leader, and the next thing we knew the fish came over the side and into the canoe. By the time the action had stopped, that fish must have flopped a hundred times and the entire midsection of the canoe was coated with pike slime.

Camping 2008 Part 1

Here we go, first few days of the camping journal. Nothing real exciting, but maybe that's the point. For us it is. Just a chill, relaxing trip into the woods. Oddly enough, this trip opens with probably our only competitive incident in a decade. I can only think of 2 times we've gotten into an unofficial race with a canoe. This was #2.

And to avoid confusion, "alpha" and "beta" refer to fishing spots and were spawned as jokes. We typically give our best spots nicknames so we can keep them straight. After finding alpha we went back and forth on names. After having most of mine rejected by Dad I jokingly said something about naming 'location alpha' and made some other Navy Seal joke. The name just kinda stuck. After that, beta was a pretty easy move. Yes, we get a bit strange after all that time in the woods. Might not come up in today's post, but I wanted it out there. I think I'll just do the travel days today and start next time with fishing/camping days.
Janice is the Quetico Park ranger who is almost always at the Cache Bay Station. She's only gone for 2 weeks when she gets her vacation.




A lot has happened since last year’s trip. Emily & Mike got married in October 2007, Emily and Mike bought a house in Arlington Heights, and Jarod and Hayley got married in July 2008. I felt privileged that Jarod was going to go camping with me before he even went on his own honeymoon.

9-29-08. Friday.
Jarod flew in at about 9:30 A.M. which gave us time to do some shopping. We bought a new metal gas bottle after going to several places. Last year our original plastic bottle started to leak after many years, so we replaced it with 2 new metal cans. That would give us enough fuel to cook breakfast with gas plus do our daily shore lunch. On cold days it was nice to have a fire in the morning to get warm, but if is warm or wet, using the gas sure sped up the process.

Emily got a new Boston terrier, Zinny, at the start of summer so that she could have it house broken before she went back to school in the fall. It is a high energy chewing machine and we looked after it all day. Needless to say, Zinny and Jarod got along well. We had everything packed and in the car before Mike and Emily came over for a pizza supper.

It has been very dry at home and I have been watering for several weeks. The park website said that there was no fire ban, but we never know what to expect when we actually set foot in the park.

8-30-08. Saturday.
We did the traditional up at 4 AM and on the road by 4:45 AM. The sky was clear all the way with the temperature in the 80’s. There was much more traffic than normal because Labor Day weekend was in full swing. Grand Marais was full of people as we just stopped for gas and kept on going to Clearwater. The help were all out working when we arrived at 3 PM, so we just went to BlackBear for supper a little early. It was good we did because the locals all started showing up between 4 and 5. When we got back to Clearwater, we checked in, got settled in the bunk house, and got the canoe. It was completely overgrown by wild raspberry bushes but in good shape. We noticed that the Clearwater people had been patching canoes on the back porch and left some Bondo. After Lynn gave us permission to use what was left, we mixed it up and put it on the front and back of our canoe to cover the exposed fabric. It worked very well and was dry before we put the canoe back on the car.

In the lodge we met a couple from just north of Louisville who were going to do a fly-in the next day. They had camped for years and now flew in and stayed in a cabin. No cold and wet camping for them anymore. It did sound nice. The night before entry is always an anxious time knowing that we were just sitting around killing time now but in a few hours we were going to have a huge amount of work to do. Everything in its own time and now all we could do was wait. It always seems like a treat to be in the bunk house. It has a solid roof, solid wood floors, windows, and indoor plumbing plus lots of room to walk around and a light switch. It started to get dark around 9 PM and so we got our pillows from the lodge and went to bed.

8-31-08. Sunday.
The night was dry and cool which made for good sleeping. I was already awake when the alarm rang at 5AM. Getting dressed we knew that this was the last time we would be so comfortable for quite a while. It was still dark as we walked to the lodge to use their milk with the cereal we brought with us. We left Clearwater by 6 AM and were at the landing by 6:45 in time for our 7AM pickup. We quickly loaded our gear into the tow boat and pushed off. The boat was newer than we were used to and even had a two way radio for the pilot. The radio was calling before we ever got more than 20 yards from the shore. When the pilot asked who we were, I knew what was up. We were on the wrong boat; this one was a Seagull boat and intended to take a different group. Our boat was just now coming into the bay. We circled around and unloaded all our gear just as a vehicle from Seagull came and unloaded a canoe and two people.

This was the first time anyone else had gone out the same time we had. They did not act gracious and let us get out first. They loaded their boat right next to ours with a sense of urgency that seemed they felt we were in their way. We got our gear loaded into the correct boat and left just seconds before they did. I felt very competitive at that point and found myself unhappy at the prospect that we got up in the dark, arrived at the landing 30 minutes before they did but yet they might leave first. My civilization ways hadn’t left me yet and for some reason it was important to be first.

We got to Hook Island and spent about 10 minutes talking to the pilot about good fishing spots and techniques he knew about on Kawnipi. I had to dig a hole and leave a present on the island before we started out for Janice. I knew that the other boat would be coming right behind us so we shouldn’t waist time, but our 3 packs were ready to just drop into the canoe as soon as they would pull into the bay. To our surprise, they didn’t pull into the bay but instead they stopped out in the opening, dropped their canoe into the water and loaded it from the tow boat. I was correct; they were deliberately trying to beat us to Janice. That hole was going to have to wait.

As we saw them start to paddle, it was our turn to just let them go first, or not. NOT. We jumped into our canoe and started after them. They were clearly trying to beat us and now it was an issue of honor. The west wind was picking up as they headed straight into it towards Janice. Although we were racing, I didn’t want to run them down in such an obvious fashion so I headed for the shoreline on the right. It was a longer course but we could get out of the wind and I knew that we could really fly on calm water.

Jarod knew what I was doing but expressed his belief that it wasn’t going to work. They were pulling away as we headed North rather than West. It was quite a dilemma to figure out the correct course. To just cut over and get into calmer water sooner, we would have to travel farther. To cut the angle and travel a shorter distance, we had to stay in the wind and intersect the shore farther up. I was determined to pay the distance price and work our way over sooner and get into the calm or else my plan had no advantage at all. By the time we were in the shelter of the shoreline, it seemed that we had managed to keep the distance between canoes about the same as when we started. Now we closed the gap and managed to get to the point entering Cache Bay in front of them. We were very careful to not make eye contact with them but they knew we were racing and we knew they were racing. I could see in my peripheral vision that once we got to the point their stroke count dropped and they knew they were beat.

It still was a couple miles in the wind to the ranger island and I always was wondering if they would try a last ditch effort and pass us. We kept paddling strong so as to not let them get any ideas of making a run for it. In the end, we were successful in getting to the dock first. It was a good feeling. These guys were not amateurs and we beat them.
Janice was on vacation for the week so we had a nice talk with Lisa. While we filled out the paperwork, the radio told Lisa that the forecast was for strong winds and the temperatures highs were going down to 50 later in the week. Yikes!

There was so much snow last winter and then so much spring rain that they had 50 year high water in the early summer. Only experienced people were allowed to go through the Falls Chain. First timers were not allowed to go through and had to change their trip plans. The water for us was only about two feet lower than the spring highs. The BWCA had a total fire ban but the Quetico had none although the fire danger was high.

The other canoe came in a short time after we did and they sat outside the ranger house while we finished with Lisa. I took the time to take advantage of the latrine behind the ranger cabin. It was long overdue and I knew that I couldn’t make it to Silver Falls without a stop. This way I got to sit on the throne of the victorious.

We pulled our canoe and gear over to the side of the Silver Falls portage and took time to rest. It is always fun to mix up the Gatorade, take 4 granola bars, and sit on the rocks right by the edge of the falls. It is the first time in the trip that getting wet or dirty doesn’t matter; we start to just do whatever feels right at the time. If we are tired, just sit on the dirty ground.

After about 20 minutes or so, we finished and walked back to our canoe. The other canoe was just coming into the portage as we were closing our pack. A couple minutes sooner and we would have hiked over the portage in front of them, but now we just stood there and watched them. They were very good and we were correct in thinking they were experienced. The first person got out, took a big pack, some gear, and started to portage. The other guy put the canoe on his shoulders while it was still in the water and he followed on the portage. No chance of passing them on their return trip, they were single portaging like us. That was the last time we ever saw them.

We had the wind at our backs all the way down Saganagons which really helped with our energy levels. It was hot and clear all day long; what a beautiful day. Jarod was so pleased with the BWJ pack I got him last year that he got me one this year. It did a really good job of getting the weight off my shoulders and onto my hips. Thanks son.

We mentioned to Lisa that we saw a green canoe last year in Canyon Falls when we were coming out. She told us that it had gotten away from a group of girls, nobody was hurt. After the high water washed it down in the spring, people had been breaking it up and carrying it out. We saw pieces of it on the campsite at the base of the falls as we passed by.

We were into a strong wind all the way down Wet Lake which always is very tiring by that point in the day. By the time we got the Kawnipi, there were white caps forming. We stayed close to the south shore but it took a real effort to cross the white caps to get to our camp. The water level was so high we just paddled right up to the front of camp. Jarod made the decision to move the tent to a small space just to the west of the normal spot. It worked out well as we avoided sleeping on a tree root and a rock.

I bought a new rain fly for camp and got the next larger size. It turned out to be huge. We laughed as we put it up and joked that if it were just a little bit bigger, we could move the tent under it. It was very nice to not have any leaks and it served us well the entire time we were there.

We used the gas stove to cook noodles for supper and then had our cigars while watching the night sky. There was no moon so we just watched stars and eventually were amazed at the size and brightness of the Milky Way. I had spent the summer cutting down at least a dozen trees buy hand and chopping them up into fire wood. My cardio was off the charts and it really helped me today. I was tired but not exhausted like some years.

I bought new portage shoes which worked out very well. They provided good traction, dried quickly, and offered good support. A couple weeks earlier Genelle had put a patch on the knees of my pants which she told me wouldn’t hold but I knew better. As I sat in camp at the end of the first day, both knees had already blown out. Man, I hate it when she is right like that. Now I have to go the whole trip with only one pair of pants.

Old Camping Journal

Most of you probably don't know that every summer around Labor Day my dad and I head up into the Canadian wilderness for a 1.5-2 week camping trip in the Quetico Park. And no, this is nothing like Jellystone Park or other camp grounds you may be thinking of. It's pure, untouched wilderness that has been designated as a wilderness park to keep it that way. The little island we spend our time is here: 48.377713,-91.209903. The trek begins roughly 10 miles (as the eagle flies) south east in Saganaga Lake. There is a little island, Hook Island, on US-Canada boarder (48.225049,-90.963367). We get dropped off there at ~7:30am with our 3 packs and our canoe. These are packs weighing 70, 35, and 30 lbs each, along with an extra 65lbs for the canoe once the roads and other gear gets lashed in. From there we paddle out south west, around Cache Point, and into Cache Bay to stop at the ranger station for our camping and fishing permits and to catch up with Ranger Janice. She's been manning that station for 26 years now, and we've seen her all but 1 of our ~14 trips there. After that we head north and up what is known as the "Falls Chain" route into the park. It gets it's name from the 8 or so waterfalls/rapids that must be portaged around in order to make it to Kawnipi Lake. Portages are best described as poorly-maintained trails through the woods. They are rocky, rooty, marshy, terrible things. As long as you can physically get a canoe from start to finish, no maintenance is done. You often find downed trees you have to step over, creeks you need to leap across, along with some truly dangerous drops less than a foot off of the narrow portage. All while carrying over 100lbs of gear (2 packs or a pack and the canoe). All in all, we travel something like 20 miles of portages and paddling in a really long, 10-12 hour travel day. Much longer than any outfitter would recommend, but we want to get to our little island asap so we can set up for some fishing and only make camp once.
Lucky for us, that first day is the most energy we'll have to expend for quite awhile. We'll spend the next 5-8 days just chilling on Kawnipi and fishing. We've even cut down our exploring over the years as we find more and more great fishing spots in close proximity. Each one works better/worse in various weather conditions, so we just wake up and see what mother nature has in store for us and head out to the appropriate spot. Fish for a few hours keeping only enough for lunch, then pull off at any number of great spots for shore lunch of fresh fried fillets. You really can't get any better fish than what we have. Within about 30 minutes the fish for from swimming around on the stringer to being fried and on our plates. Typically we eat mainly walleye, but depending on what we get first it could also be smallmouth bass or northern pike. You never know what they day will bring, so we just keep the first 2-3 fish we catch. After lunch and the occasional short nap we repeat the sequence for dinner. 1 less fish and a side dish is really the only difference. It's the perfect life.
Dad wisely keeps a journal during the trips so we can actually remember what happened when afterwards. It's shocking how everything just blends together even after a couple days. And you see so many incredible things, it's easy to forget some of them. Everything including fishing highlights, weather conditions, wildlife seen gets written down. Dad will then type it all up in later in a more concise and flowing form. It's always interesting to see how many comments we make about the weather when we're there. Unlike home life, it really is the driving factor in everything you do. Where you fish, what you wear, even whether or not it's safe to even leave camp. We usually have at least 1 day every trip where a front moves in and the wind/waves prevent us from safely being out in the canoe. So the journal has constant references to temperature, cloud cover, wind speed and direction, etc.
So that's the gist of what we do. And for the first time, I'm going to start publishing the journal entries here. I'll start with the 2008 trip while dad assembles the official 2010 version. (We had to skip 2009 due to my shitty job working for hellish IQuum. Not that I'm bitter or anything...)
I'll start this week and put them out there in reasonable chunks with some edits made. I'm sure no one really wants to read every detail about the trip. Anyone that wants to hear more can just let me know and you can get the unedited version. And of course I can offer up many many stories from trips past.