Curtass

emails are like blogs

2006-05-18T20:48:00.000-06:00

I was writing an email to my friend Leah Goode today and I found it amusing enough to turn it into a blog post. You may disagree and find it completely useless, but you aren't the one in charge of this blog...so I guess you'll just have to suck it up. She was asking about my trip to California. Enjoy. Or not. But read it anyway.

"Hey goodes...

Okay...cali details first. http://www.gymblast.com/calbreak/media/media.html
That is the link to some old pictures and video from the previous years. The current stuff isn't up on the website yet. It was delisciously awesome. We went to Disney Land and I'm pretty sure Tara peed her pants at least seven times. Twice in line waiting to meet Mickey, once while meeting Mickey, a couple of times on rides and once waiting in line for the washroom...that one was kinda embarrasing because it was really because she couldn't hold it...not because of excitement at all. Plus when you pee your pants from excitement it's usually just a little spill...but when you pee your pants because you can't hold it ... it gets downright messy.

We also went to a couple theme parks (Knott's Berry Farm and Six Flags Magic Mountain). It was crazy awesome. Big rides big thrills big security guards waiting at the gate to take your outside snacks away.

There were also a few deadly beaches that we went to...very fun. Tara and I got to try surfing. We sucked a lot. A bunch of other people got to go another day with lessons and stuff and they all learned how to stand up and really surf. Me and Tj got really good and getting hammered by giant waves. Once my head hit the bottom. Not hard or anything, but it was still scary. Not scary because I was hurt...but because of how I could have gotten hurt if I hit my head harder.

We did other things but those were the highlights.....besides talking about Jesus with the students of course which was also fun.

Re-reading this email I've written, I'm starting to think that this might be blog material. I think I'm going to turn this into a blog post actually. If you want to check it out go to curtass.blogspot.com.

Curt."

so tasty

2006-05-15T23:42:00.000-06:00

It's kinda funny how everyone and their dog was blogging up a storm...and then suddenly it all stopped. Well here I am writing another entry in my blog, and now that no one cares about blogs anymore no one will read it. But quite frankly that doens't really bother me all that much. I think I've figured out that these blog entries are mostly for my own enjoyment. It's like I can re-read the things that I write...and think to myself "Gosh I'm hecka funny."

So tonite after D4 (my youth group type thing) I decided to stop by Mac's and grab a Twister. I don't know if that's actually what they are called, but basically it's slush with soft ice-cream in the bottom. I usually get it with Orange or Grape or Cream Soda slush. Tastes like you're drinking a creamsicle. It's deliscious. So I stopped off and grabbed two-one for Tara and me. Tara had already gone home because she gave someone a ride home from D4. On the way home I was sipping my drink, totally enthralled in the enjoyment of the extensive taste...when I was thinking how funny it would be if Tara had the same idea and stopped off at Mac's on her way home from D4. At first I was amused at the hypothetical irony. Then I thought about how if that actually happened...we would each get two Twisters. Then I started thinking about how Tara would never be able to finish two Twisters, so I would actually get at least 2 and a half - probably more like three Twisters. Oh my. Suddenly I found myself actually hoping that I would show up at the house and Tara would be waiting with an Orange Twister for me (I picked up Cream Soda twisters and I figured a little variety would be nice).

Turns out that Tara wasn't even home yet when I got home. To make things worse I didn't have house keys on my person (I think it's funny when people say 'on my person' so I used it just now just to be funny) so I had to wait outside until Tara got home. It worked out pretty good though because I waited around the corner just before the entrance to our house and scared the begeezus out of Tara. It was awesome. She didn't have any Twisters though. That was not awesome.

Peace has officially been restored 70 Oneil Crescent

2006-04-12T19:15:00.000-06:00

You may remember a few weeks ago some troubles we were having with the people upstairs in our house. 4:30 in the morning...noise...snoody comments, Lucille lives upstairs and she has a lawyer friend over who thinks that Tara and I are too young to be married...anyways if you need more information check out this post.

So basically Lucille was being a jerk about being noisy at 4:30 in the morning, and I decided to be as civil as possible, and shovel her driveway in the morning. Since then things have been extremely pleasant.

Today, while I was out buying bacon for some BLT's Lucille came to our basement suite and told Tara in a very apologetic voice that she would be having some friends over for a staff gathering, they might be a bit noisy but she'll try and keep it as quiet as possible and they're planning to be out of the house by 10:00 but just in case we're wondering what's going on she wanted to let us know ahead of time. She was sincerely concerned about being too noisy and she wanted to let us know that she would try and keep it under control.

I've gotta say that I'm really glad things have turned out this way. I like Lucille. She has nice kids...although every time I see them when I get home they have a video camera and they always tape me as I make my way to our suite. The young boy always says "and here's our neighbour with the bushy hair." His name is Connor. He's funny.

So basically Lucille and the Anderson's are the best of friends. I've gotta say that I'm very grateful that God granted me to patience to not lash out at Lucille and Bonnie when they were being absolutely ridiculous that night. I am certain that if I had called the landlord or done anything like that things would be a lot more stressful at 70 Oneil.

saskatchewan is great

2006-04-09T14:48:00.000-06:00

So over the past couple days there's been a couple things I'd like to share about. Instead of doing 3 separate posts, I figured I'd lump them together.
First I think it is fantastic how the city of Saskatoon has instilled fear in every driver who makes their way through the intersection at Ave. C and Circle Dr which is carefully guared with several red-light cameras. I fully understand the fear as I got danked with a $220 ticket for making a questionable left turn on a red light. The other day, as Tara and I were heading to her mom's house, Tara was reminding me to be cautious as we headed towards the fateful intersection. We were well back from the intersection when the light turned yellow so I began to slow down. Well I was obviously not the only one worried about the cameras...there was a Ford half-ton truck that was about 2 feet from the white line when the light turned yellow. Most drivers understand that in this situation it is okay to proceed cautiously. Not this dude. He hammered on his brakes skidding to a stop in the middle of the intersection. He then had to pull a Moose Jaw and reverse back to the stop line. Tara and I laughed. A lot.

Jerry Seinfeld does a great stand-up bit about old-people behind the wheel. "At what age do you decide, 'I'm old and I'm coming back.'" Today on my way to Church a car backed out their driveway right infront of me. I barely had time to swerve around the vehicle and catch a glimpse of the grey haired, wrinkly skinned, arthritis stricken lady behind the wheel. I'm sure she's a sweet gal and all, but seriously...being old does not give you a license to drive however you want. Can't they just be happy with their own menus at restaurants and 10% discounts on Tuesdays at Smittys.

Driving down the Dalmeny highway makes me feel like I grew up in a remote village. You know the one's you hear about that are so far north that there's no real highway into the town, only a beat up path that only Jeeps can make it through at a pace of 60km/hour. Seriously the size of the potholes on that road reminds me of those Nintendo racing games where you would have to navigate your way down a straight road with the odd curve, making sure you dodge the random pits that your car could fall into. At one point on the Dalmeny highway you come to a patch that looks like a huge dirt pile that someone accidentally dropped out of their dumptruck. I had to throw my Corolla into 4 x 4 in order to make it past the offroad patch found in the middle of the road. The best part is, no one seems to do anything about the road. Over the past couple months the highway has gotten significantly worse and worse, but no one patches it up or clears away the rubble. There are huge chunks of busted asphault all over the road. It's like driving through Bhagdad. I think next Sunday I'm just gonna drive all the way down Highway 11 and take the gravel road (powerline road) into town. Less bumps, less massive holes, less random chunks of asphault and it's nice because you feel like you're just a little bit further from Langham that way.

Betrayal of the highest degree

2006-04-05T22:34:00.000-06:00

So here I sit, in my bedroom...alone. It's 10:33 pm Wednesday night. Where is Tara? you might ask. Shouldn't she be studying for her massive amounts of finals next week. Yes she should.

Let me back up. Every Wednesday I go to a 'bible' study at Colin Bendell's place. While I'm at the Bible study Tara goes to sign language class (oh what a sweet heart, caring for this in need...ya just wait a bit).

Let me back up a little further. Tara and I love the TV show Lost. But we can't ever watch it Wednesday due to our schedules so we usually download it and watch it later in the week.

So tonight Colin says that Lost is on TV, and he wants to know if anyone would like to watch it. Immediately I shake my head and say "Tara would kill me. There's no way I can watch it without her." I think I also added "I love my wife way to much to do that to her." The temptation was there, but I came out on top. On the drive home I was thinking to myself how fun it will be to watch Lost tomorrow with my wife, whom I love and who loves me dearly.

So I get home, open the door and notice Tara is on the couch watching TV.

"Curt. I did something bad."

Well I guess I'll be watching Lost tomorrow by myself.
Alone.
Just like I am right now as Tara continues to watch episode 18.

Cali friggin fornia

2006-04-04T20:50:00.000-06:00

So this past weekend we had our staff training for Cal Break. I'm pretty sure Tara only peed her pants twice the whole weekend, which is pretty good. I have to say that I am beyond excited for this trip. I mean it's california people. Wow. Tara can't believe that she gets to go to DisneyLand. I can't believe that the Goliath ride at six flags is 225 feet high. A couple of things I'm hoping to see in California:

- a surf board underneath my feet
- a fat wave underneath a surfboard underneath my feet
- someone get puked on
- someone wearing one of those sombreros that is actually a giant piece of tortilla that you eat
- a gipsy
- a big muscly guy with a really dark tan and a tiny bathing suit trip over a sand castle or fall in a hole
- a kid feeling sick with mad diarrhoea because they ate something bad in tijuana
- a $50 bill (US of course) lying on the ground...and then going into my pocket
- In 'n Out Burger
- a guy with a big beard walking around in Salt Lake city with 9 ladies following him, each pushing a stroller
- someone get stung by a jellyfish and someone else volunteer to pee on the wound
- thousands of coins falling out of the slot machine I just put a nickel into (don't tell James)
- a board shop that gives away free stickers...tons and tons of stickers...for free
- my wife wet her pants when she meets Mickey Mouse (I'm not kidding, I'm making her buy some depends before the trip...seriously I'm not joking)
- governor Swartzeneger
- a midget family of 6 with one daughter that is like 5'10
- someone with pink zinc on their nose
- The Harlem Globetrotters playing street ball in Harlem
- someone tap James on the shouler, thinking he's a lady
- someone puke on the fastest ride...a ride that so fast that the puke just stays in their mouth
- Kobe Bryant
- an elvis inpersonater
- one of Elizabeth Taylor's ex-husbands

If I can see all those things the trip will be a succes.

We live in a basement suite

2006-03-25T17:47:00.000-06:00

So me and Tara Jean got this deadly basement suite that we live in. It's basically one big room that has a bedroom and a bathroom attached to it. One wall has a lovely foam brick finish that gives the place a real cozy feel. The place comes with all kinds of nice features. Like the washing machine. Most washing machines are hooked up to a separate tap...not ours. We have to roll it out to the kitchen sink and hook it up to the tap. You're probably thinking "Oh he's talking about the dishwasher, not the normal washing machine." Well if you're thinking that you are wrong. We don't have a dishwashing machine. At least Tara doesn't like it when I call her that. Our normal clothes washing machine hooks up to our kitchen tap. I know what you're thinking...and you're right, it's pretty friggin' radical. The best is when I get home from running errands (like this afternoon) and I come home to a floor full of water. Woo Hoo. It turns out the pipes below the sink were leaking, filling up all our tupperware with water. Hey, you never know when our water supply is going to run out. I'm thinking that we'll just store the water, just in case. Remember Y2K. My mom filled up about 5 2 litre bottles of water. I'm thinking that we'll do the same thing. So the repair guy is coming Monday to fix our taps. Maybe if I convince Tara to wear a tiny little outfit around the kitchen when he's here I could get him to actually hook the washing machine up to a separate tap...like it already should be.

Bowling

2006-03-25T17:41:00.000-06:00

So last night me and the Neuds went bowling with our friends Kathy and Dave and Tim and Kalli. I like bowling...I'm not that good at it, but I am really competitive nonetheless. First game I lit it up. 155, smoked Tara and edged out Dave (who bowled 154) for the victory. Second game...not so good. I think I bowled an 84 or something. Dave stomped us all, but far worse than that - I lost to Neudorf. Bad. Luckily, I decided after that the winner went to whoever had the best game out of the two. Tara only bowled around 135 the second game so in the end I came out the winner. Close one.

Losing my patriotic edge

2006-03-23T19:16:00.000-06:00

In the past I've always cheered for Canadian teams to make it to the NHL playoffs. Last year I was a little bit disappointed when the Oilers didn't make the playoffs. I would like to see a Canadian team hoist the cup. This hasn't been done since Patrick Roy lead the Montreal Canadians to Stanley Cup victory 13 years ago.

The thing is, this year I'm not cheering for the Canadian teams. I would like to see the Oilers miss out on the playoffs. I really would. I would also like to watch the Canucks miss the playoffs. Especially since they were supposed to be a heavy favorite to make a run at the cup this year. I mean it would have been nice to watch the Flames pound on one of these teams in the first round (similar to what happened last year when they downed the Canucks), but personally having them completely miss the playoffs would be grand. On the same note, I would like to see the Leafs miss the playoffs. My dad is an avid Leafs fan, so is my sister. I think it would be funny for them to miss the playoffs. Plus I don't like Pat Quinn and I don't like how the Leafs are treating like God's gift to hockey in Canada. As for the Canadiens, I wouldn't mind if they missed the playoffs. I'm pretty sure they don't have a chance of winning the cup, so why bother.

I'd like to see Ottawa do well in the playoffs. But I'd love to see the Flames take it all. If Ottawa and Calgary meet in the Final....oh man...oh man. That would be dynamite.

I Guess A Heap of Burning Coals Will Do That...

2006-03-20T22:31:00.000-06:00

So this morning I saw Lucille (the lady from upstairs, read the water heater post for more info) as I was walking out to my car. I said hi. She said hi back. Then tonite I saw her again as I just got home. I said hi. She said hi back. I think we're friends again.

I'm simply relaying the news

2006-03-18T23:48:00.000-06:00

So I was watching the news on CTV tonight and they were talking about discrimination towards gay senior citizens in Quebec among the care homes. Apparently most gay senior citizens do not feel free to express their homosexuality in most of the care homes in Quebec. There was one home however that was working hard to make gay senior citizens feel comfortable with their lifestyle choice. The name of this care home: Fudger House.

Coming up with a title isn't always that easy...

2006-03-17T08:35:00.000-06:00

So they finally cleared away some of the snow from our block yesterday. No longer do we have to navigate our way through 2 foot ruts in order to escape the clutches of O'neil Crescent. However, it's not completely cleared...and there are still a lot of soft spots and ruts along the road. In fact just this morning as I was driving back to our place after dropping Tara off at work I saw a deep blue car swing it's back end right across both lanes. The driver was able to right themselves and avoid spinning right around. Still it was a close call, and kinda funny to watch. As I got closer I realized that the driver was my good buddy Lucile from upstairs (you know the one with the lawyer friend...if not read next post). She didn't look to happy. I'm not sure if it was because she almost slammed her car into some one's van...or maybe she couldn't get any hot water this morning. Hate when that happens. Stupid 22 year old getting married...the nerve. Either way I waved as we drove past eachother. She did not wave back, but I think it's because she was too busy smoking.

I Guess A New Water Heater Would Help???

2006-03-16T09:22:00.000-06:00

I need to apologize in advance for the length of this post...because it's gonna be long. However, it will be good so stay tuned.

So around Christmas this lady Lucille and her four kids move into the upstairs of our house. As far as I can tell they've been very pleasant neighbours...
So last night around 4:30 in the morning Tara wakes me up because the people upstairs are playing music pretty loud. This is 4:30 AM mind you. It wasn't really bothering me, but I sleep like a log through pretty much anything. But being the chivalrous lad that I am, I put on some sweats and a hoodie and made my way to their front entrance. Lucille didn't answer the door, but another lady did. I told her that we were having a tough time sleeping with the music on, and I asked them to turn it off because it was quite late. She reluctantly agreed so I went back to our basement suite. About 10 minutes passed and the music was still playing, so I went back upstairs.

This time Lucile and Bonnie came to the door. When I asked them once again to turn off their music they were obviously upset that I had bothered them. Bonnie looked at me said "Oh go to bed." So I looked her in the eye and told her that if she didn't turn that music off, I was going to slap the ugly right off her face. (no wait, that was going on in my head). I told her (in the most polite manner I could manage) that we were in bed, and that we couldn't sleep because of the music...at 4:30 in the morning. Then Lucile piped up and said “Who pays for the hot-water?” (needless to say I was a bit confused at this). Then they told me that Lucile does not complain when there is no hot water in the morning. I told them that maybe they should take that up with the property agency... all I wanted was to get some sleep. I repeatedly told them that I did not want to be annoying and that I have enjoyed having them live upstairs thus far, but that I wished they would turn off their music because it was very late. Lucile told me that they were just hanging out and that Bonnie is in fact a lawyer. Bonnie went on to ask me where my wife and I work. I told her that Tara goes to University and that I work for Saskatoon Youth For Christ. She also asked me how old I was. When I told her that I am 22 she laughed and told me that I shouldn’t even be married at 22. Once again she looked at me in disgust and said "Just go to bed." Lucile continued to complain about the hot water in the morning saying that she doesn’t complain when she has no hot water at quarter to seven in the morning. I told her that I am sorry she has no hot water, but we do not get up in the morning until quarter after seven, so maybe we are not to blame for the hot water. Again I was told to just go to bed. I told them repeatedly that I was not trying to be a bad tenet, and that Tara and I were just trying to get some sleep. I told them that if they could turn the music off it would be greatly appreciated.

I fought every urge to call the Property Agency and let them know what was going. But I didn't want to respond just like every other tenet would. I knew that if I got the property people involved it would just make Lucile more mad. So I did the obvious....I got up early and shoveledthe snow from their driveway. Maybe Bonnie is right, maybe this all happened because I'm only 22 and I shouldn't even be married. She is a lawyer after all.

Me, myself, and Ipod part 4

2006-03-11T12:39:00.000-06:00

I'm home. It's over. In the end the total kilometers traveled (which includes two trips to Moose Jaw from Caronport) is 1039km. All that racked up from Sunday evening to Friday afternoon. My poor Corolla.

The trip home was generally boring. However, now that I'm back home in Saskatoon I am ever greatful that I do not have to drive on the roads of Caronport anymore. No kidding driving around in that town makes you think that you've somehow slipped into a warpzone that has sent you to Baghdad or something. You could park a Geo Metro is some of the potholes. It's a little difficult to navigate your way through town when the local kids are planning guns on the street, hiding in the potholes like they're some sort of bunker. Not to mention the random pond you'll find on the roads. Seriously, I think they just don't care about clearing the snow off their roads in winter. "Ahh, it'll just melt anyways, why clear it off." Ya it melts, and it leaves enough water to have a pool party for your child's thirteenth birthday. I was not impressed.

Anyways, I think I'm finished with blogging about this trip. Time to put it behind me. I must give a shout out to Ken and Judy Guenter who let me stay at their place while in Caronport. Just to give you an idea of what hospitality is like, Guenter style...I'll share some of the highlights from the menu. Monday lunch - spagghetti with homemade sauce. Wednesday lunch - Barbecued back-ribs (LUNCH!!!!) Thursday lunch - Beef stirfry (with every vegetable imaginable - I'm pretty sure she had some of those veggies flown in from Madagascar the night before). All in all, it was a decent stay.

Friggin' Funny

2006-03-09T21:11:00.000-06:00

So in Quebec, this 10 year old girl finds a Tim Hortons cup in the garbage. She remembers the roll up the rim contest and grabs the cup. But she couldn't roll up the rim so she asked her 12 year old friend for some help. Upon rolling the rim the girls discover that they won a $28,700 Toyota RAV4. Not bad. So the 10 year old's father says he'll sell the SUV and give the 12 year old's family a share. Of course, the 12 year old's mother isn't buying this. She deserves the SUV because her daughter was the one that rolled up the rim. So she goes to the media looking for some legal aid. Naturally Mr. 10 year old thinks it's stupid that this lady went to the press so he figures 'Fine, I'm not going to give you anything.' Also the girls decided before hand that they were going to split the prize, but naturally aren't legally able to claim the prize. Also the teacher who threw out the cup has no legal rights to claim the prize.

A couple of observations if I may. First off. What the heck is this girl doing rummaging through the garbage? I mean where's the teacher supervision at this school. Second. Why would this mother of the 12 year old ever think they deserve the prize all to themselves? Imagine if you bought a scratch and win, but I didn't have a quarter handy so you asked me to scratch it for you. Does that entitle me to any winnings because I was the scratcher? No!! And in this case it is simple. Finders keepers, stupid teacher who didn't take the time to roll up the rim herself weepers. Third. Isn't it hilarious that the girls had the right idea the whole time. I can just picture it...rummaging through the garbage, pick up a banana only to find that it's bruised and rotten...but underneath you find a coffee cup, pull it out, get your friend to help your roll it up and discover that you won an SUV. YAY WOO HOO Cindy we won a Rav-4!!! We'll share it me and you. Right down the middle 50-50. But nooooo. Greedy parents had to screw things up. Childlike perspective on the world sometimes makes a lot more sense than intelligent adults.

Me, myself, and Ipod part 3

2006-03-07T19:27:00.000-06:00

So this morning I was all set for round three of highway 11 vs. curtass. However, my trip was delayed due to a nice slab of ice that the good Lord decided to drop on Saskatoon last night. It actually turned out to be a decent turn of events. I went back to bed, got up and watched a little E-talk daily Oscar recap (did you see what Charlize Theron was wearing...can you say DISASTER!!! oh my). Then at 10:00 i figured that the ice would be nice and melted so I made my way.

I was right, the roads were clear so it was good. Although about 20 mins into my trip I passed a massive semi that had pounded its way into the ditch earlier in the day (shoulda waited till 10:00 buddy). It was funny because there were three tow trucks there...and I passed by it looked like everyone was standing back...looking at the semi...scratching their head and all trying to figure out how the heck to get it out. My guess is they're going to wait until spring.

Then a little later on the other half of the divided highway I saw another semi that had apparently lost control. However, this one was only half way in the ditch...the other half had managed to jack-knife across the highway.....leaving about 2 miles of traffic waiting to get by. I'm just happy that it wasn't on my side of the highway.

Other than that it was a boring drive up. I listened to David Grey, Collective Soul, Linkin Park, Whittaker, The Mars Volta, and Johny Cash.

Can't wait till Friday. That's when I get to drive home. The same drive. 660 down, 220 to go.

Me, myself, and Ipod part 2

2006-03-07T09:53:00.000-06:00

So I made it safely back to Saskatoon without much fuss. This time I was driving in the late afternoon so fog wasn't an issue and the roads were pretty clear. Mostly I was pretty tired because I stayed up late the night before reading 1 Kings (that's right greg and daryl, I finished, and no drinking from the toilet for me...if ya know what i mean). Also my class Monday morning was less than impressive...for a while I was almost regretting coming down for the day, but then I remembered that about 2 weeks ago I emailed the Briercrest bookstore to send me the textbook for this class. Youth ministry textbook right...shouldn't be a big deal, 20 ... maybe 30 bucks. Nope. Mother big book arrives at my door, $140!!! I couldn't believe it. And it's not like I'm going to be revisiting this text much over the next few years. It's mostly psychology stuff and I already have an adolescent psychology text gathering dust on my shelf at home. So I did the work, and first thing Monday I made a trip to the bookstore and got my money back. They said that they usually don't accept textbooks back after the class has started, but they made an exception because it was the first day and I was from out of town. So I guess the trip was worth it.

Another highlite of my trip home came when I noticed one of the huge snow-grader-scraper-plow things pulled over on the other half of the divided highway. The hazards were on, so at first I thought it might have got stuck in the ditch. As I got closer I realized that wasn't the case. So I thought that it must have broke down. As I got closer I noticed the driver behind the machine, so I figured he must have been doing some repairs. Just as I drove past I looked across the ditch and I am certain that the two of us made eye contact. It was hard to tell though, because I was so stunned by the foutain of pee flowing out of this guy. He must have been holding it in for quite a while.

So, stay tuned as I hope to make another trip back to Caronport Tuesday morning. 440 kms down. 440 to go.

Me, myself, and Ipod

2006-03-05T23:09:00.000-06:00

So I'm in Caronport right now for a modular class at Briercrest. This wouldn't be all that interesting, except that I need to drive back to Saskatoon Monday after my class in order to make it to the Youth For Christ banquet. Then I have to drive back to Caronport Tuesday morning for more classes. Then home Friday. On top of all that, I already drove to Moose Jaw and back Friday for an evening Gym Blast. That means 5 trips to Moose Jaw and back in 5 days... 6 trips in 8 days.

I know that people often blog about their adventures when they go on trips, and I figured that since I'm going to put 220 km x 4 = 880 kms on my poor 1990 Corolla over the next couple days, I thought I'd let you all in on my adventure (yes, all 3 of you who actually read this nonsense).

So this evening (sunday) I made trip number 1. As all of you from Saskatoon know, we received a massive onslaught of snow Saturday. Made navigating my way around the streets of Sutherland quite difficult (also reminded me that I intended to replace my tires before Christmas). However, the highway was relatively clear of snow so it wasn't a big deal.

As the sun dissappeared and darkness came over the prairie land a delightful fog make its way over the highway. One thing that happens on the prairies when it's dark out and foggy, is you appreciate those turn signs that seem so terribly useless the rest of the time. You know the yellow signs that signal a left turn is approaching. Well, we're not exactly in the rocky mountains here...it's not like the turns are sneaking up on us. Usually by the time you see those signs you've already noticed the turn coming, along with the next 4 very sharp, make sure you got your winter tires on or you'll fly off the road because our roads in Saskatchewan are so wildly winding and unpredictable. Well, today I was thankful for the signs because there were a few times when I had no idea what was 15 yards ahead.

I was also reminded that I forget to replace the fuse that went out, leaving me without dashboard lights. Of course I never notice during the day, but when darkness settles it gets pretty difficult to see how fast you are going. I found that my cell phone served as a decent flashlight for illuminating the dash. I played a game with myself each time, I'd try and guess how fast I was going. I pretty much dominated that game. Most of the time I had the cruise control on...so that helped. Later on I realized that the fuse hadn't blown...and that SOMEONE had turned that useless interior light knob off. Who could it have been?

In the end I made it safely to Caronport. I look forward to being back in Saskatoon tomorrow for the banquet.

On my way here I was also reminded that the sticker on our windshield says that we were supposed to change our oil 4000 kms ago. I'm not too worried. Last time I changed the oil I paid with a voucher I got from a scratch card, so I got 'em to put synthetic oil in. I should be good for at least another 220kms x 3 = 660 kms and change.

Unfortunate turn of events

2006-03-03T13:20:00.000-06:00

So about 15 mintues ago I was driving down 108th street on my way home from work. Just before I turned off I noticed a white Crown Victoria trying to make a left hand turn onto 108th. The car was slowing nosing it's way into the intersection, trying to see if the traffic was clear. Well the traffic was not clear...I was coming along in the far lane, and a truck was quickly making its way in the close lane. Obviously the driver of the Crown V. realized that it had poked its head a little too far into the intersection, so he slammed it into reverse to avoid getting shmucked by the truck. Well, what the driver didn't realize was that the mini-van behind him had skooched up nice and close behind him (obviously just as eager to make that left-turn). It was beautiful. I could see it all happening like it was in slow motion...the creeping into the intersection too far...I could feel the sense of panic as the driver realized he had better retreat...then I could see that an impact was inevitable...and CRUNCH!! It was great to watch.

kick ash service

2006-03-02T19:05:00.000-06:00

Wednesday I went to an Ash Wednesday service at St. Philip (church, parish...???) with my Cathestant friends Kelly Peters and Paul MacDiarmid and their families. I must say that I really enjoyed the service. The pastor (yes, he was a pastor, not a priest...I asked) talked about how Lent is a time for prayer, fasting, and giving to the poor. He said that if we decide to give up something for Lent, like eating chocolate bars (St. Philip is also an elementary school, so the majority of the congregation was under the age of 12) we should use the money that we would have spent on chocolate bars and given it to the poor. Or if we decide to give up watching T.V. we should use the time that we would have normally spent watching T.V. for helping other people. Quite interesting.

I'd put my money on the camel getting through the needle

2006-02-28T18:15:00.000-06:00

This past weekend was WinterEscape, the winter retreat / camp that I directed at Redberry Bible Camp. It was for students grades 7-10. On a whole I'd say the weekend went pretty good.

One thing that I noticed (along with my wife Tara) was the contrast between the upper-middle class kids and the 'inner-city' kids. Most of the kids were from the upper-middle class range (as evidenced by the fact that most kids brought around $25 for the concession....$25 for 2 days!!!!). However, there were a few kids that received sponsorship in order to come to WinterEscape.

Coming away from the retreat one verse continues to stand out in my mind. Matthew 19:24 "Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." Those inner-city kids were so grateful to be at the camp. They only had $5 to spend on tuck (which was generously given to them by one rad YFC employee) but they were so happy and thankful. They were polite and respectful all weekend. And watching those guys sing in chapel nearly brought me to tears. One guy was clapping way off time to a song, but he didn't care....I don't even think he noticed. He was so caught up in the moment, singing with all His might....it was incredible.

Then there was the rest of the students. Not all of them were the same. In fact I was impressed with the courteousness of a lot of the campers. However, there were several upper-middle class kids that really frustrated me. These were the kids with over $20 to spend on candy, and they were far from grateful. Tara worked the concession and she was tempted to ream more than one kid out. "It's so stupid that you guys are running out of candy, seriously why wouldn't you buy more stuff...you're out of Skittles that so dumb. This is lame..." etc. Also when we were cleaning up the camp some of the campers were acting like we were forcing them through boot camp training. Again, a lot of the campers were ready and willing to help out as they were needed. But the ones that were upset because they had to move tables made me mad.

Our speaker for the weekend, James Clifford, talked about how Jesus wants to bring restoration and wholeness to our brokeness. Observing the campers, I realized why it is difficult for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. They have little sense of gratefulness. They've been given everything they need, it's always been there for them. Whatever they want. Brokeness? What brokeness? My parents buy me the things I want...rarely do I not have something that I want.

Those inner-city kids new what brokeness was. Talking with one of them made me see that they didn't need a lot of convincing to realize that they needed God to make them whole.

Love God, Love Others

2006-02-21T18:37:00.000-06:00

So I've been trying to focus on the great commandments from Matthew 22:37-40 "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." (esv) I've been thinking about this a lot ... and in my work with youth I've been trying to stay focused on helping youth understand that this should be the driving force of everything in our lives. As I've been thinking about what it means to love God and love other people, I find myself recognizing that these two commands are not separate, and should not be considered as two different commands. We cannot fully love other people if we do not have an understanding of God's love for us and live a life that aims to love God. And with that, we cannot love God if we do not love other people. I found it interesting when reading in Galations lately. In Galations 5:14 Paul says this: "For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." How interesting that He does not say Love God. Almost appears contrary to what Jesus said. But it's not. Thankfully. The outward result of Loving God must be Loving other people.

For me, it's important that I don't get consumed with huge, abstract ideas about theology and doctrine and stuff like that. It's easy for me to get caught up thinking about that stuff a lot. I think it's easy because you can a lot of that stuff stir in your mind without having to change how you live. It's important that we stand by sound doctrine. But I'm trying to put my efforts towards realizing how I can love other people around me better. I'm never going to resolve all the theological questions in my mind. And I'm never going to be able to love other people to my full potential. But if I'm going to put my effort somewhere, I think it should be towards acheiving the latter.

Running up the score vs. giving your best effort

2006-02-17T16:29:00.000-06:00

So much has been said lately about the Canadian women's hockey team and their pummelling of their opponents. Some have said that it is unsportsmanlike to run up the score the way that they have (16-0 vs. home town Italy; 12-0 vs. Russia). I would like to know what they are supposed to do? Not try to score? Intentionally avoid scoring chances? Miss the net on purpose? Simply pass the puck back and forth without taking any shots?

Many people have said that the way the tournament is designed forces the Canadians to run up the score (because goals for are used in case of a tie). I say that this is irrelevant. Even if goals for and against did not matter I would have no problem with Canada beating Italy 16-0. I would have a problem if the girls were poor sports about it (big celebrations after each goal, show boating, hot-tog moves, etc.) I felt that the team played hard for 60 minutes, the way the game is supposed to be played.

Personally I think it would have been poor sportsmanship to patronize their opponents by not giving their best effort.

getting things under control

2006-02-12T12:59:00.000-06:00

So I think I figured out how to use this blog thing. Now it's time to write some thought provoking stuff...thought provoking?? I'm not sure if I have any thought provoking stuff on my mind at the moment...at least nothing like what Kelly Peters has been posting on his sight lately.

I guess one thing that I have been thinking about is finances. I have a hefty student loan that I'm looking at chipping away at. So right now I'm on interest relief which means that I don't actually have to make any payments. However, if I do make payments than they go directly against the principle of my loan. So this is the gravy time to work on paying off my loan. No payments against the interest.

So the dilema I am looking at is this...I want to be a good steward with my money. So I want to give all that I can to the Church. I am personally not a huge fan of the tithing principle because although it is a biblical principle, Jesus seemed to think that it's a much better idea to simply give all that you can. I've heard sermons that basically say give ten percent to God and take the other 90 percent and live it up.

So I want to give as much as I can to God. But at the same time I believe that in order to be a good steward with what God's given me, I should be concerned with giving back what I borrowed. I should try and do so in the most effecient way possible.

So is it a good idea to say that I'm going to give ten percent to God and try and spend any excess finances on my loan? Perhaps that might be a good idea until my loan is paid off. However, I imagine that I will soon look at purchasing a house, which will involve a mortgage. A mortgage is basically the same as a student loan, just bigger numbers and a lot more time.

So how do I break things down. I don't want to get legalistic in my giving. But I want to deal with my debt right away.

so far blogging is a pain

2006-02-11T20:36:00.000-06:00

So far my experience with blogging is a huge annoyance. I spent the past half hour trying to figure out how to edit the links on my blog. Finally I decided that it was too much trouble because they wouldn't work, so I just deleted them. Now when I reload my blog by typing www.curtass.blogspot.com into my navigator bar the changes aren't made, but when I type in http://curtass.blogspot.com then it works fine. So dumb. I don't get computers. The worst part is no one's even gonna read this stupid comment anyways.

dawn of an era

2006-02-11T14:41:00.000-06:00

I decided to create a blog...not sure if I'm actually going to post in this thing regularly or not....but it's here if I ever need it.