Got out for a round of real (ball) golf on Canada day. Weather cooperated, which was nice since the greens sure weren’t. The good news is that thanks to some really great chipping lessons and tips, and a night of practicing chipping at the park, my chipping game is really coming along. I think eating lots of chips has also helped

The Monday after Canada day, we took off up to Edmonton to see Green Day. **spoiler alert**.The Green day concert was absolutely wicked. They play for 2 hrs and 15 minutes and I loved every minute of it and was sad when it was over. Billie Joe was so full energy spraying the crowd with water, faking orgasms, bringing people up on stage to sing-you can read the full review of the Vancouver show (same as Edmonton) here. Not sure if it was the acoustics or the band or both, but their pitch was spot the entire show of singing and screaming. They started by playing their entire new album, 21st Century Breakdown. We bought that album a while back and I just couldn’t get into it. Then I saw it live and loved it! Actually, I’m listening to it right now. After playing the whole album they went old school and played songs from Dookie and Good Riddance. As with Offspring, I expected them to be out of their prime and I was so wrong. I’d say that they are completely in their prime and if you get the chance to see them on this tour you should definitely go . I’m so glad we went with the floor tickets. Jeff and I are venturing to say that was one of our favorite concerts ever. Edmonton is a bit of a dive downtown but we stayed at the Westin (which nice and we used Hotwire for the first time), caught dinner at a pub before the show and then spent the next day at West Edmonton mall.

Upon our return from Edmonton we were in full swing of Stampede here in Calgary. Managed to catch a few pancake breakfasts (probably an unhealthy amount), take in our favorite event of Cattle penning, saw sheep herding for the first time,  and took in the chuckwagon races and grandstand show. They were advertising an “all new” grandstand show this year and I’d agree that it was new and way better than past years. They have cut down the amount the singing and dancing from the Young Canadians and have added an edgy comedian and way more action. It’s more like a cirque de soleil now instead of a bad Vegas musical. And they definitely did not cheap out on the fireworks this year. As I was watching them I was wishing I had an extra eye  like the Simpson’s fish.

Since our last post we got back from a fantastic time in Quebec. We finally got our luggage on Saturday afternoon, so only went without it for 2 out of 4 days. Turns out the moron Airline company mentioned in our last post, sent our bags to the wrong hotel. So, they sat in the lobby of the Hilton for 24 hours. That would explain why every time I called (India) they told me our bags had already been delivered. I guess they were right in a way…

Spent the next two days wearing all of my clothes so I was sweltering but so happy to have my snowpants and mittens. Went to see ice sculptures, tobogganing, the parade and tried to see Bonhomme. That dude is a celebrity in Quebec. He arrived at the parade and was mauled. I tried to get close for a photo op and the mob of fans tossed me aside. I guess I should have valued my time with Bonhomme back in ‘95 when I got my photo taken with him. He must not have been such a celebrity then as I don’t look too impressed in the photo. Once we get a scanner I will post that picture as I don’t have a digital copy of it.

Played Ice Bowl this weekend. The weather was so nice for February and the tournament raised about $5000 for the Women’s Centre. Jeff played an awesome second round and held his own in the Advanced Division (could have had a shot at the title if there weren’t so many sandbaggers). Mark has improved a hundred-fold from last year and this tournament marked his 1-year disc golf anniversary. I look forward to next year. I came first out of 1.5 ladies in the Women’s division. Jana, before your feelings get hurt, I’ll explain your 0.5 does not relate to your skill level, but the fact that you only played one of two rounds. Jana and I both got nice prizes and I have the trophy to take home again to collect some dust until I turn it in next year. See you all out for Ice Bowl 2010 (there’s a trophy up for grabs!).

Now we are in Kamloops getting ready to head up to Sun Peaks for 4 days for Larry’s retirement party. We even got a sprinkle of snow last night so I’m pretty excited. I better run and have a nap and rest up for the chaos of our niece and nephew as Kevin’s family will be joining us for the festivities.

Played some squash today. Our last two squash clubs have been marathon 2 hour sessions. Super fun times and a great workout. Makes justifying the bag of chips I ate during Grey Cup today easier (yeah Stamps!). The weekly lessons from Jeff have really worked to improve my game lately. I’ve changed my grip, improved my backhand and learned about positioning. I’ve tried to focus on one thing a session, but lately I feel that I have too many things going through my head at once. I guess it’s great that I have so many things to work on. I feel bad that I can never return the favor to Jeff as he’s much more advanced than I . However, this week we got Duncan and Robert out, who were able to give Jeff a few great tips. Should make beating him even more difficult…

Also this week I came across this article on CBC. Calgary will begin charging $3 a day to park to take the C-train (park and ride). This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard in a while. There are so few people that take the train already, and this will just create more traffic on the roads. Also, it is $75 per month just to take the train but now for one person it will cost about another $75 per month to park. That will double people’s commute.

I think the city should start monitoring the train instead. In the 6.5 years that I’ve lived here, I’ve been checked only once on the train for my fare, yet I’ve always paid. However, I know people who have been taking the train for longer than that every day who have never paid..and why would they? Nobody ever checks anyways. All other cities have a turnstile or something to prevent you from not paying. If you monitored for even a little while, people would believe they could be caught and would therefore start paying. I think I’ve been checked on the train for a ticket as often as I’ve been through a check stop – once. Brutal.