Stay-cation
July 2nd, 2009 by jeff.graham
Stay-cation: [stey-key-shuh
n] (noun) A stay-at-home-vacation.
Can these really be fun? I hope so ’cause that’s what the Graham family is doing this summer. My brother Bob is coming for a visit so that should be fun but what else are we going to do? Watch TV? Nap? Sure, that’s fun for the first couple of days but what then?
If you’ve got any good stay-cation ideas…I’ll take ‘em!
Open and Closed on Canada Day
June 30th, 2009 by jeff.graham
Canada’s 142nd birthday party means a bunch of businesses and services will not be open. Things like:
- Ottawa City Hall and all six client service centres will be closed.
- Ottawa Public Library branches and city-run child-care centres will be closed.
- There will be no curbside garbage and recycling collection on Canada Day. (Garbage and recycling collection delayed by one day the rest of the week.)
- OC Transpo will be operating on a Sunday schedule, with extra service added during the day and after the fireworks. *There will be free transit service after 10 pm on Canada Day* niiice!
- There will be no regular collection or delivery of mail. Post offices will also be closed.
- Malls, grocery stores, banks, the Beer Store and most LCBO outlets will be closed on Canada Day.
- The Byward Market and the Rideau Centre will be open on Wednesday.
From my family to yours, we hope you have a great Canada Day!
Bonne Fete, Canada!
Meet the worlds ugliest dogs!
June 29th, 2009 by jeff.graham
Beauty is a matter of perception of course and these dogs are pretty damn ugly…but they need love too!
Winner of the pure-bred competition was Miss Ellie, a pure breed Chinese crested hairless - reported to be around 15 years old, has only a couple of back teeth, cataracts in both her eyes, several moles and pimples with a limited anount of fur. And she didn’t even win the whole competition!
The overall “winner” was Pabst - rescued from an animal shelter as a puppy and named after an American beer for his ‘bitter beer face’. The dog has a 2 inch underbite, a large scar from a burn on his stomach and nails which grow in odd directions. Congratulations?
RIP MJ
June 26th, 2009 by jeff.graham
Personally, I’ll always remember the Michael Jackson who did the Moonwalk on the Motown 25: Yesterday, Today and Forever show in 1983. At that point in his life, he was the best there was.
Man, I still get the chills when I watch it. Love him or hate him, he had a huge impact on pop music. Feel free to share your thoughts about Michael Jackson.
More proud papa pictures!
June 25th, 2009 by jeff.graham
I can’t help it. I need help. I have “proud-papa-itis”. Check these out :o)
She’s not a fan of hats
Tricky…very tricky!
DJ in training
Ava the beautiful!
Someone really should have told me that having a kid was this much fun years ago! We could have had seven or eight by now!
Thanks for putting up with my “proud-papa-itis” :o)
Notice for bus riders!
June 22nd, 2009 by jeff.graham
OC Transpo is reminding people that use public transit that summer schedules are now in effect. Most routes will have new schedules to reflect the reduced demand for transit service over the summer. OC Transpo says Route 117 (Carleton) will operate during the summer months. Click HERE to get to the summer bus route timetable.
On Canada Day, OC Transpo will be introducing new fare prices, including the price of tickets increasing 15 cents (although service will be free after 10pm on Canada Day (Wednesday July 1st) to help people get home from the fireworks safely).
Had a great day
June 22nd, 2009 by jeff.graham
So yesterday was my first ever Father’s Day and it was great! I swept the floors, dusted and cleaned the bathroom. I know it doesn’t sound like much fun to some people but if you’re like me, you can’t fully relax in a messy house. I can’t wait until I teach Ava how to use a vacuum :o)
After the cleaning was done I got open a few presents and was completely spoiled. I got a book (”The Fall Of Rome” by Michael Curtis Ford), a beautiful mug personalized by my lovely wife Erin and the second season of HBO’s Rome - in my opinion one of the best television series ever. If you’re a Rome buff (as I clearly am) this is required viewing. It transports you to what life must have been like in Rome during the end of the reign of Julius Caesar and the beginning of Octavian’s (aka Augustus). It’s a richly layered look at history and the building of an empire.
I hope all dad’s had a wonderful day and enjoyed Father’s Day to it’s fullest…because today, we’re just regular schlubs again!
Worst jobs
June 8th, 2009 by jeff.graham
It was a long time ago in a place far far away…but before I was a DJ at Kiss FM, I had tons of other jobs. Some were fun (like working at a golf course) some were strange (like working at a funeral home) and some were downright gross…like being a shoe salesman.
It wasn’t the sales part so much (although it did make me feel like a sales-sleazeball) or even the interaction with the public (there are some very strange people on this earth)…it was the feet!
Why would someone go shoe shopping without washing their feet for four days?! It was so gross! I saw everything as a shoe salesman: Fungus, dirty toenails, stinky feet, old socks. That was definitely one of my worst jobs.
How about you? Any bad jobs in your past? Feel free to share and don’t spare the details!
Free money?
June 4th, 2009 by jeff.graham
How would you like to work a handful of weeks a year then get the Government to pay your rent, buy your food and rent your video games for the rest of the year? That’s what a certain political party (who shall remain nameless) is suggesting. They’d like amendments made to the current Employment Insurance system that’ll allow a worker to basically work each summer (about 45 days) and then claim benefits for the rest of the year. Maybe in the world of rainbows and lollypops where people are always good and honest we’d be that generous to workers who barely work before claiming EI. But we don’t live in that world, do we?
I have no issue with anyone who claims EI. for legitimate reasons but this cock-a-mamie plan begs to be abused. This drastic shortening of the EI. qualification period would encourage greater turnover of workers, result in a permanent rise in the unemployment rate and impose a high economic cost. (more…)
Our little model
June 1st, 2009 by jeff.graham
Ava recently had her first professional photo shoot and being the proud papa I am, I just have to share them with you! Oh, I just wanna squeeze her :o)
Thinkin’ about the beach
Ava the surprised butterfly
The Thinker
Baby in a box
‘Lil chef
Flower Power
Dontcha just want to pinch those cheeks?
Igor from Canadian Baby Photographs did an incredible job! He was calm, cool, professional and most importantly…he was good with Ava.
Boy-o-boy, the grandparents are gonna FLIP OUT when they see these pictures!
