Back to the grindstone

Babble on.

With a four-year-old and a fourteen-month-old, my weekends are generally spent chasing, tickling, snuggling, reading to, and dancing around with kids. Oh, I might throw in a little home improvement, and the odd date with my wife, but that's about it. I'm not complaining about the routine, mind you, but it's...well, routine.

This weekend was a little different. Friday night was the VRWC Toronto Chapter blogger bash (incriminating photos here and here - Chris put each photo in a separate post, and I'm too lazy to link to all of them - but look at this as well, and tell me he and Nick weren't separated at birth), with guest of honour Damian Penny showing up from Corner Brook for the weekend, and a surprise visit from Queen Z. I was quite flattered, although somewhat confused, when she mistook me for Bob Tarantino and introduced herself by poking a finger in my face and exclaiming: "You owe me a drink!" Still, good for her for dropping by and showing a healthy sense of humour. Much fun was had by all, although I think I might have offended Mike Brock with an offhand comparison between him and Ann Coulter. Upon further reflection, there's no real comparison: Mike doesn't have the legs for it.

Saturday night had more blogging cameraderie on the agenda, as Kathy Shaidle and Rick McGinnis graciously hosted a movie night for some of the VRWC crowd. Litlbit and I weren't able to stay until the evening's end, but we did enjoy "Is It True What They Say About Ann?" Of course, it forced me to further revise my comparison with Brock: he doesn't have the hair for it either.

Sunday was notable as my Chief Ottawa Correspondent dropped by unexpectedly on his way through Toronto, with his wonderful family in tow. Sitting at the kitchen table watching our wives chat and our kids playing together, I'm sure he was thinking the same thing I was: who'd have thunk we'd ever be this lucky? I'm blessed with great friends, and I'm cursed to have most of them live at least a day's travel away, so the visit was a fantastic surprise.

After they left, I helped my bratty kid sister Joge with an essay about the Secession Reference and the Clarity Act. I have to say, the more I learn about about that law, the more I think it's Jean Chretien's one valuable contribution to the country as Prime Minister. I've come to believe both the Supreme Court opinion and the resulting Clarity Act have set the bar so high that any attempt at secession is virtually impossible. We'll see if her Poli Sci prof agrees.

The Academy Awards were even more irrelevant to me than usual, as I hadn't seen a single picture nominated for a major award. But there were a few great dresses ("Honest, hon, I'm only looking at the dress"), a few fun acceptance speeches (a special-effects winner saying he's "just glad there wasn't a fourth Lord Of The Rings"), and the odd humourous zinger delivered. Chris Rock had what I think was the line of the night when he joked - and I'm going from memory here: "Oprah's so wealthy, I saw John Kerry proposing to her a half-hour ago." Heh.

All that's probably lame to you jet-setters out there, but for a homebody like me, it was a lot of fun. And if you just don't give a flying french seal about my weekend, don't worry, I'll be back to regular blogging shortly. Thanks for caring.

Babble off.