Jay Leno and a pet peeve

My buddies had complimentary tickets to see Jay Leno perform stand-up at Casino Rama last night so we decided to go. The man is funny! The dude went on for an hour and a half without so much as a pause -- you can tell he's been in comedy for years and years. He did a great job and I'd see him again.

He did however say something, before he started his routine, that's a pet peeve of mine -- perhaps it's the typical inferiority complex we Canadians have towards the rest of the world. Have you noticed this before? Leno started the show by saying, "It's great to be here in Canada!" Whenever someone is performing in a Canadian city, I always find they say the same thing -- "It's great to be here in Canada!" They don't say, "It's great to be here in Toronto!" or "It's great to be here in Montreal!" They always say Canada instead of the city, like we're a tiny nation with cities that no one is familiar with.

I don't know why this bothers me, but it does!

Still not smoking

Congratulations to me! As of today, I have quit smoking for one year. It hasn't been the easiest thing in the world to do -- it's a day to day thing. I still have the urges and occasionally complain to The Girl about wanting one, but, I did not give into temptation. My lungs and heart relieved and I haven't gained any weight!

Cinnabon

Yesterday, The Girl and I invited my sister over for dinner. The deal was that I would prepare the eats. Look out! I decided to make potato croquettes with mixed greens salad and chicken (I cheated and bought an already roasted whole chicken from Loblaws ... I was short on time). The potatoes took much longer than I thought to prepare but the meal ended up being quite tasty. We were stuffed! My sister than reminds us that she brought four Cinnabon rolls for desert. My stomach yells out loud, "Get them, now!!" The girls are amazed that I take a whole one for myself. These behemoths are at least 6 inches in diameter. The cinnamon and icing are too much to resist but halfway through I realize this is a terrible mistake. Stop now and eat the rest later, I tell myself but I continue to feast. I finish the whole bun and immediately think of ways to end my life. I feel disgusted. Was it worth it? Your damn right. This bun is sinfully delicious.

Yup -- that's still me!

The Girl and I were looking at our public school report cards from days of yore and realized that we haven't changed that much. Both our kindergarten report cards describe us to a "T" to this very day. If you have kept yours, have a look -- you'll be amazed at how some things never change.

Protection from themselves

We all know that most NHLers don't want to wear visors because they're for wimps and it impedes their vision of the ice.

Well, how's this for vision of the ice?

He shoots, he scores

Yesterday was the start of the NHL season and the Leafs lost their first game in the first ever shootout. It's not the way I'd have them decide outcomes but I guess it was an exciting game. Offence looked to take precedent over the stiflingly boring trap that entered the game over the past decade. Here's hoping clutch and grab hockey is gone.

Welcome back NHL.

London Pints

Here's a list of some of the beers I devoured in London along with my rating (1-poor, 5-heaven):

• London Pride - 3
• Guinness (of course) - 5
• Kronenbourg 1664 - 4
• Leffe Blonde - 4
• Caledonia Brewery - 3
• Samuel Smith Stout - 5
• Peroni Lager - 4
• Spitfire Premium Kentish Ale - 1
• Badger - 3
• John Smith's Extra Smooth - 4
• Hoegaarden - 4
• Guinness Extra Cold - 7!

If anyone finds out when Guinness Extra Cold comes to Canada, please let me know. I also picked up two bottles of flavoured Bailey's at the duty free in London's Gatwick Airport. I'm not aware of them being sold here in Canada but check out these flavours: Caramel and Mint Chocolate. My mouth is watering just thinking about them!

I'm back!

Today is my first day back at work after my three-week vacation in Europe. It was worth every hard-earned penny the wife and I saved.

We spent the first two weeks in Florina, Greece and stayed with some family and then we went to London, England for a week of sight-seeing.

It was, without a doubt, the best vacation of my life!