Taking Advice from the Prince

The Prince is a very wise man and knows the value of planning ahead.  Inspired by his dedication, I too will be embarking on some Spring Training.  I'm off to the wilds of Hawaii, to practice long-term sitting, concentrated sun-soaking and indulging in the extreme sport of poi (not pie) eating.  As the Prince says, "You can't be too careful when you're planning a tour as rigorous as the Tour D'Ont".  With this much training under our belts, we'll both be in fine shape to take on the adventure in June.

The Beastly Beard

It just occurred to me.... the Prince's luxuriant facial growth had its origins during the first Big Beastly Adventure.  Prince fully expected to have to shave once "Spare Rib" (the Prince's wife) got a look at it but she seemed to grow rather fond of it.  We didn't ask why.

So the question is....what will the Prince do as a follow up?  Enquiring minds want to know.

I'm going to be able to feed the Beast

Just got my very first pension cheque and it is a lot more a month than I expected!  Not only will the Beast be able to get new brakes this year, but I won't have to coast downhill in neutral to save gas.  This will make steering so much easier!

I'm starting to like this retirement thing.

Planning time

Spring training for the Tour D'Ontario in the Beast is just around the corner (or snow bank) and it is high time to start planning this important event. I leave for Florida in 6 weeks where I intend to train vigorously at sitting on the beach and sipping cool drinks. Because the doctors told me I had to limit my fluid intake I may have to switch it up from beer and try other refreshing concoctions but, that 's what spring training is all about. It provides vital information needed prior to embarking on a quest like the Tour D'Ontario. The tour should bring us through the southern half on Ontario where we intend to stop in and visit family and friends along the way. We are also going to try and find the old Prieur homesteads in the Ottawa Valley area and other stuff like this. It will be fun. I am about to return to my thinking tub. It is -20C right now so a dip will feel good. Stay tuned.

Retirement has been disappointing so far

Well, that's it.... day one of retirement was New Year's Day.  As a dramatic "first day of the rest of my life" it was sort of a non-event.  I spent the day watching my friend flip through hundreds of tv channels, with the result that we never got to watch any single show.  He would flip to a new channel just before commercials started, so I never got to see what the scene climax was, then he would flip back long after the show had re-started so there was no way of knowing what happened.  In between channel flips, he would sleep.  Ah well...

The Deed is Done

It's official.  I told the directors that I'm retiring as of December 31st.  I will return to work part-time (3 days a week) in January - but only because I don't really have any other plans for beating boredom during the winter months.  Since I'm firmly convinced that we will have record snowfall in order to atone for the spectacular summer weather, I don't imagine I'll be coming into the office all that often anyhow.

May 30th will be my official, official last day.  I will stay in town for Festival Polynesia, then hit the road right afterwards.  Prince Porketta and I have tentatively made plans to do a loop around Ontario, to see some of the old family homesteads.  The rest of the summer will be at Grundy.  After that, who knows.... wherever the trail beckons, I suppose.

Did I miss a memo or something?

I don't shop a lot, but jeez..... did I miss a memo or something?

I would like to know if I accidentally tripped a switch on my way out of town last June.  I figure that can be the only explanation for the complete change that has occurred in my little corner of the planet since then.  It's either that or, as I have suspected for some time, the local economy is directly tied to my wallet.

I have lived in the same place for 16 years, shopped at the same stores, driven the same route to work.  When I came back, I discovered that the grocery store I most frequently use is closed; the store where I buy all of my clothes is also closed; the 2 main routes I use to get into town are all but closed due to construction; the alternate grocery store which only opened a year ago not only closed but then re-opened as an all-chinese grocery store which smells like a giant fish market and doesn't have English signs so I can't shop there; several of the restaurants I usually use are closed; even the Dairy Queen is closed!