September 2006 — The Tugboat

September 29, 2006

Yesterday was a wild, unbridled blur. I woke up before the sun again and caught the whirlwind that would become my day. I had two field trips scheduled, a multitude of class between them, a terrible, packed lunch, and a party to attend in the evening. The field trips went well, cold, but well. The class seemed to zip by and everything was in fast forward, everything but my head. My head ached all day and towards the end I started to feel ill in the stomach. By the time I got home I realized that there was no way I was going to a party. I arrived home freezing from the cold of the last field trip and bundled up in my warmest clothes. After a quick and light supper I planted myself on my armchair throne and knew I wouldn't be able to rise again until bed. I called and browned out of the party. The evening was spent laughing it up with Rich while he drank and watching assorted television. Maggie had a flock of friends over to watch Grey's Anatomy. They all huddled around the two kings in the armchairs to get their weekly fix of the program. It was a re-run. We all watched CSI as well. After this I went to bed to try and sleep off my woes. It worked surprisingly well. I truly feel refreshed physically. I'm still emotionally-not-in-a-good-realm today but I feel I'm getting closer to feeling better. There is a huge kegger tonight at an undisclosed location that many people are attending. I likely won't go but I wish them well. As for me, I have a series of meetings today with people I associate with. I have a meeting with Mr. Adam Brown, who lives a short 6 inches from me. That meeting was setup on a half hour phone call between us over the intercom. I don't remember what its for but its in a few minutes. I also have a meeting with Phil and Gordo to get my shirt back. I'm trying to set up a meeting with Joanne to apologize for skipping her party and to wish her well when she goes to England to visit her male friend. Either way, I have to eat before the Brown meeting so I'll close by wishing everyone well and hoping that the Kinch family is doing ok. Seriously, if there is anything at all that you need don't hesitate to ask, there is a group of us just an hour away that will do anything to help you. That is all for today, Phillips out.

September 27, 2006

Today was both an emotionally and physically draining day for our hero, Chase Phillips. The physical part was definitely linked to the emotional portion but was also tied in with the fact that I had to rise before the sun. Everything started out like a regular Wednesday, I woke up got ready for school and went to my soils seminar. After that though, there were some significant differences. I cut out from school and came home and got in a suit, not just any suit, my funeral suit. For you see, there was a death in the family. On Sunday, Sept 24, 2006 our family lost its newest member. Arianna Louise Sandi Kinch lost her fight against leukemia. She fought most of the fight in silence without anyone knowing. The details of exactly what happened and why are still cloudy and will likely remain so for some time but the results of the events that unfolded that cool September evening will forever affect those directly involved. My heart goes out to the Kinch family, mother Barbara, father Al, sister Paula, brother Peter, and of course the mother and father of the princess turned angel, Lori and Shafi. They only had their child for six weeks before she was taken from them. I can speak for what transpired at the viewing as I was not there but I can say that it was a beautiful service. A loss such as this really sits with a person, it is something that doesn't leave the mind. For me personally, it brings back many memories of what happened in my own life not so many months ago when we lost our good friend and house-mate, Annie. Even now, as I write this transmission I'm still thinking about it and feeling the sense of loss. How can I feel the loss having never met Arianna? From the moment I saw the pictures from her birth and saw that she was real that is when she became a part of my life. It is unfair that we never got to meet. I feel robbed of that opportunity. After the service came the lunch, I was amazed at the strength of the Kinch family. I never thought people who suffered such a loss could be some composed or at least seem that composed. My hat is off to them. After the lunch and fellowship, everything wrapped up and we all went our separate ways. Once I got home to Guelph I settled in and will soon sleep. This Wednesday was unlike any other. Phillips out.

September 22, 2006

As promised, I'm back, just like I said I would be back. Let's see; what has transpired in the last few revolutions around the moon? I went to London, which was way more of a city that I thought it would be. Homeless people and crack heads everywhere! Well not everywhere, mainly on this street called Dundas that Dave just happens to live near. His street is actually a bit quieter but still I wouldn't want to live there. His actual accommodations aren't bad. He's got a nice little cozy spot. I never found out if it was close to the school but I assume it must be because he mentioned that he could walk if need be. We had a delightful meal and then dropped Dave off to go about his business. The T and I returned back to Guelph. I prepared for the big day ahead as did he in his hotel room. Thursday was a long and trying day. My leg is getting worse and pissing me off more and more now. It's getting me worried that its broken now. I'm holding out of the chance that it's not. I wouldn't be able to walk if it were, right? Anyways, so Thursday was a long day. The T returned from his meeting and we got me some food. I used his wheels to do so. He left after that and was heading out before the sun was up this morning. He does that...wakes up early that is. I went to my one class and did the quiz. I feel that I did alright. After that I came home and started to relax. I'll be relaxing all weekend. There is a chance that Aunt Beth will be in town tomorrow and I might see her and Phil but if I don't then you know where to find me. Phillips out.

September 19, 2006

Well today is Dave's birthday. As you may have seen, we've already celebrated his birth. I didn't get him a present but I did buy him supper on the weekend. His gift from Phil and I is still in the works. Neither one of us has really stepped up to the plate yet. I've been busy with school and having no car is also a problem. I went 14-2 on the weekend. Dave, Phil and I pick winners. Dave was 0-16 since he never picked and Phil was a consistent 9-7, just like last week. School is going well, I was able to get a huge start on my disease collection this week when my friend Adam Pfeffer and I traveled to Ayr, Ontario. We spent about an hour scouring the site looking for diseased plants and plant material. As we were preparing to depart we came across a Monsanto agronomist who helped us identify some of the diseases that we had discovered. It was very productive. I got back and took a ride with Brown to pay rent and utilities. We also visited Blockbuster while in the neighborhood. Pizza and Lucky Number Slevin ensued which was delightful. I followed that up with some blockbusterish genetics homework. That pretty much finished off the night for me, other than this endeavor of course. I've spoken with the Big T, Dave and Phil and plans are in the works for a quick dinner based road trip to London for tomorrow. Big T is down on business and has some stuff for the boys from home. His meeting is in London but he has to stay in Guelph. It should be a good time and I'm not in school when its slated to go down. I'll be sure to let everyone know how my first time in London goes. Probably not tomorrow or the next day, that being Thursday, the Thursday with 11 hours of class. Ya, I imagine I'll be pretty busy while that is going on. Anyways, until next time.....Phillips out.

September 17, 2006

The first thing that I am obligated to start with is that there was some server trouble this past week. Our free provider crapped out on us and the all-mighty Wood stepped up to the plate and hit a homerun. He purchased his own web-space and is now an independent operator. I'm still riding his coat-tails though and I put forth many thanks for him letting me do so. I encourage all the readers to thank him as well in some form or another. Now we move along to the tale of two nights.

Our good friend Chris arrived a day early for the huge party. We had some supper and some laughs and then I headed over to a friend's house to make cookies and watch some Grey's Anatomy. I figured I find out what all the hype was about. It was decent but I'm not hooked. I got home after midnight and found Brown awake. I visited briefly with him before hitting the hay. Saturday was a big day. We tried to have a birthday breakfast for Brown but all the places we tried to go were either closed or too busy. We ended up at Tim Horton's. It was not exciting. Sports Saturday was a huge success once we got back. We played soccer and football. It was the old kids against the younger kids. We won both games. Football saw a slight team alteration as we traded a Hawken for a Hawken. We came back and showered up for supper which was had at Angel's Diner. We drove to the LCBO (six of us in a small car) and then to Phil's before walking to supper. The party kicked off after that. It was a successful party and everyone had a good time as far as I could tell. A huge surprise was in order for all of us as Steve and Samir showed up. They were in Kingston and decided to come over. It was really huge. Dave and Nicole were there also. Big Dong and Will also ventured over from their respective homes. There were many adventures and misadventures. I took many photos as well. It was good clean fun until the overzealous Guelph police showed up for some reason. They gave the guys a hard time just cause they were young. I felt their threats and tactics were unreasonable. We left shortly after with some unscheduled stops of the way home. I didn't get to bed until almost 3am. I woke up this morning and bided my time until football started. Now I'm doing that. Phillips out.

September 15, 2005

I have survived my first week back at school. It was somewhat grueling but I feel that I will be able to manage. I attended all my classes in the first week for the first time in probably the history of my post-secondary education career. It was good. There were two labs and a seminar that I didn't have to go to this week so that was six hours of fun that I avoided. The rest seems to be pretty straight forward. I've already done an assignment. Wednesday could be my favourite but so far the runaway winner is Friday with its lone morning class. Thursday and Monday battle for the worst days. Monday with its two labs and horrendous two hour break between classes could have won the dubious distinction of being my most hated day of school if it were not for the marathon I endure on Thursdays. I start at 8:30am and attend various classes and labs until 5:20pm. That normally wouldn't be that bad except for the fact that each class is on a different side of campus. I literally spend my day running from one side to the other. For most of the day there is actually a small band of us that do this. The largest it gets is ten people. I have found the faster routes now but I feel I have some room for improvement. I want to streamline my time down further and maximize my efficiency. My classes don't seem overly difficult although they are challenging enough for me. Especially being that there are six of them for the first time ever. I'll keep at them.

Socially I haven't had the time nor the energy to put forth too much of an effort. Mike Ward was here until Tuesday then departed for his parents house. He will spend a brief time there before returning with Nicole, Dave's girlfriend. They will travel to London to meet Dave and then come here tomorrow, Saturday. There is a large contingent of outsiders coming here as well in order to take advantage of the hospitality of the young lads at 55 Northumberland, which I will furthermore refer to as the 55. They are hosting this year's party to celebrate the birth of one David J. Hawken. We are passing the torch of sorts. It is their time now for party throwing. Attendance is encouraged if you wish. Many have confirmed attendance already. It is looking like a good party. It promises to be a huge mixer as the young crowd of friends of the 55 will be there as will many members of the old guard, whose parts will be played by us and our friends. All in all I think that it will be a good time.

In other unrelated news, the Shoppers Drug Mart has opened next to our home. A two minute walk provides us access to the bevy of goods and services provided by this corporation. The predictions are that it will be bad to have it here and that it will be a curse on our very existence. We've all got our optimum cards already and Rich is developing a dependence on it. The Subway that is opening is what is going to really get me and my pocketbook, especially in the summer. On a happier note the return of Sports Saturday is scheduled for tomorrow. A full contingency is slated to appear for some soccer and maybe light football as was discussed in this week's meeting of the executive. I'll be sure to let you know how everything goes this weekend. Phillips out.

September 10, 2006

This will be the last reflection before a couple of things happen. The first being the first Sunday of football, the second being the start of my last semester of undergraduate education. I barely remember the semester I took off to make this last victory lap type semester possible. Nonetheless I have to take six classes to make it to the end. Any frequent readers will be sure to note me whining about this on a semi-regular basis, probably every three days or so. Many of my counterparts have already started classes, especially those who have moved on to post-graduate work around the province. I wish any followers of this web-based posting luck with their studies and encourage them to contact me with their new contact information. That said, I will quickly re-count the events of the last couple of days and reflect upon them before the opening kick-off of a wonderful time of year.....football season. Ok, let me see, Thursday was all fun and games. Friday saw the arrival of the infamous Mike Ward. He was very tired and arrived much earlier than originally anticipated. This lead to a somewhat disjointed outing. We all started off at the pool-hall but Mike and the G-Force wandered off in a futile attempt to find girls. This left Phil, Rich and his chum Tony, and I to play the pool. Before much time passed Rich and Tony headed for a kegger and Phil went home to sleep off the effects of frosh week. I moved on to Joanne's apartment. I hadn't seen the place and she was going to come out for a quiet night. Some folks came over and the lot of us had an enjoyable discussion about what was on the television. I had to catch the last bus and was forced to leave, preceded by the majority of the parties present. Yesterday was a day of adventure. Mike and I got dual haircuts in the morning and then whiled away the afternoon doing nothing special. Brown came home and the five of us (Lara and Rich being the others, in case you're nosy and need every detail) hopped in the car and headed for the movies. We finally saw Ricky Bobby which was random and funny. We enjoyed it. We came home after dropping Mike Ward off at the 55 and called it a night pretty earlier. Well I did anyways. I woke early this morning and got some stuff done. I'm hungry and need to eat before the games start. Phillips out.

September 7, 2006

So here I am, back once more, with some regularity I'm sure. So I've told of my plans for the week's end but I haven't remarked on how I'll be getting there. I'll lament on what tedious deeds have transpired thus far. Apparently today is Thursday, following Wednesday as it usually does. I mistook yesterday for Tuesday this week. It was not enjoyable. Monday was spent around the house doing this and that. I got some stuff ready for school and cleaned some things. All in all it was a pretty long and boring day. Tuesday was slightly more exciting with the arrival or our new basement dwelling house mate, Lara. She completed setting up her room and settled in slightly I assume. The day ended with us all watching the Princess Diaries. It was pretty funny to see us three dudes settling in to watch that movie. We had a day out on Wednesday. This included picking up Phil and Dan and taking a trip to Canadian Tire, returning them, and then going out for lunch with Dan in tow. A trip to London was discussed but was turned down. It was a decent adventure that we capped off with cigars followed by a movie. Today was primarily spent sleeping and watching Arrested Development season three. I think the show is likely over but I still find it to be amazing. I now have season two and three. Sprinkled in the evenings has been bouts of playing Warcraft III. A video game that mysteriously appeared in our home. I blame Brown. We're both hooked on it but are both at the same stage and poised to beat it. I hope it happens soon. Well, I'm going to do something constructive for a while before I go out for supper with cousins John and Phil. Long story short, John is working nearby and this time he has a car. That is all for today. Phillips out.

September 4, 2006

Today marks the end of the first rush period. This rush will be forever deemed the move-in rush. The next rush is anticipated to happen next weekend and will be deemed the visitation rush but more on that in some moments. Ever notice that people say "in a moment", but has a moment ever really been defined as a period of time. Is it a minute? Is it three minutes much like three feet is a yard? So when people say that phrase how do you know how long you're really going to have to wait? It could be a few seconds or a few hours depending on what a moment is. Also, what if each person's perception of a moment differs. That really puts the hat in the kettle. As you can see I've done it one better and used "some moments". This is even more ambiguous and aloof. That's what I do, I push the boundaries of certain things in society. Primarily benign things of this nature but those benign boundaries are pushed even further into the realm of the mundane. That's enough aimless pondering for the moment (hi yo!) so I'll get down to re-counting the hi-lites of the past few days.

The first thing to mention is that I'm now down my full-time job. This marks the beginning of my part-time job. I've been retained by the company to work on an hourly basis when needed for the fall. The same holds true for my co-worker Jeff. That should be exciting since I have most of the weekends off and also Friday off. The extra money will be very beneficial as well. To end our era of work we went golfing on Friday. It was a very enjoyable time. The three of us had lunch on the boss and then went to some swanky country club outside the city. We had never heard of it. It is a 27 hole course. We paid for nine holes but because of the impending darkness we were able to continue playing more for no additional funds. We totaled 16 holes. The game went well for me so I had a good time. Brian also played well and had fun. Jeff on the third hand had a dismal afternoon, which is ironic because he was the one that wanted to golf the most. I only went because I had to but I ended up having a great outing. We got dropped off and dismissed to our own lives. All in all, I'd say it was a great summer working for the "evil" Monsanto.

The rush didn't really begin until the Saturday. This was the day that Phil and Megan would move into their respective homes. Phil, Aunt Beth, and The Mayor arrived first in a large monstrosity of a van. The were coming from London where they moved Dave into his new digs. This took several days because he had to start from scratch for everything. Either way, I was picked up by the Hawkens and helped where I could which wasn't much at all because my own parents came and stole me away. I had to go to Waterloo to help get my sister settled. They had gone straight there and unloaded the van which was so full that the occupants would have been crushed if someone farted, apparently. So I ended up spending my afternoon shopping and setting up things for her. We went to supper as a family (minus Lacey who had to stay home to work). After dropping Megan off we headed back for Guelph. My parents dropped me off and went to their hotel. The next morning the Mayor left for home and spoiled my father's attempt at a huge family brunch-type event. It worked out for the best though as they were able to shoot back to Waterloo this time sans me and spend some time with my sister before leaving her on her own. They still treat her like she's just leaving home even though she's in third year now. They came back for supper and some films. The left early this morning, so early that they woke me up to say good-bye. Which brings us to the present tense.

The next rush that was alluded to earlier in the foreshadow that I provided will be helped by the visit of Mike Ward who is arriving on the Friday and by the Reid sisters who are potentially arriving of the Saturday. They are unsure of their trip but are optimistic. Mike is coming for sure. He doesn't fool around. I've lost my taste for typing suddenly and have developed a taste for cinnamon toast waffles which I will now satisfy. They are quite good and the aroma is amazing. That is all for today, hopefully I'll have some adventures to speak of before school starts. Phillips out.