I was going to write about this sooner, but after finding my report cards from grades one through nine this is a little more relevant.

How did I get 63 in skiing, while the average was 82? I love skiing and being outdoors, how is this possible?

It was a cross-country skiing course segment of P.E. (which I got 75 in) where we would do laps in the soccer field or go down by the park and ski along the creek bed. I did the loops without incident, generally had a good time. I even learned that jumping with cross-country skis was difficult, and one pair of skis didn’t make it back in one piece while I tested this theory.

Ultimately, one afternoon during P.E. Chris and I decided to head home and play a game of NHL97 on Sega. Mom had freshly baked cookies and it was a grand break from skiing. Thirty minutes later we’d strap in again and head back to school. No one was the wiser and planned another mid-skiing break for the next day.

This continued a few times, and eventually Tom joined in on the fun and snacks. I recall going home this time, playing Sega, watching The Brier all the while enjoying cookies. Unfortunately, that day was fresh snow so when our tracks went away from the rest of the pack the teacher found out and our punishment was coming.

I received a one day in-school suspension (to be served over two afternoons) and had to make up the time I had skipped out on skiing in the school yard by going into school early. Mom tried to stand up for me at the Principle’s office, but to no avail. I made my bed. Now that I have found nine years worth of report cards, stay tuned for possibly more exciting and embarrassing updates from my younger school years.

Oddly enough, now my boss is someone who routinely plays for, and wins, The Brier. Take that school system!

I finished The Broker the other night and was going to start on The Chamber. I bought The Chamber from a Value Village when I was living by NAIT with hopes of being one step closer to completing my Grisham collection. I saw the movie many years ago, it’s been so long the plot has been forgotten and thought the book would be good too.

I looked at The Chamber and realized it was nearly 700 pages. I like reading and all, but that book would have required some serious time investment, more than I currently have available. So, I put it back on the shelf and will get to it a few books from now.

What did I think of The Broker? It was a good read, dealt more with spy and conspiracy theories. There was no court room drama, but still had a hint of law throughout.

I have missed the writings of Palahniuk, and when I picked up Survivor and checked how many pages there were, the last page was numbered 1. Oh’what? Flipped to the front and it was 289. The page numbers and chapters all count down. I’m not sure what this book is about, but I think I’m going to like it.

I had a great childhood. I was the only child and was spoiled to no end with love, gifts and attention from my parents. It was all I could have hoped for really. Although, last week a small piece of my memories was taken away from me.

Jenna and I saw a trailer for the new The Pink Panther movie, and the thirty seconds that followed made my last twenty-three years of existence a sham.

Jenna informed me that there was no panther in the movies or cartoons. The stories revolved around Jacques Clouseau; not a panther. All this time I had believed The Pink Panther was about a pink panther.

I started a new game of license plate alphabet on Tuesday. And I finished it six hours later! In a blistering pace I went through the whole alphabet and problem letters such as “I”, “O” and “Q” were dealt with in a swift fashion.

I have to thank a Nebraska couple driving an Outback for assisting me with the “O” and “Q”. I was driving into Sherwood Park off of the Whitemud when I saw an “OWQ-463” plate ahead of me in the distance. I was on “O” and would do anything to get it out of the way. I sped up to double-check that it was my targeted letter.

I claimed my letter just as they pulled off on the second exit. I realized I should have followed them until I found a “P” and then easily claim the “Q” but I was having such a brilliant game that I felt like I had luck on my side.

Once into Sherwood Park I stopped at Tim Hortons to get a coffee for Jenna and myself. On my way out I found a plate that had “P” on it. No problem, I’m at “Q”, if only I could find that Nebraska plate again. Then it happened. A few hundred feet ahead of me I saw a familiar Outback pull out of the Sobey’s parking lot and onto Cloverbar Road.

This was my chance, I had to catch up! I sped through the parking lot, and after a rolling stop to get onto Cloverbar I ignored all speed limits and did 100km/h to catch up and claim my “Q”. We were both at a stop light when I had to bust out my camera and document this amazing occasion.

An hour later and on our way back from Fort Saskatchewan, I had run the gamut of the alphabet. Thanks Americans, you made my week.

“and’it’s Wednesday, so you know what that means!

Last night I finished off The Last Juror from John Grisham. It was an enjoyable read. The book starts out quickly but with several hundred pages to go I was left wondering “What else is going to happen?”

The book wore on closer to the end, unlike classic Grisham, but it was merely the calm before the storm as the book redeemed itself to be an enjoyable read in a great climax. Rather than the traditional lawyer point of view, this book offered a different take and continued with telling about the lives in small towns (similar to A Painted House) with a taste of 1970″s law.

I picked up The Partner from Grisham and Survivor from Palahniuk from Chapters yesterday as well. I will finish off my Grisham to read list before going back to Palahniuk for a dose of the unusual and twisted.

As a frequent reader you should all be aware of my license plate alphabet game that I have been enjoying on my way to work. For the last while I have been stuck on “Q”. Until today!

On the rear of an clean white Crown Victoria, driven by an elderly man who had been with the AMA for 35 years was “SQUAIR”. I don’t know who or what that is, and even Google isn’t sure either. Whatever it is, I’ll take it! I have to find “Z” on my way to Sherwood Park tonight, and that will conclude my search, which I started two weeks ago to the day (January 9).

UPDATE: I saw my “Z” when I made a quick car run earlier today. My search is over and tomorrow I will start again and see if it takes me two weeks to complete.