Category: life

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New Puppy and a New Camera

This weekend Andrea and Nesslin went on an epic road trip to the middle of nowhere Saskatchewan to pick up the newest member of the family… a puppy! They haven’t made it home yet but I’ve seen photos and videos and I’ve got to admit, it’s as cute as promised. It’s a black Maltipoo (half Maltese; half poodle) and they got it the very first day the breeder declared it old enough to go.

Also on the first day it was available, I just pre-ordered an iPhone 17 Pro. The last iPhone I bought was the 13 Pro four years ago and while it has been my favourite so far, I’m really hankering for the upgraded telephoto (200mm equivalent) that these new phones have. There are a ton of other upgrades too but the camera is what’s driving this purchase for sure. Apparently it’s even better at lowlight situations. I’ll be sure to see how it does on the dark fur of our brand new puppy.

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First Day of School

It was the kids’ first day back at school today. We started a tradition of interviewing and creating a poster for each of our kids identifying their favourite things1:

The kids seemed to have enjoyed their first day back but by the time dinner was on, they were both losing their dang minds. Stress from back to school is a real thing and although I don’t remember it myself, according to Andrea, the same thing happened last year.

  1. They are mostly the things they’ve most recently experienced.[↩]
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Peanuts in Coke

While doing the crossword this morning, I found this clue to be a bit mystifying: Peanuts in ____.

After solving the puzzle, I hit up Wikipedia and learned that peanuts and coke are a snack that gained traction in the southern United States in the 1920s.

Peanuts and coke, sometimes called a “miner’s Coke” or “farmer’s Coke”, is a snack originating in the coal-mining regions of the United States that later became popular with agricultural and other blue-collar trades. It is made out of peanuts soaked in Coca-Cola.

The most common variation involves pouring salted peanuts into a bottle of Coca-Cola before drinking them. Traditionally, glass bottles of Coca-Cola are used. The snack’s appeal is often attributed to the combination of sweet and salty tastes, as well as the crunchiness of the peanuts. Other variations substitute different nuts or sodas. The combination has been called “the working man’s strawberries in champagne.”

The recipe is simple enough: put some peanuts into your ice-cold Coca-cola. Enjoy!

I was talking to Andrea about how bizarre it is for it to be a thing and simultaneously thinking who would want this when my son exclaims, “Well I absolutely couldn’t take THAT to school!”1

  1. At school they live in a peanut free world which is a moot point because at home our kids lives in a cola free world. [↩]
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A Quick 5K

My Apple Watch alerted me that if I wanted a fancy sticker for global running day I would need to run five kilometres on June 4th.

It’s been over a decade since my last “run” but yesterday I figured since I didn’t swim that day and I was feeling a bit antsy and out of sorts anyway1 I should go for it.

It took me 37 minutes.

My legs are a bit sore today but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be. The award on my watch, however, didn’t show up. And here I’ve gone and done exercise merely for the sake of feeling good and making myself healthier. Maybe it’ll arrive in the next day or two, otherwise, well, I guess I’m still happy I did it but I’d like that award.

Update: It showed up without a notification. I just had to go looking for it:

  1. probably about the job I didn’t get[↩]
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Job Interview

I had a job interview last week. I am extremely qualified and was quite looking forward to getting it.

The vice principal called me today and said, “they are ‘going a different way’ from the interview”. Which in my mind translates to, we already had someone picked out for the job and it’s not you.

I’m disappointed but if my hunch is correct there isn’t anything more I could have done.

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Latrodectus

I found this little gal in my backyard just now:

Black widow spider

This is the second black widow I’ve ever come across. I spotted the first one crawling around on the ground near me when I worked on the base in CFB Suffield digging holes1. I left it alone and it left me alone.

With regard to this one in my backyard, however, I didn’t think it would be prudent to just leave it there next to my strawberry garden so I tried to move it and it got away.

I hope you sleep better than I will tonight.

  1. That’s a story for another day[↩]
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Santa is Just a Normal Guy

Santa Claus holding a bottle of Coca-Cola

My five-year-old came to me the other day with what sounded like breaking news.

“Santa is just a normal guy!” he exclaimed.

Frowning, I looked at him. I nodded and began wondering if I should have played up the jolly elf a little more.

“He’s just a normal guy who doesn’t even make the presents.”

Sadly, the Christmas magic is gone before it really even started. My thoughts wandered. Obviously the brand names and packaging are a dead giveaway. Good on him for figuring it out at five but he’s too young to be so cynical…

“He’s just a normal guy who doesn’t even make the presents — he just gets the elves to do all the work!”

Nevermind. The magic is alive and well.

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A Glimpse

After a not so great day teaching at a local high school I wondered about my choices that brought me here, a decade into my teaching career and back to subbing. I understood the irony in that if I just worked at that school more I would actually have better days but I couldn’t help but think I should just stick to the one school that I’ve really been loving this year even if it means not working every day.

I contemplated my day of students showing disrespect, constantly on their phones, and just plain refusing to even pretend to do the assignments as I walked out of the building. Though feeling sorry for myself, I noticed a student that I didn’t recognize chatting with a friend and said good afternoon to his friend. He looked up and said, “Hey, are you Jeff Milner?”

“Yes,” I said hesitantly, while wondering how in the world does he know my name.

His face lit up and he exclaimed, “You taught me how to draw, last year, in Eva’s class!” I remembered the class but I couldn’t believe I had made such an impression. After asking him to remind me his name, I headed out and thought, it’s moments like these why I actually do love teaching.

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Swimming

I tried signing up for a membership at the Lethbridge YMCA at the very last day of August to have my membership start in September. As I was about to sign up I learned that if I waited until September 1 I would get seven days free and not have to pay fees to reinstate my account. I also learned that the pool would be closed for the majority of the month making my membership that month basically worthless 2.

A month has passed, so after I skipped the bedtime routine with my kids I popped over to the Y today to sign up. The lady at the counter looked at me like I was crazy when I said I wanted the seven days free trial. I explained that I just called someone on the phone right before and they said I could get a prorated rate for October after the seven days are up. She responded that they don’t have a free trial for people that have already ever had a membership — they did have that exact promotion last month 3 but there wasn’t anything she could do for me. I was so irritated by the whole ordeal that I just thought I’ll do my swimming at the University, thank you very much, and I walked out of there.

When I arrived at the university I found their pool empty and undergoing maintenance that had no end date in sight 4. It’s looking more and more like a dryland training month for this swimmer. I wanted to exercise my body, instead all I got was an exercise in futility. At least I made it home in time to put the kids to bed.

  1. ie. the next day[↩]
  2. I only use it for swimming.[↩]
  3. ie. yesterday.[↩]
  4. It was supposed to be done on October 7th but they found more issues.[↩]
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Work

Last year I took a leave of absence from my job teaching grade five. This year I quit outright. I was a little back and forth about the idea knowing that I was leaving a permanent contract but ultimately what sealed the deal was that my hours were fluctuating every year and over the past few years had been shrinking and were now down to half time. When I asked my principal if there was any hope for me at the school she gave the most telling answer possible. She said nothing. It was a kick in the face.

Will I land on my feet? I guess it doesn’t matter too much when before I was just crawling through the mud anyway. I’m enjoying the flexibility of subbing and although the paycheque is weak we are doing fine.