A lot's been happening

Well I've kind of been silent for a while. As seen on Shan's blog, we're having a baby. We just had our 20th week ultrasound and the baby has moved from the status of "Skeletor" like creature to a "merfolk alien" type creature, a whole +2HD (I'm convinced this kid is going to be a jock). I'm quite excited about becoming a father, also quite terrified by the ultimate responsibility.

Also quite recently my parents came and visited us in Vancouver, which was great. I haven't seen them in over 2 years and it was a wonderful experience. We mainly just hung out and went out for dinners. I got to go and see a movie with my father which as always was a lot of fun (it was Batman, worth seeing for a 2nd time). Also got him a copy of Watchmen, which was amusing as he had bought me a copy of the Heroes comic en francais de Paris.

I've also been running a 4th Edition D&D game over the last few months. It's been going quite well and I've been running a wiki for it mostly for player use.

All in all, life is great. It's been so great that I just haven't felt like blogging. My head space has been a little weird but in a good way. Now that the news about the baby is out in the open I'll blog more.

How long could you survive?

I could survive for 1 minute, 41 seconds chained to a bunk bed with a velociraptor

Created by Bunk Beds Pedia

In Memory of my kitties

I saw this on Today's Big Thing and remember my old family cats that passed away shortly after I left for Vancouver. I love when cats do people things. My favourite I think is the cat that just wants to lie down.

Spamalot? More like Spamaless

So Shan and I went and saw Spamalot last night. Unfortunately we were very disappointed. The acting was not very good, the attempt at British Accents was awful and the humour was out of sync making the delivery terrible. Whats worse is we felt like there was something wrong with us. Everyone in the Cinema was laughing their guts out but we just didn't find it funny. I was sitting there for 2o minutes thinking it was just me but then I figured out Shan was clapping to be polite. In the first hour I laughed at maybe 2 jokes, the rest of it was like someone dismembering a beloved friend and parading their parts on stage for the joy of the audience. We decided to leave at Intermission. I have never walked out of something I have paid for but it was worth it. The only thing I would say that the show had in its favour was the set.

Its also weird because recently friends of ours went and saw it and said it was hysterical. Also my parents saw it in New York and said it was really good. I've heard other reports that it had been good. It's possible that its a geographical annomally and that the other areas are better but I think thats going to be my last brush with musical theatre. I'll stick to Operrettas from here on in. Where the hell is my Gilbert and Sullivan!

So if your considering seeing Spamalot in Vancouver, count this as a mark against it. I would not want to disuade you but at least maybe this will cut down some of the hype. I got half priced tickets, so hopefully your full priced tickets will make it better.

I had it all planned

I had it all planned on how I wanted to talk about my holiday. I even wrote notes about what we did and where we went. But in the end I don't really want to blog about it. Thats not to say its not blog worthy, just I feel like my brain is wrapped in Cotton wool regarding the holiday.

What I will say is that I saw many beautiful and awing sites. And while I really enjoyed traveling around Europe (I think in the end Germany was the best but I would need more time there to confirm it) the best was catching up with friends who I haven't seen in 2+ years. Steve and Alex, Aoife, Tancred and Evelyn, Pete & Abbey, Falsedan (and Aija), Vee and Jo. It made me also miss everyone back in Oz. I hope I can see you all again real soon.

I will eventually get my pics up on Flickr. I think Shan has some up, but we just haven't had time to go through them all.

Eventually you will get to see me fire a flintlock pistol. I promise.

Let's blow this popsicle stand

So we're off! Everything's packed, we're just waiting on our ride to the Airport. By the time you read this we'll already be gone. Heading to Europe to Paris, Düsseldorf, Londinium, Edinburgh and Sunny Swindon. Will update when I get the chance.

And I'll be singing this while we're flying (yes its on my iPod), sing with me now



Signed,
Jaime "I'm on Holidays" F

Ministry

So last friday night we went out to see Ministry. Now Ministry is one of those bands I've always wanted to see. So last November when I heard "this is going to be Ministry's last tour" I scrambled hard to purchase tickets and got them surprisingly easily. And then promptly forgot I had tickets. Then the new year came round and I started thinking "Ministry, thats soon right" and the started getting excited.

Fast forward to March 28th and it was time. Now Shan and I weren't feeling that great as we hadn't been sleeping well all week, but it was going to be a once only chance. We went out with dinner with friends and then wandered over to the Commodore Ballroom. We had missed Hemlock, but Meshuggah were still playing and were pretty darn awesome. It was everything I could have wanted from a metal band along with the outrageous harsh vocals.

And then Ministry came on. They played a bunch of music of which I recognised maybe 2 songs but was pretty wicked. We'd been smart, we had bought earplugs as Rob and Elwood had warned us that Ministry is in the Guinness book of world records for loudest show and I could actually hear the next day as apposed to the times I had seen Sepultura, Soulfly and Biohazzard.

But the best came with the encores. During the first encore they announced that they had with them Burton C. Bell from Fear factory. This for me made me ecstatic as I have always wanted to see Fear Factory back when Obsolete came out. Talking to friends they've said that Bell is not great performing live as a lot of the vocals were augmented in studio but that was not noticeable during Ministry's performance. So the first encore played a lot of their older songs especially a bunch from Psalm 69 and the audience went off! Then the second encore was nuts. They played songs from their cover album Cover Up and the tracks were Roadhouse Blues (The doors) and Under my thumb (The Rolling Stones). I couldn't stop laughing.

We decided at that point the night probably wouldn't get better than that and headed for home. It was a great night out, thanks heaps Ministry!

Haven't really felt like blogging

I've hit a general malaise. Well technically I couldn't say it was a general but there were several stars on his shoulders so I just assumed and decided to lay low for a bit. I would say "not much has happened" but the exciting news is we (that is Shan and I) are going to Europe for a month. Its just too exciting, it's excitement to the max. We're going to go to Paris, Dusseldorf, London, Edinburgh and the west country. We're going to see a heap of friends who we haven't seen in 2-3 years, it's really lifting my spirits that we're going.

In other news, I was saddened yesterday to hear that Gary Gygax died. An important figure in the D&D/RPG community of which I've played modules of his since 1985, first with my father and then with my party when I took the DM mantle. While everyone may not have liked D&D or him personally he along with a few others were the ones who made the revolutionary move from wargaming to an individual state of play which became roleplaying.

Been watching a lot of movies lately. I really really liked No Country for Old Men and There Will be Blood. Juno was throughly enjoyable and a fun film to watch.

TV wise, I've started watching Rescue Me which stars Dennis Leary. I'm hooked on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles which I don't really know why. The actress playing Connor isn't overly convincing and the story is a little hokey, but its sci-fi and not terrible so its kinda fun. Plus it Stars Summer Glau hitting people very hard in an unemotional kind of way. Then again, I think I could watch most things where Glau hits a guy. Torchwood has started again and soon the next season of Doctor Who will be up. Lost has been really good this season, surprisingly good.

Other than that, kicking along. Been taking a Grammar class to see if I have it in me to go back to uni since it's a benefit of UBC to cover a certain amount of credits per year. The class went well and I feel that after I take a maths course I should be ready to take full advantage of the "free" tuition.

So I know I said this once before but I will try and blog more often. At least once a month. I tend to blog a bit more frequently on One Sentence Hive but for those who don't frequent there or like to get full info from here, I'll be more diligent.

Peace out

Phew, got back before the squatters ... and the C.H.U.D.S

Hey all, its been a while. I kinda looked like I dropped off the face of the earth. Its slightly less exciting than that, more along the lines "I lost my keys down a drain and had to wrestle an Alligator to get them back, but he was into greco-style wrestling, so I had to go out and buy some oil, but when I get back, I used all the oil for cooking, which made all the food taste weird and slightly .. well you know ... wrestled. Then I hear a knock at the door and its the Alligator wearing a top hat and bow tie, but in really inappropriate places (like on his elbow, I mean whats the deal with that) and instead of talking, musical notes are coming out of his mouth and popping like bubbles. And then I look down at my hand, but its not a hand, its a HAM!"

So as you've probably noticed on Shan's blog we've moved again into a new building, which is far superior to the place we were just in for only a month. Less insects (that we can find, but I swear if Gregor Samsa shows up, it's hatchet time), less dirt, less hearing other people, more calm, more ocean views. Its a tiny bit smaller but it still fits our stuff in quite well.

Went and saw VNV nation and they were awesome. What a great show, Ronan Harris was able to crowd control so well, and to hear his voice change from Dublin accent to the his singing voice was amazing and the fact no obvious alterations to his voice made it that much better. I had a great time at the show, the previous act, a synthpop band from Toronto, Solvent, was also a lot of fun.

Seen a tonne of movies (well several) of which I liked all. 3:10 to Yuma, Eastern Promises, Elizabeth: the golden age (although production did not in fact increase by 10) are the latest conquests. I still have to go see 30 days of night and Resident Evil, thankfully I have some of you in spirit form to come with me.

And lastly, my birthday was today (and yesterday in Australia). Yay! I had a great dinner on Monday night with Shan, Christine and Rob at Taki's Taverna. We ate a lot and was very happy with the delicious greek food. And to my surprise, my wonderful, amazing wife, bought me an Xbox 360 and I also received an extra controller, Halo and Gears of War. Already Shan and I have played alot of Halo, soon we will play online and "pwn some n00bs".

So things are looking up. Smiles all round.

Now I'll clear away the dust and have this place back in working shape.

Cheers,
Jaime

P.S IN YOUR SLEEP! (you know who you are)

Internet dead zone

Quick note. I have a couple of old posts which have remained in draft form for that last month or two while I've been dealing with the super stress of not being allowed to work, wondering if I would be booted out of the country and also moving apartments. Now that thats almost out of the way I will start posting old and new posts more frequently. However with moving I will be in an internet dead zone for the next 5 or so days. Will update after that.

Laters

Farewell to thee

Leon and I spent alot of time honing our Ping Pong skills.

Thursday was spent seeing 28 Weeks later at Tinseltown. Rob came with and then we went off to Club 23 and listened to some tunes and played pool till late.

Friday being the last night Leon was in town, we went out with Rob and hit up a Japanese restaurant before going and playing some 5 pin bowling on Granville. As usual Rob got the higher score but I'm gaining on him.

We then went over to some friends of Rob's and drank, played Guitar hero and watched some silly Youtube stuff. We then got kicked out and headed home.

Final day, we went to Granville Island for a goodbye brunch. Shan's mum Christine came out and we had a great brunch.

Finally it was time to say goodbye. Thanks for coming Leon, it was awesome. Come again :)

Seattle 4, Jaime and Leon 0

On Tuesday last week, Leon and I went down to Seattle. We caught a bus down which was surprisingly easy and also organised a hotel with lastminute.com (which i would actually recommend to travelers). We crossed the border with very little difficulty and saw the forests of Washington. We arrived in Seattle and grabbed some lunch before locating our motel. Signed in with no probs and then headed for the Space Needle. We went up, conquered it and laughed down at Seattle from our lofty heights.

After that we went to the Experience Museum which contained some fantastic music memorabilia. They had one section devoted to Jimmy Hendrix (woo!). The ticket was also a double pass and allowed access to the Sci-Fi Museum. I was in Sci-Fi heaven. It was amazing what they had there, oh the sites. If your ever in Seattle, go and see it. Hell its worth it even if your not a fan of music. Sadly, they did not allow cameras inside to take pictures so the only pictures we got were of Leon and I "Rocking" out in the kids section:



Thankfully we achieved these sites, seen as they were before the night happened. As we were soon to realise that we had completed our site seeing allotment.

The following does contain embellishments (along the lines of the fish gets bigger every time you tell the story) but at least 90-95% of it is true. Leon can back some of it up, but he remembers less.

Leon started out ahead of me to find a bar as I had to deal with some stuff back at the hotel. I met up with Leon at a place called the See Sound Lounge. He'd had a beer or two before I arrived but not overly much alcohol. I started with a beer and we chatted to the bartender. The place was dead (it was a Tuesday night) so the bartender was happy to have some company. We switched to spirits (which was our first mistake). Americans, seem to pour drinks strong. He filled my drink half of vodka and half with orange (boy it was strong). While we were chatting he made us a shot of some description. It was good. But I could tell that it was strong, but not how strong it was. We order some more and he kept making us some more free drinks. It came time for him to close so he politely asked us to leave and so we left. Leon had seen this bar up on 2nd called Lava Lounge. So we headed in there.

Through the door we walked into Tiki styled bar. It looked pretty cool. I ordered us some drinks and I kid you not, she poured 3/4 full vodka and a skeric of orange. And then Leon saw the shuffleboard table. Leon ran over waving his arms saying "shuffle board, its shuffle board" and started talking to the people playing. Turned out that it was two American guys (Bear and Sim) and two English girls. Already I was feeling like I was in the middle of a joke (These two Americans, two English and two Australians are playing shuffleboard in a tiki style bar, when ...). It was shuffleboard on the table. Bear described the game and it was easy to pickup the scoring system after playing lawn bowls and curling (thank you Australia and Canada). And thus Leon and I challenged Bear and one of the girls to a game. We drank some more and then "last call" occurred. And so i hit the bar and bought drinks for everyone playing. We lost bad, i think it was 11 to 4. And then we were kicked out onto the street. We chatted with the players for a while longer and then somehow ended up going back to Bear and Sim's motel to play texas hold'em while they waited for a friend to arrive.

I remember feeling quite drunk at this point. And then they brought out the PBR. If you've never had Pabst Blue Ribbon its like drinking XXXX, and if you've never drunk XXXX its just how you imagine it would be. They gave me the cards and I remember dealing out the cards (everyone whos anyone knows I am a crap dealer) I had a Queen and a 6. I then dealt out
a 2, an ace and an ace. Then someone said "you forgot to burn and turn", so I discarded the 2 and out came another Ace. The whole room erupted in a "omg" and then I knew it was time to go (stomach told me so). We fled and after a blocks I realised that I had left my jumper back there. So I returned and somehow got in, claimed my jumper and then Leon and I escaped into the night.

We drunken stumbled more like and someone ended up in the wrong part of town (which I have been told is a lot of places in Seattle). When we were trying to get our bearings, a nice old African American wandering past said "You guys aren't from around here", "no, we're visiting", "well unless your here to buy some crack cocaine, I think its best you leave". We said our thanks and piss bolted up the road. When we felt it was safe we returned to our drunken stumble. We passed a car with three girls in it, who decided to laugh at us. Leon took exception to this (at this point leon and my story diverges, talk to him if you want his side) and started yelling "why are you laughing, stop laughing" which only made them laugh more. I tried to pull him away "Leon we have to go, come on leon we have to go" and he wouldn't bloody budge. So I went and found a long stick and thus I started poking him with it. This finally got the message and we left. We then finally managed to get back to our motel. I promptly hurled and then Leon followed suit. We then feel asleep.

Embellishment ends, reality creeps back in

That was the 2nd most drunk I've ever been. The 1st was a party at Falsedan's (which several of you would probably remember). But recovering from Tuesday was the WORST hangover I have ever had. And Leon was worse off than myself. Breakfast was awful and site seeing was impossible. We managed to get on the early bus back to Vancouver. It felt like it was double the time it took to get down. Honestly, I wish that Wednesday never existed. Shannon can attest to our fragile state.

Fair enough Seattle, you win this time. But next time, I will conquer you.

So a good time had and Seattle a fun place to visit :)

P.S Leon and I saw this ad for a beer at a Pub (TM).

Ready to Röck

Leon had managed to score a DJ set at Sanctuary in Vancouver through various channels (thanks Rob). Here was the poster:



Leon is of course DJ Dasein from Australia. His set went off.

Heres Leon getting introduced:

Introducing DJ Dasein
Uploaded by wulfansur

And Leon just going off!

DJ Dasein
Uploaded by wulfansur

Its been ages since Shan and I have gone dancing so it was fun to get out and listen to some great music. Danced for the full set while other pikers kept leaving the floor and coming back.

Monday was a day of recovery and I was glad to have it free. Then we planned our trip down to Seattle.

Here comes a new challenger

So we woke up late and decided to go to the Museum of Anthropology before Leon arrived. Its always wonderful to see the old artifacts. Guy had a field day taking many pictures of masks. Shan also happy to be with her new camera in the museum took some happy snaps as well, especially Raven and first man (sculpted by Bill Reid).

Leon called from the airport so I headed home and waited for him to show. It was tops to welcome yet another traveler to our home. Once he got his stuff stashed away, we went and joined Shan, Guy and Anna at our local Japanese place on 4th. After a yummy meal, we got some more shopping done and then headed back and took it easy for the rest of the day. And thus started the great ping pong championship.

Earlier last week Shan had purchased a ping pong set that you can attach to almost any table. So we all had a few rallies but it ended up being Leon and I constantly battling it out.

We then went out for Mexican at our favourite Mexican restaurant Las Margaritas.

From there we came home and enjoyed some local wares, sat back and listened to Keating the Musical (which I had been wanting to hear) and various other silly tidbits. We introduced Leon to the Colbert Report and there was much rejoicing.

Saturday we recovered from the night before and prepared for the board gaming session we had planned for that night. It was the first official GUGS north (nicknamed JUGS.... stop smirking). We had Rena and Elwood over and played some old favourites.

Sunday came and we said our goodbyes to Guy and Anna. It was sad to see them go but it was great to have them visit. Thanks for coming guys, it was a blast! Anytime you want to drop by, feel free :)

It starts, the quickening!

They descended on Vancouver on June 6th. Guy and Anna that is, not a bunch of immortals (that incident was way over by 1985 and was over in New York). We picked them up from the Airport and proceeded by cab back to our place. We gave them a chance to catch their breath and then took them for brunch at Sophie's Cosmic Cafe. After finishing off a tasty meal we went down to Granville Island and showed them around. While there a crow decided to swoop me. Which reminded me of Macquarie University and the magpies that used to attack the international students.

The next day we showed them around town briefly before going to the Vancouver Aquarium. Guy went nuts with his Camera, as did Shannon as this was her first trip to the Aquarium with her new Camera. We were lucky enough to see the Otter's hold hands like in the youtube video and from the webcam. Some of Shan's pictures from the day can be seen on Flickr.

Later that night we went down to Bard on the Beach and saw Taming of the Shrew ... Spaghetti Western version. It was awesome. Lots of laughs and great transition to the setting. As always an enjoyable play up until the final message.

Tomorrow was going to be Hive overseas reunion.

Urban hunters

So yesterday morning I walked out the front of our apartment complex and was startled to find two coyotes out the front. They were also quite startled and immediately bolted away further up the block. I was quite surprised as I've never seen a coyote before. I noticed they had been eating something so I wandered past. Sadly, it was what I expected after hearing about coyotes in Vancouver. It was the remains of a kitty. I won't go into the gritty details but it was definitely a deceased kitty. The crows woke us up around 5:30 in the morning squawking quite hard so I had my answer. I moved to the other side of the street and watched the coyotes. I could only see one of them and it was watching me not moving. I eventually continued up the block and watched it run back to the spot. Didn't see much else after that. It was sad that a kitty bit the bullet but at the same time it was amazing to see urban adapted animals.

So I've seen raccoons (saw one last night on the way home just strutting up the street), now seen Coyotes, the last thing to see in Vancouver is bears. Or Cougars, but I know how to get round them due to that handy description of how to scare them off from Falsedans shelf. I'm hoping my urban encounter with bears will be from a far distance and involve no harm to myself or anyone else.

Vaya con Dios little cat.

If you want to drink and drive, don't forget to take your car

So Wednesday was Bjork and it was good night out. As I stated in my earlier post I won 4 tickets so I took Shan, Rob and Rena out to Deer Lake Park. We were a little worried that we were going to be late as doors opened at 5pm but it turned out that music didn't really start until 6ish and when we arrived at 6:30 and this bizarre icelandic guy (i believe this was an assumption although i'm pretty sure he did say he was from the "wonderful iceland") has his "music" pumping while we found a place to sit. It was a bizarre mix of spoken word and music. It generally rambled about being in his house drinking, hanging out with friends and life lessons. Apparently, "if you want to drink and drive, don't forget to take your car" was a lesson that speaks volumes.

And then Bjork came on. Her weird little tellytubbies ran onto stage with their instruments and then the music started. It started out with some of her new music and then went through a few of her old favourites. It was awesome to hear Army of Me live (on of my favourite songs). I think the cutest thing was the way she said "thank you" at the end of each of her songs. It was a good night out and we had a blast. Thanks for the lift home Rena.

Later in the week Shan and I rented some movies. Finally got to see Slither staring Nathan Fillion in all his glory. The movie itself was not that great, but he acted his heart out and did a great job in a so so movie. Also hired Night at the Museum and was surprised at the movie as it was quite fun, leave your brain at the door.

This weekend we're going to see Pirates of the Caribbean this weekend and I still have 28 weeks later and even though I've been warned off it, trying to see Spiderman at a matinée if possible, but trying to avoid full price fare.

Taking the good with the bad

"Hi is this Jaime"
"Yes it is, how can I help"
"This is XXX from Georgia Straight, did you recently enter a competition with Georgia Straight?"
"I've entered a few lately, which one is this about?"
"Which one would you like to win the most?"
pause
"Is this about Bjork?"
"Yes, you've won 4 tickets to see her next week and a free CD"

WOOOO!

I've always wanted to see Bjork live but never really wanted to pay the high prices in Australia and never thought I'd have a chance getting tickets here as they go fast. And yet 4 tickets just land in my lap. This is like the 8th thing I've won from Georgia Straight and heres to many more.

Shan lately had her operation to see if it was possible to detect the cause of her Pulsatile Tinnitus. When she got out, shes been in a sad state of migraines and nausea the last few days. We're kinda worried since this migraine pattern was similar to what started the pulsing in the first place. We joked this morning that it was possible that since its been 2 years since this began, maybe it will go away and be on a 2 year cycle. Fingers crossed it doesn't get worse.

What I've been up to

Its been a while since I blogged. Been real busy.

Last Sunday, Shan and I celebrated our first wedding Anniversary by exchanging presents and then having a wonderful dinner out at our favourite Greek restaurant. She gave me a fantastic painting print of Michael Sowa and I gave her Katamari Damacy. She is playing it as I blog this.

Went to our first house party on 21/4. It was themed "Pink and Drink" so I wore a pink tie. Was a great time, Beer and Karaoke = pure bliss. I got up in front of people I didn't know and bashed out "I want to break free" by Queen and "Mr Vain" by Culture Beat. And they were some of the top picks ;) Not a single option was after 1990, it was awesomeness incarnate. I have pictures which I will load onto Flickr later.

Shan went in for her operation last friday, yet again disappointed by the medical professionals of the world and got bumped from her appointment to have it rescheduled to another week. Just because someone was "urgent". I realise that emergency patients have precedence but it just seems Shan gets shafted no matter how she tries to improve her health through hospitals.

Been following the Canucks almost religiously (which is odd for me in that I like sports but tend to be more of a player than a watcher apart from the world cup). They were doing real well and then had a lull and then came back to win against Dallas. And currently they are playing the Anaheim Ducks. Their first game was not great, but then again, they had no break where as the Ducks have been resting on their laurels. However they came back and won the 2nd game to bring it 1-1 for the games. And why? Because I cooked that night and said I was cooking for the Canucks. So from now on, whenever the Canucks are playing, I shall be at home cooking, or at least cooking that day in some capacity if I want to go to the Pub. Shan has also got her old Jersey back from her mum to also bring them luck.

This morning, I finished off Life of Pi, by Yann Martel. It was a really really good read, I highly recommend reading it. I find it amusing since I remember when I worked for Borders that the book was on the shelves and I thought "I should read that" but it was in the "3 for 2" section and although a Booker prize award winner, I was turned off by that. Although not as Indian immersed as Holy Cow was by Sarah Mcdonald (of Tripple J fame) it made me start thinking of India again and how we'd all talked about "going". Maybe it could be a trip to look forward to in the next few years, maybe as a "hive" trip. Who knows, but India is definitely a place I would love to visit.

Got home tonight after seeing Hot Fuzz (watch for spoilers in wiki entry) and again I am trying not to over hype it, but I had a really really good time, thankfully the trailer didn't contain all the jokes, Simon Pegg was great and so many cast members you'll recognise and it makes it that much better!

Coming soon: Shan's Birthday is on Wednesday next week, so big week ahead. Catchas on the flipside.

Sick

Haven't posted for a while, went to a kick ass party last weekend which I'll post my pictures later (especially the one with the Beluga Whale breaching).

As the title reads, Shan and I both came down sick last Sunday and I'm only just now back at work after taking 2 days off. That really sucks being sick, I don't agree with it, nor do I want any of it. Whoever keeps signing me up to the sick list would you kindly desist and allow me to get on with my work. I mean, because of you I missed out on seeing the lecture "Diseases of the Colon, Rectum and Anus" and also a lecturer being weighed down with 2 wireless microphones, a pager and a cell phone has his pants fall down in front of his class. I mean honestly, I missed pure "comedy" thanks to the flu.

Just thought I'd share.