As for this past winter, it wasn't a bad one locally as far as nasty weather went. Here at the house I think we only had two occasions in which we needed to have the driveway plowed. We haven't had any issues with large amounts of snow or any of the flooding that they've had in other parts of the province. (If I were living in Quinan, I wouldn't be have been able to say that, as they had issues with flooding due to the heavy rains.) It appears that the winter weather is going to last a while longer yet, but I am hoping for some nice weather on the weekend so that I can clean some of the garbage out of my car. I'm also hoping to touch up the rocker panels as that part of the car has been starting to rust a bit lately.

As for work, I was working at Novi Boat Brokers before Christmas for that Try-A-Temp placement agency that I'd mentioned in the previous newsletter. The owner of Novi was very impressed with my work, so I was hired on full time back in January as a data entry person. The new boss had talked to me before about the possibility of being an agent and selling boats. That probably wouldn't be a good idea as I'd more than likely have trouble descending or climbing the ladders down to and back from any boats that I may have needed to get photos of. The company also deals with Real Estate, as well as the selling and purchasing of fishing boats and licenses, so if anyone wants to sell or buy any of those items, contact me and I'll be sure to send you to the right part of the company. As for the job at Boston Pizza, the last day that I'd worked was sometime in the first week of January. I have yet to receive any type of termination papers, and am still getting the employee discount when I eat there, so I assume that I'm sort of still working there. I've told the guy that's in charge of scheduling what days I'm able to work. With the lack of them having me on the schedule, I can only assume that they may call me in to work if someone had called in sick on one of my days off.

As for my volunteer activities, I've been able to get more involved with some of the activities now that I don't have to work every weeknight. On March 05, 2008, I was able to attend the first EMO (Emergency Measures Organization) meeting that I've been to since I can't remember when. I was surprised at the meeting when they had roll call and they looked my way as they mentioned Saint John Ambulance. I guess they didn't get the notice that the local division had folded a few years ago. I was at the EMO meeting partially for the fire department, and also as part of the local Red Cross group. As for the fire department, we had a cakewalk at the fire hall last weekend, and were able to raise a fair amount of money. Our equipment van (and other vehicles) had to be inspected in the past months, and the costs to repair the van were more than we had expected. Hence the department will be doing a bit of fundraising in order to be able to buy a newer vehicle. If you live in South West Nova Scotia and want to help out, we have the following activities taking place as fundraisers for the department:

April 20, 2008 - Firemen's Breakfast at the Wedgeport Fire Hall, 8:30 AM to noon May 10, 2008 - Rappie Pie & Chowder sale at the Wedgeport Fire Hall, Time: TBA June 14, 2008 - Car Wash & Yard Sale at the Wedgeport Fire Hall, Time: TBA July 06, 2008 - Firemen's Picnic at the Wedgeport Fire Hall, Time: 10 AM to 3 PM July 26, 2008 - Car Wash & BBQ at the Wedgeport Fire Hall, Time: TBA September 14, 2008 - Firemen's Breakfast at the Wedgeport Fire Hall, 8:30 AM to noon October 11, 2008 - Cake Walk at the Wedgeport Fire Hall, 2 to 4 PM November 16, 2008 - Firemen's Breakfast at the Wedgeport Fire Hall, 8:30 AM to noon

If anyone wants to donate any cooked items for any of the events mentioned, they would be appreciated. You'll have to contact me ahead of time if you'd like someone to come and pick up your item. As for continuous fundraising, our weekly cribbage nights continue at the fire hall every Friday night from 7:30 PM to about 10:00 PM. The cost is $8.00 per person and you must come with a partner, unless you want to play cards with me, then you'll have to let me know ahead of time. As for the fire department website, I'm hoping to have some free time on some weekend or another to update that and make some changes. I've asked the ladies auxiliary for some information to post about their part of the department, but have yet to be provided with any information. Oh well...

The pets are still fine, and the dog has gotten over her sore leg. She's been looking awfully shaggy though lately and will probably get a hair cut once the weather warms up. As for the cat, he's fine as well. If you've seen my facebook profile, you've seen that I have photos of him in my profile. I've also recently added a number of other photos there that I've taken in the past years. I had them posted online at www.myphotoalbum.com, but came to find out that the website requires a payment to keep the photos there for more than a year. (I may need to do something similar with the fire department's photos that I have online.) Those of you that know me know that I love to drive around and take nice pictures if I see the chance in my travels. As I take more photos, they will be added to my facebook account.

As for the love life, I'm still not in any great hurry to get into a relationship with someone else. Aside from the odd elderly lady, I've had few people my own age tell me that I was handsome. Hence I don't really find myself to be attractive. In the spring months my plan is to lose this litte bit of winter weight that I've gained, and also to try and make myself more appealing. I've had more surprising compliments about my appearance when my head was shaved, so I'm considering doing that again possibly in the first weekend of April. I'm also planning to walk and stretch more in an effort to be able to walk better. Hopefully I'll be a 'stud' come Summer time. LOL (Not likely though.)

As for the rest of the family, my mother and father's health are doing fine (as far as I know). I'm not sure if they have any plans for any camping trips or not, but they more than likely do. My mother's mother (or rather my grandmother) has been waiting for a bit to have some surgery in order to stop some pain in her legs, but the operation has been postponed three times due to problems at that hospital and others in the province.

As far as I know, everything is going all right for my sister. She's been thinking about moving to the Halifax area in the fall, and has asked me if I'd be willing to rent her house for $200 a month so that she won't have to sell it. No offence meant to the parents, but it'll be nice to have a place of my own again. I'll just have to be smarter with my money this time around so that I can afford to fill the oil tank on occasion. I'll also have to question then whether I want to get cable television, or use the existing satellite system that my sister has, or just use the non-cable channels. There will also be the question of whether to get a cellular phone, or a regular landline. Cell phones don't work well in that area, so I'd probably be best to go with a landline. Anyway, that's enough of my rambling for now.

I'll end this newsletter by saying that I hope the warm weather comes soon, and also hope to lose this winter weight.