Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Changes
I've made a few changes to the blog. For one, I changed the title from hyperblogianism to MiKenzie, Inc. Why? When I started this blog, it was originally intended to be a place for my online persona, hyperferrianism, to post opinions, humor, and social commentary, much like he has long done on message boards. Instead, it quickly evolved into a venue to keep my family up to date with what's going on in my life. This has been a good evolution. I prefer this to Facebook, which I have hardly touched since starting this blog. However, this leads to my next change: I have a new blog that is going to follow the original intent of this blog (opinions, humor, and social commentary). If you're interested, here's the link: www.hyperblogianism.blogspot.com Some of you might not be interested, and I won't be offended if you don't follow my new blog.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
2008 Year In Review
I meant to do this on New Year's Day, but as I sat down to do it, I read Mum's blog entry that said that MacKenzie was dead, and that distracted me. But, after weeks of procrastination, here it is:
January: I started 2008 as a recent college grad working at the Howard Johnson Express Inn in Lethbridge, Alberta. I was sending out resumes, but the job I really wanted (Alberta Municipal Affairs Internship for Administrators) wasn't availabe until May. I had to have my application package in by mid-February, so that is what I devoted most of my job-hunting enthusiasm towards despite the proddings of my father to get out there and find a real job as soon as possible.
February: I don't remember much happening in February. Life just continued on as it had. Avril was large with child, I sent in my application package to Alberta Municipal Affairs, and I hung out with Noah, Heidi, and my sister-in-law Afton. There was Valentine's Day, so Avril's parents got Kenny for the day.
March: This month was a little more eventful. I had an interview for the internship in Raymond, Grande Prairie, and Trochu/Three Hills. On the way home from the interview in Trochu/Three Hills on March 19, the CAO of Three Hills called me and offered the job, so I took Noah (my travelling companion) to Calgary for a celebration at Swiss Chalet. The next day, I turned 30 years old. Then, on the 24th of March, Avril gave birth to our second son, a cute ball of happiness that we named Alexander Lloyd. No, the name has nothing to do with author Lloyd Alexander, and no, we didn't name him after famous Canadian explorer Alexander MacKenzie. If you must know, he's named after the main character of a story I wrote, and his middle name is my father's name. What else happened in March? Heidi's dog died on my birthday, which was sad. Loki had attitude and baditude.
April: This was a pretty good month. A little busy, but good. Avril turned 23 on the 9th. Alex did as newborns do. Kenny was adjusting beautifully to being a big brother. We made a couple of trips to Three Hills and Trochu desperately looking for a place to live. Things were looking pretty glum until we finally found a crap-shack to rent in Trochu. We didn't realize how much of a crap-shack it was at the time, so we were very happy. The most exciting event of April was the birth of Heidi's daughter Matea. She was born on April 24th, a family favourite. On the last day of April, we left Lethbridge and moved to Trochu.
May: I started my internship on May 1. I spent that first month working in Three Hills. It was a huge change in my life. Municipal administration is worlds away (and above) working at a motel front desk. Also, instead of being in a huge ward in a city, we were in a small branch in a small town. Alex continued to grow up. Like Kenny, he smiled at a very early age, and it was a very winning smile that he was generous with. Kenny continued growing as well, continually wowing us with his English skills. A few weeks into May, I accidentally made a glass baking pan explode, and I stepped on one of the shards, gashing the ball of my foot. I should have gone to the hospital, but I decided that polysporin and a band-aid would suffice. Other May highlights: I got my first cellphone, and I frog came to visit me in my office.
June: I gave Alex his official baby blessing in church on June 1. That afternoon, since there was a lot of family in town (Avril's family, the Quists, and the Bialingers) we had a birthday party for Kenny, who turned two on June 2. During the first week in June, we went to Edmonton for several days for an orientation for the 24 interns in Alberta. It was nice to meet and talk with my fellow interns and get to know them. While we were up there, we attended a MacKenzie family reunion/Mum's 60th birthday. All seven of us kids, plus our spouses and children were there, except for Cindy and Brooklyn, who had just been released from the hospital. It was a fun day, despite the unseasonably poor weather. It was the first official Lloyd and Pat MacKenzie family reunion. When I returned home, I started working in Trochu.
July: After spending Canada Day at home in Trochu, we went down south for Matea's baby blessing. We had a nice visit with my cousins and Avril's family. Aaaaaaaand, I think that's it for July.
August: After a mere four months as the youngest MacKenzie grandchild, Alex was usurped by his little cousin Baron. Emily and Allan got married, thus finishing off my family. (I'm looking at you, now, Afton!) Avril, the boys, and I roasted in the summer heat in our breeze-free house. Otherwise, life rolled on.
September: The highlight of this month was getting together with my family for the annual MacKenzie Cup golf tournament. This year's tournament was hosted by the Quists in Lacombe. Quincey and I successfully defended our championship, and we had a nice family visit. The end of September kicked off two months of excessive business travel. First stop: Lethbridge for a career fair at the U of L. Avril and the boys came with me, and I left them there with her family while I went to Edmonton for the Alberta Urban Municipalties Association annual convention, which started on the last day of September.
October: I finished off the AUMA convention and went back home and continued working. Avril's parents brought my family back home to me, and we carried on for a time until Executive Week, a conference for the Municipal Interns, in Edmonton. We had Thanksgiving somewhere in there. We decided, sucks to travelling, we're having Thanksgiving at home by ourselves, which we greatly enjoyed. I also started my blog somewhere in there. Also, the house flooded. At 3:30 in the morning, of course.
November: My business travels continued. First, I went back to Lethbridge for another career fair, this one at Lethbridge College, which is where I went to school. I stayed down a couple of extra days so that Noah and I could head over to Medicine Hat for a Matthew Good concert. The following week, it was back to Edmonton for the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties annual convention. After this convention, I vowed that I wasn't travelling anywhere farther than Olds until February, a vow I broke two weeks later when I went to Calgary to celebrate American Thanksgiving with Avril's family. November is also the month that the by-law that Trochu Town Council had me put together was passed and blamed on me by the local paper. At the end of the month, we moved from the Trochu crap-shack to a beautiful house in Three Hills, where we are much happier.
December: December was a month of extremes. There were great times and awful times. Avril's grandfather died, and we went to Foremost, Alberta for his funeral in -30 degree temperatures plus windchill. My car doesn't handle the cold very well, and I had to have someone give it a boost several times. Christmas, on the other hand, was wonderful. The four of us spent it home alone in Three Hills. It was a very good day. A few days after Christmas, my parents came down, and we had a nice visit. Avril's parents came up and spent New Year's Eve with us, which was very nice. On New Year's Day, I found out at my cousin's 12-year-old son, MacKenzie Fisher, had died on December 31 due to a ruptured brain tumour. This was one of the awful times I alluded to earlier. I haven't cried that hard since my first fiancee (the one I didn't marry) broke up with me eight years ago. Despite the year ending on such a bitter note, it was, overall, a good year.
January: I started 2008 as a recent college grad working at the Howard Johnson Express Inn in Lethbridge, Alberta. I was sending out resumes, but the job I really wanted (Alberta Municipal Affairs Internship for Administrators) wasn't availabe until May. I had to have my application package in by mid-February, so that is what I devoted most of my job-hunting enthusiasm towards despite the proddings of my father to get out there and find a real job as soon as possible.
February: I don't remember much happening in February. Life just continued on as it had. Avril was large with child, I sent in my application package to Alberta Municipal Affairs, and I hung out with Noah, Heidi, and my sister-in-law Afton. There was Valentine's Day, so Avril's parents got Kenny for the day.
March: This month was a little more eventful. I had an interview for the internship in Raymond, Grande Prairie, and Trochu/Three Hills. On the way home from the interview in Trochu/Three Hills on March 19, the CAO of Three Hills called me and offered the job, so I took Noah (my travelling companion) to Calgary for a celebration at Swiss Chalet. The next day, I turned 30 years old. Then, on the 24th of March, Avril gave birth to our second son, a cute ball of happiness that we named Alexander Lloyd. No, the name has nothing to do with author Lloyd Alexander, and no, we didn't name him after famous Canadian explorer Alexander MacKenzie. If you must know, he's named after the main character of a story I wrote, and his middle name is my father's name. What else happened in March? Heidi's dog died on my birthday, which was sad. Loki had attitude and baditude.
April: This was a pretty good month. A little busy, but good. Avril turned 23 on the 9th. Alex did as newborns do. Kenny was adjusting beautifully to being a big brother. We made a couple of trips to Three Hills and Trochu desperately looking for a place to live. Things were looking pretty glum until we finally found a crap-shack to rent in Trochu. We didn't realize how much of a crap-shack it was at the time, so we were very happy. The most exciting event of April was the birth of Heidi's daughter Matea. She was born on April 24th, a family favourite. On the last day of April, we left Lethbridge and moved to Trochu.
May: I started my internship on May 1. I spent that first month working in Three Hills. It was a huge change in my life. Municipal administration is worlds away (and above) working at a motel front desk. Also, instead of being in a huge ward in a city, we were in a small branch in a small town. Alex continued to grow up. Like Kenny, he smiled at a very early age, and it was a very winning smile that he was generous with. Kenny continued growing as well, continually wowing us with his English skills. A few weeks into May, I accidentally made a glass baking pan explode, and I stepped on one of the shards, gashing the ball of my foot. I should have gone to the hospital, but I decided that polysporin and a band-aid would suffice. Other May highlights: I got my first cellphone, and I frog came to visit me in my office.
June: I gave Alex his official baby blessing in church on June 1. That afternoon, since there was a lot of family in town (Avril's family, the Quists, and the Bialingers) we had a birthday party for Kenny, who turned two on June 2. During the first week in June, we went to Edmonton for several days for an orientation for the 24 interns in Alberta. It was nice to meet and talk with my fellow interns and get to know them. While we were up there, we attended a MacKenzie family reunion/Mum's 60th birthday. All seven of us kids, plus our spouses and children were there, except for Cindy and Brooklyn, who had just been released from the hospital. It was a fun day, despite the unseasonably poor weather. It was the first official Lloyd and Pat MacKenzie family reunion. When I returned home, I started working in Trochu.
July: After spending Canada Day at home in Trochu, we went down south for Matea's baby blessing. We had a nice visit with my cousins and Avril's family. Aaaaaaaand, I think that's it for July.
August: After a mere four months as the youngest MacKenzie grandchild, Alex was usurped by his little cousin Baron. Emily and Allan got married, thus finishing off my family. (I'm looking at you, now, Afton!) Avril, the boys, and I roasted in the summer heat in our breeze-free house. Otherwise, life rolled on.
September: The highlight of this month was getting together with my family for the annual MacKenzie Cup golf tournament. This year's tournament was hosted by the Quists in Lacombe. Quincey and I successfully defended our championship, and we had a nice family visit. The end of September kicked off two months of excessive business travel. First stop: Lethbridge for a career fair at the U of L. Avril and the boys came with me, and I left them there with her family while I went to Edmonton for the Alberta Urban Municipalties Association annual convention, which started on the last day of September.
October: I finished off the AUMA convention and went back home and continued working. Avril's parents brought my family back home to me, and we carried on for a time until Executive Week, a conference for the Municipal Interns, in Edmonton. We had Thanksgiving somewhere in there. We decided, sucks to travelling, we're having Thanksgiving at home by ourselves, which we greatly enjoyed. I also started my blog somewhere in there. Also, the house flooded. At 3:30 in the morning, of course.
November: My business travels continued. First, I went back to Lethbridge for another career fair, this one at Lethbridge College, which is where I went to school. I stayed down a couple of extra days so that Noah and I could head over to Medicine Hat for a Matthew Good concert. The following week, it was back to Edmonton for the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties annual convention. After this convention, I vowed that I wasn't travelling anywhere farther than Olds until February, a vow I broke two weeks later when I went to Calgary to celebrate American Thanksgiving with Avril's family. November is also the month that the by-law that Trochu Town Council had me put together was passed and blamed on me by the local paper. At the end of the month, we moved from the Trochu crap-shack to a beautiful house in Three Hills, where we are much happier.
December: December was a month of extremes. There were great times and awful times. Avril's grandfather died, and we went to Foremost, Alberta for his funeral in -30 degree temperatures plus windchill. My car doesn't handle the cold very well, and I had to have someone give it a boost several times. Christmas, on the other hand, was wonderful. The four of us spent it home alone in Three Hills. It was a very good day. A few days after Christmas, my parents came down, and we had a nice visit. Avril's parents came up and spent New Year's Eve with us, which was very nice. On New Year's Day, I found out at my cousin's 12-year-old son, MacKenzie Fisher, had died on December 31 due to a ruptured brain tumour. This was one of the awful times I alluded to earlier. I haven't cried that hard since my first fiancee (the one I didn't marry) broke up with me eight years ago. Despite the year ending on such a bitter note, it was, overall, a good year.
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