10 Things I Learned This Week

1. Apparently the Weekend is for Feeling like Crap
All week I felt like a million bucks and that was with getting up insanely early Monday and Tuesday. Went to work, did some writing, hung out with Sarah, all without so much as a sniffle or upset stomach. The weekend rolls around and WHAM! I feel like ass. Second day in a row I've had some gastrointestinal issues to deal with, which is confusing because it's not like I'm eating any worse.

2. Not Only Will I Be in the Next Issue of Passion...
But I got a raise too! The piece that is set to hit news stands on Tuesday marks my biggest professional payday to date and has given me a jolt of renewed confidence and energy in pursuing my writing career. Like my brother Pete said yesterday, "You've got to do what you're passionate about, but it's awful nice when someone wants to pay you for it too!"

3. Spencer's Fantasy
Fantasy Baseball that is. Sick bastards, thinking I was going to get into the sordid details of what goes through my dirty little mind... Anywho, the B&C Crew have put together a fantasy league over at CBS SportLine and I'm one of the twelve taking part. For the first time in my Fantasy career, there is money on the line. Winner nets $140. Having bragging rights for an entire off season is going to be great, but having a $140 bucks in my pocket to go with it is going to be even better.

4. I Need to be Back in Ontario
If for no other reason than to be able to be at the birthday celebrations of little Emily Grace. My brother's daughter really is the cutest kid in the world and the pictures from her birthday party are adorable. They also make me miss home a lot. I miss you Gracie Lou!

5. For the Record, I'll Be Back in May Sometime
It's seem that either (a) I just think I've told people about our triumphant return or (b) they've all forgotten about me telling them about our triumphant return, so here we go, one more time: Sarah and I are heading back to Ontario sometime in May. We're setting up HQ in London until September and then from there, who knows? The only definite is that we're both taking September 100% off to go to Vancouver and have a relax before Sarah joins the workforce full-time. There, now you know.

6. Everyone Has an Excuse
D'you know what's amazing? How everyone who sets foot into Blockbuster and has any charges on their account has some kind of story as to why they shouldn't have to pay the charges. Here's a novel idea, you don't want to pay any charges, bring back the goddamn movies! It doesn't matter if you work odd hours, rented the movie to show to disadvantaged youth or left the movie in your car that sat in the pound following an accident. You had it for a longer time than can be reasonably expected and now you owe us some money. Cough it up. I don't want to hear your sob stories anymore.

7. The Irony of the Above
It's $2.00. Actually, since January 1st, it's $1.98. It's less than a cup of coffee at Starbucks. How can you come in and want to fight tooth and nail about two goddamn dollars? Jesus...

8. Professional Developments
So, on top of catching my first feature in Passion, they've also stuck a pic and bio of me in the Contributors page, but I told you that last week. On top of that, I've also been encouraged by my recent conversations with Rotowire.com, a fantasy site in search for fantasy geeks with writing abilities and we all know I fit the bill. Thanks to my man Herija Green for the advice. There is also a little talk of building a personal website, but that too is only in the discussion stages. As with everything, I'll keep you posted.

9. Baseball Season is Approaching Fast
And I couldn't be more excited. Pitchers and catchers report later this week, which means baseball will be in full swing in no time, horrible pun very much intended. I've started breaking down the Jays position by position over at Bugs and will end it off with an overall prediction about the Jays chances this year. We'll also break out a couple staff prediction pieces I'm sure, so make sure you check it out on the regular from here on out.

10. I Don't Hate Boston Nearly as Much
Earlier in the year, I dropped a bomb on Boston and their success in the sports world. Now, KG is on the shelf for the Celtics and the Pats took their first lost of the season on the greatest stage of them all. The Red Sox are still the champs, but hey, at least it's the start of a new season and everyone has the same record... for now.