Good Times, Good Times

So the rain and misery that was supposed to accompany Tim & Michelle's visit to the booming metropolis of Kimberley has yet to materialize, which means we're getting out and about today.

However, we'll be a little slower than normal since we hammered back a bunch of booze last night.

Not anything gross - no one puked, no one is on their death bed this morning - but enough that I can officially say that moving to Victoria just became a whole lot more awesome because we'll get to spend far more time hanging out with these two.

And when we do hang out, I know what three of us (Sarah, Michelle and this guy) will be drinking: Parrot Bay Vodka coolers.

Goddamn them things are good!

Not ultra-sweet like the thousands of brands of Bitch Pop out there, and not horribly tasteless of bland like so many other canned or bottled drinks you can get out there. These things are effin' awesome.

I'd tell you more, but the day awaits. Someone has to make breakfast, Michelle and I need to start on the Caesars and then we're off to float down the river...

See you tomorrow.

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Things I Learned This Week

1. This Place Confuses Me
Last week was Accordion Fest, this week is Julyfest, highlighted by drunken bocce ball. How are either of these big draws? It's not like there is a massive bocce league here either; this is a one-off weekend of excitement before the lawn bowling gear goes back in the garage. So very, very weird to me...

2. I'm Glad I'm Old
Seeing all the insanity up here this weekend, not to mention colleagues coming to work hung to the gills or worse, I'm pretty glad that my "drink-til-you-puke" days are far behind me. While I still like to sip a few suds on the deck or around a fire, getting wasted until the middle of the morning has no appeal to me whatsoever. Hell, I was in bed at 11:00 last night!

3. My Dog is Sick
I don't know what I'm going to do when I have kids and they're sick, because Cool Hand Luke has a cold and I don't want to leave his side. The poor bastard was puking and hacking yesterday and there is nothing I can do. Can you imagine how helpless I'm going to feel with kids?

4. The Amount I Write Surprises People
I've been on Bleacher Report for 23 days and in that time, I've published 37 articles. Apparently that's a lot because my profile wall is covered in congratulatory comments about "really cranking them out" and being "on a tear" and whatnot. I don't see the big deal. I write Keyboard Kimura every day, it gets imported to Bleacher Report, easy as that. Maybe I've mixed in a couple more original pieces here and there, but really, I still think I'm being kind of lazy.

5. Should This Writing Thing Not Work Out
I'm really going to buy a bar and make millions. I even know where I'm going to put it. Right here in Kimberley! This town is in serious need of a classier joint where you can get great food, sit on a nice patio and not have last call come at 11:45 p.m. and one of these days, someone else is going to realize that and make themselves a whole whack of cash.

That's about it for this week.

Time to walk the sick little dog and then head off to work... Happy Sunday, bitches!

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Apparently Bocce is a Big Draw

Maybe I missed the newsletter, but when did bocce become a major attraction?

This weekend is Julyfest here in Kimberley, and apparently people from all over the surrounding area have invaded the town for bocce, beer and barbecues, making my neighborhood the busiest it's been since we moved here.

Personally, I don't get it.

Maybe it's because I grew up in Hamilton, where bocce was played by all my Italian friends' grandparents and no one else.

Or maybe it's because everywhere else I've lived there has been far more interesting things to do than invade a town that doesn't have a Tim Hortons for some serious bocce and partying.

Seriously, it's busier up here than it was at Christmas, New Year's or Canada Day.

We've been known to have some completely random parties - July 24 Weekend for example, known as Beastfest in honor of the birth of Greg "Beast" Jorden, but never have this many people followed us to our destination of choice.

They tell me it's a great time; some have even asked if I was, "coming out to watch the bocce this weekend?"

Uhm, no.

An afternoon watching people I don't know lawn bowling isn't high up on my list of things to do with my time off.

But apparently I'm the minority on this one, because Kimberley is flooded with people and they're dying to watch them some bocce!

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10 Things I Learned This Week

1. No Point in Complaining
I bitch about a lot of things. I bitch about work, I bitch about the shitty job other people do at work and I bitch about just about anything that makes me mad on a given day. I've come to realize that there is absolutely no point. Nothing changes - work is still just okay, nobody makes the slackers work any harder and the rest of the headaches and frustrations aren't going to change because I want them to. So from here on out, Spencer Kyte is now 50% less bitchy!

2. Off to Staples We Go
The weekly groceries run into Cranbrook will have an additional stop on the itinerary today. I need to hit Staples and get them to print several copies of my book proposal. Yes, I'm done and moving to the next step. I can't actually tell you how nervous -slash - excited this makes me. Think positive thoughts.


3. Clay Guida is My New Favorite Fighter
First, he took a massive headkick and pretty much bounced right back up. Then, he took some nasty elbows while in Diego Sanchez' guard and stayed there. At the end of the fight, dude was bouncing around like he could go two more rounds (which would have been awesome). Add the crazy caveman hair and you have one fun fighter to watch, win or lose.

4. Kobe > Shaq
Yeah, I said it and I challenge anyone who disagrees to a debate on the subject in the comments section. Shaq hasn't won anything without a strong #2; he had Kobe riding shotgun in the City of Angels and Flash leading the way in Miaimi. While Pau Gasol is nice, Kobe did most of this on his own and that puts him ahead of the big fella. One last thing: Kobe is one of the Top 5 ever. EVER.

5. Mainstream Sports Media is Ridiculous
I know you can't always be talking about the tough stuff, but how so much time can be spent discussing steroids in baseball and the US Open while the Donte Stallworth situation got one day of play is beyond me. Yes, we need diversions in life and sports certainly provides that break from the bad, but if you'll talk about Sammy Sosa testing positive six years ago for an entire week, why not address something that actually matters for more than 10 minutes?

6. You Need to See Taken
Watched this during the week with the wife and man was it awesome. All kinds of good here. I loved that Liam Neeson was the lead and not some hulked up, macho doofus and I loved that everything that his character did exactly what you would have expected him to do, right down to... I won't spoil it for you, but lemme just say that it was nice to see a movie that stayed true to the way things would actually go from start to finish.

7. Some People are Awful Defensive
Earlier in the week, I left a message on a friend's Facebook wall reminding her that in comparison to Toronto, Kimberley sucks. A couple of my bosses at work took exception to that and busted my balls about it the next time they saw me, with one telling me to move already if I hate it so much. Scenery and nature are great, but the fact that my shopping choices are WalMart or Superstore is all I need to say. I never thought the day would come when I was dying to go to Old Navy and American Eagle!

8. A Lot of Adult Dating Sites are Twittering!
As I've mentioned before, I tweet and each time I sign on, I check to see who is following me. Generally speaking, if you're following me, I'll follow you, simple as that. The exception to that rule are the countless Adult Dating Sites that pop up in my list for a couple days before the Twitter Police remove their accounts. Nothing like being excited to have another person follow my work only to find out it's some Spam-alicious "find a friend in your town tonight" site...

9. Gotta Love Mothers...
I was talking to mine yesterday and mentioned that I once again have a mohawk. Not a ultra-big, dyed pink, punk rock rules mohawk, more of a faux-hawk really, as I still have hair on both sides and it's maybe an inch when spiked. Anyway, as soon as the words came out of my mouth it was like I was 14 again. "Spencer, what are you doing? Why would you do something like that?" and on and on about making smart choices and all the things parents tell their kids... when they're actually children. That being said, I wouldn't change her for the world!

10. This is Getting Harder and Harder Each Week
Honestly, I don't know if I learn 10 things that are worth writing about every week. Maybe we'll cut it down to seven starting next week... or five... or just do something else entirely... have to see.

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10 Things I Learned This Week

My first full week back in the mountains has been an interesting affair to say the least.

As per usual, I feel the need to share it with you, no matter how embarrassed it makes Sarah...

1. The Deer are Not Alone
I've officially gotten over my "Look at the deer" wonderment of how cool it is that they are everywhere. I'm sick of them and you can add elk to that list too. Without exaggeration, we saw 150 deer and a couple herds of elk yesterday along the TCH (Trans Canada Highway) coming home from Calgary, including the stupid, massive elk in the middle of the other lane. Them fuckers don't just ruin your car, either.

2. We'd Have Been Home Sooner But...
There was a bit of a lost property issue. Namely, Sarah's wallet. Now, lemme start by saying my new wife is the type who will leave her wallet sitting in the shopping cart then walk off to look at things. This is how I wound up carrying around a wallet yesterday. She also managed to unload all the goodies we picked up and return the cart with her wallet still in the cart. Thankfully, she figured it out while we were across the street, not on the way home and they had it for us at the store. What makes it all the more awesome is that she had an over the shoulder bag with her, but it stayed in the car where it was most useful.

3. Customer Service Excellence
So when I walked back in to Home Outfitters to inquire about Sarah's wallet, the lady who was serving us did a cursory check of her area, ask one person and wished us luck in our search. When I went back in to leave our contact information and get the number for the credit card companies, she handed me the Calgary phone book. We had accepted defeat. Fifteen minutes down the road, the store manager called and said she had Sarah's wallet. Turns out, no one had thought to ask her, something she was wickedly sarcastic about when we met her back at the store. Good to see people helping people in action.

4. We Got a Ton of Stuff for $9
This whole Calgary misadventure came about because we were registered at Home Outfitters and had gifts to pick up. Yes, Calgary is the closest store. -1 for the East Kootenays, yes. Anyway, we also received $150 in Gift Cards from various people, so in the end, we had a trunk and backseat full of gear - all wonderful by the way - and all it cost us was $9. Plus gas, food and my mild heart attack when Sarah "lost" her wallet, but still... $9.

5. Rediscovered Passion
Taking nearly three weeks off writing was hard; necessary, but hard. Since returning, the fire is back and Keyboard Kimura has a lot to do with that. Yes, I'm plugging my new blog again. Having a daily outlet for the sport I love makes me want to sit at this computer and once I get flowing, I could go for hours. Not that writing here isn't inspiring, but there is so much about MMA that I want to address and talk about and rant on and whatever that creating that site should have happened six months ago when I first thought up the name.

6. A Brief Clarification
This is for everyone who has ever said, "Why don't you just write a book" to me since I've taken up this craft. Trust me, I absolutely want to and have finally started down that road. That being said, do you have any idea how long a process it can be? It's not like I can sit for a couple days and viola - book is done, especially when I have other commitments. I'd love to take six months and sit here for 10 hours a day, but (1) I have to work and (2) I have a life to live. Yes, writing is a huge part of it, but not more so than my wife and my dog. It's going to take time, but it's going to get done.

7. One Month, Only a Couple Smokes
I didn't want to say anything because, well, you've heard it time and time again. However, in the last month, I've had three smokes. Three! Sure, there were cigars in Samana - and one in Ty's backyard the other night - but after being a smokerson for nearly 15 years, three darts in a months is awesome, even if I am the only one who thinks so.

8. Seriously, What's with the Music?
I listened to an "urban" radio station for the first time in ages yesterday (-2 for the East Kootenays if you're keeping track) and all it did was add to Tuesday's frustrations with the state of popular music. What in the hell is Kiss Me Through the Phone? To their credit, at least the delivered some K'naan and Classified, but the rest of the countdown was garbage.

9. Speaking of 98.5 Vibe in Calgary
How the hell do you have a DJ who actually knows nothing about the artists he's playing? This dude - ON AIR - couldn't remember whether Classified was from the East Coast or West Coast (East Coast...) and rambled on about how K'naan was from The Sudan and what he went through. Too bad he's from Somalia. Killing me!

10. They're Having a Girl, As Predicted
Pete & Brooke are pregnant (I think I told you that before) and they found out this week that they're having a girl. Faye and I both predicted this in the Dominican. Not by the way Brooke is carrying or any kind of science; we roll on the simple basis that we want Pete to be tortured as much as possible and well, having girls will do that to him. Emily Grace is going to be plenty once she grows up, now there will be another.

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I Am a McFatty

So we had to go into Cranbrook today to do some running around and when the question turned to, "What do you wanna get to eat?" McDonald's was the easy choice.

Honestly, I don't care how bad this makes me sound in today's health conscious times, I fuckin' love McDonald's.

Living in Kimberley actually makes me love it more, because unlike all those years of living in fairly close proximity to a store, it has become a luxury item once again and each trip becomes more than a meal. It becomes a feast.

Case and point, today.


Most normal humans purchase a meal and are happy with that. Some supersize the bad boy and score themselves a few extra fries and more soda to wash down the greasy goodness.

Me? I go full on Fatty McSnack. McChicken Meal with the world famous McDonald's orange nuke juice and two - not one, but two - double cheeseburgers.

Sheer greasy delight.

Of course, the downside is that it's been six hours since I ate and I'm still not hungry, not to mention the fact that I'll probably be able to shit through the eye of a needle at forty pace come tomorrow morning.

But none of that matters when you're standing in line at the Golden Arches...

All that matters is the deliciousness!

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Dear God, Please Don't Let Me Have Daughters

Moving to a small town only reaffirmed for me that in no way will I be capable of dealing with a teenage daughter in the future.

I mean, sure, she could turn out perfect and I would do everything in my powers to teach her positive values and how to appreciate herself, but I'm pretty sure the parents of the skanky little 17-year-old Puck Bunnies I work with would tell you they've tried their best too.

For those who have never lived in a town centered around hockey, a Puck Bunny is a girl who lives to be with a hockey player, even if they are merely a 16-year-old kid playing Junior B. hockey in a ghost town like Kimberley.

To put this in perspective, I spent some of my formative years in Chatham, Ontario, a smallish city where hockey is everything. The Micmacs - now back to being the Maroons - were gods amongst mortals. D'you know how many of them amounted to much of anything on the ice? About three over the five years I lived in Chatham.

That's the same level of hockey the Kimberley Dynamiters play here in town and these little tramps I work with are all over them like they're the next Sidney Crosby.

While I've been forced to come to grips with the whole "16-year-olds showing up to work with their tits hanging out for all to see in stretchy pants" thing, hearing about the previous night's exploits makes me want to puke.

All I can think about is that one day, this could be my kid and I would go ballistic if she was out doing half the things these girls are doing on a weekend by weekend basis. I'm not saying you have to be a Puritan or anything like that, but have some self-respect.

It wasn't like this in my time.

When I was their age - you know, when they were 3 or 4 - there was one slut to every eight or ten regular girls and everyone wanted the regular girls.

Now, that ratio is flipped and the number of wannabe sluts vastly outnumbers the regular girls. What makes it worse is that it seems like with each passing year, the age for skankdom kicking in keeps getting lower and lower and lower and lower.

And do you know what the worst part of all of this is? The dirty old bastards that I work with who stand around soaking it all in, feeding into the systems, re-enforcing that dressing like sluts, going out and getting bombed every weekend and working your way through the third line of the local Junior B team is perfectly acceptable behaviour for a bunch of 17-year-old girls.

So I've taken to ridiculing the fuck out of the Puck Bunnies and throwing out High Fives to the normal ones...

It's okay to not be a skank!

This has been a public service announcement from ESKimo Enterprises.

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It Sure Took A While...

But we're in the midst of our first serious snowfall of the winter here in Kimberley and I couldn't be happier.

For one, I don't have to shovel. Like never. Maybe the odd time here and there when Sarah has to work days and the plow hasn't come around at 6 AM or something like that, but even still, it's only enough to get her out the driveway and on the way. Not like I have a driveway to do or anything.

Secondly, snow equals money and I could surely use some of that stuff!

As the powder piles up, the vacationers and locals who frequent the Kimberley Alpine Resort start to flock in and with them comes added business for Kelsey's. Added business for Kelsey's means more hours for me, as opposed to the 11 I managed over the course of four days last week...

It also means a chance to start down my path to snowboarding stardom, or at least the ability to remain standing for extended periods of time without injuring myself and others. As much as I'm looking forward to the money, there is a small part of me that is equally looking forward to the challenge of a new sport, even if I'm 0-1, having suffered my sole loss via vicious TKO at Blue Mountain a few years back.

I won't be chronicling my alpine exploits here though - seeing as it's a sport and I fancy myself a bit of a sports writer, you'll have to tune into The Snowboard Chronicles at The Love of Sports for the regular updates on my progress or lack there of.

Have fun shoveling suckers - I'm going to sit in the hot tub!

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Stupid People Make Me Angry

Why are some people complete morons?

Can someone answer that for me please.

You have high profile idiots like Plaxico Burress (read the piece below if you're unaware) or Sarah Palin or Paris Hilton, but there are stupid people everywhere you turn in everyday life too.

We live above one.

Since we moved to Kimberley, the guy who drives the white Dodge that lives in the lower left condo - our building is like a Tic Tac Toe Board and we're the Center Square! - has parked in the first space on the right in the lot for the unit next to us that is currently 100% empty. We've generally parked just offset from the stairs up, next to the guy who lives below us' truck. It's worked out perfectly.

Until the other day.

We went out to get groceries and do some running around after I got home from work and when we came back, to our surprise, there was the white Dodge in our parking spot. Not a huge deal as the parking area isn't assigned or anything like that, but when you do something the same way for 42 days, you expect Day 43 to be the same, right?

Wrong.

We parked where he normally parked, unloaded and thought nothing of it. We're flexible, a little change isn't that big a deal.

Then today happened.

We did some running around and when we turned down our street, I noticed the white Dodge rolling in behind us and told Sarah.

We both had the same idea: park in the spot and see what he does. We're flexible, but we're also pains in the ass who like conducting social experiments evidentally.

So as we rolled towards the lot and I signalled my turn into the spot, the strangest thing happened...

Super Genius pretty much drove up behind me as if he too was going to turn into the spot, stopped and then begrudgingly backed up and parked beside us. It's as if we had offended him by taking the spot he had parked in for one night.

We were up to our level by the time he got out of his car which was probably good as a verbal confrontation would have invariably taken place with me using the words "Ya fuckin' moron" at least once.

I don't get it, people: Six weeks, same spot, no problems. Then all of a sudden, homeboy decides to change things and thinks we're the morons for parking in the spot we've parked in since we moved here.

Some people's children... I tell ya!

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10 Things I Learned This Week

1. The Kyte Family is One Person Bigger
I'd like to start off by welcoming Brooke Smith to the Freak Show on a full-time basis. On Tuesday afternoon in Vegas Baby Vegas, Brooke and my brother Peter were married. Congratulations to both my brother and my new sister-in-law!

2. It's Official
Sarah is officially a nurse! She passed her nurses exam (as if there was any doubt) and is now a part of the workforce 100%. Congratulations Baby... enjoy the next 40 years of work!

3. As A Present to Herself...
Sarah purchased an Xbox 360 with Guitar Hero World Tour and two guitars last night. That's the best present that I've ever received and it wasn't even for me! After five hours of button mashing madness last night, we finally shut things down around 1:00 AM due to exhaustion and freshly forming callouses.

4. Interestingly Enough...
I'm off Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week. I won't, however, be shredding on my guitar all day long. I'm starting the book Tuesday morning, in hopes of getting a good chunk of work done so that I can send a portion out for feedback and to gauge interest. After a couple months of making notes and scribbling in the idea book, it's time to get down to work.

5. Brock Lesnar: UFC Heavyweight Champion
Not only do I love Brock's win from a fan standpoint of watching the future of MMA at his beginning, but I love this win from a writing standpoint too. I've spent a lot of time writing about MMA lately and predicting this fight correctly - as I did in two pieces at The Love of Sports this week - shows that I know what I'm talking about. In fact, I got the four biggest fights on the card perfect including my man Demian Maia submitting Nate Quarrey.

6. Getting Closer to the Goal
An email this week from The Powers That Be at The Love of Sports has potentially brought me one step closer to my goal of being able to sustain myself solely through my writing. Basically, the more I write, the better chance I have at getting what I want is what it boils down to, so as much as I'd like to practice up on the video game axe during my downtime, time writing today is going to mean time staying home in the future, so Guitar Hero will have to wait.

7. Polygamy is Effin' Crazy!
Sarah is watching the TLC Forbidden Love special on polygamy and just overhearing some of the crap these chicks are saying is nuts. You have to be some kind of whack job to be okay with your husband having seven other wives. Could you imagine? "Hey Honey, I'ma marry this one too and we'll all live together. Tonight I'ma sleep with you, but tomorrow, I'ma sleep with her. Kay?" How does that make you feel loved?

8. I Should Have Kept Playing Baseball
Why did everyone just let me walk away at age 12 like I did? How come no one told me to keep playing, get better and make it to the Majors? The money these teams are throwing around free agents, even a no stick, no mitt, no wheels guy like me would be able to pull in a couple million a season...

9. This Is Where I'm Meant to Be
Now that we've been out here for a month, it's fair to say that the infatuation stage of things is over. That's why I know this area - or at least BC in general - is where I'm meant to be. Everything about the area still makes me smile - the snow-covered mountain peaks in the distance, the friendliness of everyone in town, the fresh air and peaceful surroundings. I never thought I would be able to live away from "The City," but it's really not hard at all. In fact, it's better.

10. One Month, Three Smokes
Not bad for a guy who has been smoking since he was sixteen if you ask me...

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First Snow, Tepid Tubs and The Deer Hunter

Woke up this morning around 8 and looked walked onto the balcony to enjoy the crisp morning air.

The first thing I noticed was the pond in our backyard had developed a frozen crust on top of it that reflected the sunlight incredibly. It also may have signaled the end of my quest to find out what the little creature that I see swimming around in there daily is until a warm stretch comes along.

An hour or so later, it happened.

The first snow of the year started.

It didn't last long - 30 minutes or so - and none of the flakes remained once they hit the ground, but still. Normally, having even a glimmer of snow before my birthday would make me sadder than Red Sox fans on Sunday night, but this year, I honestly welcome it.

Everything out here is absolutely breathtaking and a layer of snow is only going to make it even prettier.

* * * * * * * *

You can stop being jealous of the hot tub now.

Last night, looking forward to a quick dip and instant warm up, we fired up the tub and...

Frozen.

Not literally of course, but there is something about stepping into 90 degree water at 10 PM in nothing more than my Nike basketball shorts is not really what I was looking forward to.

Instead of investigating, we went to bed and cranked up the temperature of the water.

Thankfully, when I lifted the lid this morning, the temperature read 104 and the display said ready.

Not much better than a nice warm tub watching the first snow...

* * * * * * * *

Cool Hand Luke is no longer.

He's now... The Deer Hunter.

We went for a walk the other afternoon and decided to let the little guy off his leash for a good run. Only trouble was, we didn't notice the couple of deer grazing in the trees off to the left.

Not only did Luke immediately make his way over towards the deer, he proceeded to follow the lead pack up the mountain. And I'm not exaggerating about mountain here either - we literally live in the middle of the Rockies and our stupid dog ran about two miles up the side after some deer he thought would make really great playmates.

Problem #1 - the deer behind Luke who chased after him and nearly stepped on him in defense of the pack.

Problem #2 - the little monster now pulls stronger than ever whenever he so much as thinks he sees a deer.

Most of the time what he thinks is a deer is really just a leaf or a tree or nothing at all, but we're stuck getting our arms ripped out of their sockets because chucklehead wants a new playmate.

Stupid dog!

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Maybe Now You Can Get Back to Being Awesome

In another one of those news events that you can file in the "Water is Wet" category, the announcement came out earlier this week that Madonna and Guy Ritchie are getting a divorce.

As a longtime Guy Ritchie fan, all I can say is "Thank God!"

Before "The Material Girl" came into the picture, Guy Ritchie was on the fast track to Awesomeville.

Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels was a monster. People (read: guys, mostly) absolutely loved it and it was the catalyst to successful careers for both Jason Statham and Vinnie Jones.

And then came Snatch.

Brilliant!

Everyone who was worried about the sophomore jinx found out real quickly that there was nothing to worry about in Camp Ritchie.

It's one thing when you get a whole bunch of big timers to be in your movie, but many a movie loaded with stars have tanked at the box office.

Snatch was not one of those movies.

Guy Ritchie was at his peak. He was so incredibly wicked that he could marry a broad like Madonna.

Then it all went south.

Swept Away is quite possibly the worst movie ever made. I honestly can't think of anything else made by an accomplished director that is worse.

I'll put it this way: Waterworld is 300 times better than Swept Away.

Waterworld.

There was a glimmer of hope with the extremely delayed release of Revolver to DVD. While it was a fairly odd flick, it was gangsters and guns in true Guy Ritchie fashion and showed that he hadn't completely lost the plot.

His latest, Rocknrolla, which opens next week, looks to be a full-fledged return to Ritchieville and I couldn't be happier.

Dude was set up to be the director that made movies guys everywhere looked forward to seeing and instead, he became Mr. Madonna.

Now that she's moved on to A-Rod and Guy is readying for a monster divorce settlement payday, hopefully he can get back to making bad ass movies and being awesome.

* * * * * * * * *

One of the most painful parts of moving is the first grocery shop.

We did our's today.

$280 and that's without buying any kind of bullshit. Just flat out groceries that we needed in this place.

$280.

God damn that's a lot of money!

* * * * * * * *

As promised yesterday, here is the video walkaround of the new digs.

The Guest Room is always open...

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Hello Kimberley!

Having just arrived here today, I figured we'd skip the soundtrack for today (I'll rock a tune tomorrow for all the diehards... Newt!) and give you a quick tour of the new digs.

Warning: This video contains one bad ass condo that I am now calling home and will surely make you hate me. It also includes a cameo by Cool Hand Luke and the future Mrs. Kyte.

* * * * * * * *

The video - which would have made you all fill up with bitterness upon seeing our new surroundings - was just too big to upload onto the page. I'll re-shoot one tomorrow and keep it a little shorter and we'll get it up here in the next couple days.

* * * * * * * * *

We've been here for the afternoon now and here is the run down of the digs and the town of Kimberley.

• Already rocked the hot tub and it's as awesome as would be expected
• Deer roam wild here... on our front and back lawn... scores of them... this might be dangerous... for them!
• Been to work and I don't start until Wednesday, which is nice. There is also a distinct possiblity that I will be able to take the ski lift up the hill and walk home every day. Now I just have to figure out how to get down the hill without concussing myself

In short, this place is awesome. I already have the relaxed and focused feeling that hit me when we landed in Vancouver and anticipate it will be even stronger here, since everyone seems to say hello when you pass them in the street and traffic consists of four cars...

Ladies and gentlemen, we've found our paradise!

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