Archive for the ‘Family & Friends’ Category
Are you Galileo?
I’ve been hanging out with a new buddy of mine and he mentioned that he’s built his own telescope. What?!? I had no idea that people still built their own telescopes - I thought it was just Galileo (yes I’m being facetious).
We chatted for quite some time about this (I’m a sci-fi nut so it’s not too far of a stretch to find common ground).
Apparently Calgary gets to witness a total lunar eclipse on the 27th. I’m going to try to bear witness to the entire thing since I’ve never had the opportunity before. And lucky enough I will get to see it through a homemade telescope to boot!
The eclipse is scheduled to start at 7:14pm (MST) and the moon is fully eclipsed by 8:23pm. It starts coming out of the total eclipse at 9:44pm, nearly and hour and a half! The eclipse finally ends at 10:53pm.
Should be an interesting event to watch.
Friend for Budda?
I have a cat. No I’m not a cat lover, but somehow I ended up with a cat.
A good friend of mine early last year was having a bit of a problem. You see, he and his wife are wonderful people and have over the course of years accumulated, oh, 9 cats. A mess, on most days. What’s a bigger mess, well when one of the cats gets sick. How long does it take for 9 cats to get sick, not long at all.
They shortly ran out of room to quarantine, and I opened my door to one of their cats, a 7lb runt named Budda. She’s a lovely tabby, about 2/3 the size of a normal cat and was very sheepish. I saw her maybe once a week over the course of a month.
The day came when finally Budda could head “home”, but I - uh - ended up suggesting that she stay. She’d become a little more accustomed to me (and me to her).
Fast-forward a year and a half, I’m glad I kept her. She’s a weird cat, who’s slowly been coming out of her shell - she was at one point a stray so she’s a *lot* shy. I showed her “outdoors” this summer. She would constantly sit by the patio door when the weather was nice (and occasionally meow to let me know she was there). Of course, the slightest noise or movement would have her scurrying back inside in a flash.
My cat friends called me the other night and told me that a good friend of theirs had decided that she was going to be giving up her cat. The question was posed as to whether Budda would like a playmate? Of course, the *real* question is - do I want another cat? This decision has been bothering me for a few days & nights and I just can’t decide - on one hand Budda would have a buddy to run around with, and going from one to two cats isn’t as big of a jump for me as going from none to one was. On the other hand, it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster ride for me as of late - I have so many other challenges in my life right now I doubt I’d keep my sanity if a second cat comes into the picture and it turns out to be a hellion.
What are your thoughts?
Tags: budda
Calgary Stampede
I went to see the chuckwagon races at the Calgary Stampede yesterday. What a blast. It had been a long time since I’ve been to a wagon race - I’m embarrassed to say close to 20 years. Joe Carbury is legendary, you just won’t find too many announcers being able to draw you into a race like he can. Now I don’t really follow the sport, so it’s interesting to note that some of these guys - probably most of them - are professionals. It’s amazing that guys can make a living off of riding a wagon in a circle.
As for the rest of the day, there’s the Grandstand Show right after the chucks followed by fireworks later on. Of course, there’s tonnes of other things too - casino, amusement park & rides, lots of well known musicians play for free on the grounds, a petting zoo for the kids (and adults), and the best part the beer gardens 
If you’re ever in Calgary during Stampede time, get in the spirit & grab a cowboy hat and some boots - I have no doubt in my mind that you’ll love every minute of it.
A Lost Parent
My Father passed away on April 4th, 2004 from pancreatic cancer. It’s been a tough few months and I’ve only just begun to recover from the shock of loosing a beloved parent.
Last November, he began to feel ill and slowly became jaundice. The doctor discovered that there was a growth blocking off his bile duct which in turn was causing his jaundice. They put in a stint to keep the duct from closing - getting rid of the jaundice. Sadly, we also found out that the growth was cancerous and that there was not much that could be done. The pancreas, which is where the cancer was located, is in a spot in the body where you just don’t have easy access for surgery. The easiest way to get to it is to remove one of the kidneys - which causes it’s own problems. We were told that Dad had between six and twelve months to live. There was the option of Chemotherapy - but he felt that it would make him too weak to enjoy the time he had left. It’s sad to say this, but we all knew at some level that he wasn’t going to survive.
Christmas was tough - yet exceptional - this past year. We had a lot of family around, including my Grandmother who came in from Dauphin. Dad and I spent a lot of time together and had some great heart to heart discussions. They revolved around so many topics - but the core theme was him telling me it would be okay - he’d always be there in spirit.
In February we all noticed that he was getting more fatigued. He wasn’t eating - partially due to the the food and subsequent digestion causing him severe pain. He was on copious amounts of morphine to help with that and to dull his pain in general. He continued to go down hill through February and March. Near the end of March he was in bed most of the time and so frail that he needed help getting up just to go to the bathroom.
Mom made the impossible call that we should move him into a hospice. The ambulance came and moved him on Monday, March 29th. He was at this point very weak and found it difficult to talk. It was tough watching him try to speak because you knew that he was in there, and he was trying so hard to stay strong for everyone.
He spent the last few days of his life at the Rosedale Hospice. The nurses there treated him exceptionally well - and looking back I am glad we were there instead of in a hospital - the atmosphere gave us all room to grieve.
Edward (Ted) Michael Hafichuk passed away the following Sunday, April 4th at 4pm with his mother and his wife tending to him. We all love you and miss you Dad, and hope you’re out there looking over us.
Tags: personal