Today has been quite crazy as we prep for tomorrow. The morning started with a message from a friend that requested Xavier go help out at the new facility creating ice. Xavier was sleeping and I had meetings in the morning so I could not ask him yet. He of course said yes and went to help out. Mel was annoyed that is volunteered our son to go when she thought we had things to do at home. She thought that I would need help but I said I was ok and could do everything I had to do. I made a couple of sauces and when I was making it, it seemed like a lot. When I put them into the squirt bottles it was not actually all that much. I filled 2 bottles each and hopefully we have enough sauce for tomorrow but I can make them fairly quickly. I also picked up 4 more small cakes for my party. I wanted red velvet as it is my favorite and I managed to get one so I am happy. We have 6 cakes to serve tomorrow now. Xavier and I prepped the smoker, the brisket and the chicken. He said that he is 50% of the cook that I am because he can do a lot of things when I tell him what to do. He is getting pretty good. When I asked him how he would make a rub, his ideas were not bad, except for his idea of a 1:1 ratio for all ingredients. I said that is too much salt and he said he would just taste and adjust it as we go. At midnight I will put the beans into the smoker to get some smoke and check everything in the morning.
With everything that I did today I am not fatigued at all and my organs have rearranged themselves and have settled in. It seems that I can eat more as i pushed myself with ramen tonight. I was uncomfortable at first and after a couple of minutes it was all fine. I felt normal today which is great. I still have not heard back from the doctors in Spain, but the hospital called for me to have treatment next week. I declined as we are out of town for a hockey tournament and I was not going to go late for that. Copper Park Hoppers Elite Hockey School is more important. We can do treatment the week after as this is a new drug and I am not sure how i will react.
My sister was a bit annoyed with me today because when she came home my mother asked her if she needed money. My mother had called me a couple of days ago and she asked if I had spoken to my sister. Me being a jackass said yeah, I spoke with her, she asked to borrow 100k. I figured my mother would know that I was being facetious, and she asked my sister about it. At the time I thought it was clear that she knew I was messing around with her. But apparently not. I am hoping that tomorrow she brings the spring rolls that I grew up on. She said that she is not going to make a lot so I am going to save them for a couple of people to reminisce of our past. I remember one time I was invited to the camp for my best friend when I was young and my mother made these for us for the trip. It was the first time my best friends mother ate them and I think she was surprised with them as at the time Vietnamese restaurants did not exist in Sudbury. They were delicious and these are the ones that we grew up eating.
When I was in high school I chose classes that were easy or based on what my friends took. At the time, if you had a mark above 80% you could skip the final exam. The only course I had below 80% was French and I actually tried in that course because I did not want to write the exam, but alas my language skills suck. After that I never took French again as it was not required. Xavier is different in the sense that he dropped the hockey program at his school so he could take more advanced courses. He said he was not learning anything and it was a waste of his time. Both my kids do not like wasting their time in school if they are not learning. The difference between the two of them is Xavier understands that you need to take it sometimes and pretend that you are learning. Olivier refuses to do that and will not lie about it. I was a very poor student in high school and my marks were all over the place. The Deacon who married us showed Mel how bad of a student I was when we visited one day. It was amusing, as I have never said that I was a good student. That was an assumption made based on people thinking I was smart. School measures specific type of intelligence that is not always applicable to the real world. I think that both of my kids have street smarts and traditional book smarts. In high school I had a good relationship with my teachers but I could be trouble. I remember getting detention in science class for not paying attention and talking to my friends. Detention after school sucked and since we were out in Garson it sucked more. I would end up having to catch the late bus and I do not remember where it dropped you off. I remember it sucked. I totally deserved it though. I can see Olivier getting into trouble like that. Xavier gives the perception of being the model student. He wants to be student council president and we told him he needs to be socially active and talk to people. This is a skill that he can be good at, but Olivier is more natural in talking to random people. I can not wait to see how these two turn out as they are complete opposites. I do not know if Olivier will even go to the same school. I think he will be more influenced by peer pressure compared to Xavier. High school was a fun time for me and I hope they enjoy it as well and do not grow up too fast.
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