Month: April 2018

Spoiler Free Zone

Posted on by Josef Havelka

This weekend my son and I were at Calgary Expo: a veritable nerd haven of fandoms and merchandise. Thousands of geeks gathering together… on a weekend when the new Avengers movie hit the theaters. This could not end well…

Many tables had signage saying “Spoiler Free Zone” or “No Spoilers”. Because we had to work the tables/booths all weekend- many of us couldn’t escape in the evenings to view the newest movie. The best part about the weekend and the attendees was the fact that no one spoke about the new movie with those of us who hadn’t seen it yet. Complete and utter respect given to everyone in this regards.

It made me happy that our nerd culture can do such a thing. This weekend I avoided viewing social media. All I did was post a few things, but never scrolled through or read anything that could diminish my movie going experience.

Tonight, I am taking the family to go and see the film. Just a couple of more hours to go in hopes that I can avoid hearing anything about the film. I’ve made it 4 days so far… we can do this.

Weekend Haul

Posted on by Josef Havelka

Here’s some of the fun stuff we got this weekend. These Conventions always mean souvenirs and fantastic art to come home with us. We already packed up some of the artwork safely for our drive home.

First off is a T-Shirt from Calgary Expo. A quick freebie for getting a bunch of stamps.

I got this cute pin from Anne Wheaton as she is here promoting her new book. I gave her a set of pink cosplay ears that reminded me of “Piggy” from her book.

My son bought a “Box of Mystery” from one of our artist friends. It contains some fan art stickers, magnets, and pins. Pretty cool for only $5! Sadly, it is our friend’s very last ever convention.

After our recent trip to Japan, we have had a renewed love of Studio Ghibli. I found an artist that makes glass with shadows over prints. So I had to buy one.

Lastly, my son worked hard helping me this weekend, so I picked up a Mudkip Pokémon for him. It’s rare for us to find this Pokémon, and he loves it.

As usual, we also traded some of my wife’s hats and such for other art. People love using the barter system. We all have a value that we put on our time and work. Sharing is a great way to create new friendships and showcase work.

Only one more day to go. Maybe more art is going to grace our home.

The Bad Eats

Posted on by Josef Havelka

Traveling around and doing convention shows often means eating poorly. It just goes hand in hand. Like fries and a burger…

It starts on the first leg of the road trip with a stop at Costco for a cheap hotdog. We always get a hotdog on our way from our home. It doesn’t matter if we are driving east or south. We plan Costco as the place to stop for lunch. Cheap and easy so that we can hit the road again quickly.

Yesterday’s Dinner was cheap pizza. After a day of sitting at our table making idle chitchat with strangers, making a food choice is tough. So basic pizzas get ordered. Ham and pineapple, pepperoni, or meat lovers are always easy and quick to choose. Pizza is like the safety net of food.

Throughout the day we end up grazing through candy, chips, granola bars, and sodas for the most part. Sure, a bottle of water or heavily processed vegetables are consumed periodically, but not enough to offset the other junk.

Dinner on day two is usually a side of french fries and some sort of grilled sandwich or burger. Again, just like pizza- ordering is easy, quickly served and digested. Then off to end the evening in the rented room before day 3 of the show is upon us.

That is pretty much every Convention weekend for us vendors. I’m positive our next couple of days will involve bad eats as well. It’s the price you pay to do these shows.

Haha. Ya, I’m Supposed To Be An Adult.

Posted on by Josef Havelka

After the show last night, my son and I were going to meet up with some of my Convention friends for dinner. However the place we were intending on going to would not allow minors in after 9pm. So my friend Dominika joined my son and I to go get a pizza from Dominos. We were already laughing and joking before we walked in to get a our dinner.

Turns out that Dominos has a tv screen that tells you the progress of your pizza order. After we placed our order, it seemed that the cashier didn’t hear my friend’s name correctly. We tried to tell him it was Dom. That is not what he heard.

Her Dong was being made.

Then Dong was in the oven.

Dong needed a Quality Check.

Finally Dong was ready.

We acted about as mature as my 11 year old son. He was giggling uncontrollably as well but didn’t know what a “Dong” was. We were the only ones in the store so our laughs were raucous and hearty. We thanked the staff for a great laugh and we walked back to my car and headed to my friend’s place and continued to laugh with more of our friends.

Sometimes after a long day all you need is to laugh at something so ridiculous it makes you happy. Sharing a laugh with friends makes it even more enjoyable. Ya, I’m an adult laughing like pre-pubescent boy at a dick joke. It felt good.

The Shitty Routine

Posted on by Josef Havelka

I’ve been coming to Calgary Expo for seven years now. And every year I get the same gift. A gift I don’t want. I thought this time would be different.

I had been awake since 3:30pm the day before, worked all night, then grabbed a quick nap before hitting the road by 09:00am. As much as I wanted to sleep, I had to stay alert. But throughout the drive, my co-pilot was out cold periodically. I began zoning out as I drove. It was the last leg of our journey- only about an hour and a half remained of our ten hour drive. Then it happened…

A speeding ticket.

This year it happened on my wayin to Calgary. The officer was quick to pull me over, issue the ticket and in a few short minutes- turning around his car to give out a ticket to someone else. Seems like it was a regular place to make a buck or two… Usually I get a lovely photo in the mail a few weeks after our trip. Oftentimes an image of my car the day we are leaving!

So now that The Shitty Routine is behind me for this trip, time to enjoy my weekend.

Let the Full Frontal Nerdity begin!

My Favorite Convention

Posted on by Josef Havelka

My son and I leave today for my favorite convention- Calgary Expo! We’ve been coming here since 2012 and have enjoyed every year so far.

This year has all of the artists placed in the “Big 4” building. So many of my friends have been designing pictures to showcase their new locations. It’s one of my favorite things to follow along on social media and see how excited they are getting. Countdowns, messages, fun new products… so much to see and talk about when we get together!

It’s also nice that there is so much love shared throughout our groups. Last year I mentioned how I feel that they are all A Fandom Family. I look forward to seeing them every year. These are some of the most artistic and energized people I know.

Oh, and I’ll be having fun as well being a Table Tart at table AA 5211 for Ningen Headwear. If you need to find my son- he’ll be teaching people Table Top games like he does every other year.

So remember to stop by the Artist Alley in Calgary this weekend if you want to see the jolliest bunch of assholes this side of the nuthouse…

Two Decades Old

Posted on by Josef Havelka

Over the past couple of days I have decided to listen to some of my older music. It started because of the other day watching Aggretsuko and remembering my love of heavy metal music. So out came some of my favorite cds and the tunes got cranked in my car.

Because of my eclectic tastes in music, I ventured far from my heavy metal albums and re-discovered some other classics from about 20 years ago that I listened to constantly. My drive in to work the past couple of days has been memorable because of these albums:

1995 Faith No More: King For a Day… Fool For a Lifetime.

This album has some great songs on it. I can listen to it from start to finish and then start again. I’m thinking that at my funeral “Just A Man” needs to be played.

1996 White Zombie: Super Sexy Swinging Sounds.

This album is a killer disco style remix version of Astro Creep 2000. Not many diehard Zombie fans appreciated this album. I found it to be a clever crossover of Industrial Metal and Electronic Music.

1996 Pulp: Different Class

This one is a Britpop style of album. The lyrics are gritty and tell a story in almost every song. Something about hearing “Let’s all meet up in the year 2000…” that reminds me of how old this album really is. And how old I am…

1998 Prozzäk: Hot Show

This one is a guilty pleasure. A quirky Canadian pop duo with catch phrases such as “Sucks To Be You” running rampant in a fun upbeat tempo.

I miss listening to an album all the way through. I’m glad I’ve dusted these ones off and given the laser in my car’s stereo something to do.

Joe Cool

Posted on by Josef Havelka

“I’m so cool that when I enter a room- everybody freezes.”

I tend to think highly of myself… mostly because I like to maintain a positive outlook of myself- and also to entertain my friends. I have a good sense of humor and don’t mind giving some ammunition for people to poke fun at me. I am pretty amazing after all.

When I was in grade 6/7 I had a couple of Snoopy sweatshirts that said Joe Cool on them. I thought they were the greatest thing ever. Then I hit grade 8- and I was the biggest loser (according to the other kids). I was teased and taunted for years. Hateful people hating me for being me. I began hating myself. Hate filled my world. All I had going for me was to get good grades so that my parents didn’t hate me as well. At least that was the thought I had as a young teenager.

Finally I moved schools. I’d tell you my world got better instantly, but it took me months to make friends. I took an approach that worked for me- I made fun of myself before someone else could. I guess it exuded confidence. Because I have made friends everywhere I go now.

So when I post a proud moment or a self promoting status on social media- know that I took some hardships to get myself there. Somewhere tucked away inside of me is this teenager that was bullied. He was not knowing at the time that life would get better. A lot better.

All because I’ve kept my cool. And what’s cooler than being cool?

I’m Being Lazy Today

Posted on by Josef Havelka

I feel like doing as little as possible today. I didn’t even want to write today’s blog. That being said, this is going to be short. I hope you weren’t looking forward to something exciting or informative.

Now here’s a picture of Garfield to motivate you as I return to my lazy day of being unproductive:

Aggretsuko

Posted on by Josef Havelka

I have many bonding moments with my kids. Usually over a tv show or movie. I’ve shown them some of my favorites from my childhood and a few others from more recent years.

Last night was different in the fact that my daughter wanted to share with me a new show. She is a Hello Kitty Fan and this new Netflix show is from Sanrio (the people who brought us Hello Kitty). Of course I was expecting cutesy but got something else entirely.

Instead of a cute little kitty with a bow, we are treated to a female red fox in business clothes. She has a daily office job that is sucking the life out of her; so after work she resorts to drinking beer and singing death metal karaoke. The show is cute in many aspects. Such as the animation and the thoughts that go through the fox’s head.

Surprisingly our 14 year old daughter says she relates to the character. Putting on a daily show, but having a built up frustration that she needs to hide from everyone. The content and language aren’t suited for small kids, but teens and adults alike should get some enjoyment from the show.

We have finished watching half of the first season already and plan on finishing the rest before the weekend is over. Maybe now my daughter will appreciate more of my older music…

4/20

Posted on by Josef Havelka

Hey everybody! It’s marijuana smoking day! I do not partake, but I’m sure some of my readers/friends still do. I know that some do.

Last year I happened to be going through Weed, California on 4/20. So I stopped and took a picture at a rest area in memory of a friend who had taken his life in 2016. He was an active pot smoker and was trying to create some marijuana candy the summer before. If only he persevered through his depression, he could’ve made his hemp snacks a reality.

Another friend from high school ended up being a constituent for the Marijuana Party of BC in his local riding.

Back in 2011, I was as at The Center of the Universe. Perhaps I should’ve been high to really get the vibe, but I was stone cold sober.

What is it about 4/20 in 2018- now that marijuana is practically legal? (It still has a few steps to go to be “legal”.) For starters, 4/20 celebrations in Vancouver are almost unnecessary. It seems like more of an excuse to smoke up than ever before. I think people are missing the next step in legalization- the Government.

The government does not like people making money without getting their fair share. That means it’ll get taxed & heavily regulated. But for people who would like to grow a plant or two, taking a cut isn’t cool. It some cases, the regulation makes sense. Such as the Medical properties pot has to offer.

When my father was fighting cancer back in 1999- one of his friends gave him a bag of weed to help numb the pain. Pretty sure my father enjoyed it (without my mother’s knowledge). I know this because only a couple of years earlier when I was visiting my father- we talked about drugs. I was an avid pot smoker in my late teens/early 20’s and tried to get my dad to share a joint with me. Instead I ended up smoking with his friend, but my dad did talk about the drugs he’d had used in the past.

Smoking pot did stunt my education and career. I jumped from crappy job to crappy job just because I wanted no responsibilities. As Denis Leary once said- “They say marijuana leads to other drugs. No it doesn’t, it leads to fucking carpentry. That’s the problem, folks. People getting high going, “Wow man, this box would make an excellent bong!” It took me years to get back on track in with a good career. However, marijuana did play a large part in creating my personality. I think I’m more easygoing and creative than I would’ve been had I not tried pot.

I quit smoking pot just before I met my wife in 2000. No reason, just stopped. The use of pot just isn’t in my household. A discussion I had with a coworker recently made me think about how to broach the subject of drug use with my children. I’m still not sure how we will talk about it. Especially since we have a water pipe on display in our home.

Anyways… it’s 4:20. Enjoy the rest of the day- especially those of you in Vancouver. The weather is nice and it’s a Friday afternoon.

Everyone else, chill out. The world needs calming down- today is as good a day as any.

Hot Stuff

Posted on by Josef Havelka

Again we are having issues with our downstairs heat. Last November we had a few days where the Thermostat was acting up. This time the upstairs is nice and warm, but our downstairs went super hot- now frigid. Both areas run from the same boiler. I can’t for the life of me figure out what is going on.

I love being able to do my own troubleshooting and repairs. I learned a lot when I worked at Home Depot and love the challenges of owning a home. But I’m ready to throw in the towel on this one. I just can’t decide if I should do it now or at the end of summer.

I think we will just have to suffer for a bit until the summer. We still have a fireplace and lots of blankets! Time to get cozy.

Jigsaw Puzzles

Posted on by Josef Havelka

I used to do jigsaw puzzles all the time. I even kept some of my puzzles from when I was a small child. Not the baby easy ones, but the couple thousand piece ones. The ones that most people work on over the course of a month or so.

As I grew older, I began to do 3D puzzles with my wife. These are the kind with a foam backing to make a monument or building. My favorite 3D puzzles are the Monopoly board and Millennium Falcon. However, my wife and I have very different strategies when doing puzzles. So over the past couple of years, we haven’t done many together.

I enjoy marathoning through the puzzles. I like to time myself and see how quickly I can get them done. My wife on the other hand enjoys a leisurely pace of sitting down to work a few pieces, then come back to it later on. Not me- I want it done! I have refused to go to bed until a Puzzle is completed. Our son is the same way.

Today I put together a puzzle we picked up from Japan. It was from a Studio Ghibli store and is an image of one of our favorite movies- “My Neighbor Totoro”. It only had 300 pieces and took my just under 2 hours to put together. The challenge in this puzzle was that the pieces were clear plastic. Flipping them and trying to gauge the tint in colour was tough at first. Then my brain picked up on the nuances of the shades.

After I finished the puzzle, I stuck it in a frame we had purchased with it and hung it up on our back window. The completed picture is beautiful and suits its new home. It compliments the backdrop and in the morning with shimmer with the incoming sun.

Maybe next time we go to Tokyo we will pick up some more so that my family can make them.

Desperate For Company

Posted on by Josef Havelka

Next Wednesday I leave for Calgary Expo. I’m taking my 11 year old son and we are driving 10 hours from our home to get there. This is immediately after I finish a 12 hour night shift. By the time we get there, I’ll have been awake for over 24 hours. I’m not too excited about that aspect of the road trip…

This year, my wife cannot attend as she is only a couple of weeks into her new job. Because she booked for the show last year, we have a couple of tickets and a place already booked. At the show, my son and I will be able to wander a bit since we have many Convention Carny friends whom we trust that can look after our table. So now I’m trying to find a friend to come with me to share the driving duties. I have to make it through the mountains to the other side.

So I’ve tried to see if my friends on social media want to join me. I’m practically begging. I love my son and his company, but really shouldn’t let him drive the car.

But if it doesn’t pan out, I may have to find a Rest Area and take a quick power nap to recharge my batteries. Pretty sure Alberta has some nice Rest Areas.

I’m looking forward to the show no matter what. I have tons of good friends to see again. If I don’t hear from any of my other friends- it’ll be time to stock up on Red Bull and Coffee!

After Market Accessorizing

Posted on by Josef Havelka

I’ve owned my car for about a year and a half now. I have given my car an oil change and put aftermarket air in the tires. Time to start thinking about adding a bit more flair to it.

My stickers were the first addition. Just to make it more “Star Wars-y“. Because, well I’m kind of a fan of the franchise.

Now I have a set of metal dice hanging from the passenger side visor. I don’t know what else I can add to my car. Maybe it’s time for a steering wheel cover or license plate frame. Or something ridiculous like a door light.

Ok, those are cool. Hmmm…. or I could go very crazy and change the look of my car:

I could sport one of these! Or just buy another sticker… I could afford that aftermarket addition.

Another Birthday!

Posted on by Josef Havelka

Everyone who is alive has a birthday. However, not every birthday gets a grandiose celebration. And that’s ok.

Today is our middle child’s 14th Birthday. We are just doing a casual dinner and giving her a couple of gifts. No big party or anything. Just a little bit of recognition. Next weekend she wants to take a couple of her friends bowling. I’ll be taking her because my wife doesn’t like bowling. A carload of young teens laughing and singing is always a treat.

I hope she understands that not every birthday is a crazy gala event. Sometimes that’s hard to explain this to a teenager/ child, especially when movies and tv shows portray things differently.

I think her birthday will still be special in its own way. It’s having her around that is the best gift. She always makes us smile and laugh. These first fourteen years have just flown by. I still remember her being so tiny that I could cradle her on the length of my arm. I miss that little baby some days. But I love who she is growing up to be.

Happy Birthday Darwin.

I’m not crying. You’re crying.

Bad Clicking

Posted on by Josef Havelka

Usually when people talk about “clicking” they are referring to a website or something computer related. I have been having an experience for a bit over a month involving “bad clicking”. No, not from Facebook selling my info or the multitude of porn sites I access…

Turns out when I wake up- nearly every day the left side of my jaw clicks. A loud, almost painful click. It’s a strange sensation that stopped while we were in Tokyo. So it got me to thinking- what could be causing it?

Ever since I quit smoking about 13 years ago, I’ve chewed gum. I love chewing gum. But last year, my dentist suggested I stop the gum chewing. I wasn’t having any issues back then with my jaw, so I didn’t bother to stop. Once my jaw started clicking last month, I stopped chewing gum. But the clicking didn’t go away. I didn’t expect it to overnight, but it didn’t even calm down.

While I sleep, I’ve been wearing a mouth guard for a few years now to help prevent the grinding of my teeth that I do at night. So, I already knew I had some issues in my mouth. It doesn’t fully explain why my jaw stopped clicking while I was on vacation though. However, I may have figured it out last night.

My pillow.

That’s right. Time for some Pillow Talk.

Anyways, I think that the pillow I’m using at home- that I got for Christmas- is to blame. It’s just a run of the mill, cheap-ass pillow for sleeping. Before Christmas, I just wanted a new pillow because our old ones were getting kinda, well, old and yellow. So we got new pillows. Only, they suck at pillowing. Why do these new pillows suck at being pillows?

We discovered on our trip to Tokyo that the hotel had those contour, memory form pillows. And we had the best sleeps ever. I didn’t wake up with a click in my jaw. Could it be all because of a pillow? I think so.

Now the hunt is on to find a comfortable pillow- no matter the cost! I want a good sleep and a noiseless jaw. Oh, and I want to chew gum again.

Walmart is Ugh

Posted on by Josef Havelka

I went shopping today at Walmart.

I hated it.

I don’t like Walmart.

I prefer to go to local produce and grocery stores for my meats and vegetables. So I don’t buy that stuff at Walmart.

But when I want cheaply made goods at cheap prices from a brick and mortar store- Walmart is it. It’s instant gratification and I have my plastic crap in my possession.

Otherwise, most of my shopping is online. Amazon is pretty good for most of my needs. I don’t really need stuff immediately, so I can wait.

Ugh. Walmart.

This place is just so bright with artificial lighting and sketchy people. What if I’m the sketchy person? Not today Walmart. Not today am I the sketchy one. There’s a toddler steaming at the checkout line with purple lips from a can of soda… Even the employees are kinda not all there as the huddle in groups until a customer tries to approach. Then they scatter like cockroaches.

Ugh. Get me out of here.

Oh look! A deal on paper-towels and WWE t-shirts!

Time to leave. Ooo McDonald’s is in here as well…

FML

Shared Cloud- A New Way to Parent?

Posted on by Josef Havelka

About a month ago, I got myself a new cellphone. So I pulled the SIM card out of my old one and gave it to my son. Now he can play apps, take photos, and access the Internet.

However…

I chose to keep it connected to my iCloud account. Mostly to keep an eye on his online behavior and such. Of our children, he seems to be the one more prone to finding inappropriate things online. I’m not gonna lie- Part of that is my fault.

I don’t sensor what I say around my children. I also watch movies/ tv with our children that have a much stronger content rating than PG. (I do feel that an “R” rating in the 80’s and 90’s is much tamer than today’s standards.) Toilet humor is funny, so watching shows like Rick and Morty are something I share with my son. It also allows me to explain certain things if he has questions instead of “hearing it on the playground” like I had to growing up.

Sharing “The Cloud” is good. He knows I see what he sees and he can also see what I see- including saved photos. It has made me realize that some of my Memes are more questionable than they should be. My own moral compass is shifting.

So as I parent my son, he is also making me a better person.

Even if he does leave me messages to “Tuck Your Balls In.“

Likes

Posted on by Josef Havelka

I enjoy writing in my blog. Some people enjoy reading it. I like getting “Likes” from complete strangers as well. It makes me feel good. Like as if what I am sharing is worthwhile.

Sometimes what I write is beneficial to other people. Perhaps they can draw on my experiences. Or perhaps they come to laugh at my stupidity (like the time I Broke my cellphone). I like to think that they read my blogs because I make people feel good.

So if you like my musings, like my blog. That’s it. I like it when you like me. I don’t earn any money from the likes. Just a little ego boost.

I like that.

She’s Got The Look

Posted on by Josef Havelka

My wife began her new job on Monday.

Yay!

She made it through the first eight hours getting everything setup for working from home. The entire family left her alone in order for her to get settled in. It helped that the kids were at school and I was sleeping 💤. So I didn’t even get to see her after her first day, as I was on my way to work. But we talked afterwards.

She had kind of a rough start. As with anything computer related- there was a few hiccups. My wife was most unimpressed with that. About seven hours into her day and she was ready to shut it down and give up. All of the issues were out of her control.

She did not give up. She’s ready to take on day two with more gumption.

“What in the world can make a brown-eyed girl turn blue

When everything I’ll ever do I’ll do for you”

You go girl!

You got this!

You’ve got the look!

Maybe I should’ve chosen a different Roxette song to quote:

“Hold on tight, you know she’s a little bit dangerous

She’s got what it takes to make ends meet.”

In the end I think my wife feels more like this:

“She says: Hello, you fool, I love you.”

Vacationing is Healthy

Posted on by Josef Havelka

Over Spring Break I shared our daily adventures while we were in Tokyo. I enjoyed it and tried to only share enough to make it a tease of how wonderful our vacation was. Yesterday I realized that is what a vacation is. A vacation is a little tease of the best parts of what the city/country has to offer.

Last night was my first shift back to work after having 18 days off. Of course a part of me wished my vacation had been longer. But the other part, the part of me that is more down-to-earth, knows that I need to go to work. Going to work helps in a couple of ways.

First- it pays for the vacation.

Second- it makes you appreciate the vacation more. Way more.

You go back to work after a vacation to share stories with coworkers and express how wonderful the time off was. Generally, you have a glow or a good vibe still exuded from your inner being. As the days move on, the glow starts to dissipate until you get to the point that You need a vacation again.

And that’s good. Vacations clear your mind. The boost your confidence. Be silly! Smile more! Be adventurous! Chances are you won’t see these people again, so live a little!

Vacationing also makes you feel like royalty. I found that on vacations I budget and allot a certain amount of spending cash. But there is still a sense of freedom and no real barriers holding your spending back. Want a steak dinner and champagne one night out in the big city? Go for it. Want to explore with a private tour guide- make it happen. Need a souvenir that is outrageously priced? Buy it. Your memories will thank you. Your wallet might not, but it’s only money.

Even just a weekend away on a nearby lake can give you the recharge you need. It hardly costs a thing to enjoy the sunshine and nature. But you need to have something to relate the good vibes to that make it that much more special. That thing is called “work.”

Soon, I’ll be looking forward to my next trip. However, my glow is still happening at the moment. No need to rush it away! I only just got back to my computer.

Reliving a Bit of Tokyo

Posted on by Josef Havelka

Saturday night we spent at home playing video games as a family. We played a family favorite- MarioKart!

Playing MarioKart is competitive to say the least in our home. But tonight we raised the stakes a bit. Whoever came in first chose what flavor KitKat the loser had to eat.

I lost the first round and was told to eat the Sake flavored one. My son tied with me for last- so he got to enjoy one as well.

I then lost the second set of matches, but our daughter took pity on me and gave me Apple flavor. Phew.

My streak went from bad to worse. I ended up in dead last for three of the four races in our last match. No pity this time- Wasabi flavor was given to me.

All of the tastes were unique to say the least. But it would’ve been nice to be the one to choose what flavor the loser got. I guess I need more practice at MarioKart.

More Than Just Making Dinner

Posted on by Josef Havelka

Last night our middle daughter helped me to make dinner. She peeled and cut the potatoes while I prepped the schnitzel. During that time we did more than just prepare dinner. We talked.

She had questions about credit cards, loans, mortgages, interest rates, RRSP’s, and taxes. Interesting topics for a girl about to turn 14. But ones that I tried to explain over dinner prep.

It made me realize that money is a topic that isn’t taught as well as it should be. Even I don’t always think clearly about my spending.

Sometimes I spend frivolously. Other times I save pennies. But the hunt for big payouts and wads of cash are long since behind me. I work because I enjoy my job and it pays very well. Our mortgage is being paid down and one day we should be debt-free.

Explaining to our daughter that some debt is “good debt” was important. Telling her to save up and buy products without going into debt is also important. Having to explain taxes, sucked, but is important as well.

I hope that our daughter understands a bit more about finances now. As well, she made good mashed potatoes for dinner.

Failed Frying to Fantastic Foods

Posted on by Josef Havelka

Last year I wrote about my successes involving my Deep Fryer. To get there, I did have to suffer a few catastrophic trials. No injuries to myself mind you. There was that time my wife got a blister on her eyeball from an oil droplet flying at her. That was gross.

But it didn’t happen to me, so we will say it’s all good.

My failures have included food attempts. The first was when I was a teen. I thought it would be an easier way to make a grilled cheese sandwich by deep frying it.

Nope.

The bread morphed into a crispy oil coral reef and the cheese disintegrated into the oil. Big fail. Never again. Not even worth trying to eat.

Another time, I attempted to make deep fried pancake wrapped breakfast sausage. This also failed because of too much batter and the oil overtook the pancake making it extremely greasy. Thank goodness I had other goodies that day to make.

But these failures won’t stop me from trying new foods to deep fry. I want to make deep fried California Rolls one day, just like my favorite Sushi Restaurant- Nikko Sushi– does. Mmmm deep fried sushi….

Tonight I am making schnitzel and using my deep fat fryer. I have perfected this recipe and my family loves it. So even though I have made mistakes along the way, I have had numerous successes as well.

But let’s pretend that a deep fried grilled cheese would taste good, ok? Or use this Secret to making a good grilled cheese. Trust me.