I was at Pharaoh's (as usual) on Friday for my friend Craig's 23rd birthday. It was a great evening with great music, well except for that moment when they played remixes of Sexy Back and Maneater (I knew you wouldn't like that Sami and Mike). Our party had a little over 30 people. I bought Craig a couple of Kokanee's. They did manage to play Fascination Maxx for the last song of the evening. Craig's eyes just lit up when he heard it. I just yelled out, "Happy Birthday, buddy!"

Oh, for some strange reason, my friend Jason wanted to set me up with a girl at Pharaoh's. I told him that I was still going out with Karly. "C'mon, you'll like this girl!" My friend Jason introduced to this beautiful girl and said, "Hey Jennifer this is Cliff, Cliff this is Jennifer." Then Jason whispers in my ear, "She works in a day care just like you." This girl was 26 years old and hot and I was almost speechless.

Well, I didn't want to be rude so I eventually started talking to her. After a few minutes, she grabbed my hand and we hit the dance floor when some of the better Pharaoh's music was playing. Man, can she dance! We talked and laughed little bit more and she kept on talking about how she has been seeing me there with my friends every Friday night and how I was such a good dancer. I thanked her for the compliment. She told me so much about herself. Sometimes a little too much info. She left around 12:30 am. She had to leave with her friends. She said it was nice to meet you and she gave me this BIG hug. Then she said, "I'll see you next week, sweetie."

I walked up to Jason with a "what the fuck" look on my face.
"So what do you think?" said Jason.
"She's nice," I said, "But you didn't tell me she had a kid!"
"I thought you'd like to have children."
"My OWN children!"
"She really likes you, Cliffy boy."
"I know! I know! I just want to keep this as a friendship not a relationship. She's a nice, beautiful girl, but I have a girlfriend. I can't do this. It's dishonest.

I'll be at Pharaoh's again next week. I'm just going to have a good time and dance and not worry about Jennifer.

Well, Karly and I have a hotel booked for August 22nd in Moorhead, Minnesota. We're leaving Tuesday morning August 22 and leaving Friday evening August 25. We got the best deal at a Travelodge that we stayed at before. It was the cheapest of the hotels we were considering at $58.50 US a night. With taxes, we're paying about $192. This hotel includes a swimming pool, hot tub, and free continental breakfasts with waffles. There is also a little games room with a few arcade machines. Last time I was there, there was Hang-On, Wayne Gretzky 3-D Hockey (ugh!), Marvel vs. Capcom, and Operation Thunderbolt. But this was like 3 years ago and hopefully a couple or all these games have been replaced with something else.

We'll be shopping around the Fargo and Moorhead area since both these areas are only 2 or 3 miles apart. This means shopping at:

-2 Target Stores
-1 Wal-Mart and 1 Wal-Mart Supercenter (both open 24 hours)
-2 K-Marts (or as they call it there, the Big K)
-The numerous stores in West Acres Mall

Oh, and let's not forget the stores in Grand Forks. We'll be stopping there for a bit on the way to Moorhead and back on Friday when we're heading home.

The stores to take into consideration in Grand Forks:

-Big Lots
-The Big K
-Super Target
-Wal-Mart (open 24 hours)
-Super-One Foods
-The numerous stores in Columbia Mall

Two things I recently heard about Fargo is that there is no Pirate's Den arcade at West Acres Mall. It's replaced with some kids' dinosaur play area. This arcade used to have the oh-so-redundant DDR Extreme machine and the first In The Groove machine. Now it's gone. Oh well, there's still the Circus arcade at Columbia Mall with the 5th mix machine. Also there is no Big Lots store in Fargo anymore. But there's still the one in Grand Forks.

Food will be no problem. Can't wait to go back to Hardee's. They sell some big-ass burgers! The McDonald's Dollar Menu will get raided by Karly and I (mostly me because of my large appetite). We'll be going to several restaurants that aren't available in Winnipeg like TGIFriday's, Ruby Tuesdays, and Chili's.

Everything should be okay. I'm getting a little more US currency next week, car is in good shape, and I'm burning some CD compilations for the road trip. If Karly has a problem with the compilations, she can use my new cell phone which is also an mp3 player. She can download the music she wants to listen to. On a side note, even though I have a new cell phone, I still have the same cell phone number if you have it. If we ever have a little get together some time, I'll bring some goodies as usual. I never leave you guys out. Keebler cookies will be brought back probably, and remember Al, it's "Elves" not "Elvis." Just kidding! A little inside joke from the Keebler cookies I brought back last time I was there. Anyway, I should be getting to sleep. Work tomorrow, well actually in 7 1/2 hours. Take care everyone!

Today I stopped at BJ Super Toys and I picked up a 6 inch Winnipeg Jets collectable figure (goalie Nikolai Khabibulin to be exact). I'm a big hockey fan! These figures are part of the McFarlane's Sports Picks collection. The founder Todd McFarlane is also the creator of Spawn. This is the only place that I found the Khabibulin figure in the city. These types of figures are sold at stores like Wal-Mart and Superstore for like $12-$15, but I got mine for only $7.50. This will go well with the Ed Belfour when he played for the Dallas Stars figure I got for my birthday 3 years ago. I think I might buy another Khabibulin or two to sell off on ebay. I might even get the vinatge Gretzky figures as well.

At night, it was off to Pharaoh's and I ended up getting two free tickets to Tuesday Dec. 13 at Pharaoh's. This is a special night because one of the guest DJ's is 50th anniversary Playboy Playmate Colleen Shannon who hold's the title of "World's Sexiest DJ." The tickets are usually $10 each. I'm not 100% sure if I'm going to go or not. I definately will be going to Phantom on Tuesday before the show. I just don't know if I'll go straight to Pharaoh's after. If I do go, I'll try to take some pics and hopefully get her autograph.

I managed to pick up a few things last night for Karly. Here's what I have so far:

-1 stocking with a box of Golden Buds, Cool Mints, and an After Eight bar
-1 video tape of Ed The Sock
-1 Monopoly Casino PC game
-1 pack of 8 GBA game cases
-1 GBA game (World Championship Poker)
-First season of Las Vegas
-the white gold necklace with Amethyst and diamond

I'm still undecided whether or not I'll get season 2 of Las Vegas as well. It depends on how much Superbucks I can get from the Superstore gas stations before Christmas. I managed to get the last copy for under $35. It was regularly under $57 with taxes included but I had over $22 in Superbucks saved. I think I can manage to get about $10 or $11 in Superbucks before Christmas and get season 2 for about $46 or $47.

If the second season DVD doesn't work, I'll probably get her the DVD Monster In Law or maybe a nice fleece sweater from Old Navy or something like that. Only time will tell.

I went to the Millenium Library with two other staff and 18 children for their field trip. Boy those kids are sure rowdy little buggers! I constantly hear whining and crying and running around the library like chickens with their heads cut off. Needless to say, I had to lay down the law and told them to sit quietly and that nobody will be allowed on the computers in the chldren's section. Boy were they disappointed. Some were whining and crying. They sounded like drunk cats. It was quite funny to hear. But you have to set limits and boundaries with children and what they can and cannot do. They break the rules, privaleges will be taken away. Hmmm.....I should be the Super Nanny!

When I was taking a break from the little devils, I bumped into Braedyn. I snuck up towards him with my "Hey, how's it going, Muscles" tone of voice. A few minutes later I bumped into Cody who used to go to Ruckers on Tuesdays. On the way back to the daycare, I bumped into Steve on the bus.

Back at the day care, it was passed 5:30 p.m. and there was still one kid left, and boy this child was ugly! WHOOOOOO!!! Our policy was that if a child was still there after closing which is 5:30 p.m., the parent or guardian that will eventually pick up the child would have to pay the staff $1 for every minute late passed the 5:30 deadline. The grandmother eventually picked the ugly kid at 5:45 meaning that she had to pay $15 for late fees. She immediately paid me the money, and since there was also two staff at the day care as well, we split the money three ways. Not bad, extra cash from the stupidity of people that can't pick up children on time. This summer alone, I took home $75 from late fees.

As, usual, around midnight, I hit Pharaoh's. Free cover for me again since the manager spotted me. Tonight felt like DDR U.S. versions music night. There were several songs from the U.S. versions of DDRMAX, DDRMAX2, Extreme, and Extreme 2 played including:

Spin Spin Sugar
My My My
Heaven
Sandstorm
Move Your Feet

The night ended off with a techno version of 99 Red Balloons. While I was dancing, I could just picture Homer Simpson singing the German version of the song (99 Luftballoons) from the Simpsons' episode where Bart gets tubby and his home needed to be used as a German hostel to make money to pay off Bart's fat camp fees.

Work was a bit stressful, but I ended off on a high note with a great night at Pharaoh's once again.

Friday night at Pharaoh's was not just I.V.F. night (International Vinyl Friday). It was also the night when they were hyping up the premiere of Madonna's new CD entitled Confessions On A Dance Floor. The CD will be released Tuesday November 15th. Oh, and here's a pic of the CD http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000B8QEZG.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg.

Pharaoh's along with HOT 103 were giving away copies of the CD. Well actually, they were giving away congratulatory letters that you could bring to HOT 103 on Lombard Street on the release date. I managed to win myself a copy just for dancing on the dance floor. They only gave away 4 or 5 copies. One girl won the grand prize of the Madonna CD and a disco ball. Meh, the disco ball was kind of cheap. It was a great night and great music again as usual.

I went to the new 24 hour Shopper's Drug Mart at the corner of McPhillips and Redwood to do some early Christmas shopping. About a half hour later I ended up buying all this:

-1 450g tub of Maynard's Wine Gums (for my Aunt) - $6.99
-1 martini shaker (for my cousin and her husband) - $4.99
-1 box of Pot of Gold (for one of my Goddaughter's parents) - $6.99
-4 bags of Hershey's Chocolates (for my 3 second cousins and my mom) - $9.96
-1 box of Guylian Chocolates (for my sister) - $8.99
-1 Die Another Day DVD (for my dad) - $9.99
-1 gift box with a watch, leather wallet, keychain, and pen (for my Godfather) - $29.99

With taxes my bill came to $88.80.

BUT, I had my Shopper's Optimum card with me and I told them I would like to redeem 34 000 points towards my purchase (I have over 60 000 Optimum points). This gave me a discount of $75 off my purchase. All I had to pay was $13.80 for all the stuff. Now that's cheap Christmas shopping.

No, I'm done Christmas shopping yet, but this helps.

I got to Pharaoh's on Friday night around 12:15 a.m. The manager saw me and said, "It's okay, you're a good man. No cover charge for you, bud!" Sweet. I meet up with my friends at one section of the club and low and behold, they were playing NHL 06 for XBOX on one of the big screens. I managed to sneak a game in beating my friend 6-2. He picked the Florida Panthers while I picked the Phoenix Coyotes (wearing the vintage Winnipeg Jets jerseys).

The music was pretty good that night too. They played my favourites like Danzel's "Put Your Hands Up In The Air" and Scooter's songs "Always Hardcore" and "Good To Be Back." There was one person there that really didn't belong on the dance floor, and Fernando knows who I'm talking about because he saw this person there before. This ugly fat girl wearing this Hawaiian muu-muu was just polluting the dance floor with her awful dancing. Maybe I should set this girl up with that wigger Kyle. They'd probably have sex and that would be the end of Kyle.

I know, I know, it's mean. But I think it's funny, so what?!?! Anyway, I'm getting tired after all that dancing and eating 3 double-cheeseburgers at McDonald's after Pharaoh's. Gotta love the new $1.39 Value Menu. Anyway, nighty-night for Cliffy Boy!

Well, I stopped by W.K. Chan and my friend Quincy that works there helped me find something for Karly for Christmas. Coming out of the jewelry store, this meant that this was the BIG, Main Event, Coup de Gras present. I bought a 14 karat white gold necklace with a small diamond and an amethyst (her birthstone). It cost me $249. But I didn't have to pay any taxes. Quincy even gift wrapped it for me for free.

After that, I went out with a couple friends to Pharaoh's for the Halloween celebration there. I dressed up in scrubs and a face mask. Unfortunately, I didn't win any prize for best costume. Oh well, I still had a good time there. A lot of pretty girls were there in costumes like french maids, private school girls, pajamas, and even one in a toga. Damn, this is my type of eye-candy. I even got to dance with the girl in the toga.

There was a lot of late 90's music played there last night such as:

Robert Miles - Children
Vengaboys - We Like To Party
Eifel 65 - Blue
The Bloodhound Gang - The Bad Touch

It was great!

Oh, I won't be going to the ITG2 tournament at KP on Saturday. Reasons are a little personal and I may tell at a later date. Sorry guys. To my friends in the tournament, and I know who you are, good luck and do your best.

I was shopping at St. Vital Centre with my girlfriend on Thursday and we passed by W.K. Chan Jewelers. All of a sudden I hear one of the jewelers say, "Hey, Cliff!" It was the girl that I saw week after week at Pharaoh's on Friday nights. All of a sudden it clicked in. It was my friend Quincy from high school. She's three years younger than me. We talked for a bit talking about the great times we've had week after week at Pharaoh's. Then she drew her attention to my girlfriend. Boy, those two kept pressuring me (not seriously but in a joking manner). They want me to purchase an engagement ring. Karly's like, "C'mon, buy me a ring." and Quincy's like, "Buy the girl a ring." I told them that after I pay off my car and get my day care classification upgraded, I'll consider it. I told Quincy that if I was to buy an engagement ring, she'd be the first to know.

Most likely I'll be at Pharaoh's Friday night to meet up with Quincy and her friends. I'll probably be there for like 12:00 or 12:30 a.m. It's Pharaoh's Halloween party and they're giving away $1 000 in cash and/or prizes for best costumes. I still haven't decided what to dress up as. I'll probably pick something up at St. Vital Centre after work.

Well I went to the post office today to pick up a package from Red River Community College. I got my text booka and notes and other reading articles for a distance education course I'm taking on child care safety in the day care setting. It's mandatory that child care assistants like myself require to take a post-secondary course related to the child care field in order to maintain status as a child care assistant in Manitoba. Red River gives me 6 months to complete the course and the best part is that my boss is reimbursing every single dollar I paid for this course (all $289 worth to be exact).

I started reading for about an hour and a half and then around 3:00 pm I went to KP for some ITG2. I bumped into Dan and Ken there. Last time I saw them was at Club Regent, but they didn't win anything. We played a few games of ITG2. I managed to get the top score on Typical Tropical (Hard) with a little over 97%.

I picked up my girlfriend at work and then her family and myself went to Best Buy. Her dad bought a 51" big screen TV and a DVD player for $999. It gets delivered to their house in two weeks. Yeah! Just in time for the Grey Cup! We got back to her place and watched the Toronto / Philadelphia hockey team. She wasn't too happy when her Leafs lost 5-2. Meh, I'm an Ottawa Senators fan myself. They have won all 6 of their games so far. I think they'll win the Cup this year. It's Canada's team to bring the Stanley cup back to Canada.

It was pretty good Saturday.

Well, I went to work for 9:00 a.m. and I was with my special needs child, and at 10:30 we went on a field trip with two other staff and eleven kindergartners to the Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature. Meh, it was okay. It's just like the times when I went as a kid. I like the idea of being one-on-one with a special needs child. I only worry about my child and not the others. If the other children get hurt, it's not my responsibility. We left the museum around 3:15. My child got picked up around 4:30. I had one hour left before I ended my shift, so all I did was sit in the staff room and organize activities for my morning group for next week.

After work I went to St. Vital Centre for some early, EARLY Christmas shopping. Yes, I am nuts, and I like to get things out of the way as early as possible. I did manage to pick up a PC game for my girlfriend's Christams present. It was a Monopoly themed casino game for $9.83 at Wal-Mart. She's been talking about that game for some time now. Luckilly, I got the last copy. So far I have three things for her Christmas present:

8 Gameboy Advance game cases - $4.99
Ed The Sock Video - $2.99
Monopoly Casino PC Game - $9.83

For her main present, I'll most likely get her DVD's of the 1st and/or 2nd season of NBC's Las Vegas which is one of her favourite shows.

For my dad's present, I got a poker set at Wal-Mart. It's basically the same poker set with 200 poker chips that I used to bring to Rucker's except that there is no felt playing surface, there are two decks of cards and it comes in a nice aluminum case. The best thing was it only cost me $9.93. This completes my Dad's christmas present package which also contains two items I bought in Grand Forks which are an Old Navy cap ($3.99 U.S.) and an Ale House Roaster and 2-piece carving set ($7.99 U.S.). Now my dad can prepare some beer-infused chicken. I've had it before and it tastes great!

I picked up a game for myself at Superstore. I know I'm not supposed to buy for me, but it was a good deal, and I have the money for it. I bought the PS2 game Magic Pengel: The Quest For Color for $14.83. It's like Monster Rancher except you can draw out your own 3D characters and battle other doodles. There was only one copy of that game and I managed to snag it. I'll probably play it some time on Saturday.

I picked up Karly at her work and we had a pizza dinner at her place. Her dog kept on nudging my leg for a slice of pizza. Karly and I felt sorry for the dog and we fed him some of our crusts. We watched a bit of TV and talked a lot to each other. I only stayed for a few hours because she was so tired after school and work and she had to work the next day. I left her place around 11:30 p.m. and headed off to my usual Friday night hang-out - Pharaoh's!

True story and I'm not lying here: At Pharaoh's I found this Dodge car key on the floor next to this table with 4 beautiful girls. I go up to the table and I said, "Excuse me, did any of you lose a car key?" One of the girls bursted out "YES!!! You found it! You are so sweet!" Low and behold it was the same girl that attacked me with a big hug last week at Pharaoh's. What are the odds, eh? I danced with her and her friends a lot till closing. We didn't exchange names but it's okay. I'll bump into her again at Pharaoh's. The club never ceases to amaze me with the great music and dancing. At the end of the night, I even got to talk to the manager of Pharaoh's. The manager was a nice guy and asked if I was having a good time. He told me if there were any problems or things that I would like to see or get changed, just let him know.

Another great Friday for Cliff, as usual.

Well, the bad news about Monday was I had to go back to work. The good news is that I found that everyone(yes including me) at work is getting a raise. Ca-ching! I was also told today that when I registered for a correspondence course at Red River, I would be reimburssed not part but all of the money I paid for my course. All $289 worth! Free post-secondary education, sounds good to me! All I have to do is complete the work in the comforts of my own home without having to attend any classes. I just have to complete the work before April 30, 2006.

On Friday at the day care, I'm going on a field trip with kindergartners to the Manitoba Museum. Yup, take the bus, watch the kids, and get paid. Now that's ending off a work week!

I got home from work and played a little DDR Extreme 2 online. I was playing for about an hour and a half. When ITG2 comes out for the PS2 (not anytime soon) I hope there will be a head-to-head online battle feature.

Speaking of ITG2, I'll be at KP tomorrow for some ITG2 action. Most likely, I'll avoid Rucker's. Some of those noobs there really piss me off! One in particular, well I haven't seen him in a while but well, here's his pic: http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a19/kung_fu_jew/Ruckers/P1190028.jpg Thanks to Paul who mustered up the courage to take a picture of this hideous thing. When I look at him it's like, "Look, you broke-ass, Eminem wannabe! You brag about AAing all these songs, but you can't double AA for shit. You dance like you have to take a dump! You dress all gangsta-like thinking you're so cool. You're not, Sparky! I remember that time at Silver City when you bitched and complained about the difficulty level on the DDR machine being so high that you were forced to do standard songs. Oh, bitch, bitch, BITCH!!! Man, you're so ugly that your dog has to close its eyes when it humps your leg!"

Hmm...that felt good. Anyway, see you at KP.

Well, Friday was my last day off from work. From Tuesday to Friday, I used up the last of my paid holiday days (I get 15 paid holiday days a year plus 12 sick/personal days). Okay, so here's what I did (brace yourselves, this is a little long).

Tuesday

I went to Red River Community College to apply for a distance education course. I needed to take a day care related course as part of my job as a child care assistant. It's mandatory amongst child care assistants here. Oh, and the day care will reimburse me about $100 - $150. Afterwards, I went to Canadian Tire and had a new battery installed in my car. I'm preparing for the winter. I barely started my car last winter, and I won't let it happen this winter. Then I went to Kildonan Place for some ITG 2. I managed to see Bong, Rob, Paul, Juju, Ashley, Lawrence, Liz, Darren, Al, Johnny, John (little po), Braeden, Sami, and Mike. We had a good time. Oh, and I managed to see Liz get her first AA on Sexy Planet Oni when the two of us briefly went to Rucker's. Great job, Liz!

Wednesday

I get a call from Red River Community College approving me of a distance education course that I could take. It's a course on physical health and safety at the day care setting. I gave them my address and they will be sending me the textbook, notes, and assignments to me. I have to complete the assignments within 6 months of receiving the package. It cost me $289. I picked up Karly from the Health Sciences Centre around 3:45 p.m. and we went shopping at the Forks. It gave me a few ideas what to get Karly for Christmas. We picked up her mom at work and headed to her place. We had dinner and watched some television. Karly's dog Jimmy wouldn't leave me alone. While we were watching, Jimmy kept on nudging my hand as if he was saying, "Pet me, bitch!" Meh, Jimmy's a good dog. I left her place around 11:30 p.m. and headed home for bed.

Thursday

I met up Karly at HSC for lunch for about a half hour. Afterwards, I went shopping downtown. I went to the basement of The Bay and I found a little something as a part of Karly's Christmas present. She likes Ed The Sock, so I got a Best of Ed The Sock video and it only cost $2.99. I headed for Kildonan Place for a little ITG 2 action. I met up with Bong, Rob, Paul, VJ, Braeden, Ashley, Fernando, and Al. Man, I can still here the singing of "Sweet Dreams" in my head. Bong, Al, and I were singing that at the arcade. I left around 6:00 p.m. and headed for Best Buy. I finally got a network adapter for my PS2 and another small part of Karly's Christmas present. She has like six or seven Game Boy Advance games so I decided to get her cases for her games. It was $4.99 for eight of them. I got home around 7:00 p.m. and tested out my adapter on DDR Extreme 2, I played a 4 song non-stop course and I ranked in the top 100 (#21 to be exact). I went one on one with a guy on TwinBee Heavy. We both AA'd the song but my opponent had 8 greats and I had 12. Oh well. I played a little NHL 2K6 afterwards and then I played some 1942 and 1943 on my Capcom collection game. The hockey and Capcom compilation game cost me $40 U.S. total (plus tax of only 6.5%) when I went on that weekend with my girlfriend to Fargo.

Friday

Tried to go online with my DDR Extreme 2, but I couldn't challenge anyone. I could connect and see my ranking but when a challenger would face me, it would say that it couldn't connect. Oh well, at least I managed to go online with my NHL 2K6 game. I downloaded updated NHL rosters onto my memory card. I headed for the UMGA open house and saw Bong, Drew, Tannis, both Pauls, Braeden (who I scared at GPA's at the University Centre), and Adrian. Paul (not Pyko Paul) and I came to a conclusion that night. Red Bull doesn't taste that good. We each had a can, had some sips, but it didn't appeal to us. Meh, someone's pain is someone's pleasure. Anyway, I managed to play a bit of Bubble Bobble and Street Fighter III there. I picked up Karly from work and we had dinner at McDonald's. We won a free small coffee and a cheeseburger from that Monopoly contest they're running. I took her home afterwards and kept her company. I left at around 11:45 p.m. and headed for Pharaoh's. Some girl ran up to me there and gave me this huge hug. I forgot what her name was but she was so glad to see me and dragged me onto the dance floor with her female friend. Boy I get the weirdest luck when it comes to women and I don't even try. The music was great as usual, but they didn't play Shooting Star that night. Oh well. We all left at 2:30 a.m. and headed home.

Well, that's my Tuesday to Friday thang. Night night for Cliffy boy!

Well I'm back after a weekend with Karly in Fargo for our anniversary. I had a great time! We bought so much stuff there that I thought my car would break down. I even got a present for our anniversary. Karly gave me DVD's of Half Baked and Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle.

Oh, and I finally got to try In The Groove (sorry not the second one) at the Pirate's Den at West Acres Mall. It was pretty good. There was a DDR Extreme machine there, but I've played it so much here, I thought, "Why bother?" I'd rather play something that's not in Winnipeg. When we went to Grand Forks, I only played the 5th Mix machine at The Circus Arcade in Columbia Mall.

Now let's get to the stuff I bought. Now at the current rate, one Canadian dollar is about 85 cents American. If you're out of the country for at least 48 hours, each person travelling can claim or bring back $200 Canadian in goods from another country. This means that I can spend and bring back $170 U.S. in goods. My goods claimed totalled $169.42 U.S. No this is not what Karly and I spent together; this is what I spent. All this includes two video games for my PS2 (NHL 2K6 and the new Capcom compilation), a pair of jeans, a couple of shirts and a cap from Old Navy, and even a Ryu from Street Fighter figurine.
The rest is mostly food items (a lot of candy) and other stuff stored up for Christmas presents.

Anyway, all that driving made me tired. I'm going to bed.

Well, I finally got my copy of DDR Extreme 2 at the EBGames at KP. I picked it up during my break. Thank goodness for 1 1/2 hour breaks! I played a little bit of it at home during my break. I must say, the interface is way better than the first US Extreme. The song selection wheel looks like a space-age cross between Extreme (JP) and 5th Mix. There is no arcade mode this time around. Instead there is a Dance Master Mode where you complete certain tasks and collect points to purchase new songs, courses, hints, etc.
I unlocked amd purchased 3 new songs during my break.

When I came back home around 5:45 pm, I had supper and went for a long nap. I woke up around 7:45. I played a little more Extreme 2 for about an hour and a half. I unlocked and purchased something like 15 songs already. I'll most likely have everything unlocked after I come back from Fargo.

Oh, and speaking of Fargo, I started getting my car prepped and my cooler and bag loaded up for my weekend vacation there. This will be fun! Also I booked off work for Friday. All I have to do is pick up Karly from school around 3:00 p.m. and we're off. I just have to stop by the bank first. I think I'll pick up another $20 US for my trip. Hey, I just realized, this will be only the second Friday in nine weeks that I've missed a Friday night barhop at Pharaoh's. Meh, I'll be there the next Friday, no big whoop. Anyway, I guess it's time for me to get some shuteye. I need some decent sleep since I'll be doing all the driving. When I come back, I'm bringing the treats! Just you wait and see!

Well, after work, I decided to go to Silver City Polo Park to use up the $4 in tokens that I have left for DDR. I managed to see Adrian, Braedyn, Sami, VJ, Bong, Drew, Tannis, and Liz. I managed to get two new AA's which I'm proud of.

I picked up Karly at her work and we spent time at her house. We were playing Texas Hold' Em. Lucky girl gets pocket aces twice in a row! I couldn't get a break. I kept on getting cards like 4,5 unsuited and 2,7 unsuited. The only pocket pair I got all night was a pocket 4's and that led to an overall hand of a pocket 4's still after the river. I didn't stay too long because she was tired after school and work. I left at 11:30 pm and headed for Pharaoh's.

Pharaoh's was great once again. Great music for me to dance to as usual. There was even a female DJ from Vancouver named Leanne there playing some of the songs. She was a beautiful DJ with great taste in music! They were giving away free cans of Red Bull. I managed to get a free one from one of the DJ's. I didn't drink it there; I brought it home. Once again for the second straight week, they played Shooting Star to end the night. I just love dancing on IVF (Internation Vinyl Friday's) at Pharoah's!

A lot of dancing for me tonight leads to a very exhausted Cliff. Time for bed.

My girlfriend and I started planning all the things to bring and to do in Fargo for our little weekend vacation (Sept. 30 - Oct. 2). It's during our anniversary. We're going to be bringing a big ass cooler for all those frozen foods we're going to buy. You've got to admit, the States has a hell of a selection when it comes to food compared to here.

I counted all my U.S. currency that I'm bringing ($332 and some cents). Not bad for a $400 Canadian to U.S. currency exchange. I just have to remember that about $65 goes towards the hotel. Here's how my spending of the money will break down:

- $65 - my share of the hotel fee
- $20 - my share for gas
- $60 - meals (a fair amount for our anniversary dinner at a nice restaurant)
- $25 - Pirate's Den and Circus Arcades (can't wait to play ITG and DDR 5th
Mix)
- $52 - groceries to bring back (yes, treats for you guys at Ruckers too)
- $110 - spending money

I might get more U.S. money, but not too much. Right now, one Canadian dollar is like 83 or 84 cents U.S.

I'm going to bring that comedy CD for the trip. It's the same one that I brought when I went with 9 other people last year on the road trip to Grand Forks. That was fun! I might make another CD for the road.

Other important stuff that I need to bring are my passport for the border, my cell phone, and my roadside assistance card just in case.

We talked about the places we're going to go shop. West Acres and Columbia Mall are definites as well as the Target stores and Grand Forks Super Target.
A lot of our groceries will be from Super-One Foods, Hugo's, and this supermarket in Moorhead called Cash Wise Foods (which is a mere 2 miles away from Fargo). We're going to even go to Big Lots in Grand Forks and Fargo. They have food, housewares, furniture, and lots of other things at close-out prices. Last year I bought Ape Escape 2 there for $15. It's kind of like the U.S. version of Giant Tiger. Oh, and I almost forgot. We're going to Game Stop in Grand Forks for video games. I'm planning to get NHL 2K6 for my PS2. It costs $19.99 there compared to $29.99 Canadian here. Calculating all the taxes and currency conversions, it's a better deal there.

When it comes to meals there. We are definately going to go to Hardee's and McDonald's (raid the dollar menu). Our first night there, we're going to order out pizza at Papa John's. For our anniversary dinner, it's going to be either Chili's or TGIFriday's. We've been to both before and the food is great. I also have to remember to bring along Karly's anniversary present to give to her at our anniversary dinner.

Anyway, it'll be a great weekend there. Got to get to sleep now. Work at 9. Time to show the kiddies who's boss! Hehehe!

I got to Pharaoh's at around 12:30 a.m. It was pouring out there, but I still made it. The place was so energetic. The music was just phenomenal. Some of my favourite songs that they played included:

DHT - Listen To Your Heart
Danzel - Put Your Hands Up In The Air
Kelly Osbourne - One Word
Fox Force Five - Touch Me
Chemical Brothers - Hey Boy, Hey Girl
Miss Jane - It's A Fine Day

Oh, and the last song of the evening played was a remix of Bang's Shooting Star from DDR 4th mix. Once I heard "Where were you to hold my hand," I was hooked onto the dance floor!

At the end of the evening, I thanked DJ's Jay Walker and Shamil. These guys are the best!

Next week at Pharaoh's, two female DJ's will be performing. Most likely, I'll be there!

Work was okay. Just an ordinary day, nothing special. When I got to Ruckers, I played a game of DDR and then I went for supper with Sami, Braedyn, Juju and VJ at Boston Pizza. We had a good time there, had a lot of laughs and a lot of food. I shouldn't have eaten that entire Boston Cheesesteak sandwich.

We got back and I was happy to see a bunch of my friends there. I got to see Ryan, Darren, Al, Bong, Rob, Adrian, Jeremy (who I haven't seen in a while), Liz, both Pauls, Fernando, Johnny, and later on I saw Steve and Bev. It was a little annoying when these young girls were watching Johnny play doubles on Silent Hill. All I hear is, "Look he's spinning! Look he's spinning!" The voice saying this was so annoying. In my head I was like, "Oh, shut your hole you Tijuana crack whore!" Meh, what can you do, eh?

I managed to do quite a bit this night. I managed to AA a new song (Healing Vision) and I scored over 200 000 points on Point Blank 2. It's just Darren and I dominating the top 10 scores. I even did a good deed. I had a buy one get one free coupon for a Blizzard at Dairy Queen so I bought one and game the free on to Liz. And that's my good deed for the day.

It was a pretty good Tuesday night!