Busy weekend after Boxing Day and before the New Year

On Friday, December 27, I went for my 2nd session of physiotherapy for my right rotator cuff. The treatment is going very well. I just have to do the prescribed exercises so that portion of my body will heal faster. I injured it 16 months ago in August 2012.

I'll also have to see the physio for my back as the doctor at the Pan Am clinic recommended it so. (It is the same doctor I saw for my rotator cuff.) He said that the left side of my back is quite tight and that my spine is slightly curved to the left (or is it to the right?). I am not sure which caused which. But the doctor said that the physio will prescribe exercises for me which will correct the situation. I hope that the exercises will work. I like the doctor because he said that blaming ageing is convenient but we can work around age with proper eating, regular exercise and less stress. I have heard and read that before but when I heard it directly from him, it made a lot of sense.
In the evening, we went to McPhillips Station with our friends, two (2) other couples and one individual. The Ladies played bingo and my wife won one of the bingo games. One of the guys played blackjack (he broke even) and the other played Texas Hold 'em (he won). I just watched.

After the bingo, we went to one of our favorite late night Chinese restaurants. Our friend who won at Texas Hold 'em treated us to late-night snack. Three of us had congee (Chinese rice porridge) with salted pork and century egg. It was good, as usual. By the way, the temps on Friday were higher than normal - still below zero C - and it started to snow 

On Saturday, December 28, we woke up to about 3 inches of snow. The temperature has dipped significantly overnight. And there was more snow and some wind which caused the snowdrift along our driveway being blown into the driveway. We are, of course, in Winterpeg, Manisnowba. My wife and I decided to go back to McPhillips Station to try our luck at the Matinee Bingo which had a jackpot of $120K. The person who won that game missed the jackpot by one call. To win the jackpot, you have to complete the game within a certain number of calls. We then had an early buffet dinner. The buffet restaurant opened for dinner at 4 PM. We were the 2nd set of customers. Saturdays they had prime rib which is quite good. And as I was about to start on my late night snack, Mikey came home with a pot of goto (rice porridge with tripe) cooked by his godmother, Sis Espie Lapiña. Whenever Sis Espie is in Winnipeg (she and her husband, RWB Neil, work in Calgary), she prepares goto or arroz caldo (rice porridge with chicken), which are my favorites. So I put my snack in the fridge and get a big bowl of goto. Ah, carbs.

The temperature went down further overnight. So on Sunday, December 29, we had temps in the low -30's C with windchill in the low -40's C. There were less people than usual at Sunday mass at St Peter's Roman Catholic Church. I was able to get parking near the church and get a seat inside the main hall.

When I got home, I changed into a suit to attend the Meeting of Winnipeg Chapter, Order of DeMolay.

They invested Bro Justin Lapiña and Bro Kristian Regalado with the Chevalier Degree.



They also put on the Majority Service for Bro Kristian Regalado and Bro Jared Lapiña.


Lastly, they installed the officers for the next term, led by MC Arnold Calambacan, Jr.

Here is a picture of the four (4) Chevaliers invested in 2013, all of who are PMC's. L to R: Bro Mikey Uson, Bro Justin Lapiña, Bro Kristian Regalado, and Bro Jared Lapiña.
In the picture on the left are proud father, Bro Noel Regalado (L), and son, Bro Kristian Regalado (R), now both Senior DeMolays.

Proud father with two sons, all of them Freemasons. L to R: Chevalier Jared Lapiña, RWB Neil Lapiña and Chevalier Justin Lapiña.

Three (3) Legionnaires of Honor, L to R: Dad Dave English, Chapter Dad; Dad Brian Langtry, Chairman, Advisory Council; and Dad Chibu Uson, Executive Officer. Dad Brian was invested as LOH on November 17, 2013.


 All the Ceremonies were performed excellently by the Installation and Investing Teams.
After the Meeting, we had a repast. The family of the new MC, Bro Arnold Calambacan, Jr brought a lot of food.

I have stopped counting the calories and carbs I have ingested over the past week or so of holiday feasting. And there are still New Year's Eve and New Year's Day and so on and so on. More calories and carbs. I need to be serious in exercising - not only for my shoulder and back but also for my belly. Otherwise, I might need a major change in wardrobe size.