This may be a crazy weekend...

Since last Sunday I've been on a role, eating well and drinking none. Combined with training, I can feel my body getting stronger and leaner in the past 6 days. A couple weeks ago I was feeling burnt out, now I feel great. That all may come to an end, not the training, but the eating and drinking.

In about 4 hours, my brother Bob is arriving from Winnipeg with his girlfriend Darlene and his kids Aaron and Coco. Bob's 13 months younger than me and we never got along as kids. Anyone that knows us, especially growing up, couldn't believe we were brothers. We didn't look alike, I was polite and respectful and he wasn't. He'd get me so mad, we fought all the time and sometimes I'd give him a nice older brother beating.

Then late one night, I was around 18 years old, got REALLY drunk at the lake, lipped off to him, and he couldn't have picked a more opportune time to "give me some payback". To this day, and it WILL happen tonight, he reminds me of his victorious moment, and I WILL remind him that I was "fall down drunk" and he took advantage of the situation. The memory of beating me up that night, is Bob's "Al Bundy Moment", similar to Al reminiscing about being the high school football star.

Kudo's to Bob for the win that night. I deserved to lose. I could understand his years of wanting to get back at me one day. It made him feel better and I wasn't in any condition to feel a thing anyway. Although the next morning I do remember having a semi-black eye and my face was pretty puffy.

Although we were arch enemies as kids, we're very close as adults. However, I do use the word "adults" loosely. We're kinda like brothers. lol. I now trust him with my life and would do anything for him. I know he feels the same way.

He already called me an hour before the flight and started talking business. Bob, like me, is in the printing business. I've had a tough week at work and we've made some changes internally. The last thing I want to do is talk about it. I'm looking forward to seeing Bob, but I know the minute he gets in the house, the beer will be flowing and so will the "shop talk". I really don't mind talking shop with him sober, but once we get drinking, it can get pretty emotional and loud and I'm getting too old for "Italian love". That's when your hugging and slapping each other at the same time. I just want to relax and enjoy the weekend.

A few years ago, after a LOT of drinking, I threw Salsa all over him and literally everywhere around the bar, including the floor, carpet and even the walls. We weren't even arguing, we were laughing. It was 4 am and he was thinking of going to bed and in my altered state I threw Salsa all over him. I think it was my way of keeping him up and the fun rolling. Anyways, we both ended up paying the price because we had to take off all our salsa covered clothes and Alice threw them in the washing machine and didn't notice our cell phones in the pockets. It turned out to be some pretty expensive salsa. It was quite a sight to boot, two business leaders drinking beers at my bar at 4:30 am in just their underwear.

Bobby's a unique guy, when I say "they broke the mould", you can ask anyone who knows him and they will agree "they broke the mould". Not many people start smoking in grade two and I'm not kidding. Fortunately he did end up quitting... 30 years later. He has a grade 11 education or so he says (I think it's grade 10), he founded and runs a growing $22 million dollar printing operation, is an idiot savant when it comes to reading financial statements, drinks a LOT of beer ALL the time, tells the same jokes over and over (although at least 70% of them still make me laugh), he can be pretty funny (especially when he drinks and makes good humored fun of people), he has a "Heart of Gold", and is more stubborn than a mule when he thinks he's right, or wrong.

I am looking forward to him coming because no one can get him laughing like me. I don't know why, but he thinks I'm funny. And if he was here, he'd use one of his old worn out jokes and say "yeah, funny looking". And I'd tell him he has to move on from the 40's and start using jokes from the 50's.

The last story I have about my brother is when he did a triathlon. He did two Olympic Triathlons in his lifetime. In each case he brought beers and smokes with no training. He was the only guy in the registration line smoking with a six pack of beer in his duffel bag and I'm not kidding. I remember all the triathletes looking at him like "who is this guy"?

He finished both races and the last one he finished when others may have quit. For the last 10 km he rode on flat tires and after the race couldn't move his wrists from the pounding of the road on his rims while trying to keep his wheel straight. But he did finish and right afterward had a beer and a smoke. I included a picture of my brother, handing a beer to his childhood friend "Auntie Hank" as he crossed the finish line. I guess Bob beat Hank that day. Bob is the guy in the back with no shirt on.

Can hardly wait until he gets here!!! Kinda.

Tempo Swim - 1:05:38 / 3000 meters

Weights - 45:00

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