So BIG WEEK!!! BIG WEEK!!!
Had enough workouts last week to achieve a #cigarWeekend and my first Cigar of the Month Club package arrived!! It has def amped up my drive to get my workouts in this week so I can try one of these beauties.
I am not even going to go into detail on each of them yet until i have a chance to try them with a pairing. What is really cool is that they come with a booklet of information on the cigars and what they should be paired with, I appreciate that amount of detail.
This week though, I went with something familiar, maybe my last Don Thomas product for a while, because this week I also received a box of cigars from my favorite mom an dad in-law after their recent trip to Cuba. So basically making it rain, cigar style, right now. 
I am seriously going to have to start doing 6+6+6 work outs a week so that I can have more cigars per weekend.
So back to this week, as stated in the Weekly Workout Log portion of this blog it was transition weekend this weekend. 
It is a time for nostalgia.
Not about the year, silly, more around that it was a transition weekend 2 years ago that renewed my love affair with cigars. I decided that it would be an ideal place, having a sit on the deck of the cottage, overlooking the CB countryside, the mountains, the water sparkling in the crisp spring air. The perfect place to have a cigar. From that time two years ago until now, what a cigar ride its been. From just having a cigar every now and then, to trying it to my workouts, to hosting a blog and pairing it with various beverages, wow these two years have gone by in a blink of an eye.
This particular weekend I had 3 different cigars but kept consistent with the beverages. Friend of the show, Dark Horse whiskey was the selection for the weekend. This is also one of the first whiskeys i tried after a very long absence from any brown liquor. 
The 3 cigars were a Presidente Don Thomas Classico; a CAO Box Press; and Romeo and Julieta No.10. I also smoked them in that order. The Don Thomas as the mild/medium appetizer pretty much pairs well with anything, and lit well, had a easy draw and lasted a healthy amount of time. 
The CAO Box Press, Dark and Flavourful, a def medium in terms of color and flavor, again lit well and little stronger draw needed, but very easy to smoke. This one probably worked the best with the Dark Horse flavors and I wished it could have lasted a little longer. 
Lastly the R&J No. 10. Of all the R&J's that i have had this is probably in the middle of the pack. It lit well, and smoked okay, it seemed like it was over very quickly like it wasnt rolled properly or something. In regards to the whiskey I dont recall if i was overly blown away by the pairing so that should tell you all you need to know.
Transition weekend is always different. This year it was a bit more relaxed in regards to style, but intense in regards to information and presentation. It is always interesting to watch a group of leaders try to explain the importance of leadership to a group of incoming leaders. To pass on their successes and challenges in an open and sometimes startlingly honest way. It was hopefully a chance for the new people to be challenged in their thinking about the jobs they will be taking on and the responsibility they will now inherit; and a chance for the outgoing group to start the process to let go of the good, the bad, and sometimes ugly parts of these jobs. 
Every year is always different, but for those of us that do these jobs and work with student leaders it is also part of our process for letting go. I dont know if its better preparing me for when my own kids leave home, or its going to turn me into a sloppy mess. Probs sloppy mess.
I have never been great at goodbyes, my mom tells a story about when I was little, when my grandparents would be getting to leave after a visit that I would disappear, go outside and start throwing rocks at them as they were leaving. Luckily my grandparents never took this to heart, and knew it was my way of coping with them leaving.
So to all the execs over the years, I may not have throw a rock, but consider the sarcasm and chirping,  my verbal rocks. Always wishing you the best, but not a fan of the leaving.
Sean "BigBoyRunning" Ryan

After many long weeks, bouts of gout, lack lustre weeks for workouts, finally after a month, i finally was able to get enough work outs in for a #cigarSaturday. 3 swims + 3 bikes + 3 runs = #cigarSaturday. 
Finally giving myself the opportunity to have a cigar and a scotch was like having crawled through the desert and finding an oasis; it was like finally peeing after having to hold it because your dad would not "stop again for your tiny bladder" on a long car ride, you get the idea, it was nice.
Even though this was over a week ago, i can still taste the smokey flavors mingling; the ease and delight I experienced watching the swirls of purple and grey smoke circle and twist in the crisp winter breeze and it was released into the air and up to the heavens....
Okay maybe that is a little much, but it was great to finally get back to doing that many workouts a week and getting a reward.
So for #cigarSaturday i decided not to go with anything new, as I didnt want to chance it with untried cigars or scotch and sully this reward, so i went with the Don Thomas Corona Classico and the Longmorn 16yr old. 
With the Don Thomas you get a great smoke, lights well, is very medium to light in body, and can really pair with most scotches as it is usually my go to, as there is not much selection in my local smoke shop. 
With the Longmorn 16yr old you get an incredibly smooth, carmel color beverage, that has great notes of spice, and smoke, neither overpowering and just coats the tongue and hits the senses in all the ways a great scotch should.
I would highly recommend the Longmorn, but it has been discontinued by the NSLC and mores the pity for that, but happy i have it in my lil collection.
As i have pointed out, and the calendar shows, hey its March. I have signed up for a cigar of the month club, and my first month is MARCH!! How pumped am I? Super pumped. 
Not that it hasnt been a great romance with the Smoke shop at the superstore, and I cant say enough about the Don Thomas products that I have tried from there, but I am really looking forward to trying some new to me cigars from around the world. Each month they select 5 different cigars and send them out lovingly into the world for those lucky of us cigar of the month subscribers.
Now they wont actually get here until the end of March, so its Don Thomas until then, but DAMN DANIEL i cant wait for that little package to get here in a few weeks.
I am also on track this week for a #cigarSunday, so fingers crossed, I may even get a new scotch to try. *Thinking Emoji*
Sean"BigBoyRunning" Ryan

Maritime Snow storm season has officially begun. 
We have been lucky until now in that there has really only been one decent snow storm and a couple lil'er ones since December, but this weekend was predicting a doozie. 
Frankie, and for those that might not know Frankie, if you search Frankie MacDonald on You Tube you will be in for a treat. This is the only person I get my weather from, he shoots from the hip and recommends stocking up on chips before any impending weather bomb. How could you go wrong with professional advice like that.
So with the workouts in the books, the weather starting to roll in and a possible work commitment lined up for Sunday it was a perfect time for a #cigarSaturday.
Now as I completely blew the budget last week on the Longmorn 16 it was time to dip back into the scotch cabinet to revisit an old friend. Winking at me from the back was my bottle of Yamazaki Single Malt that my brother had sent me a Christmas or so ago.
On my mothers recent trip to Japan, she had returned with some presents, one of which was a glass that my she and my brother had picked out with the specific purpose of drinking scotch out of for my #cigarSundays.
It came in its own satin lined wooden box, and is probably one of the coolest glasses I have ever seen. Not wanting it to get put into the regular glass rotation and used for like grape juice or something, I hid this box away so that no harm would come to it.  In doing so I hid it so well I couldnt find it when it was time to break it out for a following #cigarSunday.
So for the last few months his stylish glass remained in its top secret hiding place, like an Oak Island treasure waiting to be unearthed.
Okay maybe that was a little too dramatic in that the box was tucked behind a serving tray on top of the dish cabinet, but, hey look at that, I found it!
Finally the match that was meant to be, my Yamazaki in a glass made in its homeland. Not that the glass made the scotch taste any different, but it just felt right. The cigar I selected was my go to Don Thomas Corona. I chose this for one reason only, the other cigar I had on hand would take longer to smoke, and as weather conditions were not super awesome, I wanted something that would not overpower the lighter notes of the scotch but also put me in the snow and wind longer then a typical #cigarSaturday would. 
I bundled myself up in a few layers including my cigar sweater, hoodie and snowpants and boots, had to do the obligatory, forgot to pee, take everything off, pee and put everything back on again, and then off I went into the beginnings of what would end up being a above average snow dumping by the time it was said and done Sunday.
When the wind died down it was actually not too shabby out for mid January in the maritimes. My pairing was very good, both the mild flavors of the scotch and cigar worked well together, and the dusting of snow blowing this way and that was fun to watch. Some words to the departed and thinking about how awesome this would be from the seat in a hot tub instead of an old plastic deck chair, and after about 20 minutes it was time to head in. 
Now I would never admit that sitting out in a blizzard smoking a cigar contributed to whatever demons decided to set up shop in my body Sunday evening, followed by them doing everything they could to take everything inside my body and bring it out in a multitude of different forms. 
I have never encountered 'sour burps, belly" before, and I hope never to have it again! For those of you that may suffer from this on a regular basis you have my deepest sympathy. It felt and tasted like every burp i had was made up of spoiled egg, and rancid orange juice. These belches were not only causing me to get nauseous, but filling my house with the an oder that really defies description, save to say it was foul, most most foul.
It would also not stop at escaping through one exit point but had others join the party. 
Being awake, I had ample time to review what causes this condition online.
Basically everything I had eaten and drank in the last 24 hours contributes to this condition. 
I have not really been sick at all this cold/flu season so I think i was due.
Luckily, after about 4-5 glasses of baking soda/water glasses, and some pepto chewables, the great gas escape of 2016 was over. 
I want to say that I will try to stay away from the foods and beverages that bring on 'sour burps/belly' but I know that will not be true, however, I will try not to combine them again in such a way that brings about this cyclone of noxious pollutants.
But to be clear, #cigarSaturday not to blame!
Sean "BigBoyRunning" Ryan

This first week back at work and i have to say it was a pretty amazing week last week. Two very large projects were accomplished, one that has been in the works almost since i started here, so that was a great way to start the new year. Second project being a convenience store opening on our campus, again this has been in the works for about 5-6 months, so to see the doors open on it the first day back was pretty exciting. 
So with that in the lead up to the weekend, and it looking like all the workouts were going to be put in the books, I started to look at what new to me Scotch would be on the list for this #cigarSunday.
After being back and forth to the liquor store a few times over the last week I had it narrowed down to 2. 
One more then the other because it had been out of stock at the liquor store all through the holidays and its that thing where if you cant have it you want it even more. So as luck would have it, it was back in stock. Glenlivet Founders Reserve.
It has a pretty Georgian blue box and it caught my eye almost immediately whenever i see it on the Glenlivet FB page.
So, holding it in my hand and reading the box, I couldnt find anywhere on it how long it was aged. Not that that is the be all end all for me, but I was curious.
A quick look online, turned into a lengthly look online standing in the scotch row of the liquor store. I couldnt find anywhere how old it was but what i did start to find was review after review of how disappointing people found it. That it was over sweet, indicating that there was a strong pear flavour that was off putting. Yikes!
I wanted a good celebration scotch for this week, also, as previously written, there was a recent departure in our family and someone else to be remembered this #cigarSunday.
I was put off picking up this bottle this week, and the other one i had selected was out of stock. 
Now there was a bottle I have had my eye for a while. But its price was a little more then i would want to typically spend so it kept moving down the list.
While I was still on the line, I decided to look it up to get the skinny before i decided to shell out the bucks on it.
All the reviews were 4 and 5 stars with amazing notes, it was also pointed out that the NSLC have discontinued it as an active product. GET IT BEFORE ITS GONE!! one post yelled at me.
Done.
Longmorn 16 you are coming home with daddy.
It was the last bottle at our liquor store so I was feeling pretty good leaving the store with it in hand.
I selected a Don Thomas Maduro Presidente to have with it for 2 reasons. I wanted a longer smoke this #cigarSunday and it is on the darker side of medium and I after reading the reviews I knew this scotch would hold up to the vibrant flavor of coffee and spice that this cigar has.
The scotch was amazing. I am always so surprised that a 16 year old scotch is so different in flavour then a 12 year old scotch. It has a great colour of carmel, incredibly smooth, and has a fantastic balance of smoke, heat, spice and sweet. I may be in love.
It paired really well with the cigar, so yay me for picking a great match.
To echo the other reviewers, if you have the chance to get one of these before they are discontinued in NS, you should do it. Was very happy with this #cigarSunday selections.
The day kinda went to cat crap directly after, as my Vikings, long awaited return to post season action is now nothing but the brunt of 'Laces out' jokes and Ace Ventura shares on my FB page.
Im a Leafs fan, so i am bred to endure the harsh slings and arrows of others in the realm of the sportsing. But holy crap that was an awful way to lose a game.
I hope Walsh doesnt go all Ray Finkle and kidnap the cast of Vikings or hold up a #SKOL factory somewhere. On the upside now i get to take my traditional role of chirping for the teams still left to be defeated, looking at you Steelers and Pats fans!
Sean " BigBoyRunning" Ryan

Happy New Year!
When can you stop saying that, what is the rule? I have never figured that out. I think if there is no rule then January 7th should be the cut off. If you say it past that date, then you should be treated the same way you are treated if you pull a prank on April Fools after 12pm, with derision and public shaming.
Okay maybe that is a little to far.
Its still before the 7th so the spirit is there. And speaking of spirits...#masterofsegue #notofasegway
I got to reunite with a little friend that I met in Las Vegas.
On this particular evening in Las Vegas it was the beverage of choice prior to seeing my first US college football game. Most of our group was heading out to see Brittany Spears, while myself and friend of the show Paul Tucker were off to the wilds of the UNLV Rebels Stadium. Paul has an interesting video of me in shorts and a Blue Jays tshirt sitting amongst throngs of fans dressing in parkas, winter hats and blankets. It was a very fun night.
But along with most of the memories from that night, this particular spirit also stayed with me as well, and was on my list to look at when we got back to Canada.
On my first trip to the liquor store I was very happy to see it there on the shelf, but I had imposed my no personal alcohol memoranda as all funds needed to be diverted to holiday spending legislation so it was going to have to wait. And wait i did. I did drop some not to subtle hints when asked what I wanted for Christmas. Booze, always my reply and a laundry list of bottles with varying price points. 
Im a charmer.
So huzzah, holidays were pretty much in the books, so time to hit up that credit card for one more purchase before it is put into freeze mode for the next six months while I pay off the recently received joys of the season.
Jamiesons Reserve. It was worth the wait. It is a fantastic dark amber, almost carmel color and has an equally subtle nose. This is some dangerous stuff. With or without ice it has amazing flavor and is incredibly smooth. My wife, also enjoys a whiskey, and was shocked at how smooth this was. 
I paired it with my standard Don Thomas Classico Corona, and it was a perfect fit for the medium flavor of the cigar. You cant go wrong with this cigar, and I keep going back because the 9.89 price point and the attributes are hard to match. It lights extremely well, holds its ash and smoke, and doesnt turn harsh as you get close to the paper band. 
While the sun had started to go down, and the wind took on a chill, it was awesome to be out in my cigar smoking sweater again on this #cigarSaturday
If you have the chance to pick up either the Jamiesons Reserve or the Don Thomas, give it a go, they are wonderful separate or together they are a couple of beauties.
​Sean "BigBoyRunning" Ryan

16 degrees. It was 16 degrees at one point during Christmas day on my pool deck. That was warmer then Las Vegas was when I was there in November. Now I am sure this is a global warming thing, and yeah it was a little strange not having snow on Christmas, I will even give you that christmas lights look way better in a back drop of snow, but MAN, I LOVED BEING IN SHORTS ON CHRISTMAS DAY!!
It was so nice to not have to worry to much about the weather the on a big travel day for us Christmas Eve and then on Christmas morning and Boxing Day. It was nicer still to be able to have the windows open as I was preparing the turkey and fixins for our Christmas dinner, and it was especially nice because i got to have a morning, afternoon and evening #cigarChristmas.
So after the negotiated time of 6:30am wake up time with the exuberant wee ones the days before, some oohing and ahhing over freshly ripped open presents, in a frenzy that resembled a lion to an antelope carcass, it was time to get right to work in the kitchen creating the stuffing of champions, preparing the bird, and getting all the veggies, trimmed, washed, peeled and chopped. It was time for the first #cigarChristmas of the day.
The first selection involved a Romeo and Juliette No.3 and a new to the show - Apple Pie Tennessee Moonshine. This new beverage was something I looked at in the US a couple months ago, and was given to us by Cousin Ailsa. I have never had this beverage before so i chose the R&J no.3 because I have had a few of them before and they are a very medium almost mild cigar that pairs well with almost anything as long as it is not to harsh.
When I cracked the mason jar style lid to the Apple Pie Moonshine, I was in love. It smelled like liquid apple pie.
I had a quick taste and was almost dancing it was soooo good.
I filled up a taster, through in some ice and headed in the glorious morning sunshine for my breakfast #cigarChristmas. This Apple Pie Moonshine could be dangerous, I had to really sip it, because it could go down smoothly and very quickly. It was a great morning, to be finished up my prep, have the turkey cooking slow and low in the oven and be sitting on my deck in shorts on December 25th.
After some family time, chats and snacks, it was time for #cigarChristmas lunch.
Now knowing that I still had a lot to do this day, I went for something with a little more kick. I decided to try the second donation from Ailsa which is a jar of cherries soaked in Moonshine, again in a mason jar from Tennessee. When i popped the lid, I was taken back a bit. After the Apple Pie Moonshine I thought this would be a similar experience. This was a wee bit more boozey.
While the moonshine did take on some of the flavor profile of the cherries, I would say the cherries took on more of a booze profile from the moonshine. My wife tried a cherry, and I could smell the booze off of her from about 15 feet away.
So I thought well some diet dr. Pepper that I had in the house would be a good match for this moonshine. Holy crap I could not have been more right, what a great drink. Like a boozy cherry coke.
For the cigar I picked my goto Don Thomas Classico Corona. This actually went really well with the sweetness from cocktail and was perfect for the now full on sunshine hitting our pool deck at this point in the day. Shorts and Tshirt now, I was loving feeling that sun on my face and in my bones. I seriously could have curled up right there on the deck and had a nap it was so awesome out.
But dinner duty calls.
Back in the house and in a flurry of final preparation, table setting, mashing, carving, and gravy making. 
Not want to toot my own horn to hard, but it was a great meal with the family. No major fights, everyone ate heartily and had some laughs,  that is the Christmas I care about the most.  A quick round of tidying up and it was time for #cigarChristmas dessert.
For this one I chose a CAO BoxPress Robusto, a show favorite, and it has a great dark, meaty flavor. I was gifted a bottle of Aberfeldy Single Malt from my GodDaughter ( she has a great eye for scotchs at such a young age haha). It was a great pairing, the light smoke of the scotch and the leathery coffee flavor of the cigar was a great match. Still in shorts, but back into a hoodie, darkness had descended, taking with it the warmth of the sun, but the air was still warm and the warmth now came from the laughs that we were having after a great meal, and reviewing the moments of the day that involved all the suprises and excitement and magic that Christmas morning can bring.
Yes i probably went a little overboard with having a 3 cigar #cigarChristmas, but I consider that my present to me.
A few workouts already in the books this week, so looking good for a #cigarNewYears haha
All the best to you and yours in the New Year
Sean " BigBoyRunning" Ryan

Upon preparing to go to Las Vegas for some trustee training I must have heard 'What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas' about 100 times. But if you have no interest in strip clubs, sex workers, gambling and the like, then I feel like what happens in Vegas can totally be shared. My focus going to Vegas was first for the training course I was attending, it has been one that I have been avoiding for a while, but this seemed as good a year to go as any so when the call went out I raised my hand. 
Las Vegas to me is somewhere I never really was dying to go, like say Australia or Cuba, but I have seen it in so many movies I was def curious to see if it lived up to the hype.
I was also going to be in the company of some stellar people as our group sent multiple delegates to attend.
The training itself was quite spectacular. I was a little nervous attending sessions that would be followed by testing as i really havent been in a classroom for *cough* 20ish years, but I really enjoyed it. #learningiscool
Alot of what was discussed were things that i knew a little on as i have been working on and off of this board for a number of years, but there were alot of take aways, not only for the trust group that sent me here, but also for my own organization. The follow up conference was also amazing. One of the things I have been involved in on my campus is Risk Assessment and Management, almost solely for events, but there are many transferable principles that apply to areas of finance and benefit management as well so I tried to attend as many sessions that involved conversation around Risk Management as possible. Some were a little over my head, but anything that leaves me with more questions then it answers can be a good thing and i have followed up with one presenter post conference already to start to increase my own knowledge.
Okay so alongside of getting a real wicked opportunity to learn some things, the other things that i prioritized were the amazing restaurants, and cigar bars that I researched before going.
I wanted to make sure that if this was my one chance in Vegas, that I got to try out as many different places as possible. The list of places that I was able to get to were:
White Castle - I just had to, and it was awesome!
Gordon Ramsay's Steak - best meal I may ever have the pleasure of having ever
BLT Burger - Did not live up to the online hype, was okay
Rhumbar - Cigar and Cocktail Bar - more on this later
Cheesecake Factory - No sightings of Leonard or Penny - menu was 47 pages long, BIG portions
UNLV Football Game - Stadium food mheh
FiAMMA - Amazing Italian Food, had probably the best beat/goat cheese/spinach salad I have ever had
HYDE - PBAS hosted a function and the location, food and event was incredible
Guy Fieri's Vegas Kitchen and Bar - Crazy awesome wings
Gordon Ramsay's BURGR - Now this is how gourmet burgers should be done - bit of a wait, but soooo worth it.
There are so many places in Vegas to try for dining, you would need months to really give it a go, but I was very fortunate to try most of the places I wanted to while we were there.
So now lets get on to the cigars and the Rhumbar. The Rhumbar was located right in our hotel and let me tell you how pumped I was reading that online before going. The humidor is not huge but there is a great selection and they have price ranges that really work for beginners and those that want to spend a few bucks. I was pumped to see one of my all time favorites the La Flor De Les Antilles from My Fathers Cigars. So that was the first one on the list and holy crap pared with a speciality Mojito from the bar it was freaking amazing. I know, I know, no scotch WTF? Right! Well I'll tell you it was great and refreshing compared to the leathery notes of the cigar and the pairing was just awesome. 
Now I wish I could have spent every night on this patio, oh yeah they have a patio, so you can enjoy your drink and cigar on a heated patio watching the Vegas night and its creatures pass by. It was seriously one of the best nights that I had in Vegas, partly because of the environment, but mostly because of the company, but both together and it will be one of the first memories that I have of my time in Las Vegas.
Now there was a lag of a couple days until my next visit, but on the next visit I tried two new to me cigars. First up the Romeo and Julieta, the ROMEO. This was a bit more of a bolder R&J that i had before but it had an great smell of leather and coffee, lit and pulled well and kept a great ash. I paired this with an irish whiskey, and i didnt take a picture so I cant remember which one it was....ah to get old. I will say though, that I did try a Jaimisons Black label reserve earlier in the night and it was AWESOME! I want to find that here in Canada, it was incredibly smooth and yummy. The second cigar i had that night was Arturo Fuente Rosado Sungrown Magnum R Vitola 44. Isnt that a handle. It was a little not what I was expecting. Basically it was a bugger to get lit, it burned on one side considerably before it started to burn even and it was not an easy draw. The flavor was there, and it was a great match for the, what i think was whiskey, but not the best cigar experience i have ever had. This night was also one for the books, and ranked very high on my list of Vegas nights, how could it not be, friend of the show, Paul Tucker and I having some laughs at the UNLV football, exploiting our Canadianess, cigars and whiskey, and then a late night musical revue in McDonalds across the street by yours truly serenading Paul with 'I would walk 500 miles' while he ate his McNuggets.
There are a few other stories from Vegas, and sadly there were no other cigar nights as there just wasnt time, but my fingers are starting to cramp, and well, i guess it is true, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, especially when you are old and want to finish a long over due blog post.
Oh yeah, almost forgot, went a couple weeks inbetween with not getting enough work outs in, until last week, when, after finishing my outdoor lighting for christmas, i got to enjoy a couple regulars. My 12 year old Cardhu and a Don Thomas Robusto. Both delightful, and totally what was needed after the week and acrobatics employed by moi putting up the lights. On track this week for another #cigarSunday so fingers crossed!
​Sean "BigBoyRunning" Ryan

Okay my friends, now for part two of last weeks traveling adventures, and it involves a little something called #cigarSunday.
First off many apologies for not keeping up with the blog, i have missed some pretty significant #cigarSundays, including a lovely homecoming weekend #cigarSaturday with a couple friends of the show Isaac and Alex, a post taking down the pool #cigarSunday and the list goes on. There will be no #cigarSunday for the Halloween week because I worked out a total of 0 times. Not even a sniff of a workout, and its a huge shame as I have a new bottle of Irish Whiskey that is not available in Canada to try and a new glass to christen that was picked out for me by my brother on a recent trip to Japan that she just returned from. Hopefully this week both will be utilized. 
But last week there was a #cigarSunday and it was a beauty one! 
After my trip to Vancouver, I had a flight back into Toronto, as most flights to anywhere in the world tend to stop in Toronto before flying back to Halifax, i decided to take advantage of this and pause my return home for a visit to family in upstate New York. 
This visit was something long overdue and I was really looking forward to getting to spend some time with Daphne's cousin Ailsa and her daughter Piper and son Brooks. These kids are awesome, hilarious and come out with some of the best observations on life and the world that you will ever hear or read. A quick scroll through Ailsa's FB page will have you in stitches with some of the things they come out with. They call me Uncle Sean, one, its way easier to say uncle sean then cousin in law sean and explain what that means, but also because we are godparents to each others kids and that is something we hold very special.
So off the plane I go, it is about 10pm Toronto time, but for me its really about 7pm as I have adjusted somewhat to the Vancouver time difference.
Get down to the rental place, get my vehicle, and my rental GPS. I have never traveled with GPS, but since I was have never driven to the US either, nor have i really driven in Toronto traffic in 20 years I thought it would be a good investment.
Probably should have read up on how to use the damn thing, because I took me about 20-25min of starting and stopping just to get out of the terminal, so i turned on my phone gps also so that I was doubly GPS'd.
After much swearing and yelling at the GPS system for my own failings i was on the road to the boarder.
Smooth sailing all the way there.
So I get to the boarder and I line up behind the only other car there. There are 4 open lanes mind you, but I am starting to get a little punchy. So after about 5 minutes I back up and move one lane over.
I pull up and greet the office with a friendly hello.
This was met with a sneer and you too.
I hand over my visa, and here begins a what not to say lesson when crossing the boarder:
Why are you traveling to the US?
I am visiting my wife's cousin and her family, to see them and help take down their pool for the winter.
Why do they need your help?
I was flying back from Vancouver on business and it worked out in my schedule to pop down for a visit.
So you plan on working?
No, I was working, I plan on visiting and helping?
Where to they live?
Update NY, Nunda, on a farm.
So you are working on a farm?
No, they live on a farm.
Is this your car?
No, its a rental.
Can I see the rental agreement?
(Pass the rental agreement)
If you are going down to visit, why is the rental agreement on your company business card?
I get a better rate if i use the corporate card and account, I will be paying my organization back for the expense.
So this is a business expense?
No, its a personal expense, but I get a better rate if I use this card.
Where do you work?
Antigonish NS
Doing what?
I am a GM for a University Students' Union
Why are you working in the US?
I am not working, I am visiting.
Hold on one second.
( leaves for 3 minutes)
Sir, please put on your 4 way flashers and drive to that detaining area over there, your name will be called by the officer inside the building.
UGH.
So its midnight ( 9pm) for me.
I pull up, get out and head to the waiting area. There are about 15 Latino people, a few Asians and me. All of us watching the Blue Jay game. Slowly they are called into a glassed in room.
About a half hour - 45 mintues goes by and I am finally called up to the counter.
The officer looks my up and down and says, why are you here?
I want to say - you tell me - but answer with I am not sure.
He says okay explain to me why you are traveling to the states in a rental vehicle in your companies name.
I go through the story again and he goes, well there is your problem, you should have used your personal credit card and you most likely would not have been stopped. 
So thats what I get for being cheap. 
He asks to look through my luggage in the car, and i welcome it if it will get me through faster.
About 10 minutes later I am back on the road. So wasted almost an hour of driving, but I am in the US!
So now I a back to the GPS again.
I wish someone would have told me that you should always check the settings, because one of the settings you can check is avoid toll roads. This was checked. I am stunned.
I was WAY out in the middle of nowhere, i was on dirt roads, gravel roads, paved roads, up mountains, down mountains. But I finally landed at my destination around 3am - Midnight for me. 
I was greeted by Ailsa, with a hug and a threat - Never Again will you be arriving this late in the morning if you are visiting!! Oopsie.
Some quick chats and it was beddy by time.
I can see why Ailsa was so concerned about 530am maybe 6am but def not later then that, i heard the pitter patter of some little feet. shortly there after I felt a little someone start to cuddle up with me under my blankets.
Then a solid tap-tap-tap on the back of my head. I roll over to see Brooksie staring back at me, and greeted with a ' hello, i forgot you were coming today, who are you again, did you want to come in my room and play, i have to be quiet so i dont wake Piper, Piper doesnt like it when i wake her up, she gets really mad, i have a car that flyies, we can play with that'
So up we get and into the room we go to play with the car that flies and quickly develops into a passing game, with points for catching it.
About a half hour later Piper comes in with a ' Brooksie will you shut up' Hi Uncle Sean, he doesnt have an inside voice and is so loud in the morning' 
The next couple of mornings were not much different, but it was hilarious. 
The weekend was awesome, Ailsa took me on a bit of sightseeing with hitting up the State park that was absolutely gorgeous, the local liquor store where i got to look over all the awesome spirits we cannot get in Canada, couple trips for slurpies at 7-11; a walk around their beautiful property and a trip to a couple wineries. We got the pool set up for the winter aside from one task, and helped Piper to nail throwing a spiral with the football, and mostly got to have some laughs.
It was tough to leave, but I cant wait to go back and take my family with me.
We finished off the weekend with a #cigarSunday in the hot tub. I need one of these. The beverage of choice this week was an Apple Cider Sangria. The recipe: 1/2 bottle of any white wine, cut up apples, 1 bottle of Angry Orchard Apple Cider, 1 cup of non-alcohol apple cider and a splash of Sprite over Ice. SO GUD!
The cigar this week was a Box Press CAO Brazillian and it was a perfect partner with the sweet and tart taste of the Apple Cider Sangria. I perfect way to spend a full moon #cigarSunday with the gentle bubbling of the hot tube. 
The trip back to Canada was uneventful, i had the GPS working properly and cut almost an hour and 20 minutes off my time with the toll roads and bridges. Plane ride a few hours later and back in Halifax and home to Antigonish. Well for a couple days, then its off to Wolfville for a day or so for another conference, but that is a post for a different day. 
Sean " BigBoyRunning" Ryan

So finally a week of workouts worthy of a #cigarSaturday!
My aura of random nakedness continued with yet another old dude in the pool change area and woman who was unexpectedly apart of the #freethenipple campaign briefly outside of Canadian Tire. 
I also suffered through an older gentleman's deluge of fart death clouds on Saturday morning at the gym. I have no idea why the fans are always against me in these situations but my 4 miles turned into a scene from Stephen Kings  'The Mist' as I tired to focus my energies while not breathing from my nose.
On a completely different train of rant, I am almost to the tipping point on election candidate grandstanding that I can handle. I am not going to get into politics in this blog because, well, a person should be never discuss politics, religion or money amongst strangers, or family or anyone really, but holy crap, if all these people actually believe half the crap that is coming from their face holes were are doomed. I still believe in voting and exercising that right but it is really a lot of blah blah until that person/party is in office then its what can you actually do, and what wont you do that I am interested in, not what you may do, if you have any kind of a budget left to do it with.
Okay now on to something more uplifting, this weeks selection for #cigarSaturday.
So this week is bitter sweet, as I have a lot of family and work obligations coming up, so the scotch this week will be the last purchase for a while, i know boohoo right! Poor me and my slowly growing collection of spirits. haha
So for this last pairing i picked a scotch that was one of the first scotches that I ever tried. Cardhu 12yr. 
The first time i tried this scotch I was working at a bar that longer exists for a bar manager that was very knowledgable about wines, scotches and other spirits. I learned quite a bit about some of the finer spirits from him, and about bartending. 
Back then my goto was Dark Rum, and usually quite a lot of it on a night off. 
One night he convinced me to try some whiskeys. 
Cardhu was one of them and from what i remembered at the time I really liked it and thought it was oh so fancy drinking scotch.
I know it didnt end well that night, I will spare you the gruesome details but it would be many years before I would even attempt  brown liquor again.
So now that I am more mature ( mheh) I thought what a perfect bottle to pause in my purchasing with, Cardhu 12.
Cardhu is a much-loved single malt, Cardhu is an easy-going, charming Speysider. With clean, crisp oak and sweet malt.

On first taste it has a great sweet spiciness on your lips and you get a little tingle. There is a faint smoke on the finish, and really the perfect amount for me. I dont want to feel like Im drinking a forrest fire.
It is incredibly smooth, and drinkable. If you are just getting into scotches this is one to try.
So I paired it with a Don Thomas Maduro Presidente. Mainly because I wanted something with a bit of a bite, and presidente length you are going to get at least 40-50minutes of burn time, and I really wanted to have a sit and enjoy this combo.
Now while i typically like this cigar and have had it before, the price point being around 8$ by the way.
I did not overly enjoy this combination. The scotch great, the cigar great, but together not so much. I found the flavors were working against each other, and the cigar was overpowering the scotch.
Obviously I would have these both again, but most likely not together.
Saturday was another beauty day, lots of running around in the day time so even thought the picks this week were not getting along, still a blessing to be able to have a sit, a drink, a smoke, some tunes, and chat with the departed under a beautiful maritime sky.
Sean"BigBoyRunning" Ryan

Frosh week is ova.
As much fun as it is to see months of work come to realization, my 42 year old body, and mind, is happy that it was successful, happy that new events created led to an exciting and unique week, but am also happy that it is over.
For anyone that works in my type of business, University, College, or Students' Union, they know what i am talking about, and they get it. 
Especially now in the age we are in with social media, liability, risk assessment there are so many more details that need ( and should) be accounted for. To make it through the planning, is tough, to make it through 7 days of orientation week, with most days being multi-event, multi-location days, with many different services on an off campus being utilized it is incredibly difficult to pull it off and harder to do it really well. In my opinion we did provide one kick ass week of welcome and welcome back.
This is not a poor me blather, I am just trying to create some understanding for those that see the occasional picture i post, that behind the fun, there is an incredible amount of work that goes on. 
So sometime H.A.L.T comes out.
For those of you that have been through leadership training with Peake Experiences you know H.A.L.T. 
H.A.L.T stands for Hungry, Angry, Lonely and Tired. 
When you are in a leadership position, and the pressure is on, you are probably going to experience any one or sometimes all of H.A.L.T.
When you are experiencing any or all of the H.A.L.T you are going to slip into behaviours that are not that fun to work with, people can get power based, or competitive, or passive aggressive, or flakey, or any other ineffective style they may have.
I def had a few moments during the week where I was going through some of that. I dont know how you can help having that happen at time. My slipping into it always starts the same way.
For me the first thing to go is my gym/pool time. When my exercise goes, the diet follows shortly behind. I start to convince myself its okay to eat shitty because im not working out anyway, and i must be burning alot of calories because I am working long physical hours.
Once the physical activity, and diet go, then goes sleep. 
My brain can keep me awake with the most strange things, and not eating properly and no exercising compound that.
I start thinking about the event, what we could have done better, what we should do next year, what about tomorrow, who is doing what, will i get to see my family at all, I havent seen them in days, am I failing as a father, who should i vote for, is that a spider or are my eyes just playing tricks on me, i have to call mom tomorrow, havent spoken with her since last Friday, that has to be a spider, i think it moved, and so on and so on.
Before I know it, its time to get up and start another day.
So that for 7+ days it is easy to slip into negative behaviour. 
Aside from stepping away from orientation week, which i dont think i could ever do, I struggle with how to manage H.A.L.T type things in that pressure cooker.
So I am happy to be getting back to my regular schedule this week so I can go back to K.A.T.N ( kicking ass and taking names). hehe
Now while I did not get the required workouts in, I am saying eff it this week. I have been saving up for a scotch for a pay or so and after the last of my to-do list was completed on Saturday, it was time for a treat.
So please welcome, one of the scotches in my top 3 all time scotches: Dalwhinnie 15yr old Single Malt. I first tried Dalwhinnie in my bartender days in Halifax and fell in love then. It was like bumping into an old friend that i had not seen in a while when I bought it the other day.
Dalwhinnie is like drinking golden caramel in a glass. It has a very crisp, clean taste, has some great aromas on the nose of honey and caramel and a very slight smoke and spice taste on the tongue. Some seriously good stuff.
I paired this with a CAO Brazillian box press cigar. This is not a beginner cigar. It has a very bold flavor. It has around a $13 price point which is great, holds a great ash, and lit very easily. If you want a cigar that you can relax with, this is your huckleberry.
It paired amazingly well with the Dalwhinnie, I am glad that i bought a second one, so that i can try this combo again.
Even though there was a little drizzle out on the deck, it was so nice to finally sit, reflect on the week, and enjoy a sniff of scotch and a cigar in the company of my wife and former sweetheart and one of our pooches. 
It is also sad, because the weather is starting to turn, the sun is going away earlier and earlier and soon it will be time to take down the pool for another year.
This of course will not stop #cigarSunday, but still sad to see the end of summer for another year, it seems to get faster and faster just when you want it to slow down and enjoy it a little longer.
* Sigh* 
Next week, back at 'er though.
Lastly, shirts were finally mailed to a few of you that jumped at them, make sure you let me know when you get them so I can give you a shout out for taking on the free shirt challenge.
Sean "BigBoyRunning" Ryan