The Peg

Above: In between visiting hours I checked this place out today. It's pretty fun. However, Mastrovito's garage has spoiled me for cement coping. Thank God this place wasn't as waxed. I have no idea how deep it is, but you Local124 types will love it. Bring your pads.

I had to fly to Winnipeg to check out the local hospital waiting room scene this week. Hospitals suck. Actually, hospitals are probably very interesting places with some weird, fascinating, science things going on down every corridor. Hell, I know I want to know what's going on in the "Gamma Knife" ward. (They seriously seemed to have a whole floor dedicated to this. I imagine it to be either some sort of lightsaber based surgery or that laser a super villain is always trying to dice up James Bond with.) But, waiting around in hospitals sucks. Being a germaphobe doesn't help. I view every surface in the building to be hostile, contagious, and potentially moist.
While on the subject of hospitals, it is very hard to keep one's cool when the monitors attached to your loved one keeps making loud, blaring alarm sounds, with ominous red flashing lights. I'm staring at these monitors with a look of absolute panic, while trying to reassuringly say, "Oh that's nothing, everything's fine." In my head of course I'm screaming, "What the fuck is that!! Oh my God the number 82 is flashing red and a nuclear silo siren is going off!! Where the hell are the doctors?" Since all these loud alarms and flashing lights seem to elicit no response from hospital personnel, I can only gather that this is, in fact, some sort of insane "all clear" notice. Now I don't know who designed these monitors, but my cell phone alone has probably 20 different little alarm tones, most of which start with the words "cricket" or "sprite". Why the hell did you have to pick "Bio Plague Red Alert" for yours?