Tofino Surf Trip!

Carmella and I, along with my/our friend Michael (he used to be my manager, but now that I don't work for him anymore, I still find it hard to call him Mike!) went on a quick surf trip to Tofino last weekend.

Tofino is on the west coast of Vancouver Island, and is a great spot to surf because of its exposure to the Pacific ocean.  While a lot of BC and especially Vancouver Island is on the ocean, it's usually protected bays, inlets, and sounds that supply our southern coastline.

Because it's Canada, and the Pacific, it's really cold!  Some people call it cold water surfing, thinking that it needs to be differentiated from the other kind, where you don't need a 5mm wetsuit, gloves, boots, and a hood.  I think it's all the same.

Here are some pictures.  I'm trying to get this written before I go to bed, so I hope to be brief.  Pictures say a thou...never mind.

Shiffy gets ready to go, Saturday morning while it's still dark.  We'd drive to the ferry terminal, and then take off the boards and park the Shif.

We wanted to save as much money as possible, and it was cheaper to rent a car on the other side than bring our own on the ferry, so we walked on with all our gear.

We stopped at a surf shop half way to Tofino, in a landlocked area.  We rented great, warm suits for a good price, and didn't have to drive past the surf spots to rent our gear in Tofino.  No wasted kilometers!

Carmella checks out the surf at Long Beach, part of Pacific Rim National Park.  It was the off-season, so parking was abundant, and we didn't buy a Park Day Use Pass.

We're ready!  One board is a rental from a Vancouver shop (you can rent surfboards in Vancouver, surprisingly) and the other is Hiroshi's, Michael's friend. 

 These suits were very warm out in the water.  It was a rare sunny winter day, so that helped also.  If I had to buy a wetsuit, I'd buy this one in a second.  I don't know how much it costs though, but it sure worked well.

I like the driftwood-laden beach.  Different from other surfing areas, and part of what makes surfing here unique.  Not that I've been to many other surf areas though.

Carmella and I lasted about an hour, then came in.  After getting out of the wetsuit, Carmella goes hiking on a rock island on the beach.  She's hoping to find...

What's she looking for?

A cell phone signal.  The beach is nice too, but Facebook is a necessity!

The sun started to go down as we were leaving, so I tried to capture it.  A rare winter sunset, it was very beautiful.

Another shot.  I had to keep the sun just out of the frame or else it gave my pictures trouble.

Part of our cost saving plan was to stay at the local hostel.  It's the off-season, so there were maybe ten people there.  Here, a jam session beaks out, and Carmella shares a phone showing lyrics with one of the fellow hostelers.  At 30ish, we were the average age there.

Carmella grabs the guitar and played a set including hits from Nirvana, Sarah Harmer, and Frente.  It was a great moment in time, everyone enjoying new company and old familiar music.

We even had time to Settle!  On the left is Alex, who we called Klaus.  He was German, and told us tales of his cupboard at home filled with Settlers versions and expansions.  Carmella was dominant, beating us all soundly.  Michael played his first game ever, and then dreamed about it all night.

On Sunday morning, we were on the water by 9am since we wanted one more session before we caught the ferry back to the mainland.  Here, Michael and Carmella head out.

Carmella in the water!  We surfed close by mostly, because both of us had to learn all over again.  It was great fun.

It was really enjoyable to be in the ocean playing around.  It's much more fun than just wading in, or getting in a dinghy.  I did enjoy my childhood dinghy voyages at Sauble Beach though.

Carmella is trying out the surfboard that Michael made, and that his kids painted.  You can buy a surfboard blank, shape it, cover it in fiberglass, and sand it smooth, all if you're feeling ambitious.  Michael was.

Mike rides in the last wave of the day.  He was the best surfer of the three, and didn't have trouble getting to his feet.  I struggled.  In Bali 5 years ago I thought I had the standing part figured out, but not anymore!

Carmella and Michael bring it in for the last time of the weekend.  Even after an hour in the water, the cold wasn't the hardest thing; tired arms were the issue of the day.

Classic Tofino surfing shot before we pack up.

Carmella snoozes away the 90 minute ferry ride back home.  It was quite the task to haul our boards on the ferry, but we didn't mind.

Our trip was a great success.  We had a few different highlights, and for me, they were

• Surfing, of course!  I stood up and controlled the board a few times, so that was satisfying.  I also enjoyed being near the trees and ocean, and away from the city.
• The hostel.  We made our own supper and shared the leftovers with the others.  It was fun to experience some unexpected community.  The jam session, the Settlers game, and the short conversations with the other travelers helped bring everyone together in a first-year university residence kind of way.
• Listening to funny CBC radio programs during the drive.  We liked one particular show that pretends to be a real news program, but is actually all made up.  Callers phone the show incredulous about the various guests and stories on air. 

We all had a great time, and plan to do another trip before Christmas.  It was a great weekend.  Michael said "This trip is tops as far as memories per dollars spent goes.  Las Vagas is great too, but it's so expensive and not quite as memorable."

A tribute to daylight at 6pm.

The days are getting shorter every day.  And next week, when we turn our clocks back, it'll be pitch black by 4pm.  This is the worst time of the year! The days are short, and the sunlight we would usually get is blocked by low hanging clouds, and dampened by ever-present drizzle. 

But!  A few weeks ago it was still light at 6pm.  I found myself in Stanley Park, and decided to hunt down this:

This is in Stanley Park, and is an abandoned polar bear tank.  They used to have a zoo there, and these polar bears were on display in the middle of the rain forest.  For whatever reason, nobody has done anything with the site since the bear left 20 years ago.  Now, runners run by it every day, there's a par-3 golf course a few yards away, and teenagers probably come here and smoke weed on Friday nights.

I was on a mission to find this, because I heard it existed, but didn't quite believe that Stanley Park ever had polar bears.  And that their display habitat would still be there.

After completing my mission, I went to the beach to catch the 6pm sun I mentioned above.  It was quite nice.  It was a weekday, so the beach was quite empty.  It was also a bit chilly, so there weren't many people out and about.

Surprisingly though, there were two different wedding parties taking advantage of the ocean and quickly disappearing sun.  There's a group tending to a bride in the foreground, and another group, tending to their bride, in the background.  On a weekday even!

Next week, when it's 4pm and dark outside, I'll look at the sunset picture and tell myself that the days will soon start getting longer.  And that's very positive!

The best pumpkin carving ever!

Last night, Carmella went over to Cindy's house, and had a pumpkin carving party.  There were about ten people there, but I wasn't in the mood for being social, so I stayed  home.

Carmella made the best pumpkin ever.  Here it is, guess what it is!

Here it is in the light.  Unfortunately you can't see the dots on the bottom in the night picture.  Any guesses yet?

It's me!  Carmella carved my likeness into the large gourd.  The tell-tale features are my ever present stubble (I dislike shaving), my glasses, my large nose, and a piece of curly hair that often drops onto my forehead.

Best wife ever!  Carmella and her friends decided it wasn't creepy because we're married.  But it would definitely be unfortunate if she carved that after admiring me from afar, or especially a first or second date. 

I better make sure not to let this pumpkin grow soggy and saggy, and I must also ensure that it doesn't get smashed on the road!

The costs and benefits of car ownership.

Happy Thursday evening, fair reader.

Two days ago, Shiffy passed a milestone that is impressive in one way, and disappointing in another.

It's fun because it's a unique number, but disappointing because it signifies Shiffy's age.  I've had her for about three full years now.  When Grandma gave me her car, it had about 50 000km on it.  After driving across Canada, it had about 55 000.

Now, it has 100 000km.  As we drove up a hill and waited at the traffic light on its crest, Carmella and I did a few simple calculations about car ownership.

We've had the car for three years, and put about 50 000km on it during that time.  That's just over 16 000km per year.

At approximately $100/month insurance, we've paid $3600 over our ownership.

Shiffy gets very roughly 10km to 1L of fuel.  That means we've bought 5000L of gas for her.  At about $1.25/L, that works out to $6250 in fuel costs.

We've had four $500 repairs: a muffler job; a transmission fluid change and brake rotor replacement; new tires this spring; and an O2 sensor replacement and EGR valve clean.  That's about $2000 in maintenance.  I'm not counting oil changes and the small things I do myself.

So, our costs are $3600 + $6250 + $2000.  That's just under $12 000 we've spent on our car in three years, or about $4000 per year.

That seems like a lot, but is it really?

A Vancouver bus pass costs about $80 for a monthly 1-zone fare.  A 2-zone pass costs about $110.  For easy calculation, we'll pay $100/month for transit.

Carmella and I would both need a bus pass, so we'd be paying $2400/year for transit.  Over three years, that cost would be $7200.  Which is still quite expensive.

So, car ownership has cost us $4000 per year.  Transit passes would cost us $2400 per year.  If we only took transit, we'd save $1600 per year, or $133 per month.

That's not too bad actually.  For an extra $133/month, the both of us get freedom to travel where and when we want, the ability to tote large items, and the ability to take trips.  It's worth it, I think.

The great thing here is that Grandma gave us this car, so we didn't have to spend any money on purchasing the vehicle, unlike most people around us.  So we've very thankful and fortunate for that!  Our car ownership costs would be much higher if we had to pay even $1000 for the vehicle.

Thanks Grandma! Here are some of Shiffy's greatest hits.

 

 This isn't Shiffy, but rather Carmella's car.  The BC AirCare emissions control program doesn't extend to rural communities, so Carmella was safe driving this vehicle in Whistler.  In Vancouver though, it would require thousands of dollars worth of work to make it road-legal.  Carmella traded it to the Scrap-It program, which encourages owners to take high-polluting vehicles off the road.  Carmella traded her car for a 9-month bus pass.

This '92 Mazda Protoge was belching black smoke from the back, and dripping constant oil from the front.  Here, the scrap yard worker paints "S-Hot" on the side.  The S indicates it comes from the Scrap It program, and Hot shows that it was driven in, and so the engine and components are still warm.  I guess the vehicle's temperature is important when one goes about crushing it into a cube.

Here I am three years ago, exchanging Grandma's Ontario plates for my newly acquired BC ones.  Exciting!  I seem to remember I had to leave my wallet as collateral at the insurance place in order to borrow their screwdriver. 

Here are all my worldly possessions, not counting bicycles and the many boxes in Mom and Dad's Ontario basement.  In this picture, I'm moving houses in Whistler, again.  I lived there for four years, and lived in 8 places.  I feel so stable having had the same Vancouver address for about 20 months in a row!

This is at a rest stop in Squamish, on our way to Pemberton for our wedding.  I have fond memories of this stop.  It was around here that Carmella and my phones began beeping with messages full of exclamations from the family as they arrived at our wedding venue for the weekend, before we did.

Also, I'm proud that Carmella and I drove the three hours up to Pemberton with a trailer.  We brought our sound system up, we brought our luggage, we brought music stands and instruments, the wedding flowers, everything.  And Grandpa's trailer hitch made it all possible!  That wedding weekend, we really tested the 4-cylinder, 2.2L, 115hp engine.  It's not meant to tow things, but we were able to finesse it through the mountains.

Here is Shiffy with Cindy's bug, at a great camping spot off a logging access road near Harrison Hot Springs, about two hours from Vancouver.  It was a great spot, and good times were had.  An ocean inlet wasn't far away, there was moss everywhere, and the trees were big.  We played Settlers in the big six man tent!

Thanks to Shiffy, all these things were able to happen.  Without Shiffy, we'd be stuck on the bus.  And without Grandma, we wouldn't have Shiffy.

Thanks again Grandma!

Shiffy's alternator, and other excitement

Last week, Carmella and I took Shiffy (our green car) to Richmond, to go to the public pool there that has a wave pool, water slides and a number of hot tubs.  We were going to meet three friends there for Friday night good times.

When we arrived at the pool, it was closed for yearly maintenance!  What a disappointment.  We decided to head back to Vancouver and go to a community centre that we liked just as well.

On the way there, the Alternator light went on in the car.  It looks like a battery, but it really means the alternator isn't behaving as it should.  We were lucky Wes was there, as he had some insight into what should be done.

We got Shiffy home, and the next day I went to Wes' garage (he rents a garage in an apartment complex, where's he's rebuilding his 50s Ford truck) and he took voltage readings to confirm that the alternator was misbehaving.  It was.

When you start your car, the battery does the work.  After it's started, the alternator takes over, providing power for your car's electrical system.  Radio, windshield wipers, fans and headlights are powered by the alternator.  If the alternator goes, you car will shut down wherever it is on the road.

So, I then went to Lordco auto parts to get a new alternator.  I didn't make it though.  It was raining really hard, and my windshield was foggy.  My radio started to die, and my wipers were sluggish.  I turned off my fan to save power, and opened my windows to keep my windshield clear.

Soon though, the wipers were barely making it across the glass, and I knew the car could die soon.  So, I decided to head for home.  After about fifteen tense minutes, I got the car home, and took public transit to the parts store instead.

I bought a new alternator, which wasn't as expensive as it should have been, because Wes has an auto parts account and let me use it.  He saved me $120!

YouTube is great, because there are many instructional videos dedicated to car repairs.  I was happy to find there was one that would be useful, below.  See that white, round ventilated part in the centre?  That's the alternator.

I took the alternator home on the bus (they're heavy, but only the size of a large baseball) along with some tools I'd need.  Armed with the YouTube version of the procedure on my tablet, my tool box, and head lamp, I got to work.  We have street parking in front of the house, so I did it as cars drove by about five feet way.  But I was proud to be a guy fixing his car.  So manly.  So independent!

I didn't get very far though, because I had trouble de-tensioning the serpentine belt that's connected to the alternator.  I called Wes, and he came over to show me how to do it.  After that, we were off!  We got it installed, and when I turned over the engine, it started with no problems.

I closed the hood, and went out for a test drive.  I made it about two blocks before everything shut down again, but this time very quickly.  I had to try and make it home again!

This time, the car died just as I was pulling into our spot in front of the house.  What was wrong?  I thought we had fixed it.

I was all set to bring the alternator back and exchange it for a new one.  Since the car is a 1998, the available alternators are re-manufactured, not brand new.  So, they sometimes don't work as they should.

As I was taking the alternator out of the vehicle, I noticed one of the electircal connections was severed.  So, maybe I didn't need a new alternator after all.  It probably broke when I shut the hood, since I hadn't tucked the wires down very well.  They were sticking up, and would have been compressed when the hood locked into place, breaking a connector.

I took the bus to Canadian Tire and got the small $2 part I needed, and then installed it.  With a turn of the key and a confident, throaty roar, Shiffy was back in action!

It took me the whole weekend, but I am proud that I fixed my alternator.  It would have cost much more to bring it somewhere and have them do it, and I was able to learn about our vehicle more.

I now know how to fix the EGR valve, which is a yearly problem. (I take it out, remove the carbon chunks from it, degrease it, and re-install) and now also the alternator.  Every time Shiffy breaks down, I get very stressed, but then through the repair process, I learn more about the vehicle and how to fix it.  It's great not being dependent on mechanics!  I guess Wes is a mechanic, and I was dependent on him. But it's different because he's not out for a profit.

So, Shiffy is back on the road, confidently transporting us around town.  I like being involved in keeping the car on the road, and it gives me confidence for the next repair.  My tool collection is growing (I mostly have sockets, wrenches, and many many bike tools) and so is my capability behind the raised hood.

First Day of School

As I ran to work today, I noticed what looked like a Civil War battle taking shape.  Lots of people in large different coloured groups on a large field.

Turns out it was just the frosh tour leaders getting ready for the first day.  School is back in session, and things are busy on campus again. 

Students were running around with facepaint and signs and their programs written on their legs.  They were so excited to get back at it!

It reminded me of being in my early 20s a little bit, although I was never one to become really engaged in school spirit activities like these people were.

While most of campus was happy and excited today, I'm a bit disappointed because I've been holding out at my job for more responsibility and more interesting projects, but they're not really happening.  It's not my workplace's responsibility to find me engaging work, but mine.  So I'll start actively looking, instead of recreationally.

I signed up for a Continuing Studies course today, which I get to take for free as part of my benefits.  It deals with computer HTML coding and language.  I've been noticing that a lot of interesting job postings ask for experience with various graphic design programs and web design experience, so I'm going to go towards getting that.  This course is a foundation for more in-depth ones, so I'll see how I handle the material.

The course is three three-hour sessions, and costs the general public about $450.  But all I have to do is click around, enter a course code, and register for free.  It's a great benefit, and I'm happy that I'm making use of it. 

I get about $1600 dollars per year in course fees paid for, and by the end of September, I'll have used almost all of it.  On October 5th, it resets itself and my burlap bag full of tuition credits get refilled, and I'll take more courses.  The tuition credit benefit is likely underused at the university, so I'm happy that I've almost maxed it out.  I'm taking steps at improving my skills and job outlook, which is positive.

That's it for now.  Happy September everyone.

Edmonton?

Carmella and I are no longer satisfied in Vancouver.  The rents are high, the job market is very tough, and it rains for most of the year.  It's time to leave!

We're applying for jobs in small BC towns, as we both like the idea of living in a close community with mountains not too far away. 

We've heard that Edmonton has a very strong job market.  This is likely because most people go and work with oil, so it leaves a lot of other positions open.  The University of Alberta is in Edmonton, and they have a very healthy amount of job vacancies posted.

Edmonton is not a small town, and isn't extremely close to any mountains.  Instead of rain all winter, they have -30C all winter, and equally grey skies.  But rents are cheaper there, people are friendly, and the job market is vibrant.  We think we might be able to live and work there for a few years, save up some money, get more job experience, and then see where we are after that.

Carmella and I are both educated, capable individuals who want more from our work than we're currently getting.  It's time to look outside of Rain City!

It's exciting to think about a new adventure together, so we'll see where life takes us.