Christmas!

Carmella and I shared a wonderful Christmas this year, and a lot of it had to do with the generosity and love we felt from our families.

Everyone back in Ontario got presents together before Mom and Dad left for Australia in November, and we received a hockey bag full of the wrapped gifts before December even started!

Once December 15th rolled around, we opened the hockey bag and put the presents under the tree.  Here's Carmella with our natural tree, with Nisse!

And look at all the gifts we received!  We felt so happy to have them all, as we felt loved and appreciated (I know, I know, Carol said the same thing about her presents she was brought in Australia!) even though we're in a different province.

There were so many things we received that we can't list them all, but you can see in the picture everything that fit into the hockey bag!

In the picture you'll be able to make out a tent from Mom (wooo!  Carmella was really excited, as she's never had a tent before and always had to borrow them), a shirt from Kir to me, a Finnish shirt from Mom to Carmella, a sunflower calendar, a collection of exquisite teas from Minke to Carmella, a Risk Management world map (rating both security and political risk across the world from Erik), a number of gift cards, two beautiful decorative balls from Kirsten and Peter, loads of druppies and peppermints, bookmarks, an Olympic book from Mom, and Christmas ornaments.

Carmella and I were both very happy to receive a gift from Mom and Dad that was a donation to Haiti in our names, represented by the postcard in the middle of couch.

Not pictured is the wonderful pizza cutter that Carolyn sent from Australia with Mom and Dad. It got confiscated at the airport.  Apparently it was a really good one, and has no doubt been re-gifted by the airport staff, and is in the hands of a (hopefully) grateful punter who has been tired of ripping their pizza apart more than we were.  I bet those airport security check staff don't ever buy things they want, they just confiscate the items they're looking for then take them home!

Thanks everyone for being so thoughtful and generous!  Carmella mentioned during our present opening that she's enjoying the thought of having another family who cares for her, and she loved getting presents from everyone even though we're not married yet!

Today was Christmas, and Carmella made cookies in the morning, and then in the afternoon we went to Maple Ridge and had a wonderful meal with Carmella's mom and brother.  As always, we were treated to a great turkey, lots of mashed potatoes, Finnish casseroles, lox, squash, and many other things!

We then had a rousing game of Settlers that everyone enjoyed (especially me, as I was victorious, winning 10-9-7-7) because we all built a lot of cities and the Longest Road card was traded around a lot.  Everyone had good numbers and the opportunity to build, and we were all competitive in the game.

It was a great Christmas, and Carmella and I are so thankful to our families for their generosity and love!

Merry Christmas everyone, and thanks again for all the wonderful gifts!

Awkward Bus Ride!

So I'm going home on the bus, and there was a girl w blonde hair sitting alone. There were three of us on the bus.

The other passenger, a random guy sitting beside me at the back of the bus, suddenly stood up, went over to her, and started an awkward conversation.

"Hi! Are you a UBC student?"
"No, I'm in my last year of highschool..."

I thought the guy was working for a survey company or something, polling UBC students about transit or Christmas spending. I looked for a clipboard that he might be using to record responses, but didn't see one.

They continued on for about three minutes, talking about stuff like they were on a first date. He chatted about the sports teams he played for, and said he had "fond memories" of that and that high school when he attended there.

Then, expectedly, the girl suddenly stood up, said it was her stop, and got off the bus.

I guess I have to give the guy marks for having the courage to go up and talk to her, but I think he needs to work on his delivery! I was grimacing to myself at the awkwardness of the situation he created, and I bet the girl didn't find it any more comfortable.

She handled it politely, so that was good.

I just got off the bus and the situation is over. I bet the girl is now on a different bus, and the guy is wondering how another one got away.

In a bar, drinking alone.

I'm not there anymore, but I was earlier tonight.  And it's not as bad as it sounds.

For a few years, I've had this romantic idea of sitting in a dimly lit bar drinking neat scotch, watching blue smoke float its way past the dying lights.  I've imagined the kind of establishment that gets momentarily bathed in light when someone walks in the heavy door, but is quickly returned to its pupil-dilating sepia ambiance once the door closes again.

I've wondered what one must be thinking when they find themselves in this situation, and I'm certain the thoughts aren't the most positive. Loneliness, self loathing, boredom, and emotional pain are topics that I'm sure find purchase at a time like that.

In a weird way I've wanted to find myself in this situation, just so I could feel the deep, rich emotions that would go along with it.  They'd be tough feelings to deal with, but at the very least I'd find yourself experiencing the most that life has to offer.

Today in the bar was not one of those times, as it was only depressing in that it was raining and already dark at only 5pm.

Carmella was staying over in Whistler teaching a weekend snowboard camp, and I was walking home from the bookstore.  We hosted a successful engagement party last night, so I wasn't feeling like being social for two nights in a row.  I felt like watching the hockey game, so I ducked into a White Spot family restaurant that has a lounge section.  Being alone, I was guided to the corner of the bar where two others were already sitting.

I had a beer and a burger, and watched a period and a half of hockey.  During the first intermission, I took Douglas Coupland's Player One out of my bag and began to re-read the first chapter.

I was alone in the bar, but wasn't depressed.  I was somewhat bored, but not bored enough to dig up some social times for myself, and not desperate enough to head back to my house, not wanting to run into my roommate who I seem to always be at loggerheads with.

It was fun for about half my burger.  I was enjoying my alone time as I always do, but realized I enjoy it more if I'm reading, writing or running.  It's not that fun to sit in a bar alone, even if you're not depressed.

I listened in on the conversation the two other alone people were having.  One was a somewhat overweight 32 year old male, wearing a plain blue t-shirt.  The other was a 35ish female, wearing a sweatshirt that reminded me of Dad's Overland Express shirt; something that used to be stylish but because of its utility, never got thrown out or retired even ten years after its purchase.

The guy was quite intelligent yet had some social challenges, speaking more slowly than I was used to.  He was talking to the girl, who predictably brought her fiance into the conversation, saying that if he were here instead of Taiwan, he would eat her leftover yam fries.

I was hoping the guy would ask why he was in Taiwan, and he did.  Apparently he's a PhD geneticist creating strains of white rice from native brown rice.

I was also hoping the guy would ask if she goes to visit him much, and he did.  She just returned from a 5-week visit over there, but that was as long as she could afford to stay.

I was hoping that the guy would ask if there were plans for him to move back, and he did.  There were no concrete plans, but she was hoping soon.

I wondered what kind of relationship would require both parties to be so far away from each other, even through engagement.  I thought maybe they had careers that required them to be apart.  It fit for his case, but not for hers.  Staying behind for a career that allowed for five weeks off in October and November would fit, but then I couldn't quite think of what kind of career would have such a plastic work schedule.

My second thought is that they were believers who didn't feel comfortable making a living commitment before they got married.  I was soon proven correct, in at least half of my guess.  She mentioned they met at church, but didn't mention the reason they are living apart.

The Canucks started losing and I was no longer engaged in my eavesdropping, so I finished my beer, paid my bill, and walked back out into the rain.  I was happy to leave, because it meant I didn't have to endure the awkward stabs at conversation that my server/bartender thought were necessary.  It also allowed me to leave the conversation the two others were having, which had turned into a discussion about Chinese writing and language.  I wanted to jump in and correct both of them on numerous occasions, but resisted.

My night alone in the bar wasn't the emotional garlic press I've been waiting to have, probably because the bar was full rather than empty, well-lit instead of dark, and non-smoking instead of heavily socked-in.  I also wasn't soul-searching, but was instead quite content.

It was still an interesting experience, but didn't quite sate my desire for the dark, empty, smoky bar environment and the accompanying mental unrest.  Maybe I'll never have to experience that though, and I'll wager that will be a good thing.

DecapiCone

I've come across some interesting things while working in the Pharmaceutical Sciences faculty. Here's what holds our pens.

 

What I do at work.

Here's an example of what I do in my afternoon job.  I've begun to see it like a challenge, collecting arrears payments from people.  Here's an email I wrote yesterday, that ended well for us as the client will be bringing in her cheques tomorrow.

Hi X,

I looked into you file, and I have some unfortunate news, but maybe some you were expecting about your EPP payments.

You received your pass on January 1^st, 2010.  Your payments were good until May, 2010, when we only were able to deduct $35.25.  You gave us cheques for May’s balance of $35.25, and also $70.50 for June’s payments.  Unfortunately, we didn’t get cheques for the remainder of the year.  July, August, Sept, Oct and Nov payments are missing.

Your arrears account is now sitting at $352, as we paid for you pass during that time.  If you’d like to continue in the program for 2011, we’d need a years worth of post-dated cheques that we’d cash one month at a time. 

We’d also need to recoup the missing payments, and we could arrange a payment plan with you if you’d like.  An example of one such plan would be paying an extra amount on each of your 2011 cheques (and 1 Dec 2010 cheque) that would slowly but surely chip away at your amount owing.

Tomorrow, December 1^st is the last day that I can terminate EPP members for the start of January 2011, meaning that your pass would be good until Dec 31^st, but not for Jan 1^st, 2011.  If you choose to terminate, we’d only have to work together on your arrears payments and not the 2011 pass payments.  Please let me know by tomorrow if you want to be in the program for 2011 or not, and how you’d like to proceed.

So, this is what I do.  I like it because I get to interact with people from all over campus, and there's a challenging aspect to the work.  Not all I do is about collecting money, but it's a major part.  I enjoyed this interchange because it ended well (if she does actually come and bring in her cheques!)

  

Rock Show

I'm at a small pub in East Van, waiting for a friend's band to play. They're not on yet, and all I want to do is read my book.

Oh dear. I have a bunch of friends here so the Social Potential is high. However, I'd rather know how the siege in my pirate book is going to shape up!

I guess it's a good sign that my book is engaging, but I must learn to separate my reading life from my social life!

A venue is in the works.

Life has been busy since my last post, as there are lots of details about our wedding to figure out.  We've got the main pieces mostly sorted, which include a venue.  Until things are 100% firm I won't give details, but here are a few teaser pictures.

It's rural setting, and we had an adventurous time getting there and away.

On the way there, we hit a deer!  I was driving, and I saw a shape moving to my right.  It bounded out in front of the car, and I had to quickly stop.  I didn't stop fast enough though, and delivered a hard blow to the poor fawn.  I did eventually stop, and the fawn rolled out from under the bumper, looked at us through the window, and then bounced away, apparently no worse for wear.  We were happy the deer didn't die, and happy that the car appeared unscathed.

When we were leaving, the deer still fresh in our minds, a huge cow wandered across the road.  Not a dairy cow, but a huge meat cow that probably weighed more than my car.  I quickly stomped on the brakes, and the was able to miss this moving bovine wall.  He continued to amble across the road.


Carmella and I were discussing wedding food as we made our way to the possible venue, and thought it would have been cheap and easy to simply serve fresh venison.  The problem was that our venison got up and ran away.


On our way back from the venue, reflecting on that missed opportunity, we were almost provided with another quality meat option.  Again, we weren't able to take advantage of another free meal, as my instincts to stop were greater than my desire to butcher, transport, and store a few tonnes of sirloin.  Also, the cost of a new vehicle would put a larger than expected surcharge onto the initial cost of the meat.

We've got our venue mostly sorted out, and have had a few meal ideas slip away.  We'll have to firm up the menu later, but until then, I think the best thing to do is attach a trailer to the car (which already has a trailer hitch, thanks to Grandpa's driveway paving business) and drive on dark roads a lot.  With the trailer, transporting fresh, quality meat will no longer be a problem!

We're Engaged!

Yesterday was an exciting day because Carmella and I got engaged!  Here are some quick pictures to share while things are still fresh.

We made a nice picnic, and brought it to a nice natural beach.  We found a log, and set out our things.  We had root beer, a thermos of hot chocolate, and some great sandwiches.  We made them brimming with roasted chicken and other toppings.

After I began to eat, I told Carmella I wanted to transfer some of my ingredients to a spare bun I happened to have with me.  Since my hands were full, could she tear open the bun for me?

She began to open up the bun, and was confused why I had an extra bun with me.  Then she noticed that the bun had a big hole in it, and wondered why I'd bought a faulty bun.

Then, she said "There's something in here..." and then pulled out the ring in its jewelery box.  

Here, Carmella re-enacts the moment:

The ring is small, and fits very well on Carmella's small finger.  The diamond is a Canadian one, which was important to us.

We had been pretty open with each other about our plans, but Carmella didn't know when I would ask her, and didn't know when I had bought the ring. Apparently she'd been expecting the question at almost every fun date we've been on for the last eight months! The walk on the Sea Wall, the dinner at Modern Burger, the time we jogged around the block...all were cause for Carmella to wonder if she'd be given a new piece of jewelery. But no! I kept her guessing, and eventually hid it in a bun!

It was a fun afternoon, and we stayed at the beach for a few hours.  Since then, there have been lots of phone calls to make, stories to tell, plans to think about, and congratulations to accept.

I have some more material to post, but I'll do that in the next few days.

And we don't know when or where it will be yet, and we're not even sure what the ceremony will be like.

Thanks for the kind wishes everyone!

The UBC Apple Festival

Today was the UBC Apple Festival, held at the botanical gardens on campus. Carmella has been to this event before, but it was my first time.  It's a family event, and there is an area for children with apple-themed games and face painting, apple presentations and displays, apple tasting, and other apple events.  There's also a place to buy apples and apple products, like pies, juice, and cider.  You can also buy an apple tree.

Even though there are other events, the main draw is the opportunity to purchase apples that you can't find at the grocery store.  These are heritage apples, new apples, rare apples, and apples with names you've never heard of. 

The Apple Festival is an annual event, held over two days.  We tried to attend it yesterday, but got there just as they were closing, and we weren't allowed in.  So, we went back today, early enough to get in.  Carmella knew they'd run out of apples at the end of the day, so we made sure to get there early.

Here's the sign, pointing the way to the apple trees.  You can't really see it, but there's a list of the type of apple trees you can buy.  Most of them are sold out.

Here's a list of the apple varieties you can buy.  There are probably more than seventy there.  If you look closely, you can see names like Kent, Lord Lambour, Marigold Splendour, Jonathan, Sundance, Wolf River, and Carmella's favourite, Ambrosia.  If you look even closer, you'll see there's a Sold Out sign on every variety except one or two.

This scene greeted us as we entered the sales area.  Only a few types of apples left to buy! 

The market area was a sad site.  Everything sold out on Saturday except a few varieties, and the selling area was empty.  I heard people talking about how busy Saturday was at the Festival, because it was sunny and a weekend.  At this end of the country, those two things don't usually happen at the same time in the fall.  All those Saturday people bought up all the apples, leaving a scant few for the Sunday Stragglers.

 I think I heard crickets chirping, and saw a prairie ball roll by. 

Carmella and I rushed to the sales place to get some apples, as we knew they wouldn't last long.  Carmella bought a bag of the green ones, called Bramley's Seedling and a bag of red SPA 493.  The SPA 493 is a new strain of apple that doesn't have real name yet, just this identification code.  It sounds genetically modified, but I'm pretty sure it's natural and good.  They wouldn't sell us genetically modified apples at an earthy apple festival, would they?  

After she bought them, we checked out the rest of the festival.  While the market area is the most popular section, it's not the only part of the Apple Festival.

Here, a friendly volunteer talks apple with an interested onlooker.  On the tables are something like 200 different types of apples.  There was a placard by each with a small blurb about each one, including its various characteristics: taste, size, crispness, harvest time, and how long they'll last in your cupboard.

Before today, I thought there were maybe five different apple types; Granny Smith, Delicious, Empire, McIntosh, and Crab.  Now, I know that list is missing about 195 names.

The UBC Botanical Garden is a big place, and we had to walk through it to get to the next section of the festival.  They had big apples hanging in the trees to mark the way.  Carmella is happy to find a sign representing the bag of green apples she bought earlier.

We noted that the Botanical Gardens usually cost $12 to enter, so we decided to check out the grounds, since we only paid $2.  In the Asian Garden, Carmella found a bamboo plant.  She nuzzles it like a panda.

She then took this picture, which makes it look like a much bigger tree than it really was!

Here's a tree that was actually really big.  You could crawl into it, as Carmella demonstrates.

She's stuck!

Free at last!

After the Festival, we went over to Carmella's and made this pie.  Carmella did all the hard work, like sorting out the crust, filling it, making the apples ready to put inside, and getting the amounts of sugar and cinnamon right.  I did the grunt work of peeling and cutting the apples.

The pie was excellent!  My favourite part, other than its great taste, was the little apple Carmella carved into the top of the crust.

The Apple Festival was a great event.  Next year, I'm going to aim to get there early on Saturday, and I'm going to try and buy a bag of Jonathan apples.  I read they're widely used in breeding programs because of their great taste.

And those SPA 493s?  They are crisp and sweet, and a great eating apple.  I would recommend them!

Douglas Coupland's Massey Lecture

Today, Carmella and I went to the Chan Centre at UBC, for the first stop on the Massey Lecture cross-Canada tour.  Douglas Coupland was reading.

I bought our tickets a few weeks ago, and picked them up today.  I was expecting to have a discussion with the lady at the ticket booth about Carmella's student-priced ticket, as I didn't have her ID with me.  Turns out she didn't even notice, or probably didn't care.  I've come to realize students get a lot of perks, and if one was surly enough to fib student-dom, many discounts could be had.

Carmella was working in Whistler today, and left work there right away to make it back to Vancouver in time for the show.  She got to my house at about 7pm, and we would travel the short distance to UBC for the 8pm show.  I had a homemade pizza almost made, but not quite because I realized I should cook the sausage before putting it on the pizza.

We brought the finished pizza along in the car, and ate on the way there.  We also brought two glasses and a jug of apple juice, so I made sure to drive in a manner that wouldn't cause a massive apple juice clean-up.

We got there in good time, at about 7:45.  The tickets were General Admission, so we just found our own seats.  There were two at the very front, so we took those as I wanted to be right in on the action!  Here's Rick Cluff from Vancouver's CBC morning show, introducing the evening.  It's an interesting experience seeing someone talk, when you're used to only hearing them.  He was older than I imagined.

Douglas Coupland appeared on stage, and began to speak.  It was great.  He decided to write fiction instead of the traditional non-fiction lecture, and read us the first of a five-part novel that deals with what it means to be human.

His reading was punctuated by several "minefields", a word he used to explain the kind of sentence he trips on for no reason; the kind of sentence that requires extra care to navigate.  He asked us who put the comma on the page, when obviously it needed a period.  Then he remembered who wrote what he was reading.  It was funny, and provided a short mental break from the text.  I wonder if he did it on purpose, to keep the crowd engaged.

After his reading, he sat down with CBC's Paul Kennedy, who hosts the radio show called Ideas.  There were a few questions from the audience, and some from Paul Kennedy.  Again, it was interesting to watch someone speak after only hearing his voice in my car.  Like Rick Cluff, Paul Kennedy was a surprise; he had more years and less height than I expected.

Vancouver's literati were in attendance, and people wore business suits and tried to look fancy.  I didn't have time to look around really, but the average age was older than Carmella and I although there were a few teenagers in the seats.

It was a different crowd from the one Kirsten and I were a part of in Victoria, around 2003 when we heard him read from Hey Nostradamus!, my favourite Coupland book.  That crowd was full of art students, hippies, and colourful characters who enjoy his style of writing.

The audience questions at the 2003 reading were very light, and delt with his past books, the characters in his books, future plans, and other random, fun topics.  The questions from the crowd tonight were a bit more wordy and the average syllable count was likely higher than in 2003.  It made me wonder if people put their syllables in their back pockets and take them out when necessary, perhaps when the CBC is recording them for a nationally broadcast show.

There was a good balance though, and not everyone was out to prove themselves a literary pundit.  One girl asked a great question, but prefaced it by saying she recently earned her PhD by writing a thesis on Douglas Coupland.  She was star-struck, and the crowd enjoyed it.  Her question was good, and I figure it won't end up on the editing room floor when the talk gets aired in November.  It was about when she teaches his material, the students feel he's not analogous to the rest of the CanLit authors.

It was a great show, and ended with both Carmella and I wishing we wrote more.  We agreed it was an inspiring event, as it made us want to write in our spare time.  I hope I can do that!

There is a book with the complete set of talks already published, and the CBC will be broadcasting the shows near the beginning of November. Make sure to listen in!  It's very entertaining and enjoyable.

Thanksgiving

For the past few years, Thanksgiving has taken on a different feel for me. When I was in Whistler, I wouldn't often celebrate Thanksgiving, since I usually had to work. Thanksgiving was a holiday in which to earn overtime pay.

In Whistler, Thanksgiving is also identified by the annual Turkey Sale, an over-hyped and under-delivering ski and snowboard equipment sell-off. WhistlerBlackcomb enjoys advertising and promoting it as an event not to be missed. It's a good time to buy ski and snowboard gear, but in my opinion it's nothing spectacular. You can find similar deals elsewhere at different times.

This year, Carmella and I journeyed to Maple Ridge to her mom and brother's place on Sunday. Carmella's mom really looks forward to Thanksgiving, and makes a great meal for us. She made a turkey, yams, some Finnish casseroles, gravy, cranberry sauce, and potatoes. It was excellent! Because most of Carmella's extended family is in Ontario, our meal was small with only four of us there. The meal could have fed ten though, for sure!

Today, Carmella and I attended a gathering of friends without families, and it was fun.  There was excellent food and good conversation. Cindy, whose house it was at, is really social and has tonnes of friends. There were lots of people there, and I only new three of them. It was at the end of the weekend, and I was feeling a bit socially maxed out. I was happy when Carmella wanted to leave earlier than the others, because I was ready to go too.

Before we went to that dinner though, we took a walk along the sea wall around Stanley Park. It was raining, but we went anyway. Here are two pictures from today.

Here, Carmella points to the spot where either an otter or a seal used to be, seconds before.  We saw him swimming, and I got out my camera.  When I looked for him through my viewfinder though, he was gone!  He'd taken a dive, and we didn't see him again.  Oh well, very few people get to see otters or seals on Thanksgiving.

After the otter, I turned the camera around and took a picture of the both of us in the rain.

Observe my yellow umbrella.  I'm trying to find a way to start a coloured-umbrella campaign in Vancouver.  I'm of the opinion that it's dark and grey in Vancouver for the whole winter, so plain black umbrellas should be banned.  It should be a Vancouver mandate to only allow coloured umbrellas within city limits.

This initiative will bring colour to the streets, and cheer up the perpetually sombre citizens.  I need a catchy name though.


Colours Up!

Colour-plui Vancouver!

Parapluie arc-en-ciel (the rainbow umbrella)

I think I just thought of a name for my blog.  La Parapluie Jaune.  The Yellow Umbrella.  I think it fits, because  I have a yellow umbrella and I'll likely be using it often.  Plus, jaune brings a fun cross-language homophone into action, since it sounds a bit like my name.

Or, maybe I'll just use the English words.  I don't know, maybe I'll try both and see which seems to fit better.

Or maybe I'll just call it the aluminum tree, like the background picture.

A single picture.

Here's a picture to look at. I've been trying to spend my time online more productively, so I've been blogging more, and looking at funny pictures and watching videos less.

Here's a picture I took in Whistler, in the summer after a ride. Whistler had a really cold spring, so the snow didn't melt. Then summer came along, and all the snow melted too fast for the lake to handle.

Usually I could ride right out onto the dock, but on this day I had to pedal through some water first.

My dirty laundry is out to dry.

I'm struggling in my new living situation, and I wonder if writing about it will help me think it through.

I'm living in a three bedroom suite, on the top floor of a house.  In addition to me, there is a 30-something woman living here, and a 20-something grad student.

The girl has been living here for five years, and she takes care of the bills.  She's not the owner of the house though, as we all pay rent to the landlady who lives next door.

Joe is the grad student.  He's originally from Calgary, and is very friendly.  He's in microbiology.

The girl is very passionate about turning the lights off in the house, which is an environmentally sound and economically smart hobby to have.  I've had her scold me a few times for leaving the lights on in rooms I wasn't currently in, which I wasn't so happy about. She has done the same to Joe.

Today, we both received the following text:

"I have to say that I'm not used to people being home all the time with gf's included.  Used to be a much quieter place.  Not so much anymore."

and

"Tonight if you don't mind."

Joe's girlfriend was here for five days or so at the beginning of the month.  Carmella has been over for dinner three or four times now.  We're all quiet types; Joe played Ticket to Ride with us last night.  We make dinner, play games, and have conversations.  There is never music involved, never yelling, never any heated disagreements.  Nobody throws plates against the walls. Carmella has also enjoyed the house for studying.

When I was speaking to the girl about moving in, she said she'd be happy to have Carmella over to visit, and seemed to promote a healthy, happy living environment.  I do not feel that way anymore.  I found myself leaving the house today and not wanting to return.  Carmella isn't as interested in coming over anymore.

I'm wondering if I should start looking for a new place, and have a tough discussion with the girl about what her expectations are for her roomates.  Are we supposed to avoid the house because she doesn't like it when people are home?  Or is she just crabby because she's got an exam coming up or something?

It's fairly frustrating.  At least I didn't sign a lease.

Carmella's Dress

Back in July, Carmella and I visited Ontario for Kir's wedding.  While we were there, Carmella and I visited the local shops.  I returned home with a few t-shirts and Carmella came back with an empty coffee cup.  She had considered buying a new dress she saw, but decided against it because it was just too expensive.

Mom and Carol then conspired to purchase this dress for Carmella!  While we were back in BC, they found the dress and bought it.  I was in on the action, receiving pictures from Carol's phone and confirming the dress was the correct one, and helping them decide on a size.

Mom had originally thought the dress would be a Christmas present for Carmella, but since it was a summer dress, and it was nice and summery outside, she decided to send it along early.

Carmella was so surprised!  The package arrived at my work, and I pretended I didn't know what it was.  I opened it, and it said "For Carmella.  Not for you, Jonnie!"

Carmella came to the hotel, and opened the package.  Out flopped the dress that she figured she would never see again!

When she tried it on, the size was as good as it could have been, but she'd need to take in the seems at the top.  Carmella found a seamstress, and she did a great job.

We had one last sunny day a few weeks ago, so Carmella and I walked down to the beach to celebrate a successful move to Vancouver, and a new job for me.  Carmella wore her new dress.  Here are some pictures of the final product!

Let's see if I can blog more!

Alright, I'm going to try and encourage myself to keep up on this blog.  I'll start by introducing my new design!

The background is a picture I took in New York, on the top of the MET.  It is a large aluminum sculpture, and it reminds me of a tree.

This weekend is Thanksgiving, and happily I get the Monday off.  Carmella and I will go to her mom's house in Maple Ridge. Before that though, we're going to visit the Body Worlds exhibit at Science World.  And maybe before that, I'm going to try and by myself a new bed.

I bought a bed, but it's terrible.  Being my thrifty self, I purchased a used one from a used furniture store in Burnaby.  It's creaky, and is so old that the box spring actually has a spring system in it.

Vancouver is struggling with a bedbug epidemic, so you can't give away a used mattress here, but for some reason I decided to pay money for one.  I'll minimize my losses and buy a new bed in a few days.

Today, I woke up feeling sore.  My back hurts, and my sleep wasn't deep because whenever I moved around, the box spring creaked and woke me up.  Very unfortunate!

This weekend, I'll also renew my vehicle insurance.  I may save some money because I won't be using the car to go to work, and will just use it for leisure.  I will likely have to pass an emissions test though, so I'll have some preparations to do for that.

I hope to have many pictures to share in the next few days, as I've got lots of things to document.  Visit often, because I aim to keep this blog humming along again.

Massey Lecture!

Yesterday I bought two tickets to the 2010 Massey Lectures stop in Vancouver.  This year's speaker is Douglas Coupland. I'm looking forward to it, and I'm excited to experience the venerable Massey Lecture series.

I hope the evening is different from a normal Coupland reading on a book tour. The event is happening on Oct 12, at the Chan Centre @ UBC.

A nice comment card from work

When guests check-out of the property where I work, they're sent an email comment card.  They're asked a lot of things about their stay, and one category deals with the Overall Experience.

The following was sent to in yesterday, and forwarded to me by my managers today:

This facility is located in a great place and convenient to many attractions and outdoor recreational opportunities. All the staff and resort manager were extremely nice and helpful. Of particular note, Mr. Jon Van Drunan (sic), was very helpful to us in explaining the sites to see in the area, printing directions for us, and greeting us every morning and evening. He made it seem like we had known him for a long time, and is a wonderful example of why I purchased, and have continued to increase my credits with this time share, due to the quality people that are hired, like Jon.


This was nice to receive.


I may use this in my job search.  You can't argue with such superlative performance!  


Ok, Canadian outerwear company, call me back for another interview!

The Memory of Running

Kir gave me this book awhile ago, and I've just started reading it.  It deals with an overweight man who loses his parents in a car accident, and previously lost his sister to a mental hospital.

Today is my day off, and I enjoy reading books on days I don't have to work.  I also like running.  I was about to do both today, but I had to stop my run about thirty metres into it, or less.

I experienced extreme pain in my right knee, and could no longer run.  I've never had a pain like that before, and I am a bit concerned about it.

The only thing I've changed in my life is that I started biking to work.  It's a long way, so I try and go as fast as I can.  I try to push big gears, because I don't want to admit to myself that I'm in worse shape now than I was a year ago.

So now I've got extreme pain in the anterior portion of my knee.  I needed to find out what it was, so I googled it and came across some interesting information.

Cyclists often experience either hip pain or knee pain, and they're the two most common injuries that plague those on two wheels.  These injuries are most common during the early season when the rider's body isn't used to riding, especially if the rider tries to ride big gears too often and tries to push too hard before the body is ready.  The article also mentioned that inflexible lower extremities can add to the problem.

I am guilty on all counts.  I try to ride as fast as I used to, and I try to ride big gears because I assume they're more manly.  I also have inflexible lower extremities.

I'm happy that this preliminary research points to it not being a permanent injury.  I wouldn't want to only have memories of running as a result of a serious knee problem.  I'll have to find other ways of getting exercise for a bit, and with running and biking seemingly out, I'll have to try something new.

ANOTHER fire on Blackcomb?

Rumour has it that Blackcomb is on fire again.  Last year, apparently on this date, it famously caught fire for everyone to see.  It created a burn zone that made for some pretty surreal tree skiing.

Here's a webcam shot, taken this evening.  Is that fire, or something else, top right?

Today around 4pm we had a big lightning storm that included torrential rain and hail, so at first I was skeptical that a fire was brewing on Blackcomb.  Confirmation reports seem to be coming in though, so possibly it's true.

Gas prices rising drastically!

I'm working at the hotel tonight, and have been very busy.  Families are arriving for their summer vacations, single people are coming to check out our little town, and couples come to enjoy eachother's company.

Once such couple arrived from California, and recently came to me to get their keys.  I noted that the girl had a newish-looking wedding ring on, and they were both fairly young.

As usual, they had some questions about Canada, including gas prices.  They said they saw a sign that said gas cost $1.18/L.  I told them that the conversion was about 3.75 litres to a gallon. 

The girl then asked me, "So, it's one hundred and eighteen dollars a litre?"

Hmmm.  I'll throw her a bone here and blame this comment on newlywed euphoria, where presumably common sense is absent.

I think they'll need one of these while they're here.

Biking to work

I've begun riding my bike to work again, and I'm happy about that.

It's taken me awhile to get my 98 Schwinn Moab back in commutable condition, but I finally finished the job yesterday.  I needed a new drivetrain (front chainrings, chain, rear cassette/sprocket) and a new front derailleur, and it was a challenge to find the low-end parts I wanted in this town of high-end rides and wallets. 

My commuter was the third bike that I've shaped into rideable condition this summer; I got my downhill bike ready to go so I could lend it to a friend, and I got Celeste primed and ready as my own trail bike.  All the bikes needed attention, and it's a burden that's now lifted to have them all somewhat rideable again.

I rode into work this morning, from Emerald to Creekside.  According to google maps, it's about a 13K ride.  I'm feeling out of shape, but that's OK.  I hope to cultivate a set of iron lungs before the summer's over!  I left my house at 6:15am, and arrived at work at 6:45am.  I had hoped to have enough time for a shower, but that didn't happen so I settled for a shave.  I'll leave earlier tomorrow.

I feel like I still haven't woken up though.  I was hoping to feel invigorated and fresh when I got to work, but instead I feel tired and it takes me longer to do everything.  I look at all my keys and can't remember which one I need to open the front door; I stare at a blank sheet of paper fresh out of the copier, taking longer than normal to realize what I want is printed on the back.

It feels good though, and I'll make it habit to ride into work.  I'll use my car for sundry trips in the evenings.

I fixed my car!

Shiffy wasn't running well, and then not running at all. I wasn't able to get it started, and was worried that I had an expensive repair on my hands.  I did some research, and found out it was likely a battery issue.

Today, I went to the auto parts store in Whistler, bought a battery, and installed it myself. I'm quite pleased, as I saved myself some money by not taking it to a mechanic. It was really easy to do as well.

After I completed the installation, the car started easily, with the confident engine growl telling me I had been successful. It was really satisfying to be able to do it myself and achieve a good result.

The battery was more expensive than it would have been at Canadian Tire in Squamish, but I was happy to get it right here in Whistler, saving myself the time and gas of going down there to get it.

Shiffy's back up and running! Happy days!

No goal!

Germany vs England, June 27.  Looks like the refs made the right call after all!

Carmella sets up her paintings for the ArtWalk

Today Carmella set up her paintings for the ArtWalk, Whistler's annual showcase of local artists. Art is featured in various venues around Whistler, like restaurants, bike shops, banks, and hotel lobbies.

She's being featured at the North Shore Credit Union. She didn't have to hang her art, as there were existing shelves that she was supposed to use. The bank has an area that was probably put into their new renovation with the purpose of displaying art. The finished display has a small bio, and little placards stating each painting's name, dimensions, and price. Here she is in action.

I like the business cards she's made. She took one of her old paper paintings and cut it into business card sized sections. Then, she jotted on her information in handwriting.

It's been an eventful few days for Carmella. The job market is tough at the moment, and it's been discouraging for her. She accepted a job at the kids carnival that gets set up at the base of Blackcomb Mountain in the summer. She would be working at the bouncy castle, life-sized maze, space-age spinner, and other small attractions. She would be making a lower wage than she would have liked.

Training happened on Saturday. Carmella was not 100% excited about the job for a number of reasons, but knew that it was necessary to keep a roof over her head and food on her table. Halfway through the afternoon of training, she began to feel nauseous and started shaking and trembling. She was sweating, and had a feeling that she was about to black out. Her stomach suddenly became upset as well.

Carmella was experiencing a panic attack, and she decided that the job wasn't for her. Her mind was willing, but the body would not co-operate. She left the training day before it was finished, dragging herself home to bed. She spoke with the boss, and explained that the job wasn't for her.

However, she's now becoming a woman of business! She's decided to go after the kind of work she wants to do. She put an ad in the paper advertising childcare, and put the word out that she wanted to have more Conversational English students (Carmella and I currently tag-tutor a co-worker of mine for Korea, named Sunny).

Now, Carmella has secured herself almost five full days of work a week, all on her own. She has another English student, and another childcare gig. She's going to advertise English lessons in the paper next week, and will get a bunch of bites there too.

I think it's pretty great. Carmella's very satisfied because she will be able to do work she enjoys, and have variety in her week. Also, since she's not tied down to any of these jobs, she'll continue applying to positions relating to her psychology degree, and will keep working towards getting accepted into a post-degree counselling psychology program. She'll also likely be doing volunteer work for the area Woman's Shelter, doing both research and working with the women. Busy busy!

So it's pretty great, and she can teach me a thing or two about getting out there and making things happen.

The Vuvuzela

The Vuvuzela has gotten a lot of heat from World Cup players and fans over the past few days, with some people calling for its ban from games.  Players say that it makes communication hard, and armchair fans say that they prefer more traditional singing in the stands.

Here are some quotes from players, found in this Globe and Mail article.

"My kids have been on the phone [with me], and they want two.” – England defender Jamie Carragher


“It is impossible to communicate; it’s like being deaf.” – Argentina’s Lionel Messi

“The problem is you just can’t communicate. You really have to use eye contact.” – Denmark goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen

“This is our culture. This is how we create our national rhythm and dance.” – Lucas Radebe, captain of South Africa’s World Cup team in 1998 and 2002

“Vuvuzelas are here to stay and will never be banned.” – Rich Mkhondo, a spokesman for the local World Cup organizing committee

“To be exposed to this type of volume raises the risk of immediate inner-ear trauma.” – Christian Gelis, a professor of biophysics at the University of Montpellier

I don't mind them.  I'm more interested in the action on the field, although I wouldn't mind hearing the traditional football songs from other nations too.

Carmella's Art

Carmella has set up a blog to show her art! You can find it here. Remember to bookmark it!

It's a pretty exciting month for Carmella. She's been accepted into Whistler's annual Art Walk, a showcase of Whistler's artists. Different artist's art is displayed at various Whistler businesses, and people take self-directed tours of all the various venues. The art will stay there for the summer.

Carmella's venue is at the North Shore Credit Union. She has official looking painting tags, and a good bio too. She had to order them ahead of time, and they're all printed out on official Art Walk paper.

It's very exciting! We'll post pictures of what they look like later.

Congratulations on the Art Walk!

My favourite blog post of Carmella's is this one. It's got an anteater in it.

"You know, you don't have to...

stay in your room whenever I'm here you know."

That's what my landlord Darryl said to me today after I began packing up my things and retreating to my room when he got home today. Well, that's what it looked like I was doing, but I really wasn't. I was just about to pack up my cereal and milk when he pulled into the driveway, so I thought to myself that I better hang out longer so it didn't look like I was trying to escape him. Evidently, I failed in that.

There's a grain (or maybe a pebble?) of truth in what he said. I don't spend much time downstairs when I'm home because it's awkward and we have nothing to talk about, so I just read my book in my room. Plus, if he's watching the TV in the living room, I have no reason to be there. Why not go where it's quiet?

It was a fair comment. I'll put a bit more effort into being social I guess.

Here's what my house looks like. I live in the three-bedroom upstairs. Currently it's just Darryl and I living there, and he's still trying to rent out the third room.