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.

Where I ran today

I've been running to work lately, and most of the time, running home also.  It's great to be getting out there regularly again, and I'm really enjoying it.

My route is always the same.  I run in the alley between two residential streets, where people's garages are, and where they put your garbage and recycling cans.  It works well if your streets are laid out in staid grid fashion, as they are in my neighbourhood.

I like the alley because there are no cars, I don't have to dodge pedestrians on the sidewalk, and I usually have the alley to myself.  I have a few checkpoints along the way, and I often time myself on the way to work, giving myself split times so I can see when and where I lost or gained time.  It is a great way to measure my progress, and I record it all.

When I started, I was going all out, and my time was just under 30 minutes.  My best happened last week, when I ran 26:13. It wasn't an all-out pace, but a relaxed yet hard effort.  So I've shaved almost four minutes off my time, which is excellent, and I think I could do even better.

Instead of running on my regular route last Friday, I ran along the ocean for a section of my run.  It's not the most direct route, but it's a pleasant diversion if I'm not in a rush to get home.  It's slow going because the rocks are the size of baseballs, so footing is never secure.  It's also the intertidal zone, so the rocks can be slippery.

I run to work with a backpack.  It's got my shirt and pants for the day, and essentials like my phone, keys, and wallet.  It'll usually have my lunch in there too, but I've been bad at making a lunch lately.

I'd like to take pictures of my runs more often, but unless I'm running to or from work, I don't bring anything with me.  Maybe I'll sacrifice and bring my camera or phone along, but I'd have to figure out a way to do that without bring along a bulky bag.

Here's Friday's trip home from work.  The route is much more hilly, and is about two kilometers longer than my standard.  Since I live so close to the ocean (about 16 blocks) I need to make a point of actually going there more often.  I bet sometimes a month goes by without me seeing it.

That's my run!  Now it's off to bed.

Random picture post (Las Vegas pictures too)

Here are some pictures from the past few months. Only captions (some are long) and not a lot of background.

Carmella rock climbing in Squamish, at a spot called Burgers and Fries.  (Climbers name spots like skiers and bikers name trails.  There are climbing trail maps of the area too.)  Squamish is very famous for its rock climbing.  I just watched and took this picture.  Carmella is the climber.

Carmella is barely in this picture, but that's OK.  This is a beach fire on Wes' birthday.  You're not really allowed to do this, but everyone does anyway.  It was a great night.  I'm not in the picture, but Tina and Wes are.

Carmella planned and threw a murder mystery party, so everyone is dressed up to participate.  Everyone has scripts to read, and clues are presented on the tape player.  Carmella found this game at the thrift store for a great price.  The hardest part was rounding up a working tape player.  We got one from the landlords upstairs.

We went to Las Vegas a few months ago.  It was a good price, and we were tired of the constant rainy weather in Vancouver.  Notice they don't have grass, just dirt and crushed pebbles.

Across from our hotel was one called New York, New York.  Our hotel played abrasively loud music all the time, so we went across the street to NYNY when we could, where it was calmer.

This is a famous sign for the hotel called Circus Circus.  We got 2 for 1 dinner coupons and drink coupons, and it was affordable to begin with.  At our hotel, the recommended we not make the journey because we'd have to go through a sketchy part of town.  It was not that at all.  I think they wanted to keep us in the area so we'd spend money at their chains of hotels.

The restaurant was called Rock and Rita's, and we weren't sure if it was made with a trailer park theme on purpose, or if they just thought it was nice.  We're still not sure.

Here's a pic of the drink menu, (you can buy a drink that is shaped with a toilet and comes with chopped up hot dogs floating around), some coupons, our cutlery in a Mason jar, and our wine in plastic tumblers.  While not the classiest place, it was a good meal, and very affordable!  

Circus Circus is popular with families because they have (in addition to the casino downstairs) a whole slew of carnival games.  I won a round of Camel Chase.

Carmella won this little rhino in the fishing game.  I hurried her to catch the red puck, and she got a yellow one instead.  But, you're a winner every time!

We found Las Vegas to be very loud and very jarring.  In the Bellagio hotel, we found a Dutch themed garden!  It has real tulips that smelled wonderfully, and soothing music. 

Here, a little sign talks about Dutch shoes, explaining they're called "klompen".  They look like the pair Carol had when we were little! 

They have slot machines in the airport too, right outside the gate.  The security lady in the background got upset with Carmella here, because she thought she was sitting down for a few rounds of slots just as our flight was boarding.  I guess people do that and miss their flights, so this woman gets passionate!

Another interesting thing is that the Las Vegas airport thinks it's 1987.

We went to a wedding

Hi Everyone,

It's two months since I've posted, and a lot has happened since then.  Instead of trying to write about two months of events, I'll just start from yesterday, and maybe post some random pictures down the road.

Yesterday Carmella and I went to our friends' Tony and Mary's wedding.  It was really nice and a great time.  After our own wedding, it's a treat to attend a wedding where you only have to begin preparations an hour before!

Tony and Mary got married at the UBC Boathouse, which is a rowing dock and also an acclaimed wedding venue.  It's not near UBC at all though, it's just where the team trains I guess.  It's in Richmond (the airport is also in Richmond) on the mighty Fraser river.  I've heard rumours of sturgeon in the river, but didn't see any.

Here are some pictures!

Weddings are always a good time for pictures!  No claw really, I've extended the fingers instead.

The Groomsmen and pastor.  The Fraser river is in the background.

The presentation of Tony and Mary Kwong.  I apologize for the head, but this is the best one I had.

While the family had pictures, we enjoyed the venue.  I liked the balloons.  They were quite large.  We were told we couldn't release them, because we were in the airport's airspace, I supposed because a crashing plane would obliterate the venue and cancel the rest of the wedding.

It was a fun wedding.  We left at about 1am, and there were still quite a few people there.  It's nice that Tony and Mary stayed at the party, because I find that once the main attraction leaves, the rest of the revelers start trickling out and the party dies.

A very nice wedding, and a great way to spend a Saturday.  Tony and Mary's wedding weekend was much like ours, almost a year ago.  Dark, cloudy weather for the whole preceding week, sun for the wedding day, and more clouds the day after.

Congratulations Tony and Mary!

Great News!

About a month ago, I submitted a piece to the Globe and Mail, hoping they'd publish it in the Facts and Arguments section.

I was about to start shopping the piece around elsewhere because I hadn't heard back from them.  This morning, I recieved the following form email:

"Hello,

Thank you for submitting your essay. We are interested in publishing it, but need to confirm a few details before proceeding.

1. We only run original, non-fiction works on the Facts & Arguments page. We do not run pieces that have been published anywhere else -- in print, on a blog or anywhere else online.

2. We will contact you before your essay is published with any questions and suggestions, and to let you know on what date it will run. Please expect the piece to be edited to suit the mandate and style of the section, and to make it fit the space available on the page.

3. Unfortunately, The Globe and Mail no longer pays an honorarium for published essays.

While you retain the copyright and are free to sell it elsewhere after it's been published in The Globe and Mail, as a condition of publication, you grant the paper first-print rights and a non-exclusive right to The Globe and its assignees to publish, store, distribute and sublicense the essay in whole or in part, in print or by any other means, including but not limited to electronic, worldwide and in perpetuity, without compensation to the author.

If you agree to the above and would like to proceed, please let us know so an illustration can be commissioned and I can schedule your essay for publication.

Thank you
The Eds

Woo!  Emphasis mine in the first line.

I like how they'll commission a picture for it.

Sorry, no hints what it's about.  That will come with publication!

Successful 5K Race, and Cross-Border Shopping

Saturday was an eventful day.  It was St. Patrick's Day, and Carmella and I signed up for the St. Patrick's Day 5K.  I've done this race three years in a row, and I was able to convince Carmella to run it this year.  It's in Stanley Park, and it attracts a big crowd.  The race is limited to 1500 runners, and they reached that before race-day.

You get a free beer glass, and people wear green costumes.  There's an after-party as well, where people are excited to buy $7 beers at 11am.  This race has an official race shirt you can buy, and also an official after-party shirt too.

I've been training on and off for the race, which is better than most years.  Most years it's my first race of the season, and it's painful and it makes me want to train more.  I was looking forward to this year because I was a bit more prepared.

Carmella meant to get some training runs in, but it didn't go as planned for her.  We ran together Friday night for about half an hour, and that was the extent of her training.  It looked like she'd be running this one off-the-couch.

We arrived at the race, and I was getting nervous as I always do before a race.  I looked into my bag to discover I'd forgotten my running shoes at home, and it was too late to go back.  I was wearing my skate shoes, and didn't want to try and run a fast time in them. 

I was distraught for about a minute, and then Carmella suggested that I just take it slow with her instead of sitting out of the race.  I thought that was a good idea, so we paid for parking, and made our way to the start line.

Usually I line up a few people back from the line, to be sure I'm with people of my speed.  If you line up too far back, you'll be stuck behind people with strollers and walkers, but if you line up too far forward, you'll be in the elite runners way.  Neither is good, so it's important to slot yourself in correctly.

Carmella and I headed for the back, and started behind about 75% of the runners.  It was a new experience for me.  The air-horn started, and we just stood there for almost 30 seconds.  Then we started walking, then stopped again in some more congestion.  Finally we crossed the start line and began to trot along.  All 1500 runners were packed onto one access lane, so it took awhile to get moving.

Carmella picked 40 minutes as an arbitrary goal to shoot for, so we would try and get in before that.  We began running, and Carmella enjoyed the atmosphere.  Everyone around us was happy to be moving.  We passed some walkers, we were among people waving to family members, and beside many people wearing elaborate costumes.  Headbands with shamrocks mounted on springs so they looked like ears, people with signs about St. Patrick's Day stuck to their backs, and people wearing green underwear over tights.

After the first kilometer, the party atmosphere was gone, and it was down to business.  Carmella felt like stopping to walk, but didn't.  Instead, she made it her goal not to stop during the race.  I was making observations about the people around us, the distance to go, or random chatter.  Carmella asked that I stop doing that, because she needed to concentrate. 

We stayed at the same pace for most of the race, seeing the same people around us.  We'd pass some people, and they'd pass us back.  A couple girls around us carried on inane conversation for more than a kilometer, and Carmella was frustrated with them.  Roomates, exams, and probably boys were covered.  However, we weren't able to leave them behind, and they didn't pass us, so we were stuck!

The last kilometer was mostly uphill, and Carmella did well not to stop.  She got in a zone and just kept plugging away.  The last 200m were especially tough, with many around us opting to walk.  Carmella persevered and we crossed the line at 37:21.  Carmella achieved both her goals, since she ran sub-40 and also didn't stop.

They had a big food tent, like the kinds people erect at weddings.  To keep people orderly, they only opened one door, and didn't roll up any of the windows.  There were hundreds of sweaty people in there, and no ventilation, so it was kind of like a cool sauna in there.  Very stuffy.  We grabbed some Irish Stew they were doling out, some water, and found a place to sit.  Before we left, I also found the free beer glasses, emblazoned with the sponsor and race emblems. 

Carmella enjoyed herself, but not enough to start mentally preparing for another race.  Her back hurt a bit, and she was tired.  We went home, and she napped.  I headed out in the car, going south towards America.

My post title was a bit of a lie.  I realize that getting into my America trip would make this post too long, so I'll create a new one for that.  Our race was good, and I was happy to have run it with Carmella in my skate shoes.  I'll start preparing for my next race, on April 1st.  It's a half-marathon, and I aim to beat my time from last year.  I'll remember my running shoes this time!

I finally hit Send.

I finally did it.

For the past four or five weeks, I've been working on a writing piece that I wanted to send out into the world.  Just a few minutes ago, I finally did.

I wrote it in about three or four drafts, and just needed a few extra pieces to make it complete.  I added those tonight, after thinking about them for far too long.

I'll keep the details to myself for now, but count on an update if I receive good news.

Vancouver Aquarium

On Saturday, Carmella and I went to the Vancouver Aquarium.  We got there at about noon, so we had to battle kids, tourists, and impatient parents a times, but the place is big so it wasn't a huge deal.

There were three beluga whales there, and while the Aquarium talks about conservation and preservation, I still wondered if these animals would prefer to be out of the tank and in the wild.  This one is swimming upside down.  The whales were much whiter than I would have expected.

We also saw a big sea turtle, swimming with small sharks and manta rays.  It was fun to see them, but I wondered if they also yearned to swim freely.

As far as I know, jellyfish aren't sentient, so maybe they didn't care that they were in this small tank.  It was back-lit in a way that made them look really great in pictures.

These guys had a really big tank with real coral and regular feeding times.  I'm sure they'd rather be in this tank than a small tank in someone's house, but they'd rather be on a real reef than here.

The Aquarium staff, programming and advertising are really good at forwarding an agenda of conservation and behavioural change that will benefit the world's oceans and sea life.  And there are probably hundreds of people who wouldn't have thought about ocean conservation if they didn't come to the Aquarium, so maybe it's OK to sacrifice a few soulless sea creatures for the betterment of many.

Those thoughts aside, Carmella and I had a really great time.  One of the highlights was the BC section, where they showed what kind of sea life is living in select regions of our province.  I also enjoyed watching the dolphin show from the underwater viewing section.  The dolphins would swim, jump up and out of the water, and be out of the water for a really long time.  Then they'd suddenly re-appear and swim around a bit under water, and then do another trick. 

The dolphins in the show were netted dolphins from fishing boats that probably wouldn't survive in the wild again, so they live in the tanks at the Aquarium.  Maybe it's not such a bad life.  They don't have to hunt for food, and they just get to swim around all day and don't have to worry about orca whales chasing them.

It was a fun day with Carmella, and I got some fun pictures of the sea creatures.  The day made me want to journey to other spots in the province and experience the ocean and the sea life there.  There is so much to learn about the different species and habitats, and it'd be fun to travel around checking it all out.

Sunday is almost over, and I'm not ready for the weekend to end.  But I'm really tired, so I might as well go to sleep.

Snowy Owls in Vancouver

Carmella and I stepped out of the car at the Boundary Bay Regional Park in Delta.  After a 45-minute drive, we were happy to arrive.  On this grey, overcast day, the pothole-filled, gravel parking lot was almost empty.  A big full-sized pickup truck was there, the driver idly chatting on his phone.  A few other vehicles were present, but not the numbers we were expecting.  Where were the bus loads of kids, the nature guides, and the live-on-location radio station trucks?

Instead, there were a number of birds swooping around, a quiet construction site, and the cold waters of Boundary Bay.  It was cold and windy, and very quiet.  A few intrepid souls were out walking their dogs and toddlers, and a small disgruntled teenager stormed by.  This seemed like a regular day, and we joined the locals on the trails.

Cold and desolate. 

We came to this park looking for birds, because Delta is a popular bird-watching area.  The Fraser River delta is globally significant for birds as it's on a major migration route, and a popular wintering destination.  250 species occur annually in the region.  (Head over to Birding BC for more.)

While working last week, Carmella heard that there were Snowy Owls in the Vancouver area.  Since this happens only once every four or five years, all the kids at pre-school were encouraged to see them.  There was a poster showing where the birds were, and how to get there.

No Snowy Owls here!

We didn't have that poster with us, but there were no Snowy Owls here.  I stopped a couple of septuagenarians who were out for a walk, and asked if they'd seen the Snowy Owls.  They were happy to stop and chat, and said they've never seen them here, but they figured they'd be more north.

More north, as in the Arctic Circle?  That's where Snowy Owls usually live.  Their white speckled plumage blends in with the tundra, where they hunt lemmings and try not to lose body heat through their beaks.

Thankfully, more north meant just a few kilometers up the coast and we'd be able to drive there pretty quickly.  We were told we should take 72nd Street, another entry to the Regional Park, and where you can access the dike.  Before heading out to continue the search, Carmella noticed a few birds sitting in the nearby trees.

After a quick stop we were on our way.  We found 72nd street, and also found that while we neared its foot, there were cars parked on the sides of the street.  A tour bus was parked on the shoulder of the road, and people were walking along the gravel with big cameras.  Thankfully there were no live on location radio trucks!

We knew we had come to the right place.  There were lots of people walking along the dike, often clustering in spots.  There were lots of cameras there that had lenses longer than my forearm, mounted on tripods and monopods.  Success!

The Snowy Owls were in attendance too.  They were just sitting on the ground, waiting until they got hungry I guess.  Photographers trained their cameras on them, and the really serious ones banged off numerous rapid fire shots whenever the owls moved.  Which wasn't very often.

It was an interesting how the Snowy Owls just sat on the ground, and also how their feathers contrasted with the surroundings.  It obviously wasn't their normal habitat, but it made it easy for all of us to find them. 

Two nice women with high-powered birding telescopes set them up, trained them on the birds, and invited Carmella and I to take a look.  It was amazing!  They were so close, and their feathers ruffled in the wind.

The women told us that owls can move their heads 270 degrees, and that's because their eyes don't move, so owls have to pivot their whole heads to shift their gaze.  I saw the owl blink too.  The owl's version of eyelids live at the bottom of their eye, and move like an upside down venitian blind when in action.  The birds like to sit in wide open spaces that mimic the tundra surroundings.  They also sit on the ground, because they're not used to the concept of trees.

Carmella asked if we could take a picture of the birds through the telescope, and they said we could, offering a few tips.  We got some great pictures!  I've decided to leave them as they are instead of cropping them since it reminds me that they were taken through a telescope.  Carmella took the first, and I took the second.

The Snowy Owls come to Vancouver every few years, when their food sources in the tundra aren't reliable.  While it's nice to have them here, I think I'd prefer if they stayed up north.  If they come down here to eat, it means that things aren't going so well for them at home, and I hope climate change isn't the cause for their being here this winter.

It was an excellent day, and I'm so happy we were able to find the Snowy Owls. While heading back to the car, we noticed lots of BC license plates parked along the road, numerous Washington ones, and even one from Alaska.  So the Snowy Owls being here are a big event, attracting people from everywhere.  I'm glad we got to be part of the action.

The police came to my door today.

After dismounting my bike and turning off my blinking safety lights, I went into our cozy suite and sat down after a day at work.  Just as I picked up my computer, there was a terrific knock on the door.

I was a bit annoyed because our friends know they can walk through the first door and arrive at our actual door, and our landlords know this as well.  Nobody else ever comes over, except for the Chinese restaurant delivery guy who came to the wrong house.  He knocked very loudly too.

I got up from my comfy couch, and answered the door.  As I opened it, a man and a woman were standing there.  It's cold today, (2 degrees C) so the woman was bundled in a stylish black pea coat, and the man was in a more functional shell that was lined with some fleece.  There was some sort of pin on the collar.  They both wore toques.

The man held out his hand, and let his wallet fall open to reveal a badge.  He calmly stated, "Vancouver Police.  We're looking for Jonathan."

At that moment, I was a bit afraid that they were coming after me.  But only halfway through the thought, I remembered that I had been a model citizen for the last few months.  Just today, riding home from work, I had even given a friendly wave to the car that stopped for me at a crosswalk.

He then asked me if I was missing anything, and I looked down to see his other hand holding something.  He then reached out, displaying my wallet!  Oh happy day!

On Boxing Day, Carmella and I went downtown and did some shopping.  Your dollar stretches the furthest in January, and even further on Dec 26th.  So we took advantage.  I bought two pairs of pants, and one fully leather belt. 

I also bought a very large Neal Stephenson tome, called Reamde.  It's 1050 pages long, and hardcover.  If the need arose, it would pack a significant punch if hurled at an assailant.  It took up most of my bag, while my keys, wallet, and phone were shoved into the leftover available space.

When I bought my second pair of pants, the cashier asked me if I wanted a bag.  Instead of inheriting more plastic, I decided I was happy to carry the pants out.  I did that with the receipt pinned under my fingers.  I paid for the pants, but that was the last place I remembered having my wallet.

On the 27th, I woke up at about 5:30am to start packing for our snowboarding trip to Rossland.  I noticed I didn't have my wallet.  I looked all over, and couldn't find it.  I called and visited the store where I bought the pants, but it wasn't there either.

Among other advantages, being married means that your spouse has access to the bank accounts.  This means that you can go on a holiday without your wallet!  Off to Rossland we went, and had a great holiday.  On the way there, I cancelled my credit cards and debit cards, and didn't think too much of it again.

While on the trip, I got my license replaced, and got a bank card reprinted.  The other cards would be replaced over time, but I was happy to have these important ones back.

Then, today, about three weeks later, the police came to the door bearing my wallet.  What kind protectors of civil law and order!  They said that someone dropped it off at the station after finding it downtown.  Once it got to me, the only thing missing from the wallet was about $50 of Christmas money.  I'll treat it like a finder's fee.

I'm not sure how I lost it.  My bag was full of other things, so I may have decided to carry it out.  I could have put it on the roof of the car and forgotten about it, letting it slide off the roof as I safely pulled into the street.  I also could have left it at the till of the store, or it could have been squeezed out of my bag due to the huge novel taking up its normal space.

Whatever the reason, I'm happy to have it back!  I'll be extra careful to make sure I have it with me, being even more vigilant in doing my three-check: wallet, keys, phone.  I do that multiple times a day, because I'm so forgetful.  Looks like on Boxing Day, I did it one time too few.

I was happy with the way I handled the situation.  I didn't freak out (too much), and I didn't let it ruin our holiday.  I'm pretty proud of my self, as I have a penchant to worry about everything, especially something like that.  Maybe I'm maturing!

And the picture on my replacement driver's license is better than the one it replaced.