This month has been pretty blase, paying bills and basically driving myself deeper into debt - all in all, boring.
Boring, that is until last night when I checked my messages to find out that Karen had called from work to say that she had an extra ticket to go to the Bedouin Soundclash/Ben Harper concert.
Karen is great friends with Bedouin Soundclash so the ticket was free (tickets were reguarliyl $60, and the concert was sold out).
And the evening just got better. I rushed home from a drywall dump run with James (another wall has come down! It looks great) to Deer Lake Park, Burnaby just in time to catch the second half of the Bedouin Soundclash set. A beer later (compliments of a friend I bumped into that helped me speed through the long-lineup to aquire beer by selling me her beer tickets, therefore bypassing the other long line-up to buy the beer ticket - what luck!), we were enjoying Ben Harper. A couple of songs in we were escorted by Eon, the base player of BS and super rad guy, into the VIP area where we enjoyed a great non-muddy view of the concert and FREE beer.
How could you top this off you ask? How about a Ben Harper-Be Good Tanya's collaboration encore. A great evening all around.
It's true, the best things in life are free...
Sunday, May 28
Thursday, May 11
I heart Tylenol 3's
So in an interesting turn of events, I find myself in recovery from an operation that removed my appendix. It hurts quite a bit but I've decided that now, at James' place with internet connection, and with the help of some tylenol 3's, it was finally time to catch up on this blog. This post will, however, be written in shifts...
Basically I had a detoriating bad stomach ache that started on monday night, sent me home from work tuesday at 3pm, then to the med clinic at 6pm (the longest 10 blocks I've ever walked!), to the emergency room at 6:30pm, and under the operating knife at 11pm.
Some 'entertaining' events of the evening (if they can be called that in retrospect):
a) the overdosing screaming neighbour at the ER room who demanded oxygen, morphine, ginger ale and a sandwich (she didn't get the latter two, much to her despair)
b) the great ER staff who took care of me (and the many many students wishing to interview me - thank goodness for morhpine)
c) james swaying and having to poo partly from fear of the unknown and partly because of the 10th time someone asked me if there was a possibility that I was pregnant
d) the funny porter who told james to go find some women while I was under, rolled his eyes at the young nurse who bumpe an IV bag into my head, and told me not to worry about scars when I wore my "itsty-bitsy".
Thanks to all those who sent their best wishes, flowers and green sweaters from across the country :) I feel very loved.
So, I have definately been keeping myself quite busy in the last while.
April 24th-28th ~ Sailed through the Gulf Islands teaching grade 9 students about our coastal marine life. Very inspiring - amazing views too.
April 29th ~ BJ's surprise party (whoo hoo! it was a success! he was shocked thanks leah, eli, mel, and everyone else who came! photos are now posted)
April 30th ~ accepted a position change at the Aquarium. I'm now in charge of the dive programs. It'll be a nice change.
May 1st - spent first night in my new apartment. I love it! ~ small but great. Mi casa es su casa - there is floor space for friends.
May 5th-7th - Interpreters conference in Manning Park. Got some great ideas and met some good people. Also puked behind a wood pile.
May 9th - an impromtu trip to St. Paul's where I said good-bye to my appendix
that's all for now...time to hit up the pills again...
Basically I had a detoriating bad stomach ache that started on monday night, sent me home from work tuesday at 3pm, then to the med clinic at 6pm (the longest 10 blocks I've ever walked!), to the emergency room at 6:30pm, and under the operating knife at 11pm.
Some 'entertaining' events of the evening (if they can be called that in retrospect):
a) the overdosing screaming neighbour at the ER room who demanded oxygen, morphine, ginger ale and a sandwich (she didn't get the latter two, much to her despair)
b) the great ER staff who took care of me (and the many many students wishing to interview me - thank goodness for morhpine)
c) james swaying and having to poo partly from fear of the unknown and partly because of the 10th time someone asked me if there was a possibility that I was pregnant
d) the funny porter who told james to go find some women while I was under, rolled his eyes at the young nurse who bumpe an IV bag into my head, and told me not to worry about scars when I wore my "itsty-bitsy".
Thanks to all those who sent their best wishes, flowers and green sweaters from across the country :) I feel very loved.
So, I have definately been keeping myself quite busy in the last while.
April 24th-28th ~ Sailed through the Gulf Islands teaching grade 9 students about our coastal marine life. Very inspiring - amazing views too.
April 29th ~ BJ's surprise party (whoo hoo! it was a success! he was shocked thanks leah, eli, mel, and everyone else who came! photos are now posted)
April 30th ~ accepted a position change at the Aquarium. I'm now in charge of the dive programs. It'll be a nice change.
May 1st - spent first night in my new apartment. I love it! ~ small but great. Mi casa es su casa - there is floor space for friends.
May 5th-7th - Interpreters conference in Manning Park. Got some great ideas and met some good people. Also puked behind a wood pile.
May 9th - an impromtu trip to St. Paul's where I said good-bye to my appendix
that's all for now...time to hit up the pills again...
Sunday, April 16
Easter Trekking
My groin hurts and I'm extremely tired, but damn it was fun. 2 days, and 17km+ of trekking in 30-40 cm of new powder, all for one wicked run...that lasted 10 minutes :) next time we'll stay longer...
more uploaded pictures later. (I was really tired last night)
Saturday, April 8
Thursday, April 6
300 ft - revisited
I may have finally found a place to live (and love)!
All going well with the credit check, that is.
(Oh please don't let those two unpaid parking tickets, maxed out VISA card, low paying job, and newly lost debit card stop me from a great residence situation!)
I'm not so sure about the actual sq footage, but I'm sure it's not much.
It's a suite in a large house from the 1920's (with almost 30 people living there!), in a great location, with hard wood floors, 3 huge windows, a small kitchen, a small bathroom, a mirror where a fireplace used to be, a stove and oven, and a bar ledge (and a bar fridge). AND it would be all ...by...myself.
I have never lived by myself.
I would like to take the oppurtunity now to recollect my residential past
(and maybe be able to portay the happiness I feel for finally feeling like I may have found a place to stay for a while!).
3 years ago...
April 2003- June (Victoria, BC): back from Thailand and very poor -- that's what I rememeber of my time then.
June - August (Port McNeill, BC): I live in a dumpy apartment that DFO set up for me with my co-worker. I miss the salmonberries.
September - December 2003 (Magog, QC): I'm living with my friends Sebastien and Valerie and Valerie's sister Christine Boudrias. Christine is an olympic speed skater (I just like saying that because I think it makes me feel cooler. You know, cooler by association). My door is a drape, my bed takes up the whole space and one wall is at a 45 degrees angle. I could see a beautiful church tower from my window.
January - May 2004 (Vancouver, BC): I'm living in my parents house. It's not so bad though because they live in Belgium and I live with my brother and sister. They bought it to invest their money (they're renting in Antwerp) and to help out with my siblings rent. My room was in the basement and I could touch the ceilings.
May - August 31st (Duncan, BC): I have a 100 sq foot "room" with one wall consisting of a blue tarp seperating me from the pool room. My roomates (and landlords) are my old friend Jeff and his new wife Brandi, who spent most of their summer in Yukon. There is a beautiful river nearby with a family of beavers and a telephone to keep me company. I'm pretty sure I may have made a social faux-pas while living here, as I have yet to hear from them since I moved out :)
September 1 - September 10 (Victoria, BC): Probably a week and a half total in a house that continuously smelled like hamburgers. I 'm not a clean person but this place was so dirty that I couldn't use anything in the kitchen without scrubbing it for 5 minutes. Needless to say, there were 3 other older single men who lived there quite contently.
September 11th - December 15 2004: I moved into a lovely upper suite with this guy, Jesse, and later on Flora from France. I moved into this place because two good friends of mine, Loryn and Cris, used to live in that exact same suite. I loved the view, my room and the hardwood floors. Plus, it was two blocks away from the Cook St. Fantastico coffee shop. Jesse turned out to be creepy and never gave me my full damage deposit back...
January 2005 - June 1 (Everywhere, BC): I spent a lot of time on the road - two weeks in Vacouver, two weeks in Vernon, 2 weeks in Vancouver, 1 week on the Island, 3 weeks in the North... I stored my stuff at my parents house.
June 1 - October 1 (Vancouver, BC): I moved into my parents house full time. The summer was busy with two weddings, so I barely noticed that my mom was there for most of it. Come the end of wedding season though I was feeling stir crazy. There was a period where we had mice.
October 1 2005- March 1 2006: I moved into a room in a house because a) I needed out of my parent's home and b) it was cheap ($350!). My bedroom was one of 2 bedrooms in a basement suite where the kitchen was drab, the place was dark, and the living room had been converted into a third bedroom. I lived with two guys: Craig, who had an opposite schedule than me, and Gord, who I never had to see because he was on tour or at his girlfriend's home for most of the winter season. By January though, Gord hadn't moved out like he promised and was helping me avoid my place more than ever. My dislike for Gord grew and my need to leave came to head when he offered no help after my slit-wrist-broken-window incident (another story). I house-sat for James a lot.
March 1- current: I have a duffel bag and a laundry basket of possesions tucked into a corner at James' condo. At least I love the roomates.
11 moves in 3 years.
I may have gotten ahead of myself, but here's hoping I can stop moving and start being still.
All going well with the credit check, that is.
(Oh please don't let those two unpaid parking tickets, maxed out VISA card, low paying job, and newly lost debit card stop me from a great residence situation!)
I'm not so sure about the actual sq footage, but I'm sure it's not much.
It's a suite in a large house from the 1920's (with almost 30 people living there!), in a great location, with hard wood floors, 3 huge windows, a small kitchen, a small bathroom, a mirror where a fireplace used to be, a stove and oven, and a bar ledge (and a bar fridge). AND it would be all ...by...myself.
I have never lived by myself.
I would like to take the oppurtunity now to recollect my residential past
(and maybe be able to portay the happiness I feel for finally feeling like I may have found a place to stay for a while!).
3 years ago...
April 2003- June (Victoria, BC): back from Thailand and very poor -- that's what I rememeber of my time then.
June - August (Port McNeill, BC): I live in a dumpy apartment that DFO set up for me with my co-worker. I miss the salmonberries.
September - December 2003 (Magog, QC): I'm living with my friends Sebastien and Valerie and Valerie's sister Christine Boudrias. Christine is an olympic speed skater (I just like saying that because I think it makes me feel cooler. You know, cooler by association). My door is a drape, my bed takes up the whole space and one wall is at a 45 degrees angle. I could see a beautiful church tower from my window.
January - May 2004 (Vancouver, BC): I'm living in my parents house. It's not so bad though because they live in Belgium and I live with my brother and sister. They bought it to invest their money (they're renting in Antwerp) and to help out with my siblings rent. My room was in the basement and I could touch the ceilings.
May - August 31st (Duncan, BC): I have a 100 sq foot "room" with one wall consisting of a blue tarp seperating me from the pool room. My roomates (and landlords) are my old friend Jeff and his new wife Brandi, who spent most of their summer in Yukon. There is a beautiful river nearby with a family of beavers and a telephone to keep me company. I'm pretty sure I may have made a social faux-pas while living here, as I have yet to hear from them since I moved out :)
September 1 - September 10 (Victoria, BC): Probably a week and a half total in a house that continuously smelled like hamburgers. I 'm not a clean person but this place was so dirty that I couldn't use anything in the kitchen without scrubbing it for 5 minutes. Needless to say, there were 3 other older single men who lived there quite contently.
September 11th - December 15 2004: I moved into a lovely upper suite with this guy, Jesse, and later on Flora from France. I moved into this place because two good friends of mine, Loryn and Cris, used to live in that exact same suite. I loved the view, my room and the hardwood floors. Plus, it was two blocks away from the Cook St. Fantastico coffee shop. Jesse turned out to be creepy and never gave me my full damage deposit back...
January 2005 - June 1 (Everywhere, BC): I spent a lot of time on the road - two weeks in Vacouver, two weeks in Vernon, 2 weeks in Vancouver, 1 week on the Island, 3 weeks in the North... I stored my stuff at my parents house.
June 1 - October 1 (Vancouver, BC): I moved into my parents house full time. The summer was busy with two weddings, so I barely noticed that my mom was there for most of it. Come the end of wedding season though I was feeling stir crazy. There was a period where we had mice.
October 1 2005- March 1 2006: I moved into a room in a house because a) I needed out of my parent's home and b) it was cheap ($350!). My bedroom was one of 2 bedrooms in a basement suite where the kitchen was drab, the place was dark, and the living room had been converted into a third bedroom. I lived with two guys: Craig, who had an opposite schedule than me, and Gord, who I never had to see because he was on tour or at his girlfriend's home for most of the winter season. By January though, Gord hadn't moved out like he promised and was helping me avoid my place more than ever. My dislike for Gord grew and my need to leave came to head when he offered no help after my slit-wrist-broken-window incident (another story). I house-sat for James a lot.
March 1- current: I have a duffel bag and a laundry basket of possesions tucked into a corner at James' condo. At least I love the roomates.
11 moves in 3 years.
I may have gotten ahead of myself, but here's hoping I can stop moving and start being still.
Saturday, April 1
Island Roamer
Took my first voyage on the Island Roamer (a 68ft sailboat), Richmond to Sidney. Setting sail again on April 25th. It was nice to be on the water again. I'll be gulf island roaming soon...
Monday, March 27
Rudy's wingspan
Rudy is a red-tailed hawk who got shot in her wing, was brought to a rehab centre and then because of human inprinting, coudn't be released back into the wild.
Friday, March 24
Wednesday, March 15
Cypress night hiking
Another night skiing in powder. Too bad BJ broke his lurk and possibly concussed himself.
Played a game of tag (manhunt) in downtown vancouver last night. Cops got called because someone thought that people were getting mugged :) Interesting times...
Played a game of tag (manhunt) in downtown vancouver last night. Cops got called because someone thought that people were getting mugged :) Interesting times...
Monday, March 13
?!?!?!
I need a new bathing suit for work. Since I was off at 4:30 today, I decided that it was the perfect chance to rush and get to the store where i can find cheap suits for under $50 before they close at 5pm.
First my little Tercel u-turns on Georgia St. (! if you know vancouver you know that that was a dare devil move indeed) in order to drive north over the Lion's gate bridge. Then it roared it's way over the bridge and into North Vancouver.
4:47pm - still time to make it.
I turn right to head towards the water only to get stopped at a railroad crossing just as the train is about to cross. So I wait.
And wait.
4:56pm - still time to make it there and convince the employees to let me speed shop.
Still waiting (is this possibly the longest train in the world?!).
Finally, I see the end of the train.
Unfortunately for me though, 10 cars before it passes, the train slows and stops.
Now it starts going backwards.
(You've got to be kidding me.)
As car after car passes me again all I can do laugh - only when you're in a rush do these things happen.
5:07pm - I think I may have missed my chance. Guess I'll just try again tomorrow.
The irony in this story? After the train passed I ended up in a shipyard and not on Welsh St as I had hoped...
First my little Tercel u-turns on Georgia St. (! if you know vancouver you know that that was a dare devil move indeed) in order to drive north over the Lion's gate bridge. Then it roared it's way over the bridge and into North Vancouver.
4:47pm - still time to make it.
I turn right to head towards the water only to get stopped at a railroad crossing just as the train is about to cross. So I wait.
And wait.
4:56pm - still time to make it there and convince the employees to let me speed shop.
Still waiting (is this possibly the longest train in the world?!).
Finally, I see the end of the train.
Unfortunately for me though, 10 cars before it passes, the train slows and stops.
Now it starts going backwards.
(You've got to be kidding me.)
As car after car passes me again all I can do laugh - only when you're in a rush do these things happen.
5:07pm - I think I may have missed my chance. Guess I'll just try again tomorrow.
The irony in this story? After the train passed I ended up in a shipyard and not on Welsh St as I had hoped...
Sunday, March 12
Blue Bird Day
Baker was beautiful and the skiing was grand. Here is one of the slopes we tackled.
A dino comic about how I was feeling for part of the day
(I had a major headache after being pummeled by a snowboarder. My response to his "sorry"? "Fuck you." - I had no idea I had it in me...)
http://www.qwantz.com/index.pl?comic=326
A dino comic about how I was feeling for part of the day
(I had a major headache after being pummeled by a snowboarder. My response to his "sorry"? "Fuck you." - I had no idea I had it in me...)
http://www.qwantz.com/index.pl?comic=326
Monday, March 6
Jon Stewart
If I'm allowed one affair, Jon Stewart is who I would have it with. (Of course, I don't ever really think there would be the opportunity so it's a safe statement to make)
Hilarious, intellegent, cute, repectful...is there more you can want in a guy?
Him having a television show is a nice bonus.
And the fact that he's a devoted husband with a great marriage so it's even more unlikely, hot!
(this is the reason I sort of wished I watched some of the Oscars)
Hilarious, intellegent, cute, repectful...is there more you can want in a guy?
Him having a television show is a nice bonus.
And the fact that he's a devoted husband with a great marriage so it's even more unlikely, hot!
(this is the reason I sort of wished I watched some of the Oscars)
Friday, February 24
Canada Wins Gold!
It was an exciting game, Canada vs Finland for gold.
I wish I was talking about men's hockey, but it was curling instead that stepped up to the plate in talent.
I have to admit I like watching Olympic curling - the pressure is high on a sport that has weird variables, like surface texture, rink temperature and wrist rotation accuracy. I've tried curling and therefore have a deep respect for a game that pretty much secures gold with Canada taking 6 points in the 6th end! The 3rd man, Nichols, had a 97% accuracy and some of those were amazing throws (like hitting 3 rocks out on incredible angles!). And, to make this game even more interesting, the Lead guy was kind of cute.
I do wish I could have seen the women's hockey gold winning game.
(Glad i missed the men's)
I wish I was talking about men's hockey, but it was curling instead that stepped up to the plate in talent.
I have to admit I like watching Olympic curling - the pressure is high on a sport that has weird variables, like surface texture, rink temperature and wrist rotation accuracy. I've tried curling and therefore have a deep respect for a game that pretty much secures gold with Canada taking 6 points in the 6th end! The 3rd man, Nichols, had a 97% accuracy and some of those were amazing throws (like hitting 3 rocks out on incredible angles!). And, to make this game even more interesting, the Lead guy was kind of cute.
I do wish I could have seen the women's hockey gold winning game.
(Glad i missed the men's)
Tuesday, February 21
300 sq. ft
300 sq. ft is very small.
Imagine the average size of a bedroom and that would be the area of the suite that I walked in to. The small window looked across at the corner of Abbott and Cardero, Gastown (this was it's good feature). There were no cupboards. There was no countertop to prepare food. The silver unit that had two burners and a sink on top, also had a fridge, rather than an oven, in it's belly. The small bathroom DID have a half tub, shower and toilet, but there was no sink to brush your teeth or wash your face - the silver unit, it appeared, was multifunctional.
All that and no parking or storage space for the fine price of of $525.
I don't know. Call me middle class, but I think I'll pass on this one.
Too bad...I liked the idea of living in Gastown (and throwing the world's smallest parties).
Imagine the average size of a bedroom and that would be the area of the suite that I walked in to. The small window looked across at the corner of Abbott and Cardero, Gastown (this was it's good feature). There were no cupboards. There was no countertop to prepare food. The silver unit that had two burners and a sink on top, also had a fridge, rather than an oven, in it's belly. The small bathroom DID have a half tub, shower and toilet, but there was no sink to brush your teeth or wash your face - the silver unit, it appeared, was multifunctional.
All that and no parking or storage space for the fine price of of $525.
I don't know. Call me middle class, but I think I'll pass on this one.
Too bad...I liked the idea of living in Gastown (and throwing the world's smallest parties).
Wednesday, February 15
Traveling with my phone charger
One sign that could indicate you don't really have a home yet, is that you travel with a phone charger.
Yesterday I realized a disadvantage to this when I pulled out said phone charger and tried to charge it (in my car of course) since I had talked it down to dead.
Nothing. I looked it over, figured I had broken it (I don't think I had looked that closely at the charger before) and thought "Great, I'm now that much harder to get a hold of". Luckily this morning I discovered I had not in fact broken the charger...however now I wonder what the problem was. Since I was in the middle of calling someone about a place (a home for my phone charger) I decided to walk the blocks in search of pay phone. This is not an easy feat these days but after covering many blocks of pavement I finally found one. Ironically this one died on me halfway through my conversation and I had to move to the next stall over in order to finish hearing about a place to live that is 300 sq ft! - I can't even imagine how small that is. The size of my room with a kitchen attached to it? Probably. Anyway, the way this suite hunt is going, I might as well check it out - it could be the golden egg that my phone charger is looking for.
In other news, I am now an official diver at the aquarium, got some sweet, red, Rock and Roll underwear for valentines, danced a tiny solo in El Jaleo, an in-house casual performance, and I'm going on a trip in late April for 5 days to sail the Gulf Islands as a naturalist on a grade 8-9 Albertan school field trip.
And for those of you wondering about Canada's medal count, so far we have 2 Golds, 6 Silver and 5 Bronze medals. In half an hour the women's hockey play for gold! Go Canada go!
Gold - Women's Freestyle Skiing, Men's Skeleton
Silver - Two-Man Bobsled, Women's Cross Country team sprint, Men's Skeleton, Men's Speedskating Team Pursuit, Women's Speedskating Team Pursuit, Women's Speedskating 1000m
Bronze - Men's Figure Skating, Women's Snowboarding Cross, Women's Skeleton, Women's Speedskating 3000m, Women's Speedskating short track 500m.
Yesterday I realized a disadvantage to this when I pulled out said phone charger and tried to charge it (in my car of course) since I had talked it down to dead.
Nothing. I looked it over, figured I had broken it (I don't think I had looked that closely at the charger before) and thought "Great, I'm now that much harder to get a hold of". Luckily this morning I discovered I had not in fact broken the charger...however now I wonder what the problem was. Since I was in the middle of calling someone about a place (a home for my phone charger) I decided to walk the blocks in search of pay phone. This is not an easy feat these days but after covering many blocks of pavement I finally found one. Ironically this one died on me halfway through my conversation and I had to move to the next stall over in order to finish hearing about a place to live that is 300 sq ft! - I can't even imagine how small that is. The size of my room with a kitchen attached to it? Probably. Anyway, the way this suite hunt is going, I might as well check it out - it could be the golden egg that my phone charger is looking for.
In other news, I am now an official diver at the aquarium, got some sweet, red, Rock and Roll underwear for valentines, danced a tiny solo in El Jaleo, an in-house casual performance, and I'm going on a trip in late April for 5 days to sail the Gulf Islands as a naturalist on a grade 8-9 Albertan school field trip.
And for those of you wondering about Canada's medal count, so far we have 2 Golds, 6 Silver and 5 Bronze medals. In half an hour the women's hockey play for gold! Go Canada go!
Gold - Women's Freestyle Skiing, Men's Skeleton
Silver - Two-Man Bobsled, Women's Cross Country team sprint, Men's Skeleton, Men's Speedskating Team Pursuit, Women's Speedskating Team Pursuit, Women's Speedskating 1000m
Bronze - Men's Figure Skating, Women's Snowboarding Cross, Women's Skeleton, Women's Speedskating 3000m, Women's Speedskating short track 500m.
Thursday, February 9
When does it end?
Emerson switches to the Conservative party, Canucks lose to St. Louis Blues, and I just saw a commercial for a razor that has 5 blades.
5 blades? That's out of control...
5 blades? That's out of control...
Tuesday, January 24
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