Raptor's Journal

Ugh. Just Ugh.

2009-11-07T18:03:53Z

So I've been sick since Tuesday. And I mean really sick. I don't know if it was H1N1, a seasonal flu, or just a really talented rhinovirus, but it started with a cough, which wasn't too bad, but then Wednesday morning I was completely congested and had a pretty bad headache, and stayed home from work. I think I slept most of the day, and started to feel better toward the evening, enough to get a little bit of packing done.

Thursday morning, though, it was back to square one - congested, headache, and now add sinus pain and runny nose to boot. I spent the majority of the day in bed, but it was off and on - I'd be able to spend about an hour out of bed at a time without feeling too awful, before feeling right awful again.

Friday morning I felt much better, but decided to work from home since I was still coughing all over the place. I got through most of the day and even took a little bit of time to pack a few more things, until about 4:30 PM when I got hit with the worst pain in my head that I have ever felt. I'm no stranger to headaches and migraines, but this one was BRUTALLY painful, and very different from anything I've had before. Most of my headaches are just a dull pain, this was a stabbing, throbbing pain in my right temple and behind the eye. I took an Advil and laid down, and after an hour with no improvement I asked Jenn to take me to the hospital. I was in that much pain and I was that worried about it, especially after just being really sick.

Jenn drove me to the Sturgeon up in St. Albert, the only hospital in the region that I know of has reasonably short wait times at Emergency. We waited just a few minutes for the triage nurse, less than 5 minutes to be taken to a bed in Emergency, and I think it was only about another 10 minutes before the doctor came to see me.

They did a blood test, put me in for a CT scan, and then hooked me up to an IV and gave me lots of drugs (including a shot of morphine in the butt, funfun), which finally made the throbbing pain in my head go away (with the bonus side effect of making me all euphoric and tripped out, though strangely still able to hold a conversation).

After an hour of utter discomfort in an Emergency bed with a hose in my arm, a blood pressure monitor on my other arm, a tender spot on my butt, and a surgical mask on my face (just in case I did have H1N1, though I did take it off for part of the long wait because it was so stifling), they finally came back and said my CT scan looked "perfect" as well as my blood work. Which was a relief, but still makes me wonder what caused me to get the migraine to end all migraines, and so suddenly.

Another nurse (I think I'd met half of the Emergency staff by the end of the night) came by shortly after and unhooked me and I clumsily got dressed (whee, drugs) and Jenn took me home.

Jenn was wonderful through the whole thing, and sat with me through most of it (except where pointy things were involved and once to go plug the parking meter), even though she hadn't eaten anything since lunch that day. After she took me home she went and bought some groceries (including some dinner for herself) and made me some tomato soup. She's such a sweetheart, I love her so much. She takes good care of me.

So yeah, still feeling a bit woozy today, but my head seems to be not throbbing and I'm definitely getting over whatever it was that I had (no more coughing). But I think I'm going to need to wear long-sleeve shirts if I go out in the next few days...I have trackmarks from the IV. =P

Phase Shift

2009-09-26T23:39:03Z

I don't want to say more and give away the game before everything is finalized, but I think we can safely say we've moved from the "finding a house" phase to the "buying a house" phase, as it looks like the seller is set to accept our offer. I'll post as many details as I can once I have confirmation.

EEEEEEEEE! (is for "Exciting!")

Morning Commute, Hopeful House

2009-09-25T04:11:25Z

I've been thinking about something a friend said on his blog about how he wonders how many drivers can honestly say they enjoy their morning commutes as much as he enjoys his bike commute. I agree with the sentiment completely - I love biking to work in the morning, and one of the reasons is this scene above.

I love that I can stop and take in the scenery before I head into the valley, or stop along the riverbank halfway along and ponder how some pioneering visionaries of the past looked at this same place and built a city perched above this beautiful valley, leaving the valley itself almost completely untouched for future generations to enjoy and share in equally.

If that isn't the definition of stewardship, I don't know what is.

So with that in mind I brought my camera and took just a few shots to show what I'm talking about when I say I love my bike commute into work, and because I can't stress enough just how friggin' lucky I am to live in a city like this.

Jenn and I have been feeling a bit frustrated by the house hunting...few good houses in our price range and in the areas we want to live in with the features we want. We didn't think we were being too picky until our options started drying up quickly, and houses we thought were ok and then wanted to reconsider were getting sold.

We did make an offer on one house where the asking price was already pretty high, and they came back with a counter offer that was still too much. Wasn't meant to be.

We started considering lowering our standards a bit, but it's hard to judge what sacrifices you want to make. We looked at a house in Sherbrooke, a neighborhood we hadn't considered before, and almost wanted to put an offer on it. It was nice, but it didn't wow me, and the location was...tenuous for me. But we eventually realized that what they say is true: location, location, location. I had too many doubts about the location, and feared that I wouldn't be happy living there long term because of it.

So yeah, frustrations rising.

But...BUT! Tonight we looked at another house, in a neighborhood we both like, close to downtown, decently close to transit. It's fairly "vintage," but well maintained vintage, and doesn't need major work that we can tell (except for new appliances maybe). We both like it. We're going to sleep on it and look at it again tomorrow, and if we still feel the same way, we're likely going to make an offer on it.

Eeee! Crazytimes.

Weird/Annoying Morning

2009-09-21T18:49:32Z

I'm having a weird/annoying morning.

First off I missed the two faster buses going downtown (109 and 112) by about a minute. Then I waited about 10 minutes for another bus (and it was cold out this morning). Finally a #2 came,...in the form of an old, old GMC bus (I thought we were done with those?), packed to the gills. Fortunately another 2 was right behind that one, which was far less packed. Then traffic was just crawling on Stony Plain Road between about 130 St. and 121 St., thanks to the lane closure around 121 St. apparently due to a watermain break that remains unfixed.

Finally the bus gets downtown and stops at Standard Life Place, where this rough-looking fellow gets on and flashes a ragged transfer at the driver while standing there ranting about how he's Mexican, not Native (I actually couldn't tell, but I think he really was Native), and how "Alberta bus drivers" "hate natives and brown people." The driver asked to see the transfer more closely and he goes off on a tirade about how she's being racist and how a white passenger wouldn't have been asked (incidentally, the transfer wasn't valid). The guy rips the transfer from the driver's hand (after one failed attempt to snatch it after which he says "whaddya think you're doing??" and to which she replied "nothing, you did that."), and he sits near me and continues his loud tirade about how all Albertans are racist and hate brown people etc. etc.

Oddly enough, he then gets off at the very next stop, still going on about racist bus drivers even though the driver had been extraordinarily patient with him despite his loud and obnoxious behaviour and invalid transfer. After he got off, the driver pulls away and shakes her head saying, "he has issues." To which I replied simply, "yup."

Lesson for the day: loudly and pre-emptively playing the race card in order to score a free ride on transit all the while ranting about racism is probably the real reason people don't like you, not because of racism.

Work has been a gong show so far. I'm honestly getting tired of how what my department does (build, configuration, and deployment management) seems to be an afterthought, even though almost always we end up bringing up several issues when change requests come our way less than a week before the cut date. It's frustrating that we aren't consulted far earlier in the process in order to help flesh out these issues rather than be expected to deal with them at the 11th hour. I've brought this up several times, and I'm going to bring it up yet again. Think anyone will listen this time? Some of these issues, though, are the kind that should have been fairly apparent to the people in charge of these projects though, too, which is even more frustrating.

Argh.

New Route

2009-09-17T03:29:43Z

(View large)

So I discovered a much faster "express" commute home now - see the yellow line on the map. By taking 100 Ave. from 102 St. to 121 St., I bypass a great deal of lights and stop signs. Traffic is a bit heavier along this route, but the lanes are wide enough to pass on the right when needed. It takes just 15 minutes to bike home via this route.

I haven't tried biking to work this way yet, but I'm not sure I would want to - traffic along 102 Ave. is much heavier and trickier. And I still like taking the valley route and "lungbuster hill" in the morning.

Jenn and I did a short stint of house touring on Sunday. Nothing really "wow" yet but one house was pretty promising. Another one would have been promising, too, if not for a giant horizontal crack in the foundation... We're going for another round on Saturday. Fun times!

Winnipeg, Weddings, Mosquitoes, Old Cameras, and Large Investments

2009-09-10T04:52:06Z

We (myself, Jenn, and her parents) spent the long weekend and then some in Winnipeg for Jenn's cousin's wedding, in case I forgot to mention it.

A lot of that time was spent on the road. We drove to Yorkton on Thursday, where we stayed the night, and in the morning Jenn and I took a short drive up to see my grandparents' old house, where my dad grew up. It looked just as a I remembered it.

We got into Winnipeg on Friday afternoon and unloaded the car at Jenn's aunt & uncle's place, then Jenn and I headed off to Osbourne Village to wander, shop, and eat.

Our first wandering took us into a Vintage shop. While in there, I ended up buying myself a vintage camera, a 1948 Kodak Brownie Six-20 folding camera. More on that in a bit.

We wandered some other shops and went to an Australian restaurant-pub called Billabong for dinner. I had a delicious Shank of lamb, and Jenn had an equally delicious Barramundi. It was a great evening and just what I needed after the long drive.

Saturday was the day of the wedding, so I got to deck myself out in my nice pinstripe suit again. The ceremony was good (though a reminder as to why neither Jenn nor I want a religious ceremony ourselves, nor even to get married in a church).

The reception was also excellent, it was held just outside Winnipeg on a large house lot in a temporary tent. The food was really good, the cupcakes even better. Overall, it was a great wedding. I also took lots of photos which I will have to process and upload.

At this point, I should say I've heard legends about mosquitoes in Winnipeg. But nothing - absolutely nothing - could have prepared me for what I encountered. After sunset, the mosquitoes started swarming...me in particular. They really liked me for some reason. Maybe it's all the bananas I eat. When I was brave enough to venture outside the tent, I would have about two dozen of them on me within seconds. After dark, they were no better inside the tent. And to make matters worse, I was reacting really badly to the bites...like, swelling, itchy red and white hives forming immediately after each bite. Thankfully Jenn was very understanding (I love you!) and we left early so she could take me back to her aunt & uncle's place and help slather me in hydrocortizone.

Some of those bites were still itching even on the drive home on Monday.

Jenn got a fair number of bites, too, but hers didn't start swelling and itching until the next day, Sunday morning (so I helped slather her with hydrocortizone). We went for a nice diner-style breakfast that morning, and headed out to the Forks after seeing where Jenn's grandparents used to live. There I ended up buying some presents for my nieces (which I won't risk accidentally spoiling just in case), and I bought myself this beautiful 11x14 poster of a watercolour-styled portrait of Eeyore standing on his head. Jenn found it amongst a bunch of other Disney posters, and I fell in love with it instantly. We actually just framed it a little while ago.

We went to an after-wedding social party at Jenn's other aunt's house that evening, and it was a lot of fun. I like her family, and they really seem to like me back. I'm glad I can converse and mingle when I want to.

The drive back home was done in one day, on Monday. It was long and tiring, but we got through it. I wish I had taken Tuesday off work, though, boy was I tired. Really, I still was today, too.

As for that old Brownie I picked up in Osbourne, it looks to be in good shape and in good working order, but also makes a great display piece. They don't make the film for it anymore (620), but apparently the 120 film you can buy today is exactly the same, one just needs to modify the spindle to make it fit the camera. So I might take the old girl for a spin yet.

I'm feeling a renewed interest in film photography lately, after seeing some Flickr-friends shoot film recently.

Aside from my new purchase, I also have my grandfather's old camera, a 1979 35mm Nikon EM (complete with a 28mm, 50mm, and 80-200mm lenses). I think the internal meter is damaged, and the focusing glass isn't in great shape, but I believe it still mostly works (in bulb or fixed 1/90s exposure mode). Hopefully I can find someone to fix it if it's pretty broken, but either way I definitely want to pick up a roll of film or three and see what I can do without the conveniences of digital (let alone the conveniences of auto-focus).

Jenn and I are starting our house-shopping this Sunday. It's hard to believe we're going ahead with this, it's exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time. But we've found some really nice houses in our price range on MLS recently and figured we should start the ball rolling in case any of them end up working out for us.

It's weird to think, it wasn't that long ago for me that I quit what had become a horrible sinking ship of a job, was flying halfway across the world (after busing across a quarter of it), wondering what to do with myself and making myself broke in the process. Now I have a decent job that I don't hate, a lovely lady who I will marry, and I'm about to wade into the biggest investment that most people ever make in their lives, and settle into someplace we can call our own home.

It's just amazing what can happen in just four years and change.

Caturday

2009-09-09T19:08:21Z

Some weirdos out there think that today (9/9/09) should be a "Day Without Cats on the Internet." To that I say...

...screw you guys. The Internet is nothing without the cats that rule it.

The Skyline Looked Beautiful on Fire

2009-09-01T04:18:17Z

X-Posted from the edmontonphoto community, because it is awesome and because it made page 2 of Explore for the day it was posted! That's the highest any photo of mine has ever gone on that list! I love it, I'm so proud of this one.

Also, just for fun, I updated the map from the last post to add my commute to Kung Fu, to further visualize just how much biking I've been doing:

(view large)

Refresher:
Red line = Usual commute; pleasant but vigorous, lots of hilly parts. ~6.6km
Blue line = Express commute; usually faster (not always), but more starts and stops due to stop signs and lights and has some bridge hazards. ~ 4.6 km
Green line = Kung Fu commute (how I get to Kung Fu class twice weekly); follows the LRT path mostly and is otherwise pretty easy. ~5.6km.

Summary:
Mon-Tue-Wed and Fri, (weather permitting) I commute about 13.2km daily on hilly terrain (red return). On Thursdays I commute about 22.4km (red+green return + blue), and Saturdays I commute about 20.4km (blue + green return both).

Whew.

In case anyone was curious...

2009-08-27T04:02:30Z

...this is what my bike commute usually looks like:

(view large)

Home is approximately the area on the left, work is on the right (Manulife). The red line is my usual commute through the valley, which is very pleasant and involves few stops and enough hills to get me in good shape. The switchback path in the middle is a particularly nasty lungbuster of a hill on the way to work. The blue line is my "express" commute, which is a little faster (not by much and not always), but also involves far more stop signs, lights, and two hazardous bridge crossings. The green area is a neat little ravine I checked out last week. It's very cool!

Just felt like sharing that.

ETA: According to Google Earth's ruler, the "red" route is a little over 6.5 km, the "blue" route is over 4.5 km. Two klicks difference, yet only maybe 5 mins longer taking the red route. Amazing what a difference it makes not having to stop every two blocks downtown. Also, that means I do over 13 km of hilly cycling almost every day.

Oh, also, last weekend Jenn went to do a photoshoot with gambitsworld at the old Griesbach shooting range, and I tagged along to carry stuff and hold reflectors and flashlights and otherwise be a good lackey (while secretly observing his techniques for later study). Anyway, the amazing results can be found here. Dude's a friggin' awesome photog.

And why yes, that is my black-painted Nerf gun in those shots. Worked really well for this!

raptortheangel @ 2009-08-14T21:06:00

2009-08-15T03:11:55Z

Lower Mainland BC

In other news, 3.89%! I don't think anyone can beat that. Not that I won't try, but still, that's pretty darn good.

It's a tiny bit discouraging looking at MLS, though. While there are lots of decent little houses in our price range, most better-than-decent, more-than-little, or otherwise awesomely-located houses are JUST out of our price range.

They said prices have come down in this slump. Compared to what? The peak of the boom? There's not a lot that's under $350,000, not even much that's under $400,000. Unless we want to look at Parkdale, Cromdale, Alberta Ave., or other equally sketchy areas. Which we don't.

Bleh. We'll find something ice, though, something that will work for us. It's just hard to see from here.

Like a Lion

2009-08-10T04:48:32Z

Watchful

2009-08-09T05:59:21Z

Not much to report, but wanted an excuse to make a photo post. The new bike is working great so far and I love it; since the weather sucked last weekend, I'm hoping to take 'er out to the trails tomorrow. Jenn and I are going to look at getting pre-approved for a mortgage this week...whew, big step. But the idea of owning a house is pretty exciting, challenges and all.

Lake Photo, Late Photos, Chubbo Salamanders, Moon, Clint Mansell, and a Kenyan Sand Boa

2009-08-02T05:41:00Z

Sunset at Mink Lake, June 27 2009

Still haven't processed Vancouver photos. If I can get it done tomorrow, though, I will reward myself with a nice long bike ride through the river valley on Monday, and hit up some trails I've never done before.

I fed my salamander a fuzzy mouse today, because the Kenyan Sand Boa didn't seem to want to eat it. Have I mentioned the boa yet? I will talk about that in a moment I think. Anyway, the thing had to be 1/6th the weight of the salamander, but he happily snapped at it and carefully and slowly swallowed it whole. I think it took him about 15 minutes to get it down. And after that, he sort of lumbered away and hid under his rock with a look of "oh god, you guys...I can't believe I ate the WHOLE THING..." Probably won't need to feed him for a couple of weeks after that, though he was still snapping randomly at fingers just a half hour later. What a chubbo.

Jenn and I went to see Moon this afternoon. It was an excellent movie, though it made me feel lonely, depressed, and a bit of despair toward the end. But I think that really means it got in my head, which is what any good movie should be able to do.

Plus Clint Mansell did the music. Brilliant man, brilliant score.

I have a Kenyan Sand Boa still, which was mentioned in this post. The Duméril's Boa is long gone to Nanaimo, and somehow I ended up with the task of finding the KSB a good home. If anyone reading this who lives in the area is interested in a small boa as a pet, I'm selling her and her 10g enclosure for about $100, but I'll take offers. Drop me a line if interested.

I'm on a Bike, Muthafucka!

2009-07-26T05:49:13Z

(Title Reference)

My wonderful and lovely Jenn drove me around the city today to help me shop for a new bike. Incidentally, the first place I went is where I am ending up buying one.

We started at River Valley Cycle. The location is in an industrial park, which seems odd for a bike shop, but their store was well laid out and had good selection. We were helped immediately, and the guy was very knowledgeable and helpful, including helping me determine what size of frame I should be using.

I tried on a few bikes and rode around the parking lot and up and down some of landscaped slopes. I tried out an Rocky Mountain Trailhead, a Kona Caldera (at least I think that's what it was), and a Rocky Mountain Soul, as they were all the kind of bike I need, and within my price range (well, mostly).

The Trailhead was a noticeably better ride than the Soul, while I was actually kind of disappointed with the Kona (though it was much better than the POS I currently have).

I also tried out a Rocky Mountain Vertex 10 for kicks while the sales guy checked to see if they had any previous years' models that I might be able to get at a clearance price, since the current model is just out of my range. I really liked the feel of this bike, much more than the Trailhead even though the price difference was only $150. The sales guy told me he had a current years' model (that needed to be assembled still), and that he'd knock $100 off the price, bringing it to $1299, or just $50 more than the Trailhead. I got the offer in writing and explained we were still shopping around, and thanked him for his help.

We also checked out United Cycle with their new larger bike shop. While the selection was pretty big, the number of brands wasn't, and the one staff member who directed us to the XC bikes apparently couldn't cross into that area, while no one in that area offered to help us. The prices on their brands didn't seem that competitive anyway.

We finally went to Revolution Cycle, and while we were helped, they kept having to switch off whoever was helping us, and none of them really stuck around to offer much assistance. They did offer to match the price on the Vertex as what I was offered, but given the lackluster service, and the great service so far at RVC, I decided that's where I'd go.

I called RVC and said I'd take the Vertex, and asked if it would be available for pickup tomorrow. The guy said assembly would take longer than that, so we arranged for me to pick it up on Wednesday. About 5 minutes after I hung up, they called me back to say that the sales guy had asked them to assemble the bike after we left, and it would be ready for the morning! I joked that he was awfully confident that we'd be back, but was thrilled that I would be getting it so soon.

So in the morning after brunch, Jenn is driving me back out there to pick up my shiny new Rocky Mountain Vertex 10. I can't tell you how excited I am and how much of a good mood this has put me in.

My old POS Norco is going to be donated to Edmonton Bicycle Commuters' Bikeworks program. Hopefully they can salvage some good parts off of it (I think the frame is still in excellent condition at least, as are the wheels and brakes).

Next challenge: buying shoes for and learning how to use clipless pedals. I'm totally going to fall over at least a few times while I learn this shit.

Vote for Us!

2009-07-23T14:39:35Z

Jenn and I need your votes!

ETA: Tip: It seems to be based on average number of stars, not number of votes. In other words, it also helps to vote on the other entries with a lower number of stars. If you do this, at least try to be fair!

Fishes

2009-07-16T04:06:43Z

Last week while we were gone, one of our betta fishes, Perseus, died. Just this Monday we lost the other one, Apollo. They were a couple of years old so it's not totally unexpected, but they were very cute, pretty, and energetic, and we'll miss them.

But! We already got a couple of new ones (it was a bit unexpected but hey). One of them is a light yellow-silver colour with a luminescent green tinge to his fins. His name is Icarus, because he tried to fly to the sun when I took him out of the bag and fell back to earth (well, he actually jumped, and it was toward the track lights, and he only fell to the floor,...but he's ok! He's good!). The other one is orangey with beautiful aqua coloured fins and his name is Orion. They're both really cute and pretty and so far energetic too.

I'll have to try to get photos of them later.

Yay, fishes! I love critters.

Bikes and Vancouver and Stuff

2009-07-14T03:32:19Z

So the week before my last post, my bike broke, and it made me mad because it happened just as I was all pumped up and ready to take it out on the trails. It's actually just the seat that broke (again), but since I was planning on replacing this bike by the end of the year anyway, I think I'll just accelerate that plan a little and get myself a new one. I'm planning on spending a bit more than the $400 I spent on the last one (about 4 years ago...I think I've got more than $400 worth out of it in that time).

So my budget this time is about $1000-$1200, and I'll be looking at an XC bike of some sort, which should be good for both city and trail riding. I actually knew very little about mountain bikes when I bought my last one, but I've learned a lot more over the last little while so I should be able to make a smarter purchase and get a more durable, comfortable, and appropriate bike for my needs.

We got back from Vancouver this weekend, and it was a really great time. We stayed with my Aunt in Lynn Valley, in North Van, which is a neat area in itself. Some of the highlights of the trip:
- Frequent trips on the SeaBus
- Canada Day downtown Vancouver
- Chillin' on the beach at Ambleside
- Dinner with an old friend at a Microbrewery in Yaletown that has awesome gourmet pizzas
- Dessert at an amazing dessert shop in the west end of downtown
- Driving over the Lion's Gate bridge during the day and again at night
- Buying shoes at John Fluevog's in Gastown
- Riding the SkyTrain to Metrotown
- Blodel Conservatory and the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Chinese Garden (again)
- Delicious sushi at Lynn Valley Centre including fruit sushi
- Brews with said old friend on Commercial Drive and finally meeting his pregnant wife
- Hiking in Lynn Canyon
- Crossing the Lynn Valley Suspension Bridge (not nearly as huge as the Capilano, but impressive nonetheless)

We also made a trip down to Seattle. I have to say I was a bit underwhelmed by that city. It seems nice, but nothing I saw was truly spectacular, with the one exception being the Science Fiction Museum. That was very, very cool. While we were there, they had a great exhibit on Jim Henson, the man behind the muppets, showing some of his early artwork and some of his short videos. It was very interesting to see.

While there we also saw the Pike Place market (including the famous Pike Place Fish Market, but no one was buying anything so it wasn't very exciting) and the Space Needle, which was pretty cool (not as cool as the CN Tower though). For dinner, we tried to go to The Crab Pot, which is apparently a pretty famous restaurant, but it was packed. We found another seafood place nearby on the marina, the name of which escapes me at the moment. The salmon there was very, very good.

Though Jenn was doing all the driving, it was a pretty frustrating experience in Seattle. Some of the roads downtown are extremely steep, the one-way streets are extremely inconvenient (it didn't help that the map we had didn't indicate any one-ways), and getting back onto the I-5 to get out of the city was next to impossible.

On the way back to Edmonton, we stayed in Jasper overnight. We didn't do much there but eat pizza and sit in the hot tub, but it was nice nonetheless.

All in all a good vacation. Going back to work this morning was pretty hard to do.

Sorry I don't have a photo to go along with this post. I took over 2000 photos and it will take me some time to sort them out...

This Week in Dave

2009-06-28T21:30:59Z

I guess I should update this thing once in a while.

This was taken at Elk Island National Park back on May 22, where Jenn took me for my birthday and we hiked and picnicked and took photos and learn some very interesting things about the history of the place (namely how successful it has been at repopulating species that were hunted nearly to extinction).

On to more current events.

Jenn and I just got back from a Kung Fu camping trip at Mink Lake, where we stayed since Friday evening. Not a terrible campground, I guess, but too close to a highway and busy railway, sites are too close together without enough tree coverage separating them, and not enough tree cover to separate the sites from the lake. And too many noisy seagulls.

Aside from complaints about the site, it was cold and windy when we got there, and then cool and breezy the next day, and then hurricane force winds this morning, cold, and a bit rainy during breakfast this morning.

But overall it was still pretty fun.

Tomorrow morning we head out on our drive to Vancouver, a bit of Seattle, and perhaps other points beyond, where we'll be for the next couple of weeks. Whee! Vacation!

Make a Wish

2009-06-04T05:25:29Z

Rawr

2009-05-14T04:32:33Z

Leisurely

2009-05-12T18:13:44Z

More misc. photos here and here. Note Jenn's new glasses!

Exhausted

2009-05-03T06:05:35Z

Today: Went shopping, had lunch in the car, grabbed camera and went to Hawrelak Park for about 20 mins and snapped a bunch of photos, went to friends' house for their son's second birthday party, ate two cheeseburgers and three cupcakes, went home, bikes through the river valley on the way to Kung Fu (the long way), got a bit lost in Riverdale, climbed a steep hill (on foot, no way I could ride it), biked the rest of the way to Kung Fu, started practice pretty much within minutes of arriving, worked out hard, became the brunt of Sifu's jokes due to said cheeseburgers, got repeatedly kicked in the head with pads on (but including four kicks to the head where one of the pads was missed), sat for a while, and then biked home.

Good god am I exhausted. But it felt sooo good being back on my bike!

Awesome Weekend

2009-04-28T04:22:01Z

Waiting...

...for the first train carrying passengers to arrive at the new McKernan/Belgravia LRT station. More on that in a bit.

Thursday evening: Went to Metro with a good part of the Development department, had food, had drinks, and played pool and chatted with my co-workers.

Friday evening, Jenn and I went for food and drinks with her old crew from her previous job at the Atlantic Trap & Gill. Food was pretty good, and I get along pretty well with lots of those guys.

Saturday morning, we woke up at about 8:30 and remembered that the SLRT grand opening that happening that morning, and that I was going to go down and take photos. Jenn was going out shopping anyway, so she dropped me off at the new McKernan/Belgravia station, and I snapped a bunch of photos of the first train rolling in and the Mayor unveiling the station plaque.

I boarded the train and apparently got on the car that was supposed to be for media and dignitaries, but I think they let it slide because of the camera. We rode the train down the new track (the smoothest track they've built yet) to the new South Campus station, where we were met by a pipe band, activity tents, and where several speeches were made, and where I took a bunch more photos.

Residents await the opening of McKernan/Belgravia station

The first train approaches!

Arrival!

Mayor Mandel looks cold...

The plaque is unveiled

A sign of the times

Greeted by the ETS Pipe Band at South Campus

Mr. Mandel explains his vision for LRT in Edmonton...
...and still looks cold

Rona Ambrose BSes about the Conservative Government
Hey Rona, where's the federal support on the Port Alberta initiative?

MLA Gene Zwozdesky unveils the plaque

That cameraman in the front was a total jerk...even blocked the view of a lot of the media photogs.

I guess it was rather chilly that day

The turnout was pretty good
See if you can spot Linda Duncan

The media

Station shots

Glu-Lam beams are an amazing choice of construction material

Looking toward the next extension, opening next year

ETS' refurbished GE locomtive
It may be old and small and cute, but it practically built the SLRT line

The buttons on the new LRT cars are neat

The second ever passenger service train arrives!

Full set is here.

Jenn met up with me at the station, having come back from her shopping trip...with a Nintendo DS. We went for lunch at Mucho Burrito downtown and it was pretty good. The service was excellent. Apparently they're opening another one closer to my work, too. There's lots of great food choices opening up nearby.

We went to Future Shop after and I bought Final Fantasy Tactics A2 for DS (but have yet to play it). We then went to London Drugs to look for something else, and there I was tempted by a 75-300mm lens for $300 which I bought on the spot. More toys!

That evening, we went to The Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner, and I had the vegetarian lasagna, and it was really good.

Then we went out to the Leonard Cohen concert.

And oh boy, it was AMAZING.

Probably one of the best shows I've ever seen.

The man is just amazing, and the band just as much so. They were spectacular, all of them. I won't forget that concert any time soon. I was so thankful I emailed our CEO this morning to thank him for the tickets, and told him what a great perk they are.

The whole day was just fantastic, and everything worked out so well timing-wise, from getting up in the morning, arriving in time for the ceremonies and to take pictures, to catching the LRT to and from the concert and the bus back home. It was just overall an amazing day.

Sunday was less exciting, but I cleaned up the kitchen pretty good. I wanted to do that since we found a sowbug and a carpet beetle the other day (which is odd since we lack carpet), and was worried that the source of them would be behind the fridge or the stove. But all clear, they must've been just stray bugs, and not even the kind we're that worried about.

On that note, it's been six months since we moved into the new place, and so far no bedbugs to be had. I think it's safe to say at this point that we're all clear. It's also been two years since Jenn moved in with me, and almost three years that we've been together. And it's still going so great. I love her so much, and I love how much time we spend together. She helped make this weekend so wonderful. <3

Oooohhh, it's a snake!!!

2009-04-16T05:17:07Z

Meet Spurlock. We're babysitting him while our friend is away in B.C. looking for a new place to live. He's a really nice snake and was really good about us taking him out to play. As morbid as it may sound, I'm really looking forward to feeding him next weekend. He's a Duméril's boa, in case anyone was wondering.

I do like snakes, and have wanted to own a smaller one like a kingsnake for some time, but this guy is making me think I might want a bigger fella like him.

We're also looking after what I think is a Kenyan sand boa, but I'm not sure. The thing is always hiding, and is apparently really moody.

Woo!

2009-04-13T18:32:23Z

Guess who snagged free tix to Leonard Cohen?