Author: gfox (old content)

Dump Loved

I went mountain biking yesterday! Woohoo! First time in a while. It was a gorgeous sunny day that wasn’t too hot. D and I met at the dump, and did a small tour over some familiar trails, and took numerous breaks. It was heavenly. I do still miss mountain biking, and I look forward to the point in time when my family is old enough that I can get out riding on a regular basis.

Our route took us up to the Swtichbacks, then up to Snakes and Ladders. Down that trail, we then ended up on Skull, then back to the cars. We were out for over 2 hours, and I loved every minute of it.

Two legs turning two wheels is pretty simple. A lot can happen when you turn off your brain and concentrate on one thing only. I sometimes enter a zen state and have a completely empty mind. Yesterday wasn’t that kind of day and I don’t mind one bit.

Darted Camouflaged

I cleaned the fish tank out again today. There was a lot of green algae growing due to the increased sunlight, and with the new Cory’s there is a lot of extra food in the rock. It was getting bad.

I cleaned the sides, removed all the decorations, and started cleaning the rocks with the gravel vacuum. I was half way done when I saw a tiny blob that I thought was a bit of rooty material from one of the plants. When I moved the vacuum to suck it up, it darted away.

Awestruck, I quickly realized that it was actually a very tiny fish. It was less than a centimetre long, orange with black fins. I think it might be a Platy. Strange thing is, I only have 1 Platy in my tank.

Of course now I can’t find the mini fish. When I could see it, I noticed it was hugging the bottom, and hiding in amongst the rock. I worry that I somehow killed it during the cleaning, but maybe it is just camouflaged really well right now.

Angrily Confused

People are weird. I know this, and take it as a common truth.

While riding to Ultimate last night I was reminded of this. I was riding up Bay St, and was reaching Richmond. I wanted to get over into the left turn lane, so I shoulder checked. Since it was clear, I made an arm signal and moved over. At the red light I was behind a VW van. I also held my arm out to show people behind me I was going left.

When the light went green the van took off and I followed. After rounding the corner, I immediately moved over to the bike lane.

A couple seconds later, some guy in a small blue car (a Honda Fit sized car) passed me, and shook his finger at me angrily. Confused I turned up one hand to indicate to him that I didn’t know what he was talking about. He continued shaking his hand at me.

I was confused. I really have no idea what he could think I did wrong. Perhaps I didn’t clear the intersection fast enough? I was in a pretty hard gear and should have been one lower. I know I didn’t cause him to miss the advance left turn. Truly weird. Maybe he thought I shouldn’t have been on his road.

Maybe he is just an ignorant driver. I’ll go with that one. After wagging his disapproving finger at me and continuing on he approached a crosswalk with people waiting to cross. He started to slow down, then let go of the brakes and gunned it around a corner. Smooth move loser.

Afforded Headwind

Another Ulti game last night. The ride there was longer due to a change in location. This afforded me a longer warm up which suits me well actually.

The game itself was good. We played pretty well, and scored a few points. The zone was thrown on us quite a bit (still windy), so we got to work on breaking the zone. I was a popper this time instead of a handler, and I wasn’t doing a good job of it either. My timing was off from the other popper and I was frequently in the wrong place, or just a few steps off from being able to break the cup.

Then when I was handling, it seemed I did poorly at that too. My throws were getting caught by the wind and lifted way too high and out of bounds. I also missed a couple catches. Not my best showing, but I still had fun.

The ride home was hard. I kept a brisk pace the whole way home, but with a headwind and always facing into the sun, I was glad when I reached my garage.

Dwindling Afternoon

Vacation update. The days are dwindling!

Last time I mentioned we watched the parade. Since then there has been a bunch of things happen. We did a bunch of things around town, including a nice walk with J, L, and C at Elk Lake.

Then we went to Vancouver. We were there for 4 days, and had a (busy) fun time. We went to one brunch where there was 8 kids there, and 7 adults. Once Sprout got warmed up he had a great time. We didn’t leave that one until 2:30, so we ended up letting Sprout skip his nap. Waking him after a short nap results in a grumpy bear that we didn’t really want to deal with.

The next day it was another brunch with some more friends and their 2 daughters. I think Sprout had a great time there playing in the sandbox and the pool.

Then on the 26th, we went from Langley in to Stanley Park to visit the Aquarium. We spent a couple hours there, and Sprout definitely had fun. His favorite was the scuba diver in the big tank, closely followed by the beluga whales.

We came home that day. I did some grocery shopping on Tuesday while Sprout was at daycare, then Wednesday Sox took the kids to a friends while I did some things on the computer. I also had an Ulti game last night.

Today we drove up to Duncan and saw the Forestry Centre there. We rode the train (the highlight) and poked around the grounds a little bit. Finished there we ate lunch in the car on the way to Nanaimo where Sprout is having a sleepover at Gramma’s for a couple days. Yes, Sox and I only have 1 child until Sunday. We drove back to Victoria late in the afternoon, and had a leisurely dinner in front of the TV.

Injury Dent

A severe injury to a good friend.



I discovered this a couple weeks ago when I pulled my Canon S30 from its case. There is a small dent on the front, so it must have been dropped onto something pointy, and this is the result. The metal case cannot be bent back into place, and I may try disassembling the case to fix it. Amazingly the camera still works.

No idea when, or how, this actually happened though.

Earlier Zone

Ulti is such a fun game. Tonight our timeslot was at 7:30. I think I prefer playing in the earlier slot, but with family, later means I can help around the house more.

The game itself was tough since it was pretty windy. We were zoned many times which is fine if the team can handle it. Our team is pretty green so it is hard to teach them quick enough to keep up. We did ok though and played more than a few points very well which wasn’t reflected in the score ( 13-0 not for us).

I was handling a lot tonight which is great since less running is necessary. On one point when we were applying the zone, I was in the long position directing the mids. Never done that before, so that was pretty cool. This is only the second game though, and I don’t have everyone’s names down yet. Its getting better though.

I think I played pretty good. I was catching very well, my throws were pretty decent with a few bad ones due to the wind, and my defence was alright. Still working on the cardio which will greatly improve my games. It would help if there were less guys on the team and I got more playing time. Can’t have everything though.

I like the team I am playing and already I am looking forward to the next game.

Curtains Break

After getting everyone in the car after the parade and associated mishap we headed home. Sprout was very tired, and Sox and I just wanted to veg a bit.

Pulling into the driveway Yoshi popped his head out from between our bedroom curtains. That stinker was on the bed. Immediately I suspected we forgot to close the gate. Sox then said she remembers closing it.

My next thought was that he jumped it. In all the years we have had him, he has never jumped a gate we put in his way.

Boy, was I wrong.

Instead Yoshi had chewed part of the wooden permanent child gate enough to break one of the slats, then he pushed his way upstairs!

Result: hairy bed and broken gate. Not a good morning. Now the gate has a huge hole that a childs head could get caught in. Luckily we have another one in our sunroom that we can swap in.

Accident Crew

Yesterday after the parade was a very scary time. Sox and J left with the girls to go feed them in the car. T and I had the boys and watched the parade a little longer. We started the walk back to the car, and when it was visible, I saw J and Sox standing at the side of the road. J was walking towards T and I with a strange look on her face. Sox was getting Beet into her carseat.

When J was close enough, she said they had been in an accident. They were rear ended while nursing the girls.

My stomach instantly dropped. J said they were OK, but I picked up the pace and caught up to Sox. She was shaken, and I was pretty scared. I gave her a big hug to reassure her, and to make me feel better too. I was pretty worried about her, and for Beet too. The drivers involved were all exchanging information, so I helped with that.

After a couple moments, we could hear an ambulance siren. Sure enough the ambulance was for us, but noone knew who called it in. The crew got out and ensured everyone was fine. Once they determined there were no injuries, they went on their way. As they were leaving a police car showed up, and a firetruck, both with lights and sirens going. The firemen wanted to make sure the scene was safe, and that no cars were on fire nor leaking anything flammable. The police took statements from everyone, and helped figure everything out. I am glad that they arrived because that reassured me and seemed to calm everyone down. Also, with their police report on file, we no longer need to keep track of anyones information. Through it all though, the boys were very patient, and the girls uttered not a peep.

Sox and J were not buckled at the time they were hit. Sox was feeling a little sore yesterday so she headed to a clinic to get herself and Beet examined. I am extremely happy that they are fine. The car is a little banged up, and now we need to start dealing with ICBC to get it fixed. There is a bunch of damage to the drivers side rear quarter panel, the rear bumper, the rear door, potentially the rear tire, and the front bumper too (our car was pushed into the one in front of us). We have plans to head to Vancouver this weekend so hopefully we won’t be without a vehicle (although a close friend of ours offered her van for us to use).

Quite the saga. Imagine sitting in a parked vehicle at the side of the road and being rear ended. Scary. I am just glad that nobody in any of the four cars was hurt.

Roadside Parade

Still keeping very busy during my time off.

This past Wednesday (May 14) we headed out to Fort Rodd Hill with a friend of ours, and her son. The boys had a great run around out there, and we enjoyed checking out the sights. The great thing about that place is that a seasons pass is $5. Now I can head back there any time I want to take some pictures. Wednesday I also played my first Ulti game of the season.

Thursday some of Sox’s family arrived for a visit. Friday we all headed out to Island View beach for some sin and sand. On the way back I stopped at a roadside stand to get some eggs and a couple red peppers. I also got a couple pieces of Rhubarb for a snack. Imagine my surprise then the total was less than $4.50. The eggs we normally buy are $4!

Saturday morning we went out for breakfast at Pluto’s (mmm, my favorite place for breakfast) then headed off to a Beacon Hill park playground. We also went for a small tour of the park for Sox’s dad and stepmom. We then said goodbye to our visitors.

Today we headed downtown to watch the parade. I was actually feeling under the weather, but the boys had a great time, and so did the adults. There was a bit of a downer for us when we were leaving, but I will detail that later.