Museum Canal

Today we hit up a local children’s museum that was just across the border in Quebec. It was awesome. Elliot and his cousin ran around looking and playing with everything. Amy followed a bit, but she found her own favorite things to play on (like sitting in ann Austin Mini, or in the bus). Elliot’s favorite was the crane that he could operate and use to pick up mock cargo.

After nap time and just before dinner we headed back to the canal for some more skating. At first it was just going to be Sox, myself and Amy, but at the last moment Elliot decided he wanted to come too. Above is a shot of the Fox family on the ice. Still no Beavertail, though I did see a shack selling them! So close.

Elliot is having a great time with the snow. I think he really missed it this year at home. I am glad he is at least experiencing it here.

Ottawa Beavertail

Yesterday we flew to Ottawa to visit some family. The flights with the kids were fine, and strangely enough, the kids didn’t sleep at all. Normally this might not be a problem, but by the time we landed it was 10pm Victoria time. Amy did this with no nap on the day, which, if you have young children, you could understand my apprehension.

Today was a fun day. There isn’t a lot of snow here in Ottawa, but there is some. It is also cold, but not very cold. The low for the week is around -5 which is perfect for getting outside and doing things.

Things like skating on the Rideau Canal.

I have never skated on anything but man made ice in a rink so this was a unique experience. It was a lot of fun, and we made sure that we skated into the wind at the start, and with the wind on the way back. It was also a nice and sunny day too. Absolutely perfect first day here. There will also be a Beavertail somewhere along the way.

Things planned for the rest of the week include museums, ice slides, ice sculptures, more skating, swimming (indoors), and maybe a playground or two.

Service Food

Unlike my dealing with BlockBuster last week I had an awesome customer service experience today.

I stopped at Bosley’s to get some food for Yoshi. I found the kind of food that I wanted, but they only had the 15 pound bag. I grabbed one and took it to the front counter and asked if they had any larger bags in the back.

The clerk poked around a bit then when she came out she grabbed another 15 pound bag. She apologized for not having any 30 pound bags in stock, then offered two 15 pounders for the price of a 30 pound. Sold!

This actually allowed me to refresh the food bag we have in our earthquake kit, so that was an added bonus.

Decaf Drip

I learned something interesting about Starbucks recently. Actually, Sox learned this, and I have confirmed it. After I switched to decaf and I head out for a coffee I usually get an Americano.

What Sox learned was that after noon Starbucks no longer brews decaf coffee. If you order a decaf, they offer an Americano for the same price as the regular drip coffee. I’ve tested this a couple times, and as someone who likes Americano’s this is awesome.

Blood 45

Just got back from my latest blood donation. Lots of people there midday which even required me to wait a little longer for the appropriate bed. I have always donated from the left arm and it has always gone fine. I am not normally a superstitious guy, but I always insist using the left to donate. It all started because I am right handed too.

Anyway, the donation was fine, and the cookies and juice tasty. Unfortunately they have moved to individual sized juice boxes. What a terrible waste to see all of the leftover rubbish. Sure they can be recycled, but that is a lot of extra processing to do.

By the way, that was donation 45.

Seminar Mindset

Tonight was the emergency preparedness seminar. Great thing to go to. I have lots more ideas for the house, the vehicles, and work to prepare for an emergency of any sort.

The seminar was about 2 hours long and focused on a few different aspects of what hazards or disaster might happen in Victoria, and how we as individuals should prepare for those scenarios.

So far we are a little prepared, but have a way to go before I would consider us totally prepared. One nice thing is that the house we live in now, we don’t need to worry about a tsunami.

One thing I really took away is that doing something small each week is a great way to get moving on the kit. Being prepared really is a mindset.

The only downside to the seminar was one guy in the crowd. Right at the end he started posing a lot of questions about how the city and province are not instituting the correct policies for building codes. He definitely had an agenda and sounded like a bit of a fanatic. The hosts of the evening were able to shut him down quickly and effectively by reminding him that the purpose of tonight’s seminar was personal preparation, not provincial preparation.

Workshop Earthquake

A few days ago I signed up for an Emergency Preparedness Workshop. Hopefully tonight I will learn more about things I need to do around the house to be ready for a disaster.

We are not 100% ready, but we have a good start. We have an earthquake kit that includes food and water, shelter, tools, and first aid. We also added some extra clothes, diapers, and dog food. We want to add some more food and water to the kit. A friend of mine is investing in a Life Saver water filter, and some day I’d like to get one, or something like it.

We also want to add a large tarp, some ropes, a sharp knife, and other items. We also need to add contact numbers of family members, stuff for the kids to do, and make up a plan for what to do after the earthquake hits (ie when Sox and I are at work, meeting up with the kids and heading home).

Blockbuster Bad

Soon after I got my new cellphone and phone number, I started getting calls from @Blockbuster informing me of overdue movies. These calls were destined for the previous owner of the number since I rarely rent from @Blockbuster any more.

This morning I called to get this fixed up. I called at a few minutes before 10 and the person that answered sounded cheery enough. It sounded like the store was already open. When I started to explain the issue she cut me off saying she couldn’t help me because the store wasn’t open yet.

I was dumbfounded. I was a little speechless.

I verified that she couldn’t help me and she said yes. She needed to get the store ready. I asked if the fact that I am a customer made a difference and she said no. She couldn’t help me because the store wasn’t open yet.

Not being totally coherent I said something to the effect that “That is pretty bad.”, and she actually said no it wasn’t! I hung up after that since I didn’t want to deal with her any more.

After 10am I called another @Blockbuster to get the number removed and the guy that answered took care of it in under 2 minutes, and even let me know that I may get another call within the next couple days since their system updates are a little slow.

The helpful guy spent less time on the phone with me than the argumentative lady. Nice.

I haven’t rented from @Blockbuster in a while, and I think I will continue that trend.

Illegal Phone

Jan 1 saw a new law introduced in BC. It is now illegal to drive and use a handheld device. To use a cellphone while driving, it must be completely hands free.

Today I saw a perfect example of why this law was needed. In a parking lot near a grocery store a car ran a stop sign, and almost got t-boned by a much larger mini-van. The car pulled over and stopped while them mini-van continued to honk. The driver of the car was on her phone the entire time, and completely oblivious to what had just happened. She never looked at the mini-van, and never put down her phone.

Yikes.