Tag: Life

Starter Fish

One of my Christmas gifts this past Christmas was an aquarium starter kit. I had been wanting one for a while, and knowing that Sprout likes to watch moving things, I thought it would be especially fun for him.

I set it up last Saturday, and had lots of fun doing that. Picking the rocks, and tank decor, filling it with water, setting up the filter and the heater were all the first step. After letting it acclimatize at least 24 hours, I headed out to PetSmart to get the rest of the pieces, and the fish.

After talking with one of the staffers at PetSmart, I picked out some orange SwordTails, and a Plecostomus. Once home I got them adjusted to the water, then set them free into the tank.

It is fun having an aquarium so far, but the Plecostumus died already. 🙁 I will replace him eventually, but not for another couple weeks. Not sure what kind of fish I will get next, but the 3 Swordtails definitely need some friends. I did see some black striped fish that were quite colourful. The PetSmart guy did mention to try and fill the different layers of the tank. Each fish has a preference for water depth it seems. The Swordtails are middle tank fish, yet they seem to be all over the place.

I did have a scare yesterday with the Swordtails though. When I got up I went down and was ready to feed the fish. They were all on the bottom not moving. I though they had all died. I turned on the light, and two of them started moving right away, but the male still didn’t move. Fearing he was dead I started to go get the net. That was when he started swimming like normal again. I guess they were still sleeping!

So far, Sprout likes watching the fish. Most nights when I turn on the light we sit in the chair and watch then swim for a few minutes. Bright colours are key though.

Memorial Hip

I saw the Tragically Hip last night at Memorial Centre It was a great show. I had heard a while before the show that they were going to play a bunch of older songs, and they did not dissapoint. They played some of their new ones too, including a couple new ones I don’t think I had heard before.

I had a great time at the show, and enjoyed their stage presence. Gord Downie is a freak on stage. That is all I need to say about that.

They played a lot of my favorites yet I kept wanting more. Thankfully they ended their encore with Locked in the Trunk of a Car, the song I was wanting to hear for a while.

Standing there in the arena, 38 Years Old brought me back in time. I reminisced about University days and contemplated the sequence of twists and turns that brought me to this point in my life. I love that the power of music can take me to another point in my life.

At the end of the show I was glad I went. We had floor seats, and in memorial arena that meant we were pretty damn close to the stage. It was a fun night that left me a little tired for work today, but it was definitely worth it.

Sudoku Christmas

Christmas was really fun this year.  With Sprout around Sox and I wanted to spend Christmas morning at our home, so that is what we did.  Waking up at 6 am due to Sprout noises meant we got an early start to the day, but that was OK with us.

We opened a the gifts we had gotten Sprout’s and he eagerly played with them while we ate breakfast.  When it was time for his nap, we jumped into the car and headed up to Nanaimo for Christmas with Gramma and Auntie C.  More presents, and more yummy breakfast. Sprout got a wonderful Tigger plane that he played and played and played with.  Actually, Sprout got quite a few wonderful gifts.

Boxing day was leisurely and relaxed.  Yoshi got a walk on the beach, Sprout played with his toys, and Sox and I did Sudoku puzzles.

The morning of the 27th started off very stormy.  Our original plan was to stay until after dinner and drive home while it was dark.  We changed the plan due to the weather since I didn’t want to drive while it was stormy.  We left around lunch time which worked well for Sprout, but by that time the storm has dissipated.  Oops.

Back at home we recuperated for a couple days, then headed over to Vancouver for a couple more days to visit with Sox’s family.  All her brothers and sister were in town, plus all their significant others, their children, and their dogs.  It was quite a full house (7 adults, 4 children, 3 dogs, and 1 cat).

I came home on the 31st with Yoshi while Sox continued on to Powell River with her sister to see their dad.  New Years Eve was pretty quiet for me, and I didn’t do anything except watch a bit (lot) of TV.  At midnight I said Happy New Year to Yoshi then went to bed. I could hear fireworks outside, and of course this drove Yoshi scared and silly.  A half hour later I kicked him out of the bedroom and he went to bed.

Today I woke up feeling sick, but then went for a bike ride.  I got cleaned up after the ride and have basically lounged the rest of the day. Tomorrow I return to work, and Sox and Sprout return home some time (hence why I didn’t go with them).

I hope to get some pics of all this up some time soon.

Several people have asked me about Sprout’s first Christmas and how much fun it was. My answer is that his first Christmas was very fun.  He seemed to love his new toys that he got, and played with all of them quite a bit. He also got lots of cute clothing.  The flip side was that I very much enjoyed his first Christmas. It was fun to watch him play and get excited about his toys, and really was a hint of years to come.  Stories of Santa coming to leave presents, reindeer on the roof, leaving cookies for Santa and treats for Rudolph, stuffed stockings, and excitement/anticipation for presents.  I think that Christmas next year will be quite different from this year, and quite fun since he will be old enough to open his own presents (and maybe a few of mine too).

Ferry Frogger

My Dog are people ever stupid.  Getting on the ferry today was ridiculous.  The ferry started loading and people were running back to their cars still!  People had completely missed the announcement to return to their vehicles.  Cars had to change lanes to get around the empty cars while those people were trying to play Frogger with children and elderly people to get back to their cars.  Scary and stupid.  In all there was at least 4 announcements telling people to return to their cars because the 11 am ferry was loading.

Now, I understand that the announcements are not that loud, but these people must be completely clueless since the market completely empties of people when a ferry is loading.  That and a lot of previously parked traffic was driving away.  I know I am generally aware if the time, especially when ferries are concerned.

Still, almost all the cars were loaded, and there were 2 remaining with no one in them.  Great way to make a ferry late.

Critical Cards

At first the novelty was interesting but it has reached a critical mess now. The idea of store cards has to stop. The first one I saw was the Starbucks card. Interesting way for companies to make money. They get your money in advance and earn interest on it. You get … coffee. You lose the card you get … screwed.

Everywhere you go now you see a store card for sale. Canadian Tire, the Bay, Thrifty’s and on and on and on.

Today I saw one for Subway. Argh. Enough already. I have enough crap in my wallet I don’t need 10 more plastic cards in there. A debit card works just great. Now, if maybe they had a universal no-pin needed, load anywhere use anywhere kind of card I could get on board. That is essentially a debit card (without a pin) though.

Sigh.

Identity silos are a real pain. Brand lock-in is a real pain. Consumers want choice. This consumer wants choice.

Other random thoughts:
Granted store cards are nice for gifts, but whatever happened to the old fashioned Gift Certificate?

They can also be a good thing for budgeting (I am allowed $X per month at Starbucks).

How much waste is produced by these cards each year?

People returning merchandise without a receipt to stores with their own cards usually end up with a store card in the amount of their return. Not the worst thing in the world I suppose, but there is another card I need to dispose of.

Deck Individuals

Time for an update on the deck replacement progress. Last post we saw the deck was half demolished.

This post the new deck is half built. Last post was on September 9. This post November 12. This has been an ongoing process for over 2 months. Time to take some action and maybe get the individuals involved moving a little quicker. Not having a deck is a pain when you have a dog that wants to go outside to pee a few times a day.

These pics were actually taken Oct 28, but nothing has changed since then.

Official Destination

It’s officially official. I have given notice at NewHeights, and I am moving to a new company. I have found it to be a difficult decision to leave, but I am also very excited about my destination: Kodak.

No, my new job has nothing to do with photography. I will be coding still, but with some newer technology (in some ways) than what I work with now.

A fresh start in a new work environment. Liberating. My last day at NewHeights is November 17, and from now until then I am training someone on my job. My start date is the 22nd, so I have a couple extra days off which will be nice.

Drug Pocket

There is something about riding the bus that is just so … weird. There are strange people, or strange smells, or strange smelly people.

Today while riding the bus home I witnessed a drug deal. It was very odd. The bus was pulling up to a stop and there was a sketchy looking guy at the stop. He was acting very weird, and as the bus got close he almost jumped into the street in front of it. When the bus did stop he started walking past it very quickly.

I was standing by the rear doors and while they were open he was making a beeline for them. I thought that he was going to jump on the bus that way, but instead he saw a bus passenger he knew, and said “here you go” as he pushed a folded ziplock bag into the passengers hand.

The passenger took the bag and stuffed it into his pocket as he got off the bus, and then the two talked on the sidewalk as the bus left.

Weird.

Starbucks Adventures

What a way to start the day.

Today was a sleeping morning for Sox. After getting Sprout his breakfast I thought it would be nice to get Sox and myself some drinks from Starbucks. I also needed to buy some more coffee beans, so a “two birds with one stone” siutation was in play. I got Sprout ready to go, got him in the car, and got Yoshi in the back of the car so Sox could have a nice quiet house to sleep in.

Once at the store I got Sprout out, ordered the drinks and beans, and signed the credit card slip. Is it just me, or is it difficult to hold a baby and sign a tiny piece of paper? I ended up just putting him on the counter.

The drinks were ready, so I stuffed the beans into my hoody pocket, got a tray for the drinks and made my way back to the car. I placed the drinks on top of the car, and got Sprout strapped back in to his seat.

I grabbed the drinks off the roof and got into the car myself. I left the drinks in the holder and put them on the console between the seats and then headed home. I was going to take them out of the holder and put the cups into the drink holders but it was such a short drive I just thought I would be careful.

A couple blocks from home there was a red light. When the light went green, all hell broke loose. I had placed the cups in the holder side by side to aid in carrying them with one hand. This makes the holder very tippy. When I hit the gas the holder tipped over backwards! Crap. I couldn’t stop since there was traffic behind me, so I gunned it, and pulled over to the right, but couldn’t stop due to a bus stop. When I reached a clear portion of sidewalk I went to hit the brakes and put in the clutch. I should remind you that our Honda CRV doesn’t have a clutch. My left foot hit the brake, and hit the brake HARD! ABS kicked in since the roads were wet, but we all came to a stop. I reached behind me to grab the drinks, but could only find one of them. I jumped out of the car and opened the back door. Chai and my Americano had spilled all over the contents of the floor, but I still couldn’t find my Americano. Figuring I should just get home, pass off Sprout, then clean up the mess I went to get in the driver’s door, and found the Americano in the front.

sigh

What a debacle. Both drinks were half empty and I was pretty unhappy. I drove home, took Sprout and Yoshi in, and Sox got up. I told her what happened, and she suggested that I go back and tell them what happened. Opening the car all I could smell was Chai.

At the Starbucks I took in the two half empty cups that were covered in Chai and Americano, and asked if they could remake them because they fell over in the car. I whipped out the credit card, but they said not to worry about it. They replaced the drinks for me! I was very grateful for that.

At home I gave Sox her drink and tidied up the car. All in all pretty lucky, an umbrella and a blanket took the brunt of the mess. Sprout’s pack and LugABug carrier got a little on them, and some recycling materials seemed to sop up the rest.

My morning was salvaged and the day got better. Throughout the whole thing I couldn’t help but think of some of Michelle’s (mis) adventures as of late and couldn’t help but laugh.