Cherry trees make for love in the shade...

"In the spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love" - Tennyson

March 23rd - Easter Dinner

I worked a mid-shift today, only 5.5 hours due to it being a holiday, so not so bad. After work I went to my parent's place for a last-minute Easter dinner, which was great. I watched a recording of Stargate Atlantis, recorded last week( yet I've not had time to see it ) - Richard Dean Anderson was a guest star again, and seems a little tired compared to earlier years as Jack O'Neil. Still, I am enjoying the show, though they seem to have become a little TOO 'chummy' and comfortable among the main cast - that edgy dynamic of SG-1 seems blunted in Atlantis.

March 24th - The Pachira Plant

It's always nice to have a Monday off, even if it is a holiday... whatever that means. While I was out today( most stores were open, but the banks were closed ), I picked up a Pachira plant at the local chinese corner store. It's a cool-looking miniature tree, grows slowly, and most importantly, it's very hard to kill through neglect. The local store calls them 'Money Trees', and this link explains why - they are considered good luck and are often given as housewarming gifts. So I have a plant now for my place, it won't take up too much room and I should be able to keep it alive... I hope!

March 25th - Friends on a Day Off

Two calls today that made me smile, both within an hour of each other. Rene called with some good news, and so did Brian. Brian also told me that my first email with contact info I sent out a week before I left Niagara had an error in it: my Niagara-area phone number was missing a few digits - perhaps that explains why so few people have managed to get ahold of me here. So I set my voicemail to come on after 30 seconds, and to ring my cell at the same time... hopefully that will improve things a little, but Vonage seems to be a little off on their tech promises, so we'll see.
I spent a good part of the day doing paper-sorting, trying to get my mess into some kind of order. I also relaxed, wrote a little, and generally tried to enjoy my last day off.

March 26th - The Holy Grail

A shorter mid-shift today, with only a few idiots, whom I managed to effectively deal with per usual... sometimes I wonder how people get through life being so miserable to other human beings. Then I shake myself and give thanks that I don't have to deal with them every day like their families or co-workers... *shudder* Things could be worse, so there you go.
I watched most of Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail tonight, along with a bottle of "Monty Python's Holy Ail" - a nice beer that I found locally. Love that movie, though by this point I can spout all the dialogue verbatim... yet it holds up well for its age.

March 27th - Camera Thoughts

I'm considering getting a camera for myself in the next few weeks, as I never seem to have one handy when the good shots present themselves. While I purchased a solid point-and-shoot for my parents, and can borrow it anytime, I'm loathe to buy the same Fuji f50 camera twice, so I am looking at similar price-range cameras but with different capabilities, such as super-zoom. We'll see if anything manages to convince me to go against my miserly ways in the next month or so.
Worked a close shift today, and it was fairly busy. Nothing untoward though, so that was nice... even the couple of 'regular idiots' who came in today left without being their usual selves; a surprising but welcome relief all the same.

March 28th - Pubs and Pot Pie

After working a solid mid-shift today, I considered going out for the evening... but sitting in a pub reading a book over dinner still seems a little lonely for me right now, and the fact that pub far usually means I have a limited menu choice of what I can eat also doesn't help. I am hoping that the new herbal treatment I have been using for the last few weeks will help change that limitation in the near future, over the coming year. So I tucked into a nice chicken pot pie with a few sides - these things are simply amazing, from the SaveOnFoods grocery over by my parent's place. I've tried quite a few from various places, both frozen and fresh, and the sheer quality that SaveOn puts into their fresh pot pies is stunning - the things are literally packed with chicken( plus veggies )compared to the meager bits that every other place grudgingly sticks in their pies. Plus the prep is easy, and they're great both fresh and frozen. Which is good for busy days here.

March 29th - Changeable Weather

One thing about the weather here in Victoria, it's never all-day-the-same. While I was working today, it went from rain... to sun... to rain... to sunnier... to rain... and then sunny again on my way home on the bus. I'm not talking breaks in a cloudy sky here, no... full-on rainy downpour to blue-sky sunny and back again, in the space of an hour or so. And back again. It's nice, as you don't necessarily have to expect that waking up to rain means rain ALL day - you could be sitting on a patio by afternoon or evening with perfect weather. Looking forward to that this summer!
Otherwise, a plain-jane day, worked my last day at the Quadra branch until the early evening. And no sign of A____ today, which was disappointing. Oh well. I spent part of the night in NWN working in a story plot... that didn't end so well. Frustrating, but them's the breaks sometimes.

March 30th - First day at the new branch

I worked the entire day at my new Fort St. branch today, which was nice - as it was a Sunday, I had the place to myself. So the work got done, and I familiarized myself with the branch once again, as I can never seem to find things just when I need them... of course. I am also hoping that this smaller branch has a commensurately lower share of daily idiots, but one never knows.
I managed to miss BOTH buses heading home, so I soothed my ruffled feathers by having dinner at the Subway a few steps away - that will be convenient in many ways I think, for last-minute lunches, breakfast before work and so forth. I like the new location, and I hope I can manage to minimize my bus travel-time home, at least until I get myself a bike and eliminate that time wasted sitting around and in transit.

Seems the page counter is working, which is nice... now I can see that people ARE reading this thing, which is also VERY nice - see you all next week!

Spring is here, at last!

How many blogs could a woodchuck blog if a woodchuck could blog wood?


March 17th - a new car? What??

My parents told me today, out of the blue, that they've decided to purchase a new 2008 Mazda3... very similar to the one they've rented the last 3 times or so from Enterprise. Needless to say, I was shocked... but then, I had been preparing them for the last few months for the possibility of such a big purchase by helping them to research car possibilities, giving them info on HOW to shop, and so forth. The speed of their decision still left me a little breathless, but I can't fault their choice, especially at the price and 0% interest at that. Worked until early eve at Quadra, which was very pleasant... everyone there is friendly, fun and not at all boring to talk to, unlike some places I've worked far in the past where entire shifts could pass with no conversation outside of work-related topics. Of course, back then the context was different, and I wasn't in such a close space for hours at a time with the same people. Odd how that's turned out.

March 18th - Light Therapy

I worked at Fort St today, closing the store. The morning was spent writing, as seems to have become my habit of late. The circadian rhtyms must be being helped by the copious amounts of sunlight my apartment receives during the day from the main south-facing witndow, which is over 8 feet wide and five feet tal - that's a LOT of light when it's sunny, folks. S'nice! *grin*
I've also started taking some homeopathic medicine to try to alleviate my problem with gallstones. The local herbalist at the Fairfield plaza actually carries a solution to be taken before meals which promises to reduce gallstone size over time, along with other benefits. Seeing as I am loathe( yes, loathe! )to submit to the surgeon's knife before trying alternate solutions, I am hoping regular use of this treatment will, in the fullness of time, allow me to once again enjoy a good beef steak or other things I simply cannot eat without danger right now. Mmmm... medium-rare steak( I'm drooling mentally and literally as I picture it ).

March 19th - New Car Day

Well, I was up early today to go to Mazda here in Victoria to look over the paperwork for my parent's new car at hte dealership. For once, everything seemed to be very much on the up-and-up, without the usual silly things like paint protection and vehicular diapers being pushed on car buyers. I left the place and headed to work for the day much more confident that my parents were not being fast-talked. I was pleased that they wanted ME to look things over before they signed too.. though whether that's due to my natural paranoid nature when it comes to spending money or just my natural distrust of car salesmen, is anyone's guess.

March 20th - First Day of Spring, and love?

Ah yes, the first Official Day Of Spring today... also the last business day before the long weekend, when banks and governmental agencies all pull in their welcome mats and take off for the cottages or whatnot. Also when hordes of people descend on every bank and business to get THEIR business done before the weekend really hits. As such, it was steady today... and I was VERY pleasantly surprised to meet someone at the counter once more by the name of A_____. I helped her out with a problem a few weeks ago, and something seemed to 'click' when we were talking... and it did so again today, when I had to gently end the great conversation that we we having to get to other people in line( doh! ). She seems fun, as well as being a generally happy person and very easy on the eyes. Though she's younger than me, I'm still interested to see if anything might come of it. But not today - if there's a next time, then I think I'll muster myself and see what she says. If anything. *grin*

March 21st - No choco-eggs for moi ...

Good Friday... and I made it a good one too. I spent the day de-stressing, reading a few books in the comfort of my couch-nook and generally trying NOT to think about some of the time I was wasting that could be spent doing other things... at least until late afternoon, anyway. It was very, very nice.
One thing I will miss today is going out for Rusty Nails at the Kilt with my friends, especially Paulino whom I think was the instigator of that little 'tradition' amongst all of us.
That's about it... some part of the evening was also spent on NWN, where I ran into a few friends from long ago and 'caught up' a bit with them. I should mention that the server I frequent has been more than generous, and several of the 'areas' I have created are now hosted there... so I'm both a homeowner AND a tavern-keeper, at least my character is, in Nordock. Odd, but it gives me a sense of satisfaction in some ways I cannot explain.

March 22nd - Hello, pictures ...

Amazing how quickly these days off fly by... today, for example. I was up and about, doing more oganizing on the place( yes, I know, it never ends, but.... )and got rid of the last of the boxes. I also mounted pictures on the walls( finally! ), so my more-than-lifesize portrait of Darth Vader unmasked has a nice prominent place above the couch... darn thing will probably creep me out in the dark more than once, but oh well.
I spent a good part of the afternoon out with my parents in their new car, going various places to pick up the usual supples. Seems I'm always doing that too... *shrugs* Exciting, it is not, but very necessary... WalMart's a little too far by bus for my time-budget right now. I may switch pharmacies to the ones closer to me here, but we'll see how that does with my new doctor next time I see her.

March 23rd - Work and Easter Dinner

After puttering around in the morning, I went to work for a very short shift today, only 5.5 hours at Quadra. It was quite nice, and was only busy intermittently at times before we closed early in the evening. I went from there to my parent's place, where I had a turkey dinner with them, which was lovely... save for the fact that it was interrupted, but for a good reason: my friend Jay K2K called, and asked if I'd like to be in his wedding party come the fall in Niagara. Of course I said yes, I'd be honoured... and I am! Now I have to plan on returning to Niagara come the fall, which I was going to do anyway... but now I have a darn good reason to, to boot! Hooray!

S'all folks ... as always, feel free to call, my FB updates will tell you when I'm in... I don't call back home as much as I'd like to, due to the time difference.. people are usually already at work when I'm up in the AM, or already in bed by the time I get home. Frustrating, but there it is ... hence email. :)