Well, here I am... 6 months after stepping onto a plane and leaving Ontario behind me.
April 28th - Nodwick's Brain
Perhaps some of you know about Nodwick.com? No? Well, there's no denying that it has a high Geek Factor, but that's not why I like it. No, the thing I like about the site is actually the comic's creator, Aaron Williams. In the time I've spent reading his blog entires, I've realized that he and I share quite a few common Geek interests; quite amazing, actually. Babylon 5, Dr. Who, BSG, MMORPG's, and even the Amiga( still going! )are all topics that have found mention on his site, and his writing style is somewhat similar to my own chatty abbreviated prose. My theory is that we're clones, grown from some kind of botched alien experiment... or it could just be coincidence.
Also today I began my 12-day working stint, with no days off. Not so bad a stretch really, as I've done longer... and one of my co-workers did a 22-day stretch a few years ago under similar circumstances: lack of staff. And I'm sure as heckfire not going to complain about the O/T ... just that I'd like a break from some of the customers. Especially the ones that cause me stress, of late.
April 29th - Galling News
Early this morning I had an appointment with a specialist concerning my gallstones. I was surprised to discover that he was not in favour of any immediate surgery, which I found to be the prevalent opinion amongst most doctors: have stones, remove bladder. While he did commend my dietary changes over the last 4 years, he did have a bit of bad news. Seems that I could suffer another attack at any time, as there are still stones floating around inside. So even if I am 'good' and avoid fatty / bad foods as I have been to date, there's still a 10% chance I could go through the whole debacle again. *sigh* But I'd rather chance that than go in for surgery... the doctor agreed that if the parts are still working, leave them in until there's no choice left.
On a lighter note, one interesting little detail about Victoria is that it doesn't have 10-digit dialing - yet. That's right: only seven digits on the phone will reach out and touch someone here. So I've had to learn NOT to dial the area code first. Ironically, we're getting 10-digit dialing in a month... *sigh* So I'll be a little better prepared for the changeover than my fellow city-dwellers, I guess.
April 30th - I bought a bike!
Amazing how some things turn out. I worked the morning shift, and checked out a few bike shops on the way home, starting with Canadian Tire to soothe my budget jitters. There, I confirmed that the 'regular' men's 18" bikes were a touch too tall for me, which with me being the devastatingly average build that I am annoyed me somewhat. Not wanting to buy a bike that I would compromise on( or a ladle's bike, geez! ), I went to my final stop of the day: the Fairfield Bicycle Shop, just down the road from me.
It was a moment of poetry, for those who think in such ways. The sun was out, the wind died down... I walked towards the shop, and there it was, sitting outside: my new bike. The white paint glowed in the late afternoon light, and it stood out amongst the dull blues and blacks of its brethren. I blinked, as I hadn't noticed it the week before, when I was last here. Wandering inside, I inquired again about the DeVinci Toronto hybrid model, and casually asked about the nice white bike outside. I was told it was an end-of-model clearance, and that they'd check the price for me while I test-rode both bikes on the lovely cul-de-sac side street outside the shop. I did like the DeVinci, with its internal shifting hub - it rode well with me in an upright position, a far cry from the hunched-over days riding my old ancient SuperCycle mountain bike. Yet when I rode the white Miele Umbria 200, I couldn't discover any significant ride or handling difference to justify the extra cost for the Toronto - more than twice the price of the Umbria!
I was sold. Even with several accessories, the Umbria came to less than half what the Toronto would have cost after taxes and just a lock... amazing. To think that after all my searching, research and budget-wrestling, the perfect bike was waiting for me, just down the street.
May 1st - The Six Month Mark. Huzzah!
It's hard to believe, but it's been half a year since I said goodbye to my many friends and family in Ontario and headed west, to arrive here in Victoria on November 1st, 2007. No regrets to date, which surprised me when I thought about it today. I won't ramble on or belabor the point, but will simply say: it was the right choice for me at this point in my life. We'll see where I am in five years - by that point, this blog should be about novel-size in scope. Maybe even a video blog? Hmmm... In any case, I am working on both a FB Photo collage and some more recent 'Best Of' B.C. pics for this blog, so stay tuned.
After work today, I walked down to the Fairfield Bicycle Shop and picked up my bike and accessories. The ride home was lovely but necessarily brief, as a rather cold wind was blowing and the clouds looked like rain. So I left it secured in the bike locker out the back of the building, to enjoy in full on an upcoming day off. Which, given the current staffing situation, is well over a week away at this point.
The evening was a mix of story writing, watching some DVD's( more series I am trying to catch up on, but I have yet to find Arrested Development on the cheap )and generally de-stressing. Mostly worked too, which was nice.
May 2nd - On Groo
I've found myself missing an old comic character created back in the day by the multi-talented artist Sergio Aragones: the infamous Groo The Barbarian. Not to be confused with the more recent Of TV fame Dave The Barbarian, who incidentally owes some of his comedic roots to Groo - there are some subtle similarities.
One may wonder why I like a character like Groo: he's stupid, loves cheese dip, can sink ships merely by stepping aboard, and is feared by many as a disaster in walking human form. Yet he's quite skilled in battle, has quite a supply of dumb luck, and is basically good-hearted. Hmmm. I suppose it's the last bit... did I mention the situations he ends up in are incredibly funny? There's that too.
Worked a closer shift today, which was not as busy as I'd feared. However, the usual last-minute( literally )people rushed in, and I ended up running late... which is OK now, as I can just hop on my bike, instead of worrying that I might miss the once-hourly evening bus home. A nice little bit of freedom, that.
May 3rd - *sniff* What's that smell...?
Weekend working stinks. What stinks worse than working the weekend? Riding a bike to work... uphill all the way. Now THAT is going to be a workout for me; good thing I was used to bringing a change of clothes to work when I rode in St. Kitts. At least here I'll be working alone for most of my shift, so the funk will only offend for a short time. It's not bad, once you dry out after a few minutes... and here the comedians I work with hopefully won't put up a sign on the bathroom door that reads as "Peter's Sponge Bath House" ... miss you, you 1003 loonies!
That's all folks. Oh, and for that person who left the amusingly brief comment last time: thanks. Of course, when you're Anonymous, anything is amusing...
April 28th - Nodwick's Brain
Perhaps some of you know about Nodwick.com? No? Well, there's no denying that it has a high Geek Factor, but that's not why I like it. No, the thing I like about the site is actually the comic's creator, Aaron Williams. In the time I've spent reading his blog entires, I've realized that he and I share quite a few common Geek interests; quite amazing, actually. Babylon 5, Dr. Who, BSG, MMORPG's, and even the Amiga( still going! )are all topics that have found mention on his site, and his writing style is somewhat similar to my own chatty abbreviated prose. My theory is that we're clones, grown from some kind of botched alien experiment... or it could just be coincidence.
Also today I began my 12-day working stint, with no days off. Not so bad a stretch really, as I've done longer... and one of my co-workers did a 22-day stretch a few years ago under similar circumstances: lack of staff. And I'm sure as heckfire not going to complain about the O/T ... just that I'd like a break from some of the customers. Especially the ones that cause me stress, of late.
April 29th - Galling News
Early this morning I had an appointment with a specialist concerning my gallstones. I was surprised to discover that he was not in favour of any immediate surgery, which I found to be the prevalent opinion amongst most doctors: have stones, remove bladder. While he did commend my dietary changes over the last 4 years, he did have a bit of bad news. Seems that I could suffer another attack at any time, as there are still stones floating around inside. So even if I am 'good' and avoid fatty / bad foods as I have been to date, there's still a 10% chance I could go through the whole debacle again. *sigh* But I'd rather chance that than go in for surgery... the doctor agreed that if the parts are still working, leave them in until there's no choice left.
On a lighter note, one interesting little detail about Victoria is that it doesn't have 10-digit dialing - yet. That's right: only seven digits on the phone will reach out and touch someone here. So I've had to learn NOT to dial the area code first. Ironically, we're getting 10-digit dialing in a month... *sigh* So I'll be a little better prepared for the changeover than my fellow city-dwellers, I guess.
April 30th - I bought a bike!
Amazing how some things turn out. I worked the morning shift, and checked out a few bike shops on the way home, starting with Canadian Tire to soothe my budget jitters. There, I confirmed that the 'regular' men's 18" bikes were a touch too tall for me, which with me being the devastatingly average build that I am annoyed me somewhat. Not wanting to buy a bike that I would compromise on( or a ladle's bike, geez! ), I went to my final stop of the day: the Fairfield Bicycle Shop, just down the road from me.
It was a moment of poetry, for those who think in such ways. The sun was out, the wind died down... I walked towards the shop, and there it was, sitting outside: my new bike. The white paint glowed in the late afternoon light, and it stood out amongst the dull blues and blacks of its brethren. I blinked, as I hadn't noticed it the week before, when I was last here. Wandering inside, I inquired again about the DeVinci Toronto hybrid model, and casually asked about the nice white bike outside. I was told it was an end-of-model clearance, and that they'd check the price for me while I test-rode both bikes on the lovely cul-de-sac side street outside the shop. I did like the DeVinci, with its internal shifting hub - it rode well with me in an upright position, a far cry from the hunched-over days riding my old ancient SuperCycle mountain bike. Yet when I rode the white Miele Umbria 200, I couldn't discover any significant ride or handling difference to justify the extra cost for the Toronto - more than twice the price of the Umbria!
I was sold. Even with several accessories, the Umbria came to less than half what the Toronto would have cost after taxes and just a lock... amazing. To think that after all my searching, research and budget-wrestling, the perfect bike was waiting for me, just down the street.
May 1st - The Six Month Mark. Huzzah!
It's hard to believe, but it's been half a year since I said goodbye to my many friends and family in Ontario and headed west, to arrive here in Victoria on November 1st, 2007. No regrets to date, which surprised me when I thought about it today. I won't ramble on or belabor the point, but will simply say: it was the right choice for me at this point in my life. We'll see where I am in five years - by that point, this blog should be about novel-size in scope. Maybe even a video blog? Hmmm... In any case, I am working on both a FB Photo collage and some more recent 'Best Of' B.C. pics for this blog, so stay tuned.
After work today, I walked down to the Fairfield Bicycle Shop and picked up my bike and accessories. The ride home was lovely but necessarily brief, as a rather cold wind was blowing and the clouds looked like rain. So I left it secured in the bike locker out the back of the building, to enjoy in full on an upcoming day off. Which, given the current staffing situation, is well over a week away at this point.
The evening was a mix of story writing, watching some DVD's( more series I am trying to catch up on, but I have yet to find Arrested Development on the cheap )and generally de-stressing. Mostly worked too, which was nice.
May 2nd - On Groo
I've found myself missing an old comic character created back in the day by the multi-talented artist Sergio Aragones: the infamous Groo The Barbarian. Not to be confused with the more recent Of TV fame Dave The Barbarian, who incidentally owes some of his comedic roots to Groo - there are some subtle similarities.
One may wonder why I like a character like Groo: he's stupid, loves cheese dip, can sink ships merely by stepping aboard, and is feared by many as a disaster in walking human form. Yet he's quite skilled in battle, has quite a supply of dumb luck, and is basically good-hearted. Hmmm. I suppose it's the last bit... did I mention the situations he ends up in are incredibly funny? There's that too.
Worked a closer shift today, which was not as busy as I'd feared. However, the usual last-minute( literally )people rushed in, and I ended up running late... which is OK now, as I can just hop on my bike, instead of worrying that I might miss the once-hourly evening bus home. A nice little bit of freedom, that.
May 3rd - *sniff* What's that smell...?
Weekend working stinks. What stinks worse than working the weekend? Riding a bike to work... uphill all the way. Now THAT is going to be a workout for me; good thing I was used to bringing a change of clothes to work when I rode in St. Kitts. At least here I'll be working alone for most of my shift, so the funk will only offend for a short time. It's not bad, once you dry out after a few minutes... and here the comedians I work with hopefully won't put up a sign on the bathroom door that reads as "Peter's Sponge Bath House" ... miss you, you 1003 loonies!
That's all folks. Oh, and for that person who left the amusingly brief comment last time: thanks. Of course, when you're Anonymous, anything is amusing...
