Plain Naked Janes, Bikes and Ships Ahoy!

I've posted a new FB album with many of my favourite shots from the last 6 months from the Victoria area. I may add some more, but for now those are the ones I like. I'll be adding a separate album showing the 'city' shots, both old and new - soon. Plus: Lots of Links!

June 2nd - Happy Birthday Mom!

Doncha hate working in the mornings? What is it about Mondays that make one feel this way? At least my morning sickness seems to be a thing of the past( insert jokes here )as I've cut out dairy completely from my diet. Let me tell you that soy-based cheese products are NOT the same in any sense, unless you count just the visual. But if it means no nausea, then I'll have to suck it up just like when I discovered those lovely gallstones. Cold turkey again, literally.

I took my parents out for dinner to celebrate my mom's birthday today. We went to the Penny Farthing Pub in lovely Oak Bay, on the same block as The Blethering Place - both places are iconic locations in Oak Bay, as well as being Properly British in all the right ways. The gravy, for example, was proper thick British gravy that smelled like a meal unto itself. Yum!

June 3rd - Headphones and Bikes

I've just learned that wearing headphones while riding a bicycle is illegal in B.C. - great. While I agree in principle, I have to ask if it's necessary to pass such a law to protect those idiots who want to remove themselves from the gene pool by cranking up the volume such that they block out the rest of the world, including traffic. Then again, considering my job and who I deal with sometimes, it's perhaps a rhetorical question. But, it means my headphones will get used a lot less.... maybe I can bundle them with my HD-DVD player and sell them for $19.99 on eBay. So my rides to and from work will be less entertaining, in that regard.

June 4th - "Are you thinking what I'm thinking...?"

I've been recording episodes of 'Pinky and the Brain' and I have to say, it's great. Hailing from the mid-90's and running for 4 seasons( didn't know that, did you? ), the show garnered numerous awards, including several Emmy's. One thing I've been looking for( and not found to date )is a compilation of all of Pinky's non-sequitur responses to Brain's famous line: "Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Pinky?" - most of them are fall-down funny, folks: "I think so Brain, but the scratching just makes it worse." *grin*

Just an evening shift today, but some good news: seems I've been doing a good job of late, as I've had no less than THREE positive comments sent in to our Head Office this month, one of them from a customer known to be, er... difficult. Nice to hear, after all the other annoyances I've had to deal with of late at work.

June 5th - The Pennsic War

The other day I was reminiscing about 'The Good Old Days' and recalled that during my time in the SCA( back in my early university days ), I never managed to attend the Pennsic War. This huge medieval camping event was quite amazing in many ways, not the least of which was the feeling of going back in time( see photos )with thousands of others to the Middle Ages( or other eras )for a few weeks in the summer. But as with all things, time has moved me on other paths.
Though I do hope to take up my archery once more, as time permits me here in Victoria. It's good to have a hobby, and this one beats the hell outta stamps.

June 6th - Happy Frosty Friday

DAMN but it's COLD here. The nights have seen temperatures drop down to hover near ten degrees C, and not much more than 16C plus sunshine during the day. Being used to steaming-hot weather back in Niagara, it's been eye-opening to bike to work while shivering...

Lucas sent me an invite today about the new 'Civilization: Revolutions' for the Xbox360. Though I barely played the rest of the series over the years, I may pick this one up, as the multiplayer aspect looks to be a good fit with the rest of the game. Where to find the time though... oh right, I can stop playing NWN. Like that's going to happen. Maybe I can give up some sleep... ? Hmmm.

June 7th - A Busy Sat and ... Naked Bike Ride?

I forgot about the Moss Street Market today; a shame, as I only get every other weekend off to attend. Two weeks from now, I'll set myself a reminder, as this is something I want to do soon.

Speaking of which, I came across this List of 100+ Great Things to Do In Victoria. Some really good suggestions on this, so I'll be trying to cross off some of these as the summer ticks on.

I attended the Oak Bay Tea Party 2008 today with my mom. It was very similar to the many summer carnivals that usually dropped into Port Dalhousie during the spring and summer. Fewer people though, in a smaller space... so the effect was much the same. Lots of lineups for rides and food, with a loud( but good )band blasting away at the crowd. Surprisingly, the beach was not crowded at all. The walk through the neighbourhood there and back was great too; I know I rhapsodize about the gardens here in Victoria, but I say again: they have to be SEEN to be believed.

From there, I went for a walking tour of downtown Victoria with a co-worker's boyfriend for a few hours. We started from a spot next to the Victoria Conference Centre, which was appropriate given it was the first thing in Victoria that I took a picture of( and so sits as the title picture of this blog ). We walked north along Government Street, with its many century-old English buildings, most of which have been preserved. The area is very pedestrian-friendly and a delight to the eye with its varied architecture. The brick sidewalks are nice too.

Of course, I have a great sense of timing. Apparently, my walking tour time coincided precisely with.... the World Naked Bike Ride. Shortly before 3:30 pm, a pack of screaming naked bicyclists tore down Government street heading north, leaving stunned locals and picture-snapping tourists in their wake. Boring, this city is NOT, I tell you. And it has some HAIRY cyclists too!

After that bit of fun, the rest of the tour seemed to fly by. My friend( who has lived here 15 years )and I walked as far north as Chinatown, returning along the harbour walkway. I learned a lot, and my friend did as well; the tour pointed out several small details he did not know about his city, such as the fact that Waddington Alley is still planked with the original creosote wood bricks it was made from a century ago.

We finished up at Milestone's Restaurant on Wharf St, sitting right on the water downtown( see the link's photo ). After a refreshing pint of Stella, we slugged down some gelato ice cream for dessert before heading our separate ways - I got home around 8pm, with the sun still shining and a cool southern breeze blowing. Again I was amazed at how QUIET the Fairfield area is: on the walk home, the loudest sounds were the trees rustling in the wind and the birds singing. Sweet!

June 8th - Tall Ships on the horizon

My only 'real' day off, so I'm catching up on a lot of things today, including this blog. I uploaded an album to FB with quite a few pictures that I have been picking and choosing from over the last long while. One thing I've noticed is that there are very few pictures with ME in them, so I'll try to rectify that in the future - apologies to those who have enjoyed the lack to date.

After reading a bit more thoroughly through the Oak Bay Tea Party brochure, I discovered to my dismay that the air show was TODAY at 2:30p♦m - nuts! I'm a sucker for aircraft of any kind, so I'll have to find another fix. But all is not lost: the Tall Ships are coming to Victoria THIS MONTH! I've already got my ticket, and rest assured I will be posting many amazing pictures as soon as I disembark.

A little COD4, at which I tanked badly every game. Then, some BSG. After watching the latest Battlestar Galactica, I have to say the CGI sequences are stunning. The story is good too, though it's a little hard hanging onto the thread - I mean, all of humanity's on the line, and they're working WITH Cylons to get to Earth? Seems damned strange to me. Anyway, finished the evening off writing... the weather outside being sunny and bright after 9pm - have to love Summer. :)

You may have noticed that this blog had no mention of B5 in it at all. This was to avoid overload; a good blogger knows when to back off from week to week. But not to worry, B5 fans: more next week! And I am glad you liked this week's blog, 'Anonymous'.... 72 out of 77 eh?

Nov. 2nd - My first day in Victoria

Well, it's been a month since I've arrived in Victoria, so let's go back to that first day in my new home city. First impressions, you know... I will be slowly catching up to current events over the next month of blogs( or thereabouts ), as there's a lot to tell and I'd like it to be presented in chronological order, hence:


November 2nd, 2007.

I slept in until 9am, and it felt great - sort of. By sleeping in, I mean I spent the last 2 hours in my new room( it's cozy )trying NOT to hear the buses rumbling by the window every 5 minutes. Joy of joys: the building is on a corner bisecting THREE major roads, along which no less than fifteen different bus routes run. So it's a constant rumble all day, but more noticeable early in the day when you're trying to sleep. So, more incentive to find a new, quieter place, fast.

After breakfast and a leisurely shower( it's a nice bathroom, large tub with glass doors: roomy! )and some more unpacking / reorganizing, I called Telus to reactivate our three phones and get them working in Victoria... or at least I tried. After an hour on the phone with the reps AND Telus Tech Support, I ended up with three new phone numbers and three useless handsets. Seems Telus just upgraded their network here in Victoria as a prelude to the rest of Canada... which meant our four-year-old handsets weren't supported any more. Damn. So much for a two-week battery life on my Sanyo 4500's( I have six total, 3 spares allowing lots of battery exchanging, extra chargers and accessories ).

After all that, it was close to lunchtime, so I went with my parents over to the nearby Bay Center( formerly the Victoria Eaton Center - shades of T.O. anyone? ). We ate at the large restaurant on the fifth floor, with a spectacular view of the harbour to the west. Too bad all the window seats were taken, but we can always come back. The food was good too; I had a turkey dinner special that was top-notch for cafeteria-level kitchen work. The place was crowded, so obviously the food was worth coming back for.

Once that was done, I went for a one o'clock meeting at my new work location just down the road. I met the branch manager and the staff, who were all very friendly right off the bat. I familiarized myself with the branch, which is huge and different in some ways operationally from where I was back in St. Catharines, not the least of which is that the District Manager has her full-time office right there in the branch. So I will be under observation, so to speak, but that's not an issue in my mind. From my first impressions everyone there has a good time at work, so in that it's quite similar to the branch I left back in St. Catharines, where everyone had fun working with everyone else. Nice!

I timed my walk back home, walking slowly, and it only took me a shade over fifteen minutes, which is half the distance that I formerly had to walk( at a brisk pace too ). That's great, and since Victoria's downtown slopes towards the south, it's good exercise too, which I need more of. Overall, it's about six or seven blocks distance. Hopefully I can keep the distance similar at whatever place I find to live more permanently in, as I'd rather not have to make a bus trip twice daily. Though I have to say, from the noise coming in the window this morning, the buses here run both frequently and on time, so missing one bus only means having to take a different route-number a minute or two later; one advantage to living near the downtown core.

About the buses, since we're on the topic: they are large, modern, and as already mentioned, run quite frequently. Though the system of stops are still beyond my grasp right now, I have noticed that there are fewer stops in the core than I might have suspected. Still, it's not a far walk to anywhere in the downtown core, and it seems that the bus system extends WAY beyond the furthest reaches that I am used to in a city; the equivalent in ridership coverage back in Niagara would be to have ONE bus system lining ALL the cities in the Niagara region, for ONE fare, running every fifteen minutes. Amazing! But back to the buses: there are bike racks on the front of most, except the double-decker buses that run the longer north-south routes. All the seats are padded, the engines don't wake the dead( like some newer bus models do )and the riders are all relaxed, quiet and friendly; this even extends to the usually-smiling driver. Wow!

Walking back home, I then drove in our current rental car( a blue Pontiac G6; swish! )to the first Telus store we saw with a parking lot: SoundAdvice over on Quadra St. There, with the help of two cute salesgirls, I picked out a new phone for my parents to use, a Samsung U540 with a large, easy-to-read screen( heh, retirees... )and a low, low cost: $29.99 for the phone for a three-year contract, pretty good overall. I also checked out the other phones available at the time, and fell in love with the soon-to-be-released LG Shine model, in a gold stainless steel finish. I told myself I'd snap it up as soon as it was available, but had to be patient for now.

Off to Sears at the Hillside Mall( one of four major area malls - see this HUGE directory for all you shopaholics... )and Thrifty's, for a parental pull-along cart and groceries to put in it respectively. This gave us a good look at the city in the daylight, unlike last night in the dark on arrival. The streets are clean, the houses well-kept, and the general malaise of strip-mall corner-plaza mania that seems to have gripped Ontario is absent here. Everything is an eclectic mix of new and old, modern and historic, existing easily side-by-side. Here is a fascinating info site on how Victoria's architecture came into being. Old homes set back amid lush gardens are but blocks away from modern shopping, restaurants and civic buildings. Everything has a well-maintained feel to it, without any sort of hodge-podge clutter effect. It's quite gorgeous too, as the city's climate feeds a lot of rain to the shrubbery, which grew rampant in every yard we passed. There are even year-round garden tours! The lay of the land is hilly, with gentle valleys and the occasional hilltop treating the eye to spectacular views of the far-off mountain ranges in the distance. One nice area is Esquimalt, that overlooks the south harbour. The waterfront area is particularly nice, with large open spaces surrounding the B.C. Legislature buildings and the very impressive Empress Hotel, both of which dominate the area.

Back home once more, we relaxed with a nice dinner made from out grocery foray. The kitchen provides a nice ground-level view of the immediate neighbourhood, looking towards Beacon Hill Park across a nearby intersection. I would have already started taking pictures, but our Minolta G530 camera( my review is here! )started going bad a few weeks ago, and we haven't replaced it yet. So a few cell-phone snaps will have to suffice until I can do enough research to make a qualified camera choice locally. Which is a necessity, given the amazing scenery of the place, and the fact that it's about time for a new camera anyway given the relentless march of technology. Joy.

Early to bed tonight, even though it's a friday; I have to adjust to the time difference of three hours, and tomorrow our clocks go back an hour for the new Daylight Savings, so that will help at least. The room is cozy but comfy, and will be even cozier once our shipment arrives and I can cram my 'essential stuff' into it. Dreaming of tomorrows, I zonked out before 10pm, very tired.


PS - anyone can 'comment' on this blog, just use the links below. Tell me if you'd like to hear specifics on anything, requests for pictures, etc... feedback is welcome, by email as well !