Grease, Chumps and Cars

Here it is... not a lot of BC content this week, but considering the massive link-fest that last week's blog turned into, I thought some of you could use a break.

June 9th - The Week Begins

Mondays. Who likes them really? Everyone has had a Monday where they wake up and wish it was still the weekend - it's human nature. At least this site has some suggestions on how to beat the Monday Blahs. Or at least bruise them slightly.
On a happier, note, my entire closing shift today was overtime, thanks to the staff fluctuations we're having in the are. Too bad I can't get more than a few of these a month, as I'd sleep better. Speaking of which, my bedroom window faces east( same as before at The Prince )so as usual the sun and I fight to see who will give in first in the mornings. So far, I've been able to stay snoozed on a day off until 8am, which isn't bad considering my room at The Prince had the equivalent of WWII blackout-blinds from the Blitz in London. Here: not so lucky.

June 10th - Chumpdom Awaits!

Some happy news today: Brian sent out an email saying that 'Work is for Chumps' - he gave notice at his job and will be pursuing his own interests and his own business from now on. I am SO pleased to hear that it's working out for him, and hope that his dreams are closer than he thinks. Myself, I am looking at three fields of work right now: tech writing, general fiction and voice acting, including podcasts in any of those three fields. I figure I have a shot at all three, so if I can eke out the time every day to make good on the work apart from the day job, then perhaps.... Well, you get the picture, though some seem to think that it should begin early, like in college.

June 11th - The Plot Thickens. Like Soup.

Sometimes, you just want the day to end so you can get to the important things. Like this: a major plotline on the NWN server I game on was brought to a boil tonight - I was on for hours as an epic quest through dark and dangerous places played out, with myself and a few stalwart comrades at the center of the maelstrom. For those who enjoy video games, I equate my time at Lands of Nordock as similar to the experience one got from playing Baldur's Gate, or Planescape - it's that good. For a free server, they have a dedicated community of DM's, developers and players. Or, in the words of JMS: Dreamers, Shapers, Singers and Makers. As I have said before, I feel privileged to continue to be a part of a world where I feel my contribution matters, and where I can both relax after a long day AND explore a rich world that is continually being shaped by truly creative, passionate people. And have fun, of course.

June 12th - It's HOW green?

For anyone who wants to get a good mental image of how GREEN BC is, compared to Niagara, I have come up with the following. On Geneva Street in St. Catharines, south of the QEW, huge trees line both sides of the roadway, casting lovely shade over everything beneath. As well, on Shoreline Drive, the trees planted decades ago when the community was first built have grown such that they touch in many places over the middle of the road, creating a green corridor that is eerily lovely when lit at night by the streetlamps.

Now, imagine those huge trees, only twice as large. Greener. With every street in every neighbourhood packed with them. The gardens below practically bursting from their planting beds, every house a gardener's dream of flowers and bushes growing at incredible rates, all of it spilling over and barely kept in check by legions of gardeners armed with trimmers. How's that?

June 13th - Paraskevidekatriaphobia

For an unlucky day, today was remarkably uneventful for being Friday the 13th. I didn't see a single black cat, nor have to avoid any ladders or any other ill omen. The origin of Friday the 13th is an interesting read, especially in today's modern society of skeptics.

Speaking of bad luck.... as some of you may know, the cars in my life and I have always had a.. Special relationship. When I was living in Fonthill, way back in the 90's, I would often have to find ways to kill hours whilst my steel chariot was in the shop. One cheap one that I found was to walk the short distance down to the newly-opened McDonald's and have their Double Quarter-Pounder With Cheese special. This massive meal came to a mere $5.00 + tax at the time, which was great for students like me on a tight budget.

Why am I mentioning all this? Well, it's not about the car( I don't have one )or Fonthill( I won't be back there again )or even my mechanic Jamie( whom I DO miss! ). No, I mention it all to bring the Golden Arches into it. I haven't eaten at McDonald's now for almost a decade, though Wendy's and a few other fast food chains have seen some of my patronage. Why not Mick-D's though? Simple: grease. Even back in the 90's, I noticed that about an hour after a meal at Ronald's place, my face would start to sweat grease. It was the damnedest thing, like my pores were trying to sweat out the toxins. When I think about it now, it still gives me the willies that I didn't really pay attention to the effect and kept on eating the stuff... because it was cheap and easily available. I am not for or against the stuff, as everyone should be free to make their own choice. Though these folks here seem to really have it in for Ron and his pals...

June 14th - Super Sunny Work Weekend

I have been giving serious consideration to canceling my cable TV service, as I find of late I am watching one or two shows a week, aside from BSG - which had its season finale his week. Looking up at the shelves around the TV, I find I have a vast assortment of shows and movies that are as yet still unwatched. Those show know me know that I am not one to be wasteful, and in this case I have TWO things going to waste with a common thread: time. On the one hand, I am wasting money on TV that I do not watch, and the other is wasted shelf space on shows and movies I have not seen. Heck, my Unwatched Movie List recently topped 500, with the addition of such films as Iron Man and the new Indiana Jones . We'll see, especially if things go as I hope and I find myself wishing for MORE time to pursue my other career interests.

June 15th - Severed Dreams

Before work today I loaded up the third season episode of B5 entitled 'Severed Dreams'. In a nutshell, this is the breakaway episode, where the series turns a corner and doesn't look back. The buildup of the first two seasons comes to a head here, bursting into action based on moral choices and some very real pathos. The CGI is still mind-blowing, even by today's higher standards( BSG )with more FX shots in this ep than had ever been done on TV before, in any show. B5 won the 1997 Hugo( among many other awards )for Best Dramatic Presentation for "Severed Dreams" - what else can I say? Watch it( but only in Turkish, sorry ).

Comments as always are welcome... but if you're going to rate the blog, have the decency to do it under a name, as some of you have kindly done. Who cares what some spotlight-shy Anonymous slob thinks, anyway? *grins*

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?

You call this exciting?

After carefully reviewing the emails and tabulating the votes received, I have crafted this week's blog to more closely conform to the requests of you, the readers. Enjoy! Only ONE link this week. So there.

May 26 - More B5. Yep.

Many of you wanted to know more about Babylon 5, so I thought I'd again recommend the Lurker's Guide to B5. This is a peerless companion to watching the episodes in order, as I am finding. I have been amazed all over again at the care with which each episode was crafted, even in the first season. The little details, visual and written, are astonishing, as is the fact that it was ALL written as a five-year story arc. As a writer, I am humbled by the sheer craft that went into creating such an encompassing work, and hope that I might someday know enough to attempt such a thing, should I be in a position to do so. Maybe, or maybe not.

May 27 - Niagara

I've booked off my vacation time for September, so that I can come back to visit Niagara. It's going to be costly though; the rail option looks to be no less expensive, so I'll likely nix that thought. Hopefully I can pick up a last-minute deal on one of the many sites I am monitoring / subscribed to, in the next few months.

May 28 - ?

Nothing interesting happened today. Really.

May 29 - Bio Scooters

I saw something amusing on the road to work today: a pack of scooters. Yes, scooters - not motorcycles, ridden by leather-clad bikers but instead a half-dozen people in casual dress with helmets, backpacks slung comfortably and just cruising along the road. It was highly amusing, and speaks to the attitude that Victoria has towards environmentalism. There are still quite a few motorcycles cruising around town, but they are outnumbered by the scooter crowd, who are themselves outnumbered by the bicyclists who are often three or four deep waiting at lights.

In the evening: BioShock looks amazing on my flat-screen TV; the retro design of the underwater city of Rapture( I love underwater cities, by the way )is just breathtaking. I love art deco, so it's enjoyable on many levels - pun intended.

May 30 - Friday Freezing

I managed to sleep until 8am this morning, a new record; this past week has seen me awake at 5:38 am three mornings in a row. Why THAT time in particular, I do not know; perhaps my neighbour's alarm I'm hearing somehow? I'll have to ask... but it's been annoying.

Damn, but it's cold here in the mornings, for being the month of May. My cycling jacket is a must, as the ten-degree temps make for a chilly ride in any non-windproof garment.

May 31st - Writing

Dang, but it's cold out... sunny though. I'm not as brave as some folks, who are perhaps used to Victoria's somewhat cool-ish weather of late. Setting up a blanket on the front lawn of the building to have lunch is nice, though not when it's 15 degrees C out there, sunshine or not.

I played a bit of an older PS2 game today, called 'Demon Stone', which interestingly has the voice of Patrick Stewart as the narrator. The gameplay is all right, but I mainly enjoy revisiting it for the story and character design - Zhai is especially well-done, though I question her personal motivations in terms of helping the other characters( she's a drow, after all, for those who care ).

In any case, I just relaxed today. Some writing was done, but I have a lot of my mind of late and the words aren't flowing to my satisfaction... more of a flow that you don't want to see or smell, if you catch my drift.

June 1st - Already?

The start of a new month always has me wondering what awaits me in the pages of upcoming days. Too bad I spent today working, but them's the breaks.

The second Sunday in a row spent working, but at least the weather wasn't super-annoyingly-sunny out, so spending the day inside wasn't so bad.

All for now. Next week: More Drama. More Excitement. More... B5?

A week's worth of links

For the picky among you, this week's blog is presented after being spell checked. Lots of links in this one, but no pics - yet. I'm collecting the ones I have to make a FB gallery this week, so look for it by the weekend. Read on...


May 18th - Another beautiful day, spent indoors

What a gorgeous day this one turned out to be. Seems like everyone but me was out there enjoying it... and by the time I finished work to head home, it had grown chilly and overcast. Odd that it could be so nice then cool off so quickly. The newscasters were saying that this has been the coldest spring in the last 35 years here on Vancouver Island; ironic that I chose to move here when I did.
On the bright side, I get plenty of light in my apartment, regardless of the weather outside - which is great for saving on electricity. I can only hope that I get a decent cross-breeze when the weather heats up, though again since I am next to the ocean I hope the heat will be lessened somewhat.

May 19th - Victoria Day? Meh.

Not much of a holiday here in B.C. weather-wise ... grey and drizzly all day. I spent some of today trudging up and down the stairs here, trying to get my laundry done; I MISS having in-suite laundry... you never had to fight everyone for one of the two washers or dryers. I know I was lucky, but DAMN if I had the space( or the funds )then I might spring for a washer of my own.

Unsurprisingly, I spent a good deal of the day online, playing COD4 with my friends. Again, as I've said before, it's a HUGE bonus that I can still game with my friends from across the freakin' continent... talk with them too, relatively easily. Much as I detest Microsoft, I admit their 360 tech works as promised( excepting the Red Ring of Death ). When the network connection is smooth, that is ...

May 20th - Neither Open Nor Close Ye Be

Worked an odd shift today, neither opening OR closing, at my co-worker's request - which means I didn't have to unlock or lock anything. Nice to have a break.

One neat thing about Victoria, if somewhat trivial: they have coloured curbs here. It makes sense when you think about it: yellow means no stopping, red means a bus stop. Anything else is fair game for parking. Of course there are signs too, but having both really helps make the area function clear. Too bad Toronto hasn't caught on to this system; they have WAY too many No Left / No Right Turn signs!

May 21st - Plane, Train or Automobile?

I started looking into flight costs again for heading back to Niagara in September - yikes! Tickets are over $1,000.00 right now, no matter where I look. Seems one recent news article has pinned the increase in fares on rising fuel costs for airlines - not good news for people wanting to travel on the cheap. I also looked at train travel, but even though the cost is half that of a plane ticket, it will take at least four days to cross the county - amazing a century ago, but not so good for those of us in the modern era who have limited vacation time. Still, I've never crossed the country OR taken a train before, so I won't write that one off yet.

May 22nd - More B5

About a week ago I started to watch the entire Babylon 5 series from the beginning. An episode a day seems to be easiest before work, as I can watch it during breakfast. I'm amazed at the detail in each episode, especially with the breakdowns that the Lurker's Guide contains - amazing that the site is still there after ten years. I'll have to watch this series every 5 years or so. *grin*

The new bike seems to be working out well... or should I say, quite a workout. I'm still not up to biking UP the huge hill to my workplace yet, though I'm finding the lesser hills to be much easier after a few weeks now. Fortunately, I've not yet had occasion to use my new bike horn, but given the volume of traffic here compared to St. Kitts, it's only a matter of time. Not only was it cheap, but it's LOUD too!

May 23rd - More on The Dark Crystal

After working the morning shift, I did some grocery shopping at the nearby Safeway. It worked out well on my bike, as my backpack fit everything I'd purchased perfectly - seems my eye for spacial relationships is in fine form, given all the moving and packing I've done over the years.

I managed to pick up a copy of Legends of the Dark Crystal, a prequel to the 1982 film The Dark Crystal - love that film! I was lucky enough to pick up a copy of The World of the Dark Crystal by Brian Froud a few years ago - on the cheap too! A sequel film is in the works that has Genndy Tartakovsky( of Samurai Jack )at the helm as well as Brian Froud. The usual delays have pushed back the release date to 2009.

Also of note: my pal Lucas sent me a link about The Secret History of Star Wars, which looks to be a fascinating( and unbiased )look at the entire franchise, from the moment pencil touched paper to the current day. Thanks Lucas, both of you!

May 24th - Mount Douglas Park

After a somewhat early rise at 8am, I did my usual Saturday morning routine: laundry and cartoons! I enjoyed the latter more than the former, of course. After a little while spent playing BioShock( yes, I started late on it )it was time to head out for a few hours to Mount Douglas Park with my parents. What a gorgeous place! Just driving up the narrow, winding road to the top was an experience - no guardrail interrupted the view of the forest. And such trees! They towered above us, huge tall trunks topped in green far above, with slanted sunlight sending the occasional beam to illuminate the dusky world below. It was like a dream, in places - the slanted mountainside was thickly covered with ferns around the tree roots, covering the sheer rock with an abundance of life. All of this before we even reached the top!

Words seem inadequate for the majesty of the view. The clear, fresh sea air was warmed by the sun on the rock at the summit, permitting an stunning view for tens of kilometers. We could see all the way to Mt. Baker in the US, as well as the Soloman Islands offshore. The whole of South Vancouver Island lay spread out before us, a green veldt sprinkled with signs of civilization and bounded on all sides by the sea. All of this beneath blue sunny skies - it was heaven.
*deep breath* So, I will post the photos later in the week, once I whittle them down to a few dozen.... or less.

Hopped onto NWN for a while after a few hours of BioShock( engrossing game! )and met someone there I hadn't seen in a long time. He seemed to enjoy the new digs I'd set up in Nordock, and a grand time was had by all.

May 25th - Sunday Ends the Week

Worked the usual solo weekend shift, whilst another beautiful day passed outside with one less to experience it firsthand. The ride home was lovely as always, as well as being rather less strenuous for being downhill. I should mention that I pass quite a few heritage homes in Victoria on my way to and from work, and this inn is one of them. Some amazing properties here, simply awash in thick masses of gardens; some of the bushes are higher than the houses they front - incredible!

Yep, that's it. No witty quotes, just the usual heavy work in creating this blog...

You smeg-head you!

Finding out that you may be allergic to yourself is, well, frustrating. Hopefully it's not as bad as it seems...


May 14th - Nausea

Not a good morning for me, at all. Last week I was feeling nauseous on and off, but I couldn't figure out why. I thought it might have something to do with my gallstone issues, or just that I'd started exercising again ... including a long bike run uphill, which seemed to precipitate the nausea. Odd that it was just my stomach, and no twinges anywhere else... and I experienced it again over the weekend, even on Sunday when I didn't ride my bike around at all. Damn strange.

May 13th - Stomach Rebellion

This morning the nausea was pretty bad, so much so that I went to the walk-in clinic just down the road in Cook St. Village. The doctor was as concerned as I was, but didn't have an immediate solution, other than to suggest an anti-nausea pill. I didn't think that it would turn out to be a simple case of acute upset stomach, so I did some more research and came up with a few possibilities, including food allergies and... appendicitis. Not that I was showing any symptoms of that rather nasty condition, but I wasn't going to take any chances; hence the clinic visit.

May 14th - Improvement and Good Old TV

Well, the stomach thing work me at 6 am today, and I couldn't get back to sleep - I was too worried. I called my doctor at 8:30 am and had a bit of good luck: they had a cancellation at 10am, so I slotted myself in there ASAP. The news from the doc was good too: no appendicitis, so that's a relief. She sent me off for some blood work, and I relaxed a little in my head now that my worst fear was alleviated. Fortunately, I have been able to work all week so far, though on a liquid diet while I let things settle downstairs.
There's a bit of news about Reboot, a CG computer-generated series that I took a liking to back in the 90's. Seems there's still life in the franchise; a movie is in the works, as is a web-comic. Similar to other character-driven series like Firefly, it's nice to see a concept I enjoyed still alive, especially ones that seem to have so much potential still in them.
On a similar note, the site Zeroes 2 Heroes caught my eye as a place where writers can have their work critiqued by the comic community, as well as pitch to Hollywood directly. Wow! I'm working on some concepts to sharpen my skills for the near future... opportunity calls!

May 15th - More Old TV Goodness

A blast from the past on the TV schedule tonight: an episode of Red Dwarf! For those of you who don't know, this was a show about the last human alive... and he's a slob. In space. Trapped with a hologram of an old crewmate he dislikes and a cat that evolved while he was in stasis for three million years, it's hilarious.
I haven't seen much of my neighbours these last few weeks, which makes me a little said - we got off to a great start, and now weeks pass without us doing anything. I can't be too proactive, as I don't want to knock on their doors every other day, so hopefully we can all get our acts co-ordinated and DO something together soon.

May 16th - Where the BLEEP did the day go?

Ah, a Friday Off... how glorious! I was still feeling rather put out from my bout with stomach cramps, so I spent a good part of the morning just relaxing before getting to doing things for the rest of the day. Which was sunny, warm and welcoming me to a patio later....
Or so I thought. Two phone calls came in about five minutes apart. The first was to see if I wanted O/T for a half-shift this evening to help out another store - I said yes, as money is always welcome. So... the second call was from my mum, who needed me to drive her a few places as her eye was bothering her again... thus precluding her from driving safely. After a trip to the doctor's, who proscribed some special eyedrops, I ended up spending my remaining afternoon hours in the car driving around. Love ya mom. *sigh*

At least the evening shift turned out to be uneventful - I was expecting it to be simply crazy, and it was rather steadily dull... and I was getting O/T the whole time. Why can't it always be that way?

May 17th - Work 1, Lovely Day 0

Wow, I don't know if I can take another day trapped inside a well-windowed place like my current branch. Why? Because the first words from every well-meaning slob who walked in the door today were "What a beautiful day out there!" followed by "Oh, too bad you're stuck inside here." My thoughts were "My friend, be glad there is a wall of protective glass between us... for YOUR sake." I tell you, it's like drinking a cool glass of water in front of a man crawling through the desert and going "Hey, this water is really refreshing. Sorry I can't give you any." How do you THINK he'll react, eh? *grumble*


We'll see how next week goes with the stomach thing. At least I am back to eating normally, albeit with no milk and only a little wheat product as part of the diet. At this rate, it will be chicken broth and turkey as my main staples pretty soon...
And for Anonymous( yes, YOU ): Spell check is now turned on... why it's not on by default is anyone's guess. As for the excitement: I just write it, I don't call the shots, so talk to the guy upstairs.

Short and Sweet

Of necessity, this will be a short blog this week( pause for cheering ). Too much to do, and so little time it seems...


May 5th - Missed Dates

The evening was a lovely sunny one, though it got colder as usual quickly once the sun set. I spent an hour on the patio of the Mocha House over on Cook St, as a date had canceled at the last minute( thanks, Tanya )and I didn't want to let the evening turn sour because of some inconsiderate online girl.
When I got back in, I received a call from Rene and Shiloh, from their new place together. They sounded quite happy, and amazingly enough were almost unpacked already! Aside from that bit of jealousy, I am SO pleased they've found a nice place to be together in - miss ya, kids. :)

May 6th - On Biking

A morning shift again, with the ride UP the hill. At least I can walk part of the way on the steepest grade - it's silly to pedal madly in low gear to just creep forward, at a walking pace. In a month or so I should be back into decent enough shape to do most of the hill on the bike, though again I'll end up arriving in rather a bit of sweat. Moreso once the warmer weather gets here.

May 7th - NWN Neighbours

Again, with the morning shift... today at least, was a good day with NO idiots. I like that when it happens, rare as it is.
I hopped online with my neighbor Ben briefly tonight, to show him where the NWN server is online where I game on occasion. As it happened, quite a few things took place while I was showing him around - I couldn't have asked for a better introduction to the place. I hope he'll be back, as he seemed to be having fun and is the type of player that does well in RPG settings.

May 8th - Hear that? No? Good!

Just an evening shift today, after a pleasant walk for groceries in the morning. I am always amazed at how QUIET the Fairfield area is at night( except for the buses ). I was so used to the constant din of traffic over at the Landmark Building when I arrived here, or even the noise from the Welland Ave / Bunting Road intersection back in St. Catharines. Here, you could hear a pin drop on the front porch after sunset - I love it.

May 9th - Friday Bicycling

The morning saw me sleep in, and get some work done on the computer - lots of writing projects on the go, and little time( or energy )to pour into them. Darn this day job... but not its money.
Went on a bicycle jaunt in the evening for a few hours with a coworker's boyfriend - he offered to show me all the best cycling paths in Victoria in my area, which was great. The paths here are fantastic, almost all of them paved within city limits and many following old railway lines, so they are fairly level and straight. Such a night-and-day difference from St. Catharines, with its occasional bike lane and backwoods pathways. We passed dozens of riders, as well as many pedestrians and rollerbladers. The paths went over bridges, under bridges, past parks and lakes and lots of eye candy - I had a great time. Warmer weather would help too, but it was still great.

May 10th - A sunny weekend

Once I woke today, I was feeling a lot more rested from the last two weeks of work. I still don't have a ton of energy, but I expect that to change once i get into a routine of bicycling around - that always picks me up overall.
I had lunch today with my parents at the Fireside Grill, an amazing Tudor-inspired restaurant in Saanich, set on three acres of lovely grounds. I had an ostrich burger, which is incredibly low in fat and quite tasty, though I am at a loss to describe it apart from the spices and toppings it had. Delicious though.

May 11th - Mother's Day

I spent the morning catching up on the usual to-do's around the house, as well as doing some more writing work. I popped online on Xbox Live, and ran into Dave playing Halo3 - which I have not played online at ALL before now. A few hours later, Simon showed up, and we all switched over to COD4... which sucked up the rest of the day, I am ashamed to say. While I improved greatly by day's end in terms of gameplay, I felt bad that so MUCH of my time had been spent online today. Still, it was great to game with my friends - amazing that I can do so, so easily, from across the country with only as much effort as it takes to press a button. To think of the hoops we went through less then ten years ago, using modems, for cryin' out loud... hah!


That's it. I'd write more, but nobody wants to hear about shiny rocks I've found...

6 Months in B.C. already? Wow!

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...

Rainbows, Counter Drones and Buses

Greetings once more, Dear Readers. This week in Soronos News...
What's behind YOUR Friendly Facade?

April 21 - Writing projects

Opened the store today, and it was brrrr! chilly. Seems that things in Victoria don't warm up nearly as quickly as back in Niagara... moderate all year around, which is actually amusing to me, as I tend to be moderate in most things too.
In the evening I worked on some of my writing projects, including a new children's story that I hope to have ready in a few weeks - but don't quote me on that. I have quite a lot on my plate, so finding the right balance between work, sleep, relaxation and personal projects is always a challenge for me. I've said for some time now that if I could clone myself, I would... despite the shouts of horror from those who fear puns around the world.

April 22 - Do I need a title for a Tuesday?

The morning was pleasant enough, and work in the evening wasn't so bad either. I do like the fact I can leave about 45 mins before a shift and still arrive with time to spare. I'm not sure how long it would take by walking, but likely at least that, if not more. While I like walking, I tend to do it briskly and end up working up a good sweat... which is not so good if you're about to start work for the day.

April 23 - Bus Stories

On the bus home today from a morning shift, I observed the most touching thing: an older woman, a senior citizen, giving half of her remainging chocolate bar to a young child who just got on the bus. She broke off a bit for herself to finish, and offered it to the child who took it, nodding in thanks. All of this without words, and smiles throughout. The child ate the bar happily, and the senior looked on with a smile as she finished her own portion. It was really touching.
On that note, I should mention there is a 'rainbow windmill' that I pass on Cook St. whilst on the bus. It consists of two spinning wheels, which rotate in opposite directions as the wind blows. It's the simplest thing, but it always makes me smile when I catch sight of it - I still can't recall exactly where it is on Cook St...

April 24th - Social Bullies

One thing I always mention about my job is the fascinating observation of the human condition. Today is a case in point: one part of my job is to call people and ask them nicely to come in to take care of outstanding debts. As you may expect, this provokes some to be less than polite( but in fairness, most are quite nice ). One person in particular used what I like to call 'social bullying' in responding, which I find amusing now that I am aware of it. Basically, the person turns things around on you: they don't acknowledge their debt( or errors )but instead seek to undermine YOUR sense of authority, well-being or worth. This person( who pretended she couldn't hear me on the first call and then called back when I left a message the second time )denied that she'd made an appointment( she had, earlier in the week )and then said she would "speak to my supervisor" and hung up. In this day and age of 'Customers First' this sort of tactic is unfortuntely an easy route for deflection, when the customer turns THEIR problem into a Customer Service issue, which has to be looked into by the manager. Modern corporations are far too worried about Service, which gives wily customers a HUGE lever when dealing with them. It's all too easy to 'ask to speak to a supervisor' and take the Complaint route, which again deflects the attention from the fact that the customer is the one who started the whole mess in the first place. *coughs* Anyway, my point is, that I dislike dealing with these dishonest folk who seem to delight in attempting to make CSR's look bad while wriggling out of their commitments. In such cases, one has to keep a straight face and keep comments about honesty, morality and decency from surfacing - nobody likes to hear the truth, especially people lacking in the above. I mean, I've been doing my job for years now, so all those idiots who have seen fit to threaten to remove me for it for some small annoyance to them haven't been successful, eh?

April 25th - The day runs late, into B5

I opened the store today, the sixth day of work this week - we're short-staffed( nothing new there )and having to make up for more shifts by cutting them shorter. Usually. Today though, we had 'Paul' from head office visit; he arrived just as we were about to change over things so I could head home, so bad timing. Nicest guy though; he spent two hours talking to the manager whilst I fended off customers and the sun blazed through the windows, mocking me. I had the last laugh though: since it was my sixth day working this week, the ENTIRE day will be counted as O/T - nice! That means also each 'extra' shift in the coming months will be O/T as well - nice compensation for the lack of days off. In any case, after a 9-hour shift I relaxed outside on a bench, soaking up rays before hitching a ride with my parents - take that, mocking sunshine!
The evening vanished quickly in various activities, and I hit the hay rather worn out from it all. I guess the sunshine had its revenge, after all.

April 26th - Bicycle Shopping

Ah, the simple things in life: sleeping in, Saturday morning cartoons and hot chocolate. I availed myself of all three today, so it was quite a nice start to the weekend. I spent part of the afternoon out and about, looking through various bicycle shops as I am considering purchasing one this week. One shop in particular is just down the street, and their customer service was the best I've had yet. Sure beats the crap out of this place, where I once waited 45 mins at the counter before someone acknowledged me( yes, I was past being annoyed at that point and wanted to see how long it would actually take ). The weather is turning nice, and I don't want to spend more money on a bus pass for May that likely won't get used at all if I have my own method of transport. Besides being good exercise, I'll likely get out to 'see' more of the city on two wheels.
The evening was good as well; I interrupted watching my newly-arrived Babylon 5 DVD's( seasons 1 & 2 )to have a great phone call with Rene, Shi, Mike, Brian, Faith and Pierre. They were all at Pierre & Faith's celebrating Mike's birthday( on the 25th ), and it was a pleasure as always to hear them all on the phone. No hummus though, so I guess my influence is waning already.... *sigh*

April 27th - Rainy Daze?

I'm working on collecting the 'best of' pictures from my time spent so far here in Victoria, and will post them on FB shortly. No swimwear shots yet though, so you're lucky - 1003, those better not be anywhere still ... :-)
I spent some of the morning writing, as well as watching the rest of Tank Girl( the movie )from my PVR recording a few weeks ago. I may have to find the comic somewhere; that always seems to be the way, that I find out about something cool long years AFTER the fact. Oh well. Rainy all day today.
After a few hours checking out Mass Effect( finally )and being impressed by the visuals all on their own, I loaded up Call of Duty 4 on my 360 . I ran into Simon , Matt, Dave and later Lucas on Xbox Live!. We played for some hours, and I managed to hold my own despite not having played COD4( or anything )since late 2007. I must say though, I am disappointed not to be playing MORE games online with my friends - there is Catan available, as well as quite a few others. What I think I miss the most though, are the Halo Days... all Halo, day. Glorious, but memories only now.


Looks like it's going to be a rainy week coming up. Yay, indoor entertainment... and as always, keep the Comments coming friends! Once again thanks to all those who read and enjoy this weekly...

Skip and jump into next week!

We now return you to your regularly scheduled blog...

April 13 - Lazy Sunday

Well, I spent the day at work... one-person shifts are the norm for weekends at the branch I am at now. It's nice in many ways, but when it's slow, well.... it's SLOW. Still, there's always things to do and I get paid if it's busy OR slow, which I've always liked.
I do like Sunday nights. SG: Atlantis is on, as is the Simpsons.. and I get to just plain relax. I am trying not to spend too much time on NWN, but I do like seeing my friends there more than once a week... but not every night, as some folk seem to ALWAYS be on there. Not for me, that.

April 14 - Overtime

I opened the store today, and got a bit of bad( maybe good )news: our floater employee has been co-opted by another branch, due to three people giving notice this week - ouch! So that means I will be working 6 days a week for the next long while. Which is bad for having full days off, but good in terms of getting regular O/T... which ironically, I had wondered a little while back if I'd ever be getting again. Goes to show you should be careful what you wish for!

April 15 - Short day.

Morning shift again, which I don't mind at all. Evening spent writing.

April 16 - Days spent...?

Got a nice call from Brian today around noon, we chatted for about 1/2 an hour. Sounds like his new business venture is doing VERY well, which is great! I'm crossing my fingers that he'll be able to do that full-time by year's end, which I'm sure he'd like too!
The third season of SG: Atlantis arrived in the mail today too, along with the SG: Ark of Truth movie. I'll set aside some time next week to watch them, as I have a few things on the go of late... more articles for my online computer site, and so forth. Maybe even a new Nichneven story in a few weeks - we'll see.
All in all a nice, relaxing day. I didn't spend much of it outside, for though the sun shone for a while the wind was still cold and rather strong. Not patio weather.

April 17 - Harry Potter Movie Night!

A second nice day off in a row. The sun was shining all day, and it was a little warner than yesterday. I tidied up the place( yet again )and got everything except a pile of papers( again )put away in their proper places for tonight. I met my neighbour Laurel for a tea out at Mocha House in Cook St. Village in the late afternoon, where we soaked in some sunshine on the patio.
It was Harry Potter Dinner and Movie Night here tonight, starting at 6pm. Laurel as well as my neighbours Ben & Caley all came over to watch the first two Harry Potter films( in HD! )as well as to nosh on Ben's amazing home-made pizza. Caley is apparently a huge Potter fan( she drank her tea from a Slitherin mug )so we all enjoyed the films more with her insights from the books as we watched. It was well into the morning when we finished, as everyone stayed for a lively discussion of the benefits of raw food, which Laurel is working on for herself and some others.

April 18 - Mix of Sun, Rain, and Cloudy Skies

Started off with rain this morning, which I could feel from the air pressure drop - ouch. At least I seem to have got a little gadget working that I picked up some months ago: a keychair weather predictor. Yep, now that I have figured out how to calibrate it, this little beauty should be able to predict weather changes like today's, all in one neat little package. I got it on sale too - nice!
I used some of the morning writing up most of my blog( thought I did it all Sun nights, did you? )and I noticed that Niagara is running 24 degrees this morning ,whilst here it's wet and 8 degrees. Payback I guess, for not having any snow here this winter. *grin*
I then worked the evening shift today. 'nuff said about that part.

April 19 - AvP vs Laundry: Facehugger socks?

Worked my first of the two usual one-person weekend shifts today. It was surprisingly steady, but again this branch attracted very few idiots among the bunch. Rene called, and my Vonage system finally worked like it's supposed to, ringing my cell at work. Fortunately I had left it on and it wasn't busy, so was able to have a brief chat with him. Turns out he had some good news: a new apartment in a great location! I'm very happy for him and Shi!
Evening saw me home well before sundown, which was nice as I had to catch up on... laundry. Argh. Not really a bad thing in this building, as it's only $1.25 a load and I always seem to hit the machines at off peak, which works out well enough. I watched some of AliensVsPredator over dinner - great concept, lousy movie.

April 20th - Sunshine through armoured glass

Another day spent away... from home, that is. Worked until dinnertime on my own, and it wasn't as busy as yesterday. The skies cleared up by late afternoon and it was sunny for a good few hours before I left. My dad picked me up and we went to their place for dinner: homemade pizza, shrimp included! Most tasty. I came home and spent a little time on various chores, and then spent a while writing a little story entitled 'The Backwards Knight.' Might be more on that one later... but it's early to bed for an early morning Monday. Forgot to turn on the Xbox360 when I got home today, oops. Next weekend for sure, guys!

Double Trouble

Just for a bit of variety, here's a 2 weeks-in-one-blog entry, just like I used to do. Don't ask me why... laziness perhaps? Creating a sense of suspense? Just plain irresponsible? You decide... and as usual, don't let me know. :-)

March 31st - Bus and Breakfast

Worked an evening shift, nice and quiet. The bus route here is fairly straightforward, so that's nice - I just hop on at my front door and I'm at work in less than 15 minutes. As a bonus, the Subway across the road is open at 7am, so I can grab a bite before work if I catch an earlier bus... nice, as the sun's rising earlier now and I can enjoy a sunlit breakfast with a free paper to read. Of course it's no Sunrise Cafe, but my clothes don't smell nearly as heavily of fried food afterwards.

April 1st - Fooled you!

Opened the store today, April Fool's day! I had the itch to fool someone, and since I was wise to my own tricks I decided to fool both the old crew I worked with and the new ones here in B.C. So I sent a fax back to the St. Kitt's crew, telling them for the most part how nice things were in B.C. ... and how I'd managed to resurrect my old clown job out here. In fact, I was 'doing so well' that I might go full-time as BoBo. They ate it up and called back... so I had to break the news to them. *grin* It was good to hear everyone's voice though; miss you gals! I also wrote up an 'official' email for my new co-workers here, warning about a 'fraud group dressed as clowns' that were working the area trying to cash bad cheques( again with the clown theme, ha! ). Apparently I did a good job, as nobody said a peep until the next day when I came in and had to tell them... as they'd signed off on the memo. I love my job sometimes...

April 2nd - Don't say the S-word

Worked again in the AM, and I must say I do like these early shifts. Before it seemed a chore to come to work, but starting off with fresh air, sunshine and decently warm temperatures( with no white crunchy stuff underfoot... and I don't mean spilled sugar )makes all the difference. Plus, I'm on my own for most of the day, so it's not crowded at all. In the evenings, I can do as I wish, and I usually split the time between writing, reading, gaming and laundry. Well, as little laundry as I can manage to get away with... I still miss having in-suite laundry, as you don't have to fight for a machine. Politely of course, and without wet towels.

April 3rd - The Spiral Cafe

I took a morning shift today so that I'd have the evening free, as my neighbour Laurel had suggested an entertaining escapade at the Spiral Cafe west across the bridge over in Esquimalt. Playing tonight was one Annabelle Chvostek, whose melodious tunes and heartfelt charm made for a memorable night of choice. In particular, I liked her song entitled 'I left my Brain' from her album Resilience - it had a catchy foot-stomping tune and showed an excellent tongue-in-cheek sense of humour. So in other woods, a good time was had by all... and I hope more of the same again soon.

April 4th - Seals in the harbour

The first day of my three-day weekend dawned sunny and glorious here in Victoria. I had breakfast at Brannigan's with my mom, and then helped her with a few things at her condo, as well as filing her taxes( finally )after some delays from previous weeks.
After lunch, I met one of my co-workers at the Cook St. Village Starbucks for a coffee. The weather was nice, bright and sunny. Unfortunately, her daughter wasn't feeling too well and managed to be sick three times... all on the patio, thank goodness. Maybe I just have that effect on women? I felt bad, but other than that we all enjoyed the weather and the company. Later on, I met my parents for some shopping chores. We also visited Mount Tolmie Park later in the day, one of the highest points in the Victoria area. The hills that the roads wound around would have been impassible with any kind of snow, so I'm glad for the mild climate here. The view was amazingly clear( likely due to the cool air )and the clouds cleared just as we reached the summit( see the pic ). On the way home we stopped to see the famous harbour seals of Victoria( see the photo ). You can buy fresh fish at the marina to feed the wild seals, who hang around the docks looking for handouts. They're wild though, as the signs point out, so watch your hands whilst feeding them.

April 5th - A Saturday off, with Lego( sorta )

For a day with nothing planned, I sure did a lot. But i won't bore you with it. Of note though was that I discovered there's a writers group on Vancouver Island, so that may be someplace that I'll pop in for a look-see soon. Along with the archery club, the runner's club, and the cyclists club... there's probably a Lego club too. I should mention, on the subject of Lego, that I was at the Sidney Museum Lego Exhibition last week on March 27th. There was a TON of new and old to see in All Things Lego... including a Lego Millennium Falcon. That would be so cool sitting on display here... but it'd take too long to build.

April 6th - Brunch at Samuel's

I took my parents to the 11am( PST )brunch at Samuel's, located near where we first stayed after arriving here in Victoria. The service was as excellent as I recall, with my cup no sooner being empty than it was filled once more, and plates whisked away almost before the last crumbs had fallen. The food was perfect, with the highlights being the juicy bacon and the incredible scalloped potatoes. Mmmmm! Too bad it costs as much as it does, or we'd go more often... then again, it's more of a treat the LESS often we go.
Plus the view from the floor-to-ceiling windows is amazing: across the road is Thunderbird Park, with some amazing totem poles and more native wonders. Just beyond that is the Royal BC Museum, somewhere else I've yet to step foot. Heck, there's so many places I'd like to explore here I'll be busy doing JUST that for years - which is great! I took a walking tour of my neighbourhood and took some great pictures of the cherry trees that blanket the area - literally, with all those pink blossoms. Moss St is lined with them from the edge of the ocean all the way north to Fairfield - blocks of cherry trees in bloom. Plus, many of the gardens in the area are in bloom; it's quite lovely to behold.

April 7th - B5 vs BSG

Back to work today, dang it, n the evening. I did order some more things from Amazon.ca, including a few that my neighbour Ben told me about: the 1st and 2nd seasons of Babylon 5 finally went on sale for what I was willing to pay. Considering that the series went off-air in late 1998, that's saying something for continuous high prices... I've seen various seasons as high as $99.99 in Canada, which made me wince and be a little more patient, which finally paid off. For those of you who haven't seen B5 and like SciFi, I highly recomemned it; the only series that IMHO that has reached the same level of excellence in all aspects is the more recent Battlestar Galactica. Go check out the Lurker's Guide to B5, which is an incredible resource for the series made all the more amazing by the fact that the series creator, J. Michael Straczynski, put a lot of his own time into answering questions and the like for fans in those early halcyon days of the internet - long before creator-fan webchats and such became common. In any case, I love both shows for different reasons... and apparently a lot of other folk do too.
Did I ever mention that I'm a voice in a B5 game? The folks over at Space Dream Factory decided to create their own game back in 2002, after Sierra canceled the 95% complete B5 flight sim in 1999 entitled B5: Into the Fire - typical corporate stupidity. SDF called their fan game I've Found Her, after a particular plot thread involving a lost love of former B5 Commander J. Sinclair - something nobody but a fan would understand. Anyway, I have the part of Alpha 4 and was thrilled to be part of the project, which has since produced a 'prequel' sequel called Danger and Opportunity. It stands as a testament to what fans( of any genre )can accomplish and the skills they can muster... IFH remains one of the top fan-created video games to this day, by anyone's standards, including big studios like Sierra. SDF is smarter though. :)

April 8th - The Camino

Just a quiet night at home. I read through most of Shirley MacLaine's recent novel The Camino, which documents her journey along an ancient pilgrim's trail in Spain that took her nearly 500 miles by foot in a month. My neighbour Laurel loaned it to me and though I found it a fascinating read in terms of what the human spirit can accomplish, I didn't find any revelations within its pages. Maybe if I re-read it backwards...? Fascinating story though, and impressive that a Hollywood star would undertake such a grueling pilgrimage for all the right reasons, at her age. My good friend Mike H. called, and we chatted for almost 2 hours. He had some great news about some projects he's involved in, and it was just great to hear his voice again. He had some other news, not so great, but that kind of goes hand in hand with good news now doesn't it? Still, it wasn't earth-shattering and I don't think it will be of import after only a little time has passed. Thanks for calling, Mike!

April 9th - Bus tunes and Beauty

My new cell is great, and I use it with the nice Jabra headset that I won at Katie's fund-raiser a few years ago - bluetooth is a fickle beast sometimes but great when it works. So great, that I ordered a Motorola S9 bluetooth stereo headset a few weeks ago that I've been testing out. So far, so good: the tunes are nice and loud even on the bus. Speaking of which, I know I've mentioned before that I enjoy taking the bus here, but I don't think I've mentioned the fact that it always seems that whatever one I ride, there's a bevvy of beauties aboard. I'm not sure about the statistics here, but some days I feel like I'm on a bus of pirates( yaarrr! )as they loved to kidnap the most beautiful womenfolk and spirit them away to their safe havens. Not that I feel kinship with any of those scurvy peg-legged puritanical pirates, but mine eye do spy quite a few lovelies on them thar' buses. Which is a surprise, as I thought most of them jogged and didn't take transit. Who knew?

April 10th - Tom Petty

Just a normal day, really. Closed the branch today, and it wasn't all that busy. Perhaps the blah weather might have something to do with it... I've noticed a correlation between busy times and sunny days, so perhaps the blah skies are keeping people indoors, huddled around videos of sunny beach paradises from vacation ads on TV.
One nice thing about Victoria is that the radio stations seem to play a LOT of Tom Petty. I mean, I'd be lucky to hear one of his songs a a week back in Niagara.. yet at least twice a day the radio here blasts out a great tune of his. Now does that say 'Welcome to Victoria!' or what?
Ironically, Tom Petty will be here in B.C. this summer, and I'm actually considering going to go see the show. It's in Pemberton, so it's quite the haul - we'll see. I'll comfort myself with all the blooming flowers here, which have been growing steadily all the winter season and have really started to burst out in the last month or so.

April 11th - Double Duty

I opened the branch today... and would up closing another one. Boy, was that dumb. From the minute I walked in, the place was a zoo. I stood at the counter and served folks at a blistering pace for close to five hours... not easy when you've been working since 8am. In any case, things thinned out and I had someone come in to help close the place, which was nice, as I was feeling rather burned out by that point. Still, given the circumstances that led to my last-minute shift at this other branch, I can't complain too much... being a little tired can't hold a candle to the things that my co-worker at this branch is going through right now. So I'll sleep on that, and be thankful.

April 12th - Double Duty Deja-Vu

I did some writing this morning, working on a few concepts that occured to me in the shower this week. As many authors have noted, shower-time seems to be a cornucopia for generating ideas... be it the heat, the soothing effect of the water or even getting soap up your nose, whatever makes the ideas flow is most welcome in my world. Good clean creativity!
Yet it seems the same things happen here as elsewhere in the company: people don't show up for their shifts and there just aren't enough staff to cover. So I volunteered( for some O/T of course )to help out, as they were really in a bind and well, I didn't have plans to speak of and they'd asked me earlier in the week about this particular shift. Of course, given the craziness of last night at the same store, I wasn't so thrilled to go in tonight... but it was the polar opposite of the night before. Quiet and sedate, I barely moved to the counter after the dinner hour, which was a blessing as I was still beat from the day before. Lovely, in some ways. Oh, and this branch is the only one in the area that's actually close to a Tim Horton's - ironic, as every single branch I'd ever worked at in Niagara was but a stone's throw away from a Timmy's.

All for now. In some ways, this blog is similar to my old answering machine messages back in my university days. Before cell phones, I'd always be missing peoples calls whilst at work or away at class, so I came up with a solution: leave an itinerary on my machine. That way, people would know when I'd be home. Worked well enough for a few years, until the dawn of cells made such things like answering machine tapes obsolete. Still, it was fun... and my friends hated it. :) And thanks for the comment Jen!