Rent, Reality and Retirement Review

The word of the week is opportune.

June 13 – Virtual Trek?

One more step towards holodecks...

Virtual Reality will be here later this year, in the form of VR headset systems from the likes of Occulus and Vive, to name a few companies. While the initial offerings won't be cheap, coming in at around $1000 Canadian just for the headset systems, it's the push that counts: companies want VR in people's hands ASAP.

Understandably, that's not cheap.

I'm hoping that by the end of next year, prices will come down enough so that I can consider getting in on the low end with my current computer setup. There was a recent announcement from AMD about their latest line of VR-ready graphic cards being offered for around $200 USD, which is an astonishingly low price point, so that gives me hope about where the VR entry market will be in 2017.

Because I want to play something like this in VR:

  

June 14 –  OnePlus3 = Nah

Do I need a new cell phone? Nope.

I love my OnePlus 1 phone, despite its flaws. Today, OnePlus released the 3rd model in the lineup, and I'm... rather meh about it. Sure, it's more powerful than my One, with twice the RAM( 6gb? Holy #$@! )but other than that... there's little reason for me to upgrade. Aside from the fact that my OPOrandomly resets a few times a day, every few weeks - comes with the territory, according to other owners. Since it's not an essential business tool for me, I've learned to live with it, as it only seems to happen when I'm using the touchscreen intensively.

Also, it tends to overheat, but I'm not going there: I have a $2.50 battery-powered fan from the dollar store I keep with me for hot summer days, and that's fine.

Right now, the OnePlus 3 is $519 CAN... plus tax, plus shipping, making it far less of a bargain than the $450 I paid in 2014 after USD conversation and shipping from the USA. Considering that a 'flagship' phone costs around $600-800 nowadays, I still think I got a heckuva deal back in 2014, with a phone that's still going strong.

That's the thing: unlike my old Samsung Galaxy S3, which bogged down trying to do all that I asked it within a year of my signing a 3-year contract with Telus in 2012, the OnePlus 1 does all tha I ask it to, fast-as-you-please... and while again the overheating is annoying, it's not anything I can't deal with on occasion.

So for the time being, I'll be sticking with my current phone for at least another year or two. By that point, something better will have come down the pipe and hopefully won't cost both an arm and a leg; I won't be signing any contracts for new phone ever again, that's for certain.

Like a growing number of phone buyers, I'm much happier with purchasing outright.

June 15 – Retire Laughing!

Why are we smarter about finances?

For conspiracy theorists, the answer is easy: it's much easier to stand charge of a population that's only educated enough to just get on with life rather than wonder about why they never have the right information when they need it.

I'm relating this to finances because little, if any, education is directed towards ensuring that high school graduates are prepared to tackle the many financial challenges they will face during our lifetimes. Those who find successful solutions to financial difficulties often do so through trial and error rather than facing them well armed with facts and figures hard-won by others who've already been there.

Which is why you owe it to yourself to have a look at this video, which tackles the thorny subject of retirement and how it can make one's head spin very easily. If you don't have a lot of time, skip along to about the 18-minute mark for the essentials, though it is worthwhile watching in its entirety just for the comedic value alone:

June 16 – Gunsanity

I just can't leave this topic alone. It's too important.

Why is the USA so in love with its guns, that 32,000 of its citizens die every year at the wrong end of what are often called 'tools' or 'sporting equipment' - it's an obsession that strikes me as a step shy of total insanity. It's one of the reasons that I don't want to travel to any major city in the states anymore; I don't feel anywhere close to safe from the possibility of random gun violence.

The recent horrific tragedy that took place in Orlando this month has brought the issue of gun control to the fore again, I hope that this time the anger doesn't fade, if only because the LGBTQ community was specifically targeted... and they are one of the most active political groups in the USA, one that Gets Things Done.

With all the media distractions that are constantly being fed to both US and Canadian citizens, it's easy to think that this latest violent outrage is simply going to, but somehow I don't think so: a critical mass may have been achieved, and while the loss of life is deplorable, it may have done some good. More people everywhere, not just in the USA, are questioning the need for weapons that can be easily obtained through loopholes, as well as the reasons behind those purchases - have a read here, where one man goes right to the source.

You can research for yourself the difference that gun control has made in Australia since 1996, or in other countries around the world - this article in particular illustrates perfectly how the rest the world sees the self-destructive tendencies of the USA"s obsession with being well-armed in the face of overwhelming statistics that show it only leads to death for thousands every year.

Make whatever arguments you want; my mind is made up by facts and unswayed by those who insist on hiding behind archaic laws or for interpretations of such.

Guns kill things; that's what they're designed for. You can temporize all that you want about the need for defensive weaponry in the home but until political will becomes reality, blood will continue to be on the hands of both the innocent and criminal alike until the average citizen simply says "Enough."

I wonder how big the next gun-violence tragedy will have to be?

June 17 – Ridiculous Rent

It's been really hard to find the another place to live in my city.

Life means life, I'm always keeping an eye out for a better location, if only to ensure I keep my hand on the pulse of the market locally and so not miss any deals that show up during particular points of the year.

Right now, Victoria is the third most expensive place to live in Canada, which is saying a lot, and St Catharines is sitting at 10th, at around $900 for a 1-bedroom.

At present, I pay *exactly* the average price... and haven't been able to find anything in good areas for less than $1400.00 for two bedroom units, so that's been a pain. I definitely want to find something away from the main road and with luck, a place that doesn't have giants for upstairs neighbors or is surrounded by chain smokers who like to linger on their balconies all morning and evening.

Buying the place is certainly out of the question for me, given the red-hot state of Victoria's current real estate market. As I mentioned recently, the average two-bedroom detached house price in Victoria has risen to around $750,000, which is so far out of my reach that it's funny: I probably will never be a homeowner here.

That's depressing.

However, there's always the dream of owning a Tiny Home, albeit one with room for books, boardgames and occasional guests, so there's that. For the moment, that dream needs to be kept alive so that I can have something to look forward to aside from decades of trying to find rental spaces that aren't surrounded by smokers were leadfoots or motorcycle enthusiasts -that headspace will quickly become crowded and untenable, if you'll forgive the pun.

But for now, it's price that will determine when I move.

June 18 – Want vs. Need

I'm not a collector, though I am a fan of many g33ky things.

It's difficult to see some really cool things that I'd like to possess, but don't have the budgetary wherewithal to even think about the attempts.

Yet, that very lack makes me think: why do I want such things?

Case in point: Soundwave from the old Transformers show. He's always been my favorite transformer, for many reasons, not the least of which is his cool, capable efficiency in what he does( and up the fact that he's working for the wrong side ).

Back in 2013, a Masterpiece version of Soundwave was released, for around $100 USD. It was quickly sold out everywhere within a month or two and since then the value of those pieces has steadily climbed to around $500 for a Mint-In-Box example - at that price, very few people can afford to pick one up now.

At the time, I couldn't justify spending $100 on a toy, despite its significance to myself... and here I am today, lamenting the fact that I didn't, but also acknowledging that I still don't need such a thing, which would just sit on a shelf to be admired on occasion and perhaps even played with if I wanted to reduce the value significantly - again, something that collectors everywhere must wrestle with.

The question is: will that keep happening?

Well I keep seeing the occasional collectible that really speaks to my creative or childlike side, but that I will pass up yet again because I won't justify the 'waste' of money to purchase what amounts to a useless hunk of plastic and metal? Despite the fact that there's the possibility of it rising in value over time?

I don't know. I guess I will just have to keep asking the question.

June 19 – Counting Up

I was feeling a little down today.

Little is the key word here: all the little things that have gone right lately ganged up in my brain and their joined voices were little hard to take.

But I've learned to ignore that chaotic chorus, albeit with difficulty sometimes.

Whenever life's little nagging voices dog you with 'What ifs?' and Nyah-Nyah-You're-Not-Doing-As-Well-As-You-Should-be's, just stick to this simple piece of advice and you'll do fine:

Which is exactly what I did. For example, the fact that I had two good-as-junk laserdisc players really frustrates me... but I tried. I lucked into not one but two of the exact model I wanted( Pioneer Elite CLD-79 )and the fact that neither one worked out is beside the point: I did my best, and neither failure was my fault.

My book's coming along steadily, with a good flow of ideas happening on a daily basis. Sure, some days the ideas are much sparser than others, but the fact that my subconscious is still working on them despite my many setbacks this year is a point of pride for me as a writer: I'm not blocked by anything other than circumstance.

Sure, my job could be better, but in terms of stress levels, it's pretty damn good - there's a lot I can take away from that, and my wonderful coworkers are daily bonus for which I'm grateful despite having lost several of them to new positions elsewhere this month. I'm hoping to do that myself soon enough; all it will take will be for someone to see my potential in one of the positions I've been applying for, for the last six months... I just have to be patient.

As for the rest, really only two things matter: my family's doing well, and my girlfriend loves me for who I am.

And: those little voices are gone; good riddance.

Speaking of counting my blessings: I had dinner with my parents and sister for Father's Day, at a lovely Vegan cafeteria called Green Cuisine downtown. I'm again utterly grateful that my immediate family is all doing well and are in Victoria. That we all get along and are so caring to one another... it's truly a blessing, however you want to count it - my Dad especially has been a pillar in my life and I look up to him in many ways still, despite my gain in height over the years.

Love you, Dad!

The sun came out today, and though I didn't get outside due to having a lot to do( and it being rather a chill, windy day! )it's great to just be in a place where it's BRIGHT so often. I'm adding that requirement to the list of Things To Look For When Renting, as I've no desire to live in a cave if at all possible - never have, never will. Even a Man Cave of mine would have windows...

Value, Vexation and Voltron

The word of the week is inscrutable.

June 6 – Aw, nuts..

Well, it doesn't look good.

I heard back from the local repair place where I took my pair of wonky laserdisc players a few weeks ago, and it's not good news: neither of them can be fixed. To add insult to injury, in order to try to salvage one working player out of the guts of the pair of them would cost upwards of $500 - way, WAY outside my tiny repair budget. AND there's no guarantee that all the parts used will work properly, thanks to the a**hole who must have drop-kicked my player's package somewhere along the way hard enough that broke many of the internal components, despite the extremely well-padded box. Motherboards don't crack nor bend at crazy angles from just getting tossed onto a truck - someone along the way was a jackass because they could get away with it and I hope karma gives that particular... person a rough time soon.

That bottom mboard should be FLAT, and the tray's snapped from it's greased groove...

So I'm shelving my laser disks for the time being, as I can't afford to spend any more money on trying to salvage things. Despite my desire to watch my collection of about 50 laserdiscs( about half of which are Babylon 5 episodes ) there's nothing I can do right now. Players like mine of the calibre that I managed to luck into finding a pair of currently go for anywhere from $250 CDN on up on eBay ( I paid less than that for the both of them, with shipping )and the average is about $500 - again, way outside any kind of budget I have for the next long while.

So disappointing, but there's nothing I can do about it.

June 7 – Cool it!

The summer around here has been quite cool so far; I like it.

After a rather warm second half of April this year, things for the next month look to be rather cool and cloudy, which is kind of nice. Victoria has always been known for its moderate weather thanks to our location next to the ocean and proximity to the Olympic Mountains to the south, which have a cooling effect on our climate.

It's been dry June though. Really dry, but looking nice:

Vancouver Island always dries out in the summer, making water rationing and fire safety both mandatory occurrences here. You can tell it's the summer by the color of the grass: everything not on a sprinkler system goes brown around April and stays that way until the cool months of late September, or later.

I've actually had a headache this week, mainly from the air pressure rising gradually as the sunny skies move in. As I am used to this sort of thing, I've been able to moderate it with occasional and judicious use of headache medication. It's not so bad, though I do tend some days to feel a bit tired but not nearly as much as I would if I was sweating like crazy from excessive heat, which I've spoken of a few times in the past due to my increased sensitivity to such these last few years.

I'll take a few Tylenol now and then instead of overheating any a day.

June 8 – Re-Reading

Not half-bad, if I do say so myself.

It's been a year since I last re-read my first book from start to finish, and that's been intentional. It's common advice to writers to let their work lay fallow, so to speak, before re-reading it in order to come at it with a fresh mind.

In my case, I let it sit for a year before reading it in full again, which I've been doing for the last week this June. I've poked at parts of it on and off during that year, but never just read it as a full story until now. I needed time to process things and to think about how everything fits into the next books in the trilogy.

So far in the reread, I've surprised myself by liking far more than I thought about the third draft. While I'm not blind to the fact that writers shouldn't really like their own work too much, the work that I've created in this third draft a year ago still holds up when I look at it with my even-more-experienced writerly eyes.

That's not to say there's no work to be done still; far from it.

The purpose of this reread is to generate new ideas and to let me tweak the third draft in a multitude of places and so come up with the fourth draft. As I read, every few paragraphs I see places where some small changes need to be made and every chapter eyespot places where some major points can be inserted to better serve the book overall.

I'm enjoying getting reacquainted with the entire story all at once, an experience most unusual for the author of any story that they may be far too familiar with.

Plus, it's just plain fun to read it again anew!

June 9 – Cities?

I picked up a new game on sale this week, though I don't know when I'll be able to find the time to really play it.

Back in the day - high school, as I recall - I was a huge SimCity fan, and I picked up most of the sequels over the next 10 years up until about when SimCity2000 came out, and then I got too busy doing other things.

However, the love of creating my own city has stuck with me.

The most recent spiritual successor to the old SimCity game is Cities:Skylines, which has the twin advantages of having been on deep discount this week and which runs happily on my current not-cutting-edge 4-year-old PC system: huzzah! And it looks gorgeous:

I played a little with that this week, with the idea of using it to possibly model some of the cities in my novel. As it stands, it will be a lot more work to do it that way then simply using my imagination, but I like the concept and I may explore that idea later with some other software, should I discover something better suited to the task.

For now, I've added Skylines to my sadly-neglected Steam account and I'll get back to it( along with FAR too many other games ) at some point later this year when I have a little bit more time to just sit down and play some games to relax.

June 10 – Robot Lions!

I'm so excited: Voltron returns today!

I've been a fan of the giant 5-lions-combine-into-1 robot since his debut back in the early 80s, though I admit the old series doesn't really hold up to re-watching it nowadays - you really can't go back to being a kid again in some ways.

However, neither of the two attempted follow-up series( 1998’s Voltron: The Third Dimension and 2011’s Voltron Force )were any better: despite decent animation, writing was simply subpar and didn't do anything to advance the show.

Thankfully, Netflix stepped up in 2016 to deliver a new series!

Created by DreamWorksSKG, the series looks to be a winner, with executive producer Joaquim Dos Santos, and co-executive producer Lauren Montgomery ( who both brought us  Korra and The Last Airbender )taking a hand in the creation of the new  Voltron. The best part is that they greenlighted an entire series to view at once, in the now traditional bow to the binge-watching crowd.

I will be watching it that way though: I'll be treating myself to one episode a week, preferably on Saturday mornings... just like I watched it as a kid.

If you're also a fan, you can check out this stellar interview that Nerdist.com did with the show runners here - it's a fantastic read for anyone who likes Voltron!

June 11 – Patience Pays!

Holy manifestation, Batman!

After lending my sister my noise-canceling Parrot Zik headphones today to use while she was at the too-crowded Moka House patio today, I wondered if there was a second pair floating around eBay that she might be able to use.

Shockingly, there was, and for a mere $100!

Before anyone else could, I snapped them up, hardly able to believe my good luck. Normally, these headphones go for anywhere around $300, as their some of the best of their type that you can get to do what they do. I'd actually stopped looking for them two years ago, as the prices always seem to be at least that or more. They're perfect for tuning out distractions and annoying noises, which help you to focus on work, or also to relax and even help to reduce anxiety by removing environmental annoyances.

Yet somehow, I immediately managed to find a pair today that the seller listed as being in perfect shape and even came with all the original accessories. There was no way I was going to wait even a minute after finding that before buying it; even with two newer models on the market from Zik, my original pair still retain their value.

Which is why I'm so happy with my lucky find today, and so too will my sister!

June 12 – Apocalypse Meh?

After lunch, I went to see the newest X-men movie.

 X-Men: Apocalypse has garnered many mixed reviews to date, so I reserved judgment until I actually got to see it myself. I also managed to avoid any spoilers, which is actually kind of hard to do these days if you're on social media in general.

So: minor Spoiler Alert for what follows below.

The movie is a continuation of the franchise( obviously ) to introduce many familiar characters in new ways, some of which have new back stories... and some of those stories I don't particularly agree with the new tack that has been taken.

The movie follows the re-discovery of the all-powerful First Mutant Apocalypse, as he rises from his ancient tomb where he was buried after being betrayed to try to remake the earth in his own image... which is apparently is the first thing to do when you've been buried for thousands of years and out of touch with everything.

Overall, I think the movie will make a decent rental: it's visually pleasing, makes sense in terms of plot and story choices and has a decent cast. There's no slow spots, which is a lot safer something that's two hours long and the story progresses decently from start to finish without any majorly strange sidetracks or conveniently-overlooked plot holes. I wouldn't say I would go back and watch it again anytime soon, but I nod my head to a job well done, more than can be said then for the mediocre Batman Vs. Superman I saw earlier this year: the less said about that movie, the better.

What impressed me the most about the movie came before it even started: there was a personal "Thanks for coming to see the movie!" From the actress who plays Storm in the movie, which I found endearing. In this age of internet downloads and Netflix, it's refreshing to see that some people in Hollywood recognize that the audience who goes to see movies in the theater is changing and that important demographic needs to be recognized: we're stepping out of our homes to go somewhere for an experience that needs to deliver on the tickets we buy.

Well-done, X-men... you may have seen the 'Theatre Apocalypse' coming, and may just help to stave it off for a while.

These posts are getting earlier and earlier, which is fine by me as I get more time to relax before bed: this one's been published at 8 PM PST, easily three or four hours earlier than posts from even a year ago. Enjoy!

Avatars, Anime and Apps

The word of the week is ruminate.

May 30 – App-B-Gone

Crash, crash, and crash again.

Sometimes, you don't realize how often checking FBook is as part of your day, when you suddenly can't do it anymore. Like when my phone's official FBook app decided to stop working completely after the latest update, as well as after an uninstall / reinstall.

Ah well. Made me look up alternatives, which is always fun.

After looking askance at more than a few apps that purported to 'do it better' than the official FBook app, I settled on one called Swipe, which hooks into FBook's mobile site to display information about your social account. From the reviews, it looked to be solid, regularly updated( with far fewer bugs than the official app )and most importantly, light on phone resources - unlike the official app.

Using it all this week, I was impressed enough to shell out a few dollars for the Pro version, which among its better features allows you to exclude keywords from your newsfeed. So Trump, Kayne West and all their ilk are now blissfully missing from most of my daily reading, which alone is worth the price of the app.

It makes me wonder how a huge, deep-pocket company like FBook can't manage to improve its bloated app while others can do so with seeming ease...

May 31 –  Korra

I've been a bit distracted the last few months, but in a good way.

Watching The Legend of Korra on NetFlix has been an eye-opener for me, in that I had no idea how good the series was. Airtight writing tied into fully developed characters and wonderfully laid-out plots awaited me when I finally got around to watching and I've had to limit myself to a few episodes every other day to avoid the dreaded phenomenon known as Netflix binge-watching.

Kudos to those responsible for making the show.

It takes a ton of hard work to create something truly worthwhile, and the irony is that the majority of that work goes unremarked by most who see the end result. For an animated television series, there are many components: the artwork, the animation, the voice acting and of course the writing that is the seed from which everything grows...

All these combined perfectly in Korra, and it shows. At no point did I wonder what was happening, what the characters wanted or whether I was interested in what was going on: the show swept me up with gently cradled hands and carried me along with the characters as they experienced the events unfolding.

Just some of the great characters in the show

I found it inspiring as a writer and for that reason alone, I'm glad that I've been watching as much of the shows I have these last few months. With my own inspiration flagging since last summer, it's been a real struggle to visualize the end results of my own creative efforts and seeing a masterpiece such as Korra helps me greatly to talk back into my own hard work that still lies ahead.

And I still have one more season of Korra to finish watching...!

June 1 – More Time

Looking at my calendar lately, it's pretty empty. I like it.

I've divested myself of most distractions, to better concentrate on what's important. Now that another month has rolled around, I'm ensuring that what ends up in the calendar are only vital things, like family and friends and little else. My writing group's activities seem to be self-supporting this year, 6 months in, and I'm looking to keep it that way. Even my critique group is only meeting once a month at this point and since I don't have any new material, there's little I can do to contribute apart from critically reviewing the work of the other members.

It's funny how when I look back, I needed to find time to do so many things yet never felt a sense of accomplishment when I managed to scratch a few things off my ever-growing To Do list. What I've done in the last six months is put many of those things on several smaller and more concise lists: Write Today, Do Now and Get Around To Later - just having three lists means I can better juggle everything overall and not feel a daily dissatisfaction and not getting so much done as I think I should.

It's been a difficult year so far in 2016, for myself and some family members.

My anxiety has, through daily effort, being got under control and I'm making progress towards being much healthier with regular exercise and decent eating. My sleep is still somewhat scattered, though I'm finding that by going to bed earlier and waking up around 6 AM is helping stabilize things for me.

Stability, I think, is my main goal for the rest of 2016.

To date I've managed to achieve mental stability and even a good deal of financial stability, though that's still got a long way to go until I can just watch my bank balance grow without eyeing it askance every day. Personally, I'm doing wonderfully well with my girlfriend and my family - for the most part - seem to be on an even keel though it's been difficult for my sister of late in some areas. But I'm there to help her, as are my parents, and were getting through things together.

My goal is to have a calm summer, full of writing and relaxation and not worrying about the future nearly as much so I can concentrate on enjoying the Now.

June 2 – Building Dreams

It's incredible what people can do when they put their mind to it.

That old saw of a phrase is exactly what popped into my head when I saw this pop up in one of the Dark Crystal FBook groups that I'm a part of:

This extremely talented person is putting together a screen-accurate cosplay of a Garthim from the movie by Jim Henson. It's staggering what he's already managed to accomplish in a few weeks and I think the final result will be essentially mind-blowing in its effect.

Did I mention that this is exactly what I wanted to create back when I was in grade 5?

Back then I didn't have these skills nor the resources to put together anything even remotely like this, plus the proper materials to create it were not widely available - the original suits were made out of fiberglass and weighed upwards of 60 pounds each, far too heavy for the kid to wear or even move.

Decades later, it's simply amazing to see my childhood dream come to life, albeit under another person's hands. All the same, I'll be watching closely to see what the final product's like, with an eye towards re-creating it for myself one day.

There are some costumes that you just have to wear, especially if there are childhood dream come true.

June 3 – Sim Easter Egg

What would my week be like without a bit of Neil Gaiman?

As one of my writing idols( along with Ray Bradbury, among many others )he's always managed to surprise me with his work, and today I discovered a piece of his I had no idea existed... because it was hidden inside a video game!

Back in 1994, the PC game Simcity 2000 was released. I'm pretty sure I have a copy of it, though I can't seem to find it among my collection now( which surprises me )and I had no clue that it contained some of Gaiman's early work!

Apparently, when you selected the library in the game, there is a menu that popped up, one of whose options was 'Ruminate' - when selected, up came a 1000-word whimsical piece about cities that Neil Gaiman had penned! Here's an excerpt:

It's wonderful glimpse into the fantastical world of his mind and I am quite grateful to have run across it in the wilds of the Internet. Even 20 years ago, it's clear that Gaiman's imagination could carry him to places that most others had not dreamt of... and that his ability to so clearly share his experience of those places is what makes him such a great writer.

All the more reason to better my own work!

June 4 – Heat Headache?

What glorious weather!

The temperature shot up today to the mid-20's, with clear skies and blazing sunshine heating up Vancouver Island from the early morning hours: lovely!

My sister and I joined my parents out for lunch at Nourish, a new Vegan restaurant, occupying a spacious century-old home located in swanky James Bay. We were seated inside at a bay window with the sashes open to let in the cool breezes, though I was still rather hot; I seem to be far more sensitive to temperature these days, and even just wearing a T-shirt with shorts was making me sweat today. We enjoyed our lunch together to celebrate my mother's 70th birthday, milestone that were all pleased that she's reach given the numerous medical troubles she's had over her lifetime, including a recent minor discovery that we hope will be mitigated in a few months’ time with proper care.

Unfortunately, my head began to throb just after lunch and I spent most of the afternoon in bed with a debilitating headache, nixing my plans to enjoy it outside on a patio as I did yesterday reading my copy of the Wonderbook by Jeff VanderMeer. A few Tylenol and some serious shut-eye managed to eliminate it by the evening however, and I was quite grateful not to waste the whole day.

In the evening, my girlfriend and I watched several episodes of the first season of Star Blazers, a series I've been eager to introduce her to as it was so formative to my own creative psyche and interest in sci-fi so many decades ago. I've mentioned it before and I will say again: this is what made me want to write Space Opera, and it still holds up today more than thirty years later.

June 5 – Even Hotter!

Holy summer-scorchers, Batman!

The temps here shot up to a blistering 28C today, but didn't feel higher as the humidity's dropped quite a bit. I was again thankful to be living in a ground floor apartment facing north and west that only gets direct sunlight on the front windows for a few hours each evening. Even that is mitigated essentially by an overhanging balcony and a very large tree by the roadside, which can raise the temperature significantly unless the front blinds get mostly pulled across.

All the same, I felt fairly relaxed and comfortable in my place with a fan going as I wrote and read for most of the afternoon. My girlfriend wasn't feeling well this morning( I think the lack of humidity was bothering her )and thus our plans for the day went by the wayside... but I'm hopeful she'll be better with some rest, which is worth taking the time for. 

I decided to test myself a little today, and went for a walk to get some groceries. With a hat, and water, and keeping to the shade as much as possible, I ambled about twenty minutes to the downtown Market on Yates, where I enjoyed the cool air from the refrigerated section until I was ready to head back home... which went without a hitch. The humidity is a startlingly low 30%, which means that yes, it is a dry heat that's settled onto the Island for today and tomorrow both.

So I'm thinking: test passed, I may sweat but I'm just fine walking around sensibly in the heat, as long as I stay out of the direct sun for any length of time... and as long as the humidity's low. I won't have to feel anxious about going out to enjoy the temperatures, as long as I'm smart about it - which is the way it should be, right? And it’s great that the sprinklers come on in the evening out the front, which helped cool things off nicely:

Sprinklers!

Getting the blog done early( by 8pm! )was nice, as it meant I could relax for a few more hours before bed and get some reading in. Since I now wake up regularly at 6am, I've been trying to hit the hay around 10pm, to get a little balance in there and make for a restful 7 hours of sleep. With less preying on my mind of late, I'm hoping that I'll be waking up far more refreshed in the mornings in the coming months, perhaps enough to get some writing in before work... who knows?

Thanks for dropping by. I'm afraid things aren't going to be as... exciting as they've been these last few months, what with trips to WA and ON and all that, but I'm pleased to say that it's probably for the best: I've got work to do and can't really afford too many distractions from that worthy goal...