Monday, February 28, 2011

Warning

For some unknown reason I'm feeling excessively optimistic today! Like I really can solve all the worlds problems or be anyone I want to when I grow up, even if it's a self rescuing princess ;)

As if somehow all the bills I've deferred to next month via my credit card have been taken care of by a tall dark and handsome stranger who liked my smile. In fact he liked me so much that I've been invited to attend a ball... Bond girl style in a knockout dress that conceals the true nature of my secret identity!

Just thought you should have plenty of warning before you're subjected to my bubbling no... geyser of enthusiasm! If you're a donkey on the edge, this could cause you to lose all feeling in your toes... and need a hug... which you're probably going to want from someone else ;) I might break a rib or rupture your spleen.

Caution prolonged exposure to subject may cause the following side effects: nausea, dizziness, ringing sensation in ears, increased psychopathic thoughts, vomiting, brain aneurism, internal bleeding, ruptured ear drums and in extreme cases an increased urge to stab yourself in the eye with a salad fork... or any available blunt object.

If you experience any of

Sent... While in transit ;)

Cue circus music

It seems hard to believe that it was only last weekend that my brother was fantastic and dropped my car off!

Armed with a bill of sale, the AB registration papers and the completed and signed transfer papers I made my first attempt at insuring The Fit. The transfer papers are quite obviously only for *within* the province of BC... as the AB registration number and drivers license numbers do not fit in any of the provided blanks, but of course that's the one you're supposed to use...

Phone calls were made... information was pulled up and I was informed that I had to get my car inspected. Despite the fact that I bought it here...

Curious how you're supposed to get an uninsured/unregistered vehicle down to get inspected? Well apparently you can get daily insurance for $60. We opted for the 'Chuck it on a lowbed trailer'... which could just as easily translate to "We'll just drive it down the back roads like we're trying to shake a tail in the wee morning hours, have it inspected and over to the insurance place before anyone notices"

It cost me $100 to have the car 'inspected' aka someone went out and made sure that the VIN number was correct... and took it for a test drive. They also make sure important things like my heaters work *rolls eyes* The insurance lady then had to reconfirm the confirmation that they inspection place did. *sigh*

What's really awesome though is that last year when I paid my insurance I rounded the cost up in my head. Which made the quote I received significantly lower than I thought it would be, and I'm totally okay with that. I think I'm going to do it again for next year.

Yes, I have been known to be one of those people who sets their clock ahead so that they're "on time"... I can admit it, it's pretty awesome when all it takes is changing your clock to change your perception of where you are in the space time continuum.

The Fit fits! I'm so excited the Fit is back, chewin' up the highway like a big ole velociraptor with hypothermia!

*meep meep*

Fallen angel


This could quite possibly be the closest I will ever get to angelic... and I have it on high authority you are never too old for snow angels ;)

Friday, February 25, 2011

Morning has broken

The sun rising
with a trace of a smile
a gentle fading blush 
the last lingering remnants 
of a dream fast fading 
belying a warmth 
not felt by the few souls 
awake at this ungodly hour.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

This is not a test... this is a test

I'm sure this wasn't sent to test my intelligence, but here is an excerpt from an email I received this afternoon...

Now I ask you, how would I know to respond that I didn't receive this email... if I hadn't received this email?!?! Of course I replied to that effect, violating the 'Please do not reply...' *shrugs*

Lol I've recently been informed that the smiley face at the end is acknowledgement of the ridiculousness of the preceding statement. Teach me to make fun of things ;)

Actually it reminds me of highschool, they were having trouble with the PA system and made a similar announcement... "If you can't hear the announcement over the PA system, please send a runner down to the office". *shakes head* Yes, these are the people teaching your children... sometimes I wonder if the kids are alright ;)

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Busy as a beaver

Dad is returning home after a week or so down in sunny California and boy has he ever been busy! I'm afraid this turned into a bit of a laundry list, but Dad refrained from including all the humorous details I would have shared had I been privy to them ;)

All in all he got the transmission checked out, replacing and fixing bits and pieces so that it doesn't leak ATF anymore (which should avoid the whole getting stuck in reverse problem).

He replaced the cushions, one of which was soaked in the heater incident mentioned previously.

He installed the new cooler unit which required some boat modification.... and uninstalled the hot water heater unit in the small forward office type area which he had soundly cursed on numerous occasions ;)

He also did the dive to replace the zinc on the prop shaft, with the foresight of placing all the screws and alan keys required into foam so that at least in the instance that they're dropped they'd fall 'up'... I thought that was pretty clever ;)

Oh and on an interestingly nerdy note, it sounds like when you are trying to replace the zinc while underwater rather than when the boat is hauled... you can get the screw in about half way and then it becomes very difficult to turn. Dad thinks this may be due to it being a blind hole, and thus being filled with water which will only compress so far...

Oh yeah and he replaced the halyards, and put together the contraption we devised to help get the dingy launched and um un-launched...

Installed a deck pipe for the anchor rode so you don't have to climb in and out of the back lazarette to deploy the anchor, not that it ever waited for that before...

Nice work Dad, you certainly got a lot accomplished!

Congratulations are in order

The newest member of our extended family was born yesterday! Mom and baby are both doing well. Being the third child he's still nameless, and his oldest sister is adjusting to the idea that he isn't a baby girl *chuckles*.

I hope they have many wonderful moments together *s*

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Cloudy with a chance of shnowwww..showers

The inuit have hundreds of words for it... and I know we're supposed to have more words for snow than places like say the Caribbean... but what on earth are snow showers?!?! Heh if it wasn't spelled out there, I would just have assumed that someone was having a little trouth mouble...


Around here I'm pretty sure we call that slush.

Lifting shadows

Good morning Tuesday!

I don't know if it's the Taekwondo improving my sense of well being or the lengthening days... but what a difference it makes walking to work in the pre-dawn as opposed to the depths of darkness.

There was a definite bounce to my step this morning, that had nothing to do with it warming up to minus 7 from minus 14... that's warmed up to ~19 for all my American friends ;)

I'm hoping this continues, I'm kind of done with feeling *mer*... and as much as I love winter sports I think I'm missing the sunshine. So please, can we keep it cold up the mountain with occasional dustings of fresh powder *and* have some sunshine down here? I didn't really think so, but I figured I'd ask.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Doh!

It works much better when you attach the zinc to the *metal* part of the prop shaft rather than the fiberglass sleeve... *sigh* luckily it wasn't needed.

My not new years resolution

I have been hesitant to write about starting Taekwondo, and I'm not exactly sure why. It's almost like if I talk about it, I'll stop doing it. Like the New Years resolution you can't break, if you don't tell anyone you've made it.

It's odd really because from the first night I tried Taekwondo I loved it! I can't believe I've never tried it before.

I was talking to Carol, the lady who signed me up and sheepishly admitted that I became interested by watching a video on youtube. I didn't tell her it actually started with my Xena obsession... and then I watched the videos on youtube. I mean really, "Hi, I think I'm an ancient Greek warrior with no skills, can you teach me?"

Okay but seriously the youtube video was pretty cool, it was a Master demonstrating the use of Bo-staff in defending against a sword attack. In the span of a few breaths, he had disarmed and pinned the guy with the sword. It was incredible!

In all honesty though, I wanted something that I can do to stay in shape. Something that is practiced in other parts of the world, that I can spend a lifetime learning and refining. I don't know if this is it, but I'm going to give it a try.

Besides you just never know when defense against a sword attack will come in handy... or do you? Nyaarrrr!

Boat Update

While I have returned to work and attempted to re-thread myself into the working world tapestry, Dad has finally returned to sunny California to check up on the boat.

Over the past week I've received a constant stream of emails telling me what he's been up to... and as much as things have been working out great here, getting settled in and diving back into the raging waterfall of work, I miss the adventure of the unexpected. I also miss mint Oreos...

It did make me smile though, within 24 hours of being back on the boat... In the process of unpacking a sail from his new cooler unit Dad managed to flip the brand new hole saw completely up out of the cockpit and over the side of the boat.

Oh yeah, and the heater we couldn't get working? Well I guess at some point over Christmas the fuel line cleared its throat and spit diesel all over the canned mushrooms. Dad said it smells like boat now, heh I'll just bet it does...

Sounds like he's going swimming, guess some things never change ;)

I like big trucks

and I can not lie... you other brothers can't deny... Oh right heh, wrong song.

Earlier this week, I went about my morning delighting in the fact that I had my buddy Ed's truck, and I would be stopping at Timmy's *dreamy smile* I got outside and realized it had snowed.

Quite a bit...

So I'm all gussied up for work. I've been trying to look presentable at least 4 out of 5 days (Friday is usually that fifth day)... it helps that all my scruffy clothes are at my parent's. I slip slide out to the truck, open the door and get snow all over the seat.

*Damn*

I start digging around, surely Ed's got a snow scraper somewhere around here right? It's still the middle of winter, it's not like this is one of those freak March snow storms. The closest I came to anything that even resembled a snow scraper was a laminated map of Edmonton... *shrugs* close enough, I'm resourceful ;)

Oh right, I forgot to mention that Ed's truck is fairly large... Chevy, Silverado extended cab... Diesel. Translation: The windshield is, way up there! I'm not Amazon tall, but even at my respectable 5'9" I'm still down here, yep that's right, in my pretty shoes.

I get a map width and a half of snow scraped off in front of the driver, and am relieved to find it wet snow... Not frozen. Yeah! I jump in and let the wipers clear the rest and make my way to Timmy's. By this point I've accepted that I am most likely going to be a few minutes late for work, but that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.

To my surprise there is *nobody* in the drive through line-up! I crept up to place my order. As if you can creep in a diesel truck *Rugh-rugh-rugh-rugh* ;) Hit the automatic window button, and realized half way through digging out my wallet that I don't want the window to go down all the way because the wet snow on the side window... will. fall. in.

Yeah, I totally got wet snow all down the door and the side of my leg... it's okay though once I had my large double double I didn't care ;)

Monday, February 14, 2011

IT Hobo

That hobo you see running around IT would be me... Walked in to half our servers downed by a power outage this morning, an hour later crisis averted I can finally take a shower and wash the stink off... Yeah that smell you can smell? Should be gone soon ;)

Only way to start a Monday... Happy Valentines day ;)

Sent... While in transit ;)

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Infecting your airspace

Damn kids, the carriers of disease and pestilence... running around swapping snot and drool, becoming a living Petri dish, hosting a collection of ick, infected with the same things every other kid has...

*blech* pretty disgusting actually.

What will take me a week to recover from, with my veteran white blood cells that have been heavily immersed in more mortal combat situations than you can shake a stick at... Kids will spontaneously replicate an army of foot soldiers crushing the enemy with sheer numbers piling bodies on top until the invading virus admits defeat signaling a retreat leaving the body by all available exits.

Little did you know, kids are actually evil minions of the flu.

Damn kids.

Wednesday, February 09, 2011

Desire

My desire to keep my m&m guy cute is fighting a losing battle against my desire to eat the m&m's that make him... See now he's only half cute

Monday, February 07, 2011

Ask and ye shall receive...

Last week I picked up a couple more pieces of furniture from a guy who is moving out of the country. He gave us a hand getting them into the truck, and offered to give us a hand moving them...

Shazam and I pulled the "We're tough, we totally got this!" (because in a previous life we were warriors who shouldn't have any trouble whatsoever with furniture)...  In any case, I'd just like to pause and say that I wish I'd had my previous life muscles that day, particle board desks and pull-out-bed-couches are frakkin' heavy!

So we get the particle board desk down off the back of the truck, start to swing it around to align it with the stairs and I promptly step on the only remaining piece of ice... Down I go! Somehow, I managed to catch the desk, not bruise my coccyx, and only give myself a double charlie horse!

Next we get the pull-out-bed-couch into position, maneuver it down the stairs... stand it up, and it decides to inspect the new apartment, pops out like a jack-in-the-box and pins Shazam to the wall! Luckily we managed to get it back in the box and under packing tape restraints so we could stuff it in the door.

It's been cool to watch how over the course of a month or so I've managed (with much help) to furnished a 2 bedroom apartment replete with a spare pull-out-bed-couch. I say this in the most loving way possible, but it's first year University ugly... Something only a momma bed and papa couch could love.

That said the spare bedroom will now affectionately be referred to as 'Residence'. It's more comfortable than the floor, but you wake up missing home ;)



Loading... loading... loading...

Last Friday morning someone put the wrong auto-pilot cartridge in, so I got up, hopped in the shower, soaped all my 2000 parts and...  realized that I didn't have a car... I was walking, and I had to shower... at work.

I still had to pack a lunch *!* I dove out of the shower, did the fireman, and managed to get my poop in a group and out the door at 6:30 on the button as if I hadn't interrupted a hot shower!

It turned into a bit of a theme though when I got ready for my shower at work and forgot to grab my towel out of my office *sigh* some days it's amazing when you get ready on time despite yourself.

Friday, February 04, 2011

Efficiency at it's finest

Swung through the Tim Horton's drive through on the way back from the airport, which was accompanied by the usual juggling of items in the front seat and digging for change, giving up on the change... paying with debit.

My friend was in the midst of putting her debit card away when the drive-through girl stuck her skinny arm and half the order out the window. Whoa whoa whoa! ... hold on a second, not *quite* ready yet...

The drive through girl replies "It's all good! It just looks really good on the video behind me!"

 We laughed all the way out of the Timmy's parking lot *grins*

Pearl of wisdom...

"Gotta find a job that is constantly pushing the envelop. Not the one stuck licking it!" ~Lips

Sunny Okanagan

Thursday, February 03, 2011

It's like magic!

Hehe love the marketing on this ASUS wireless router... So if they've really figured this out, why do I even need a computer to download files lol!

Wednesday, February 02, 2011

Infiltrating your spell-checker

Every once in awhile the auto correct outdoes itself and comes up with a really good one... like this:


Omg yes thank you! I totally meant Wonderbra! *huge 50's smile with raised eyebrows*

Not.

Okay now I can see the 'wond' portion matching but what, you think I just had a spastic fit and added four extra letters IN FRONT?!?!

Seriously *rolls eyes* there are days it is a convenience changing 'hte' to 'the' and then there are days it should really just say 'Dude I have no idea what you're trying to spell... maybe you need some spaces in there, then I can help you out'... It wouldn't have been so bad if it had suggested 'Take wonder' although it still would have made me giggle.

Hmmm now I'm wondering if that is actually an advertised position in the auto-correct dictionary, do companies pay extra for that? Because really how many people use 'Wonderbra' AND misspell it when they're filling something out online?

Tuesday, February 01, 2011

At least I'm entertaining

So this afternoon I joined our department meeting remotely via Skype on my iPhone. Any normal, sane person would ask why with a comically quizzical look on their face, just as quickly as every geek would answer 'Because I can!'

It's okay, I still managed to disrupt the meeting in spirit form by burning my toast and setting off the fire alarm in my apartment... working fire alarm? check!

It has been pointed out that I failed to mention I was toasting my bread in a fry-pan... *rolls eyes* details, details!

So there I am putting toast on during one of the more 'routine' portions of the meeting *wink wink nudge nudge* when I go back in to the kitchen and realize I'm burning it! Egads! I've got the phone wedged under one ear as I attempt to flip my toast and disperse the smoke by blowing, hoping against hope it isn't enough to set off the fire alarm... knowing that it is only a matter of time *as* the fire alarm goes off.

The resulting events can no longer be related sequentially as the time flow continuum stopped flowing. The following happened in no particular order: I tossed said frying pan onto another element, turned off the offendingly hot element, said something one should not say while one is in a department meeting, grabbed a dish cloth, and on the second jump managed to hit the 'Ha ha just kidding it's not a fire I just burnt the toast button' and waved the white surrender towel a couple times to ensure the barrage didn't start up again.

After it was all said and done I turned an appropriate shade of crimson and apologized, much to my chagrin and the amusement of my entire department... at least we're a small department, and luckily for me they all have a great sense of humor... hey at least the interruption wasn't from getting fragged ;)

Is Mom there?



After an epic battle I was rudely awakened from the depths of slumber at 4am... uh not feeling so good...

I hate being sick, I so wouldn't have survived back in the day when sick or not you still had livestock to look after, or bandits to fight, or dragons to slay...

It served as a not so gentle reminder that no matter how healthy you are, how old you are, how well you are doing in life, or anything else for that matter... all it takes is the flu, for you to be reduced to a blubbering pile of pathetic goo that just wants its Mom.

I even tried calling my Mom actually, but she was sick too *pouts* I talked to Dad for a bit but it just wasn't the same (sorry Dad) sometimes a girl just needs her Mom... and chicken soup, and a movie... thank goodness I have people in my life looking out for me, thanks guys!