Ball!

This makes me wish it were ball season... ok that isn't entirely accurate, it is *always* ball season in California, our team just missed the registration deadline :p

But this makes me wanna go play!

Enough to do!

Clearly we didn't already have enough to do before my roommate's family descends in two weeks... because the handle on the toilet broke in such a way that it can't be fixed with duct tape and zip ties (we tried)

We were however able to fix it with one of those "most commonly broken party of the toilet" kits today - thanks Home Depot! AND the toilet handle matches the rest of the hardware now *grins*

While it really wasn't broken for very long, it's incredibly satisfying to be able to flush again with a handle we fixed ourselves.

Sometimes it gets cold in California...

See!

Well, I've definitely acclimated, there's a light layer of frost and I had to put on a toque and my down vest this morning :p

Sure was pretty on my walk home when it was all melting though :)

No, bigger!

I did something kind of incredible yesterday's yesterday now.

It may not sound like much, but I mounted a projector screen *through* a drop ceiling all. by. myself.

*beaming*

I'm still a little gobsmacked at how incredibly lucky I got on more than one occasion.

Seriously. Gobsmacked.

I didn't break either of the ceiling tiles, the reinforcement piece I put above the ceiling tile miraculously fit (which was amazing because I totally "ished" it and I couldn't figure out another way to do it if it didn't work)

Then holding the rolled up screen aloft in both hands I was able to climb the ladder... as it dawned on me... now what?

How the hell am I going to get the loops over the hooks before my arms and my legs poop out?!?

It was one of those shrug you've made it this far you might as well just try it moments. I started with the left side, raised it up to the hook, used the hook to flip the loop up -was mildly surprised when it stayed- then held my breath while the stars aligned, and in one fluid motion put the loop over the hook like I'd done it a million times.

Holy crap that actually worked?!?!

Boohyah!

After that the other was so easy it isn't even worth talking about. I'm tired and sore, I've used muscles I forgot I had but it was totally worth it :)

Now to move the projector back to fit the bigger screen...

Fish!

So you're probably going to laugh, but I have a deep seated childhood fear of fish. I'm always afraid that it's going to taste awful, the way it did when my Mom made me sit at the table staring at the same one for three nights in a row until Dad finally took pity on me and composted it.

I had been hesitant to try it because it smelled like fish, and my few years of experience said it would probably taste the way it smelled. So Mom had told me to put lemon juice on it because that would make it taste better... so I doused it liberally.

Needless to say now that I'm wiser, I'm pretty sure that  the reason it tasted awful was because the lemon juice had gone bad...

Anyways, despite knowing that fish is actually really good when it's done right leftover fish still makes me squirm... The thing is, my best friend's Mom just moved in with us, and she's Filipino, and she cooks fish.

Happy Valentine's

Thanks Pinterest, totally nailed it!

Paraphrased from the internets

"Not all heros wear capes, although some wear them backwards and call it an apron"

Maintenance gas check... Check!

Sure fire way to get the gas inspection lady to show up - make a dribbly pulled pork sandwich, take a couple bites and get drippings all over your hands... Presto! She'll show up, the dogs will bark, there will be chaos.

Watched her check the vent operation with the smoke from a match, I know it's probably *the* single best way to do it, but it's only slightly concerning lighting matches around gas lines that you're checking... I guess that's why she's a trained professional ;)

Turns out that based on the connector used on the hot water tank it's probably as old as the house (early 50's!) and being a two piece brass connector is no longer deemed "safe" so it needs to be swapped out for a new shiny-er stainless steel model. 

I must admit though I'm a little confused as to why this passed the "health and safety inspection" we had to get before we bought the place?

Next I hear beeping upstairs and figure it's one of her measurement devices, then it cuts to "Fire! Fire! Fire!" and I realize it's our smoke alarm, followed shortly by her hollering down "Don't worry, that's normal" *chuckles* turns out it doesn't bother her any as it's all in a day's work even though the sound of it drives me crazy she assured me it was fine and to just open some windows... I did, and retreated downstairs.

Official voice: *self important throat clearing* Thank you, thank you, thank you... this concludes our test. I would like to express my appreciation to the responsiveness of our neighbours for checking that we were home and knew our smoke detectors were going off. I sincerely appreciate your concern and the haste with which you checked to make sure everything was okay.

More dog chaos.

Should I be concerned that her sniffer sounds like she's flying a model airplane?  Yep, I'm pretty sure that means something is leaking... good thing I shut that one off after we moved in!

Of course she's in a different truck and doesn't have all her parts, so she had to get the connector delivered. Naturally my department meeting started 10 mins ago, and he showed up immediately *after* I was asked to speak *rolls eyes*

I had to go on mute so I could yell at the dogs to stop barking - seems pretty hypocritical of me, yelling at them, for barking... but still.

Oh, right and to top it all off? *while* I was on my conference call, the street sweeper came by. I had a minor heart attack because there's a $50 ticket you if you're parked on the street, and I had completely forgotten to mention it. I watched in horror as the street sweeper went around both trucks, and the enforcement car slowed down in front of the second truck... still on the phone knowing that there wasn't enough time to run and get them to move their vehicles...  I dashed back to my computer and discovered that thankfully they don't ticket professionals like the phone or gas company unless it becomes a habit in front of your house. *sigh of relief*

Nonetheless adventures aside, I can finally check this off the list! Everything has been electronically sniffed, tightened, fixed and cleared for use save the heater downstairs in the living where we might actually use it... (figures) That one needs to be professionally cleaned. Other than that she showed me how to light the pilot lights on our super old gas heaters, and the gas fireplace and I now have some level of confidence that in doing so I'm not going to blow the house up.

You have no idea how stoked I am to finally be able to have a fire in the livingroom while it's still winter here!

It’s a little damp out this morning

Took this when I realized that even my eyebrows were misty!

Eeeeep!

This is what happens when you take a waffle recipe, turn it into a family favorite pancake recipe, then attempt to use it experimentally in a new waffle maker, after having helped make pancakes for so many years!

Rewards

Yesterday morning I was rewarded for hauling myself out of bed early with a beautiful sunrise, birdsong, and this... I've always had a thing for dandelion fluff :)

If websites were burgers

Fantastic explanation of net neutrality brought to you by the letters B and K, the colours red, yellow and blue and why you should care.

Pay particular attention to the part about corporate thinking they can sell more chicken, it's subtle but it's one of the concepts at the heart of why repealing net neutrality isn't in the best interests of the consumer.

Exercise is good for you

I think I've come to the conclusion that there really is no "good" time to start working out again...

So I really need to just suck it up and start, which is what makes Nike's tag line so damn perfect.  It's short and sweet and gets right to the core of the matter... no ifs ands or buts, just *do* it.

Uhhhng.

Your name is mud...

I gave the dog rice because her tummy wasn't feeling well, and this is what happened... I know this mess is better than the "other" mess... but really?!? C'mon!

Try something new

It was time for an adventure, so I took the train into town rather than fight traffic and spend $35 on parking...

It was gritty as I'd expected, some parts smelled better, some parts smelled worse... but the worse was on par with Vancouver so nothing entirely new

An unexpected highlight was two grubby little kids unceremoniously plopping down next to me, the little guy had bonked his head on the way in and his sister was successfully distracting him into beautiful belly giggles, he kept glancing at me shyly sideways and smiling and it was adorable.

I think the funniest part was the big dude who stepped up behind me and asked in a conspirital manner "who made your being" or something like that and when I asked "what's that?" He asked "how does the sea taste" I dryly answered spectacular... and before I'd finished my scrunched up skeptical face he was *gone.

Without further ado I managed to make it on the correct train home, I feel slightly nauseous from the pulsing stop and go which this head congestion didn't help with AT ALL, and I feel like I should probably bathe in hand sanatizer, but I think overall my adventure was a success.

I made it downtown in time to pick up my passport, the train isn't quite as scary as it was before, and I had some alone time, and was able to step back and look at things and reevaluate just how lucky I've been with the choices I've made thus far.

I'm a believer

There truly is the perfect sound for everyone just waiting for you to put on a pair of these babies, absolutely incredible!!!!

Way to see it through Team Nura, you guys are amazing!!

Giving thanks

I am thankful I have a job, even if I've been working it for the last month straight logging ridiculous hours at ridiculous times working with both Switzerland and the East Coast... but for the most part I'm enjoying myself, learning new things and I get to be smart and nerdy with people who are way smarter and nerdier than I am... which is pretty awesome!

I'm also thankful for my Dad, who flew in a week and a half ahead of his scheduled day-long visit - (this is his view on how long visits should be), and proceeded to knock off basically everything on my list of house fixes that would probably have taken me 3 months... and at least three times as many trips to Home Depot as it took him ;)

I'm thankful that he organized my shop... and even though it sometimes takes a little longer to find things, I'm pretty sure it's karma for the time I "lost" his screwdrivers with no recollection whatsoever in my fort for 20 years... (sorry Dad)

Dad, you didn't just fix things... you got them moving again, we were stuck in a rut of "There's no point in unpacking this, until I fix/do that" and now things are moving, and rooms are starting to take shape... and I found things that I knew were "around somewhere" but now they're filed, and I KNOW where they are, and I feel *so* much better about it... *exhales* so thank you for that. 

In the middle of *the* craziest month of programming work I think I've ever had in my life outside of University, you gave me some piece of my sanity back that I lost in the move ;)

I have no idea how to thank you for that, but thank you.  

Thanks for flying in like a shining knight on a big armoured steed and rescuing this self-rescuing princess... again, it is greatly appreciated.

... and if you ever need help with anything, just let me know. seriously.

Love you and *huge hugs*

No shame have you when it comes to the force

Is it still considered crashing a funeral if your friend was invited by someone who works at the church that the funeral is being hosted at?

Heh... that's what I thought too ;) Well, either way, that happened last weekend.

I have to admit, the idea of it was a little weird... when we were driving up I was thinking "Seriously? are we really doing this? Yep, we're doing this!" We're really for real going to someone elses' funeral, dressed up like Han and Chewy.

Prior to arriving we were texting back and forth with our friend "So far, no one dressed up" she told us... our hearts and faces fell... "I take it back, Star Trek just walked in"!

So what prompted this departure from the normal social protocol in which one does not show up at funerals where one did not previously know the person the funeral is being held for?

Two words: Jedi Elvis

This guy was a huge Star Wars fan and big into cosplay and created a mashup of Elvis as a Jedi, and it's incredibly epic. 

He was also a professional actor (unlike the rest of LA who just wants to be ;) and had some other awesome costumes.  

Like Russel from Up

and the Penguin from Batman!

We know this because we saw some pics on Facebook, and because we were lucky enough to see the slideshow of his life.

It was incredible the number of lives he had touched, and the range of costumes and characters that were represented. We saw Harry Potter, Wonder Woman, Pirates, an old Finn with a cane from the new Star Wars movie, and a Storm Trooper in a full flight suit, and had it been any other occasion I would have asked for pictures with everyone.

In some small way I feel as if I knew him, and I can fully admit I laughed and cried with the rest of his friends and family... but that's mostly because I can't let people cry alone.

At the end off it all, I almost wish we'd gone back to the reception and made friends, because if they were half as cool as he sounded? Well, we would have fit right in ;)

Not today!

Taking one for the team

Getting pulled over directly in front of your husband...

minus minus

Getting a text message from him with an audio clip of "All I do is win win win win win"...

So supportive

Sweating it out while the police officer reviews everything, giving you enough time to realize that you were doing 22 over the limit, and that they have the option of pulling your license in Massachusetts...

Even bigger minus minus

Taking one for the team by getting pulled over and keeping the police officer occupied while everyone else zips by...

So swell of you

Getting a warning from the very nice police officer because you have a very clean record...

Sweet relief

Pulling one over on your husband the perpetual jokester by texting that "it's not good" and switching drivers... only to then startle him with "Surprise!" When he gets out of the car to give you a hug...

Priceless

Sending him his own audio clip back saying "22 over the limit and all I get is a warning" when he got a ticket last week?

Sweet sweet revenge ;)