Thursday, August 4th, 2011

Well I turned down the apartment that I applied for last night.  It just didn't feel right, and I know my cat would hate being trapped in a small apartment all day.  I'm sure something better will come along... if I believe it, then it will happen, right?
The learning curve at work is incredible.  I'm a little worried, but mostly because I think it's going to be slow going for a while until I get a handle on things.  I heard a ghost story about Holy Cross hospital today.  I don't really believe in that stuff, but it did make me shudder a little.  I think I'll steer clear of working in the building alone, though, just in case.
I didn't see any apartments today because my eye infection thingy is getting worse.  I had a headache most of the day.  When I got home, Dave found me some Tylenol flu tablets, so I took one of those.  We ordered pizza for dinner since everybody was too tired to cook, and I had an early night.  I'm going to go to the doctor tomorrow after work.  I gotta get this eye fixed!
I took this picture in the back yard.  Flowers are pretty.

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011

I woke up this morning with some kind of weird eye infection that Lurline seems to think is a clogged tear duct. It's my first day working for the Tomorrow Project Cancer Research Study, and I have to show up with some kind of health issue - brilliant!  So anyway, I got ready, and made myself a great lunch.   I showed up at around 8:15 am and met with Olga, who is the superstar I'll be replacing.  She really knows her stuff, and I was feeling a little overwhelmed with how much there is to wrap my head around.  She's very organized, so we started to methodically go through all the different aspects of the position.  It seems a lot more administrative than my previous work, but thankfully it looks like nothing will be too far removed from what I'm used to.

At about 3pm I headed up to Peter Lougheed hospital to try to get my ID badge and parking pass, but when I got there, the woman who does them wasn't in ... so I headed back downtown to scour the desirable neighbourhoods for a place to live.  There was an open house to view an apartment near 17th Ave, and when I got there, there were about 8 other people there to view it, too.  The rep said that he had had about 80 calls from people looking for a place to rent.  When I actually saw the place, it was about 500 square feet and the building was very run down.  I decided that somebody else could have it.  It wasn't right for me.

I have an appointment to view another place in Mission tomorrow.  I hope it works out better.

When I finally got "home", I realized that I hadn't taken a picture again.  So, here's a photo that represents what happens multiple times every day... dog in, cat out, cat in, dog out ... this is Willow and Soleil.  The fat one, Pumpkin doesn't get to go outside, because he's too dumb.  If you notice, Dave's been doing some work in the backyard to make it look nice.  It's really coming along.

Thursday, July 21st, 2011

What an exciting day!  I had a phone interview at 7:30am for a company I didn't want to work for.  However, beggars can't be choosers, so they say.  It's cliche, but it definitely applies!  Then, I spent the rest of the morning scouring the internet for jobs I could apply for.  Then, early in the afternoon, I got a call from Calgary for the job I had interviewed for.  They scheduled another call for me with the HR manager later in the afternoon.  It could only be good news, I thought.  Fortunately, it was!  They offered me the position, and it sounds fantastic.  They asked me if I could start on Monday.  That would mean I would have to pack tomorrow, and then hit the road on Saturday.  Then, just when I was panicking about everything I had to get done, they called me back one more time to tell me that it would be better if I could start the following week instead.  Brilliant!  So, I'm headed to Calgary to live for the next year or so ... then, we'll see where life takes me from there.

This was a photo I took in the back yard... it was just a perfect rose for a perfect day.

Monday, July 4th, 2011

Happy Independence Day, America!
Said good-bye to the last of the party-goers this morning, as Lisa and Scott headed back to Vancouver.  Mom and I cleaned the two suites in case she gets a call for the B&B.  When dad got home, we all went outside and started taking down tables and moving stuff back where it belongs.  The weather was so warm and beautiful that it was nice to be outside.  In the evening, we all went in the hot tub until the mosquitoes started dive bombing us ... dad didn't seem too bothered, but mom and I weren't about to take them on.  The garden blooms in stages, so I took a walk around to see what was in bloom, and shot some nice photos in the rose garden.  I did some photo manipulation on this bloom:

Sunday, June 12th, 2011

With the sun shining today, I ended up doing quite a bit of yard work with my parents today.  Worked on the pond again, since the last design was leaking for some reason.  Mom and I took a run to a few stores looking for a few supplies, and I spotted a very nice banana tree that I bought for my dad for father's day.  Put a lot more bark mulch in the flower beds and did some weeding.  The garden is looking pretty great, if you ask me.  When Lurline got home, we ate a barbecue dinner out on the patio, then came inside to watch a movie.  Pretty good day, but very tiring.  Here's one section of the garden that's starting to come together nicely:

Saturday, June 4th, 2011

Picture perfect day!  Gorgeous sunshine, and not a cloud or haze to be seen.  Headed out to run some errands today.  Bought some gold fish and plants for the pond.  Then, later in the day, it was game two of the playoffs and it was incredible!  Uncle Neil, Debbie and Grandma came over to watch the game with us, and we think grandma is a super fan now!  During the second intermission, I snapped a few shots in the back yard, while everybody was in a playful mood.  Anyway, Canucks take it 11 seconds into OT - Thanks, Burrows!  Then, after an awesome day, we went in the hot tub and had a beer while appreciating the warm, clear night.  Life is great!

Monday, May 30th, 2011

I worked with my dad for two days on this pond/waterfall in the back yard, as they are preparing for the garden tour at the end of June.  Here's the result.  Not bad for an amateur, right?  (I'm referring to myself, not my dad, of course).