First day of work

I started a new position yesterday. Still same place but a different department. Here's the synopsis of what I'll be doing. My head hurts. And yes, I am as confused as you are about the scenario.

Snow Squalls

2 weeks ago we got in the car and drove to London, ON for some Easter goodness. We went down to spend some time with our friends Jodi and Kevan. It was great to get out of the city for a while. On this trip, I realized that the secondary highways in Ontario are far more scenic than the Four hundred series roads. On the way south, I wanted to take some back roads but the weather was like it might be dumping some snow, so decided to stay on the major roads. I thought they might have a better chance of staying ploughed.

We pulled in to London with snow squalls threatening to keep us holed up at Jodi's place for the entire time. They didn't really materialize, but we were able to put together a snowman...





with a moustache.




On the way back north, we took the four-o-one through Toronto and when we made it through the traffic jam, we turned onto highway 45 for a scenic back roads adventure. The landscape was really beautiful. We drove by some beautiful old farms that were nestled in between the drumlins. We stopped for a lunch in a little town called Hastings, where Aaron took us for a fine meal of fish and chips. Thanks again Aaron.

He said, "Maybe you could give me 5 dollars!"

When we moved, we decided not to bring Katherine's vacuum with us across the country. We didn't think it was worth the bother. It didn't really do the job that it was meant to do. The smallest task made that thing work very hard. When we left it behind, it wasn't really doing a very good job. I guess we thought that we would be able to find one and replace it no problem. I know that I had a bit of sticker shock when I found out how much (new) vacuum cleaners cost. They start at about $60 and go to over $2000 for the really deluxe models. I don't know what a $2000 vacuum cleaner would do - I suspect it might suck the carpet right off your floor. On the other end of the spectrum, I guess that the $60 model wouldn't do anything much at all. It would probably just make a lot of noise. Needless to say, we have been without a vacuum since the summer. Earlier this week, our dreams came true when I saw an ad in the online bargain finder Used Ottawa.

This is what was delivered to my door. It was missing one of the wheels, I guess it fell off during transport. The guy who dropped it off said, "Friend, tonight you get a deal. I lost a wheel when we moved it and so I'm going to give it to you for nothing". I asked if it works and he assured me that it did, then he said maybe I could give him $5 for gas. He was driving an F-150 and I could appreciate that the $5 would be needed. So, I handed over a fiver and took my new prize inside the house. I plugged it in and the floorboards almost came up. It's probably only 60 years old but it's still going strong. Tomorrow, the car is going to be very clean.

This is a picture of Katherine trying to vacuum the cat. She likes to do that. The cat ran away.

Surveillance

For a number of months now there's been something strange going on in my neighbourhood. It might not strike you as odd at first, but when you consider the weather north of the 49th parallel in January and February, you might also become suspicious. At different times of the day, there is a man who stands outside the apartment building across the street. It doesn't really seem to matter how cold it is outside, he will be out there with a scarf wrapped around his face, a dark long jacket on, and some type of computer-ish device held up close to his face. Sometimes when returning from work, or an evening pursuit (usually curling), you can stand on the corner across the street and watch him for a while. He never seems to get self-conscious and never looks at you. This strikes me as a bit strange because you know that feeling you get when somebody is watching you...it feels like somebody's watching you. Well, I don't think that this guy gets that feeling. Anyhow, I've been trying to build up enough nerve to go and talk to the guy and find out what he's doing, but I thought that I'd put it out there and see if anybody had words of wisdom about this type of thing. If I go talk to him and find out what he's doing, maybe I'll get sucked into the goings on of the underground (gasp!). Maybe he'll start text messaging me all the time asking for hot beverages, or one of those hot packs that you can put in your mittens.

I have narrowed it down to three and three only potential activities that this man may be undertaking. Do you think he's: a) hacking the open neighbourhood wireless connections and making a fortune on ebay while avoiding paying for internet service to his home, b) using this computer type device to conduct surveillance of his own on any of the surrounding neighbours - including Katherine and I, or c) arranging drug deals for our super duper sketchy neighbours downstairs, who we highly suspect of running drugs from our apartment.

Can you guess who this person is?

During this persons youth, while travelling overseas, news of a must-see concert was passed. The folk singer, a former librarian hailing from Victoria, BC had the voice of an angel. At this point, being very short of money, this person decided to throw caution to the wind and spend his absolute last £30 in the following way before leaving the country. £16 was spent on a return train ticket, £7 was spent on the concert ticket itself, £2 for a pint of beer and leftover was a pittance for a bite to eat. Unfortunately for this not-so-bright individual, arrangements had not been made for a place to stay. At the end of the night a hike was made to a park towards the edge of town, and the night was spent underneath a pile of broken umbrellas in an effort to keep the rain off. Apparently, the concert was worth the adventure. Bonus points to name the singer.

christmas cards

I got Katherine to swear on the inside of a christmas card!

And, I crushed my orange

Do you remember that scene in Wayne's world when Stacy drives by and she's like, "h-i-i-i-i-i wayne". Then she slams into the parked car? If you're like me, you probably thought that was pretty funny. Well, today I left my place on my bicycle for my daily commute and I pedaled for about 100 metres and then my bike stopped immediately and I kept going, as if my bike had hit the parked car that Stacy went face first into. I thought that my u-lock was firmly affixed to my rack, but it turns out I didn't have it in the proper locked position. It dropped down into my drive train or spokes - I still don't know, and that sent me flying. Some lady who was passing by with her kid had her jaw on the ground and her eyes wide open as she yelled out, "are you okay!" Luckily for me, I was wearing my helmet and gloves, so I was no worse for the wear. Just surprised and embarrassed.

G.

Just Summer Memories Now...

What are you listening to?

Why?
When I walked in to the Why? gig in a club called Babylon on Bank Street in Ottawa I saw a man in his late 20's with a moustache clutching a drumstick in one hand pounding on a tom drum, and with his other hand playing the melody line on a keyboard. If that isn't enough, he was singing really profound lyrics that got in my head and kept me thinking about what was said for days. I was late for the show and how sorry I am that I was because it was some of the most magical music that I've heard in a while. I want to call the music 'folk-hop' but I don't think that does it justice. It just sounds like such a bad combination - though there are artists, such as Buck 65, who may be worthy of the title. To support my claim, I'll point you in the direction of Buck's last album where indeed there was a banjo. Anyhow, this is a tangent, we are talking about Why? and I'm trying to pigeonhole music that takes elements of folk, rock, experimental, hip-hop, and pop and puts them all together with the ethos of the indie-rocker. The instrumentation in the band when I saw them consisted of drums, keyboards, synth, other percussion, and guitar. These instruments were not always together as there were only 3 members but, as I alluded to above, sometimes more instruments were played than there were members on the stage.Check out the album Elephant Eyelashes to see for yourself.

John Vanderslice
This man knows how to listen to music. That much is evident from his 2005 release Pixel Revolt. I was elated to find that it was released as a double LP on 45 rpm 180 gram vinyl. What that means is that it is released on a format that probably gets as close to perfection as possible. When I put this on, turn it up, and listen - every detail in the music is evident. The music itself is thoughtful, poetic, and gentle independent music that obviously only exists because of the passion that Mr. Vanderslice and co. get from making noises that people want to hear. I'm not going to look for comparison, but it is high on my list of current favourites and I think it will remain there for a while. I have yet to explore his other recordings but that will be coming in short order.

I am the resurrection
A tribute to John Fahey
When I first heard this album, I had been searching for a while for something that combines folk, blues, and experimental music. This tribute fits the bill as the bands do a great job interpreting these songs. Unfortunately, I'm commenting from inside a vacuum because I've never really sat down to listen to the originals. I guess that's what a tribute album is all about though. If some of the bands that you really respect are playing this guy's songs then he must have been on to something. Sufjan Stevens, Devendra Banhart, and Calexico provide highlights for me, mostly because I knew these artists before picking up the album, but there are a whole host of others who do stellar tracks. In the liner notes to the disc, Fahey was commenting on the idea of theme and variation in his music when he said, "there's no variation. I just play the same thing over and over." Each song really builds upon a central riff and this makes it really great to listen to, you have to listen for the subtle variations in the music to really appreciate it. The album is pieced together in such a way that it actually sounds like an album when you listen to it vs. a compilation because of the way the tracks are put together. Now, I'm off to check out the originals...

Paulo are you there?

This showed up on my machine the other day. If anyone knows who Paulo is, could you let him know that somebody's looking for him.

Milk River Cowboys

Howdy.

So I was over at the grocery store and I ran into my neighbour.
He said, "how's it going?"
I said, "howdy."
He said, "Fine."
Then he looked a little bit embarrassed because he said the wrong thing, so he said, "oh yeah, you're from Alberta." He was laughing a little bit and kind of uncomfortable about our exchange. As was I. Sorry Alberta, I hate to spread the myth to the east that it's all cowboys west of Thunder Bay. Nobody says howdy.

Butterhorn Rolls (Version II - The better take)

Top 3 Bathroom Technologys I can do without:

1) Automatic flush toilets (and sinks). Every time I go into a bathroom and use one of those fancy urinals it greets me by flushing and then it does the same again when I leave. This is apparently to stop the spread of germs because I don't have to touch the plumbing and to conserve water. I can flush the toilet more accurately than the little sensor. Don't get me started on the 'sit-down' toilet because every time I go into a bathroom that has one of those I'm greeted with... You guessed it, somebody's mis-flush or no flush. Then what am I doing? Waving my hand in front of the little sensor trying to get it to flush before I carry on with my business. Hello! Could somebody please leave the manual flush on these stupid things - just in case?!?

2) Automatic Air Freshener Dispenser. You didn't ask but I've got another one. Have you been in the bathroom lately and it smells like potpourri? It's not because you're in the flower garden. Somebody along the way has decided that it is in your best interest to be ingesting chemicals that are intended to disguise our foul smells and trick you into thinking that the bathroom is actually a garden. This is the same place that we have the germ-o-phobic sinks and now they're putting something in to try and entice me to stay longer. Good grief. I haven't even touched on the toxicity level that is coming out of these things. I'm no expert but a quick look at the MSDS sheet tells me that this stuff contains hazardous materials. I wonder what hexylene glycol, ethanol, and propanone do to one's body over a series of years inhaling this stuff? Is it worse than the regular smelly bathroom? I also notice that "deliberate excessive inhalation of concentrated vapours can cause respitory tract irritation and central nervous system effects, including death" (http://www.airdelights.com/msds.html - Metered Aerosol Products 30% VOC - All Fragrances). My question that naturally follows is: isn't that exactly what these things will do to me over a lifetime? If I'm 25 years old now, and these things are in a bathroom shooting down on me for the next X number of years, is that not deliberate, excessive inhalation of concentrated vapours; that is what is in the can after all. To be fair, they specify that this is for acute exposure - well, we all remember what a few CFC's did to the ozone, or how about a little DDT for the birds of prey. Good idea folks. Lets see how the shareholders respond when they start paying out the medical bills on that one. Can't somebody just light a match or something?

3) There's one that I really want, but think that I'll be able to do without anyhow.

New friends in ottawa

Being new to Ottawa has posed some challenges such as the fact that I didn't know anyone at all when I first arrived. First, let me tell you that I've met some very close friends immediately. For instance, my bestest friends that I ever met were Rosemary and her mother from ottawa. We go way back. Rosemary even played bach for me on her flute and her mother tells the best jokes I ever heard. I've got other best friends in Ottawa too. For instance, today Katherine and I went to check out Rideau Hall, which is the residence of Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean. We met this great fellow from Quebec named Mark. Immediately we hit it off and so I've got another best friend, or at least we were great companions for at least 40 minutes while he showed us around the joint. He said maybe he would see us in a pub someday, and then forgot to give us his phone number. Sheesh. There's another really really close friend that I could also tell you about. Actually, two more people. First, there is the girl from the front desk at the hotel. We're such good friends that she actually let me use her fax machine. Imagine that, not everybody gets the privilege of sending a fax in this day of fast paced technology. What with email, so called 'just in time manufacturing', hybrid automobiles and even places where sometimes the floor moves. Anyway, it was better than getting a ride in a really old, and shiny hot rod. The other really good friend that I've made in town since we arrived is also an employee at the hotel. We've never met, but we are very close. Every day, this person comes into our hotel room and makes our bed. That is something else. You've got to be pretty close to someone to come into their room and make their bed. Maybe someday I'll return the favour.

C.

Katherine made the Internet!

Katherine's wit

Any Suggestions?

This is my first draft of my scathing letter to the bank. What is it with corporate entities that take your money, make money off of you, and give you little or nothing in return? Anyone got any suggestions for what I should add to my letter. If you want, we can make it a petition. You can feel free to copy it and send it to your bank as well, I don't mind.

C/.

Driving Across the Country (Canada)? Stop here.

From West to East recommended stops:

• Thai Food - 'Nits' in Moose Jaw, SK. Try a vegetarian dish, even if you're not a vegetable.
• Greek Food - 'The Plaza' in Kenora, ON.
• Breakfast - 'The Embassy' in Wawa, ON.
• Mexican - 'Casa Mexicana' in Sudbury, ON.

Also, swim in Lake Superior. The water is cool, clear and superbly refreshing.

The trip took 5 days of sort of casual driving. We made it to Ottawa yesterday and it seems that we may have found a place to live, this will be confirmed on Monday. More to follow.