Today

I decided to make some pancakes and eggs instead of going to the rowing club this morning. It was raining and cold and decided it wouldn't be a very good trip to say hi out by the river. I have got to realize that halving recipes ain't that bad, i'll have pancakes and cookies for the rest of this week. There is a dog in an apartment across that way that won't stop yelping though. I believe it is a lone and can't stand to be without company. It has made my morning fun to say the least. Wash some clothes watch a couple movies. I need to contact smart auto to safety my car, they are open till midnight I hear. I'll look into it and get car insurance this week. I've been watching CBC Manitoba over the internet and it seems like you guys are in for a crappy spring melt. I hope that it doesn't cause too much of a headache for you guys.

You get the jist, pictures say more than words. The soup I just added a bunch of veggies to hearty chicken classico soup. The cookies were fun to make but I should have cut the recipie in half. Oh well, one baking sheet will just make this take a while.

I got the two chairs

I picked up the chairs today after going out to breakfast with Rick. They look pretty slick. I'm happy, they'll look great with that ikea couch I'm thinking of and a coffee table perhaps.

awesome dinner

So I was chatting with Annie online and was trying to decide what to eat for dinner. I had pasta but no red sauce stuff. I just listed what I had and then it all came together in a pan. Sauteed onions and mushrooms salt and pepper, cook some pasta, then to the pan i added a fresh tomato thickly chopped red peppers then garlic and to finish my sauce off a few spoonfuls of cream of mushroom soup. Top the pasta and you got yourself what tastes like a home cooked meal with a gin and tonic to boot (I didn't forget the lemon). It was Annie's idea to put on some tunes, that made all the difference, I think.

I devoured most of my meal before I thought to take a picture

Out to Ikea

After work which is going quite well I came home and then went off to IKEA. I was thinking of just getting what I needed and then getting out, NOT POSSIBLE. I was going to get a queen bed frame on sale but decided not too because it wasn't sturdy enough. I did however get the end table I wanted and a CD Box as well as a list of things i never really intended on buying like, a toilet brush, bath mat, towel, lunch containers, coat hangers, kitchen brush scrubber. It was ridiculous.

I met up with my friend Kaitlyn after in stuperstore next door to IKEA and helped her with her groceries. She got a job in surrey and has a place on the 23rd floor of an apartment building in Coquitlum. The view is crazy, I could barely stand at the edge without getting some sort of vertigo.

Today I'm pretty tired after getting up early for warm-up of the machines at work the last two days. Tomorrow I don't have to go in till 8. Today I felt like a part of the team though so that was nice. The rest of the day I plan to fill out some paperwork to pay my professional fees and get a health card and deal with whatever is in my mailbox.

Rick and I are going to pick up two red chairs an Saturday from Coquitlum and some time in the next couple of days i'll walk down to the library and take out a book. Biking hasn't been a problem in the rain I just wish I could find my turtle lights for riding before the sun rises.

Second Day at work

This time I may try not to make so many grammar mistakes.

I made sure to get up early this morning and I left half an hour earlier too. This was a very good idea. I got there early enough that I could change and get downstairs before 8. I also decided to scrap the idea of taking my mountain bike, that thing is the heaviest piece of steel and It's meant to be ridden with a lower seat position which hurts my knee more than a road bikes riding position. So I got there much faster and I took a direct route without any squiggles so I didn't get lost.

My card still didn't work to get into the change room though, i went to security to check with them and they said it was supposed too. So I tried again, still no go, so I will have to bug them again tomorrow with the specific room number I need access too. I waited for them at the end of the day but they were not around.

I also found out that there is what's called 'The Great Outdoors Show' at the TradeX convention center this weekend. 200 booths, climbing wall, cycling area, anything you do outdoors will be there. I'm definitely going. Who with I dunno maybe no one. I know someone at work is going but they are going with a bunch of friends and I don't think I want to go in a big group.

I was getting more involved with set-ups today, here they always end up at the same point as we do in Winnipeg they just take a bit of a different path to get there. I can tell I'll learn quickly I just have to do it.

Glad it's not dark right now at least, tomorrow I have to wake up earlier for machine warmup at 7:20. I should probably make a lunch before I wake up in the morning.

Theo

First Day

well aside from waking up because of the rain on the window in the middle of the night and the smell of the heat turning on an hour before I had to wake up I was pretty refreshed for the morning. I listened to this odd radio show before going to bed it was an audio book of sorts from 1956 after the radioactive wars. People lived in outer space and earth "terra" had turned into a terrible place where you were always watched. There was a resistance though called freedomites.

Anyway, I was a little behind getting ready in the morning, i forgot the garage door opener so had to come back upstairs for it. When i finally got out it was like 7:38, and I thought that was later than i wanted but i could till get there in time as long as I didn't doddle.

My mountain bike isn't really the speediest of vehicles though and for some reason I had to turn right instead of left and end up riding up a hill, more like a mountain. When I get down I'm in the same place I started and my knee was hurting. 2 min later I'm at the hospital and lock my bike to the outside of the bike cage because you need a proximity card to get in. By the time I get downstairs my face is red and i'm sweating underneath my rain gear (It was wet but there was no rain). Gerald is able to take me to the lockers back upstairs because there isn't enough room for casual workers to have lockers in the department. (By the way the locker room needs a key card, this will be important later on). Luckily I packed an extra shirt, short sleeve of course and I leave my fleece in the locker room, so that i can get nice and chilled later that day downstairs.

I end up going through a few things with the clinical education therapist and she shows me around. The building is beautiful with tons of windows, lots of light and it's pretty easy to get around. A workout room for 10 bucks a month parking is only 13 bucks a month but there is a monstrous wait list to get on that. We go for break chat with a few others and then I get a computer and am told to read the policies and procedures on their intranet as well as other things on the portal.

At lunch I go to the cafeteria and read some more stuff then I head to Unit 4 for the afternoon. There I met with a few others we just chatted a bit and they showed me how things work. Abbotsford is a paperless centre so everything they do is electronic. Winnipeg was going in that direction but hadn't made the move yet. So i have a bunch to learn. It also seems like no one that works their actually lives in Abbotsford. I only met one person that lives here and thats in the residential outskirts and she's my boss.

I also needed to get an access card and photo ID so someone took me to security, no one there. After taking to a resource therapist downstairs for a bit I decide to go back up. I got a temporary access card that they took from someone else that didn't really need it. It was close to home time and when I got downstairs people were packing up. I went upstairs to get my stuff and little did I know but my key card was denied. I had to quickly go find someone before they all left, only the clerk was left and she was rushing out so she found me a physics guy to take me upstairs and open the door. I got my stuff together and headed out for my bike testing my card along the way to see witch doors and gates it would open. Unlocked my bike and was glad to be headed home.

Just my luck that I had to turn the wrong way down Ware street and get lost again. So I finish work at 4:30, get to my bike at like 5 and then my 15 minute bike ride home turns into a 40 min journey, one because I get turned around and two, because My bike rack starts to fall off(which I fixed with a bungy cord thank god) and three, because my knee hurt.

When I got home I had corn flakes topped with some honey and took a break.

All in all I would say that sounds very much like a first day.

Theo

IKEA

I was going to go to IKEA this morning but do I go the distance with a wind and snowfall warning in effect? I want to get a couple picture frames an end table maybe some coat hangers and starting monday there is a sale on their queen Ramberg bed frames that i can keep in storage until i get a mattress. There are also these IKEA tub chairs that are being sold for less than a third of their retail price in coquitlum because they were in a movie and are getting sold off now. My debate is whether or not I should get two? Any ideas?

When I actually start making money i'll buy a sofa bed for my living room and maybe start adding stuff to my bedroom.

Photoshopped the pic again, showing the steps.

I had too much fun figuring out photoshop.

Spent my time Learning Photoshop

This was a picture pencil sketched by a friend of mine in college. I scanned it in and started playing with it today learning how to colour things in. Next step I guess would obviously be learning how to shade, thats how to make an image pop. If your not sure what's going on Korey is asking me what I have in my hands and I respond "I downloaded a plan from you tube and built it from my mom's cookie jar".

The Day I Bought Furniture

I finally got some furniture so I can sit on something other than a rubbermaid container warping it out of shape. Both pieces came from someone on Craigslist that just recently moved. The dining table is from IKEA and it came with 4 chairs and the office chair was thrown on top of the deal for a total of 130. It does have a rip in one arm but thats ok, i just wanted a place to sit. They helped me bring everything over so I gave 'em an extra 5 bucks. They were in a condo just down the street. I'm quite happy now and after I had unpacked all my clothes this morning and went to stuperstore for the last time it felt like this was the last thing i needed to do. To feel settled.

Bike Ride

Went to superstore and got an answering machine. Was going to return my toaster oven but I forgot it and my hands were to full of other things i needed like another lamp and hangers to get food so i just left and decided i would go back later. When I got home I unpacked what I bought and decided I would make dinner in the slow cooker I borrowed from Cass. Cream of asparagus soup with chicken and veggies, set it and forget it, lol. Then I went for a bike ride to check out routes to the hospital and the two bike shops in town. One bike shop is I think a little better than the other.

My knee started to hurt on my way home, I need to do my exercises if i'm going to be riding my bikes. There is going to be a group road ride probably on tuesday nights starting soon that I would like to do. Also on my way home I went on the mill lake trails and there were more people and kids and seniors walking on those things then Assiniboine park on a sunny afternoon. I think because mill lake is so small everybody just crams together but there were tons of people walking dogs teenagers on cell phones and kids learning how to ride 2 wheelers.

I had to get off and walk my bike for a while.

Now i'm tired and I don't want to go back to stuperstore to buy garbage bags and return my toaster oven, i don't really need to right away. OOh but I did talk to my brother and he told me to look on craigslist for furniture and there are a couple cheap nice pieces i may get. I'll keep you updated.

My first full Day here

So this morning I started to look into a few paper work things I needed to get out of the way. I got home owners insurance set up. I also enquired about my bank account at TD of which won't get set up until I send in a form which should be mailed to me which should be coming any day now, or they forgot to send it.

I also started to fill in my BC health application form and I got an account set-up with BC Hydro. Then I realized I really needed to go to superstore for a few things. My tummy was grumbling and I had nothing to eat for breakfast except Banana bread and crackers.

Armed with two gift cards, I went for my first shop to try and fill an empty apartment. First stop house amenities like garbage bin/bags, knives, toothbrush holder, the owner was nice enough to leave TP, laundry detergent, a plunger and a microwave that's 12oo Watts which cooks my food to fast for what I'm use to. Soup covering the microwave tells me to tone it down, 1 min instead of 2. I also got these really cool hanging shelves

which I should get more of and a 3 in 1 lexmark printer which was like 40 bucks. I also found a good dish ware set and a toaster oven and I can't forget the blue polk-a-dot shower curtain especially for Cass' taste.

When my cart was pretty much full I went to get food. Chicken, rice, sugar, salt, tonic water to go with some gin I have left over from a party(forgot the lemon). Red pepper ,carrots, potatoes, pasta, bread, milk, cereal. I forgot, pepper and olive oil and lemon/lime and an ice cube tray and a jug for water or juice. Next time.

After the huge unloading of goods on and off the cart and paying the $350 down to $250 from gift cards (thanks guys) I ended going to london drugs to find stamps but I saw a toaster oven on clearance so I picked that up and am going to take back the one from stuperstore.

I got home and the apartment is a mess pretty much. So I set up my desk (no chair yet) and start putting things away cook myself some chicken and then waddya know it's the end of the day.

Moved In

The morning started with me walking up with a pained stomach. I needed to leave before seven to get to Abbotsford on time to catch the owner and the Shaw guy. So I carried on hoping that I didn't have food poisoning from the burger that I ate at the motel restaurant. I distracted myself listening to music and when i drove out of the closed in mountains into a more open area and after the sun came out I started to feel better. This was around 9 or 10.

The insane truckers carried on throughout the day a couple passed me going up the mountain and then 10 min later I passed them going down because they had to ride their breaks then they passed me again. I never new there were such things as run away lanes until I drove through the mountains, in case a semis' breaks fail and they can't stop they can divert to go up a lane about a 100m into a snow bank.

There were also more snow packed roads which required cautionary driving but all in all the weather was sunny and warm and when i got to Abbotsford it was like -3 or 3 degrees, cold to them but great weather to me. I met with the owner and the shaw guy.

While the shaw guy did his stuff i was taken for a walk around and shown the keys and which doors they open. I soon was on my own enjoying an empty apartment. I phoned a friend and got my mattress and some extras from greyhound shipping of which I am very thankful for. I unpacked my car ate some soup then washed the salt off of my bikes and car in the underground garage. Washed my sheets and am now planning out tomorrows activities.

Travel Through the Mountains

Sorry I couldn't post yesterday, no WiFi.

Yesterday was pretty amazing. I woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed for an early morning drive from Regina through the rolling hills of saskatchewan. Which is pretty cool in itself, they're like waves in the water. Anyways the driving was really good until the more hilly areas in Alberta after Medicine Hat. There were a few sections still snow packed near Calgary. Nothing worth stopping for just slowing down. After Canmore the sky started to clear and I could see the sun again like in Saskatchewan. Lifting my spirits I trudged on towards BC. When I got to the mountains I was in awe. This is awesome I thought. The driving conditions were good it was early afternoon everything was great.

Imagine being surrounded by these, I got claustrophobic.

Once I got through Banff and then through YoHo National Park in BC I thought it wouldn't be much further to Revelstoke where I could stop for the night after a long drive. It took longer than I thought, winding roads with semi trailers running up my rear even though I was going the speed limit, sometimes slower, sometimes faster. I would catch them going down hill but up hill they would pass me, 4 cylinder without winter tires driving through the mountains in March is not recommended. Native drivers to BC though were flying by me at crazy speeds.

I eventually got to Revelstoke as the sun started to set and pulled in to the first Motel I saw.

The Frontier Motel it was clean nice and cheap, western themed, a gal with an Australian accent gave me my room and I collapsd on the bed after 13 hours of driving I felt squirrley. I went to the resteraunt had a Muleskinner(burger) and then came inside and had a shower. After of which I called a bunch of people and then watched TV and went to sleep. I love how a plan works out, now I'll be able to drive to Abbotsford for around noon tomorrow and meet the owner before he leaves and the Shaw guy to get internet and phone set-up.

Tomorrows plan

12 or so hours of driving depending on the weather and how I feel. Could possibly get me through Banff but we'll see how the day goes. I'll be cautious and drive safely, forecasts across Alberta just call for flurries and a little wind. I'll be up for an early start tomorrow as close to 6 am as possible. I've got food and entertainment for the trip so off to bed I go.

Roads are still Iffy

There are still slippery sections after Moose Jaw with low visibility. I'm not going to get away tonight. I feel like I should be driving. I need to come up with another plan that I'm happy with to feel less stuck.

Well the blizzard warning has ended but road conditions are still a little iffy.

This is the latest information I can find.

www.theweathernetwork.com/hwycond/sk/cask310

I'm still trying to decide whether or not I should drive out at least some of the way later today or just get up early tomorrow morning.

I'm Frustrtrated

I'm not sure if I'm more frustrated with the weather or the fact I'm going to have to change my plans. There is a blizzard warning out in swift current of which I was called back to Regina for, I had only driven out 15 min. I will have to wait it out. I had been planning for a while to get to Abbotsford on Monday. I need to call SHAW to change my installation date and the owner of my apartment is leaving to Europe on Tuesday so I'll need to see someone on his behalf to move in I guess. I'm probably going to end up spending another night here.

Day 2- On to Canmore

Yummy waffles to send me on my way to Canmore. I plan to stop every two to 3 hours in swift current medicine hat and calgary and then find a motel. I downloaded pod casts to listen to and have music and the rest of an audio book so I think I am in good sorts.

Out to Regina

This morning I re-packed my car with all of my stuff and at 1 o'clock I headed out to Regina. I have some good friends here to feed me some warm food and give me a place to sleep. The drive out here was pretty good, I didn't make any long stops just to stretch and get gas. I forgot to find my sunglasses amongst what I packed so I just bought another cheap pair. When the Mazda is packed to the brim it uses gas a lot quicker than I thought, so I ended up stopping for gas twice instead of once like I thought I would. I only had had minor discomforts with no cruise control and a just slightly misaligned steering wheel but all was cured with a stretch. We'll see how I do with an eight hour drive tomorrow, to Canmore probably. I am going to likely head off around 9. As soon as the sun goes down I feel like I've had enough driving although heading into a beautiful prairie sunset is quite nice.