Cam I Am

Okay… So it’s all still green outside. But it is getting close to Christmas! We’ve got our decorations up, plans made, and I believe that we are done shopping.. (although I’m sure that we will have forgotten something at this point).

I would just like to take this opportunity to wish you all a merry Christmas!

I was at a call this morning when I had to go to this person’s garage to hook them up. Under the cable box, this us what I found… I also found some ribs and a very bloody butcher table.

Recently, my wife and I have been going on dates with each other once a week. Usually, this involves going out for dinner, movie, coffee or even a walk. But this weekend, I decided to do something different.

After some research online, I came across this place called Fraser River Fishing Lodge and Resort (http://www.fraserriverlodge.com/). They have a variety of packages available, including one called the Romance package. This was the package that I selected, with an upgrade to a honeymoon suite that included a jacuzzi tub.

Overall, we were very happy with our experience. The dinner was good, and because it was family style seating, we met some very interesting people. The room was cozy (the fireplace helped!) and it was quiet too. We were about an hour away from home, but a world away.

I highly recommend this place for a getaway!

This past weekend, we adopted a new family member!

We adopted him from the Maple Ridge BC SPCA on Saturday.  He was a stray, so the name that the shelter gave him was Charlie.  We’d like to change his name, but the kids seem attached to his current name!

And that was my weekend!!

Over the past couple years, my wife and I have been trying to paint the inside of our house.  When we bought it, most of the walls had this horrid looking sponge painting job done on them.  While this works for some people, it certainly was not our style. 

Since both of us work full-time and we have three daughters, it isn’t easy to get around to getting things done.  We’ve managed to paint our dining room, living room and two bedrooms, but the upper hallway and stairwell have been a task that we haven’t been looking forward too. 

When it comes to painting, I am pretty meticulous about it.  I take my time to tape things off, patch holes, wash and sand the walls.  In this case, we’ve had to put primer on the walls before the two (and sometimes three) coats of paint required to make everything look nice.  But this time, we decided to hire a painter to do the hall and stairs.  We figured that it would be easier and quicker than the several days (to a couple weeks) that I would take to do it between working and making sure that I do a good job.

We looked through the local newspaper and called a painter by the name of Steve.  He came over, had a look and gave us an estimate.  We liked his offer, and told him the colour we wanted..

Well, it took him two days to do the job, which was expected. The result was less than spectacular.

He missed a couple corners/spots completely, and I’m not happy with the overall job.  The only reason I don’t call him back to fix it is simple..

I didn’t have to do it.  I would have taken a lot longer to set everything up, tape everything off, sanding, etc..  He got it done in two days, while my wife and I were working..

My only other complaint would be that his “receipt” is questionable.  A piece of paper that he scrawled on..  But I’ve kept it, and will be using it as a tax write-off next year.

Next time, I’ll just do it myself..  at least that way, I’ll be happy with the end result..

Please stop poisoning my family.

Every time that you start your very sick sounding vehicle, it spews out a horrid blue cloud that smells atrocious.  It’s bad enough that I walk out my front door into a haze of gases that nearly knock me unconscious, but it filters into my home, even with the windows closed.  You compound the problem by letting your van warm-up for 10-20 minutes each time you start it; even if you just returned from the store. 

I’ve politely asked you what was wrong with it, you told me that it was the catalytic converter and that you were going to get it fixed “soon.”  I’d like to know what your definition of soon is. 

You are making it uncomfortable and dangerous to be in my home.  I know that it is dangerous because my carbon monoxide detector is set off nearly every time you start your van…

So, once again, I ask you..

Please stop poisoning my family…

It seems that the Hollow Tree in Stanley Park has received a reprieve from being cut down. 

One of the many attractions there, the over 1000-year old tree (or what’s left of it), will be reinforced and kept upright.  I, for one, am glad to hear it!   While some people may argue that it should be left to rot and decompose naturally, there is a lot to be said for keeping a piece of natural history in the heart of Vancouver intact.

To all the volunteers that worked on saving it:   Thanks!

While I’m eight days late, I wish you all a happy new year!

At this time of year, many people set “New Year’s Resolutions”.  I’ve done this in the past, but I stopped doing it about a year ago..   Instead of resolutions, I set goals for the year.

Some people might think that there isn’t a difference.  After all, a resolution is a goal that you want to achieve, but I think that there is a big difference..

Here’s an example.  You make a resolution to lose weight in the new year.  Perhaps you even say 20 pounds.  That’s great!  The first few weeks, you try..  but let’s face it!  Old habits are hard to break, whether they are eating, smoking, spending, etc.  After the first few weeks, people generally start to cave into their temptation, give up, and then say that they’ll try again later… or next year.

So..  I’ve set goals for the year.  Some of them are relatively easy, like painting a decorating my oldest daughter’s bedroom (well..  future bedroom!).  Some will take work, like losing some weight.  But here’s the beauty of my plan.  If I get off track, that’s okay!  I’ve got all year to do it.  I don’t get discouraged as soon as I realize that I’m visiting Starbucks too much and it’s not helping my lose the weight I’d like.  

Not only do I set goals, but I’ve written them down.  They are taped up on a cupboard in the kitchen, where I will see them every day, and be reminded of what I want to achieve!

Last year, I didn’t cross many things off my list, for a variety of reasons.  It’s all good..  I’ve got a new list this year!  So of the old stuff is on there, but there are new goals too..

I know that it could very well be just word games that I’m playing on myself. But if it works, I’ll call it whatever I want..

I’m looking for ideas…

My wife and I want to go on a vacation somewhere in January or February.  Initially, we were thinking of going to Mexico, but we’ve decided to put that off for another year.  So, we seem to be fairly short on ideas of a vacation/trip destination.

What we would like to do is go for 5-7 days, without our kids (Woohoo!).  We’ve thought of San Fransisco, Las Vegas, or Boston as options, but we are still trying to think of ideas.   We’d prefer to not spend a ton of money on airfare and hotels, so most likely we are looking at somewhere west of the Mississippi River, but not restricting ourselves to that. (I’m aware of Boston’s location!)..

So..  any ideas for us?

A couple days ago, I was chatting with a co-worker who lives near me. We were talking about how much time we spend commuting.. Then we started doing some quick math..

It seems that I spend 22 days of the year driving to and from work. This doesn’t include the driving I do DURING the workday, just getting to and from the office. I have to admit that I was amazed that I waste that much time in a year.

I’m kind of curious about the amount of time I waste waiting for elevators..

So.. how much time do you spend driving in a year?