The universe might be trying to tell me something Part2

I think the universe is telling me I may need writing lessons.  I guess I've been taking the easy way out lately and I've let the pictures do the talking in most of my recent posts.  Writing about the events of one day has taken me much longer than I had anticipated.


But back to the universe and how it's been communicating with me in the last few weeks.  If I didn't know better, I think it might not like me going to work.  Prior to this week, I've only been in to work for 2 afternoons out of a possible 8.  If I told you why, you'd probably think I was making it all up!  


Just a combination of things happening, conspiring to keep me away from work.  Nate got sick and Patty was travelling.  Nate's grandparents got sick and Patty was travelling.  Then just when I made it back for one afternoon shift, I had to call the very next morning to say I couldn't make it in because Nate got sick again.  This eventually led to my being sick.  By the time this whole business with my glasses rolled around, I was starting to get a bit of a reputation at work for not showing up.  Apparently my two co-workers were not taking any chances and had already arranged between themselves to cover my shift!


In any case, I guess it all worked out in the end.  I made it to both my shifts this week, and in doing so, made a little boy cry yesterday afternoon.  Poor fella, it broke my heart but I was only playing along with his mother.  What is a guy to do when he's put on the spot like that?  I hope I haven't traumatized him and forever altered the course of his life.  What if that's why I was supposed to stay away from work?  I may have forever changed the fate of the world!


You might laugh, but you weren't there and you didn't see his little face crumble.  All that hope and faith suddenly dashed. 


Fracking universe!

The universe might be trying to tell me something Part1

I was about to take Snoopy out for a walk yesterday morning, when I realized that my glasses were sitting on my face oddly.  One of the nose pieces had come off.  Actually the piece of metal that held the nose piece had broken off.  I retraced my steps and eventually found the piece that broke off on the bathroom floor.  


In the meantime, Patty had already been on the phone to 4 or 5 different optometries and found a place that could solder the pieces back together again.  It wasn't going to be pretty, but it would buy me some time till I got a new pair made.  So I hopped in a cab and got myself over there.  A nice lady took the pieces from me and told me that the repair would probably cost $10.  No worries.  Ten bucks is a deal considering I am blind without my glasses.  I had to work that afternoon, and I wasn't relishing the thought of calling in to say I couldn't make it, again (but that story is for Part 2 of this post).


The glasses disappeared into a back room with the nice lady, and I took a seat since I really couldn't see anything.  I heard an exclamation come from the back, followed by 'Oh my god!'.  The other two staff members disappeared into the back and I was now all alone out front.  I could make out words like plastic, glass, interspersed between lots more 'oh my god's.  Another customer entered the store and one of the women came out to greet her.  I managed to snag her as she passed and I asked if everything was alright back there.  No, not really she replied and she went to meet the new customer.  


For the next little bit I heard phonecalls being made from the back, the occasional 'oh my god' and I began to suspect that my glasses were probably in worse shape now than they were before.  A few minutes passed, and finally a woman came out with my glasses...or what was left of them.  The lens had shattered when she tried to remove it from the frame.  Poor woman, she was visibly upset and kept saying how sorry she was.  But she had a plan.


So, she got me some contact lenses to try on, while she explained to me that they were getting new lenses for me.  It would take a few days of course, given my short-sightedness.  So the contacts were just for the time being.  I haven't worn contacts in years now, but these were surprisingly comfortable and I could see again.  I even got to pick out a new frame, and then she asked me if I had a new prescription for my lenses.  Quick phonecall to Patty and those were emailed over.  


I left the store with a rather big smile on my face.  When my glassed broke that morning, I wasn't really looking forward to having to spend what would probably amount to $500 to get new ones made.  By some bizarre twist I am getting a new pair of glasses, with my new prescription for free.  I feel like I just have won the lottery!  I'm also wondering just how far I can take this...you know, like the next time I have to get a new pair of glasses.  I might just have to snap that nose piece off myself and take it in to get soldered.

Boozy Black Forest birthday cake

Patty asked me what sort of cake I wanted for my birthday and I chose Black Forest. It's been years since I've actually had one, but they were a particular favourite of mine when I was younger.

I tried me best, but I don't think the pictures do it justice.  It was delicious!  Better than I remembered.  An impressive feat considering it was the first time she had actually made one.  Thank you lovely!  I think I am going to be asking for these quite a bit from now on!

My portrait

This is a picture of me, drawn by Nate.  Pretty darn awesome!

Quiet time

Snowing out, sounds of plows on the roads.  The walk home from the bus was straight out of a Christmas card.  Made this egg nog. Waiting for the laundry.  Christmas in a new city.  Thinking of old friends and acquaintances; I wonder where they are now and what they're doing, and if they remember me at all.  Ave Maria on the radio.  I want to call people, but don't know if I will have the words.  Another year almost over.

It only took six months

A couple of nights ago, I was on Facebook chatting with one of my friends in Vancouver. He wanted to know how things were going with the house, and I told him that it was keeping me pretty busy. I told him I was learning lots, like framing walls, hanging drywall, crack-filling and taping. His response to all this was that I needed to post more photos of the house and the work that was getting done.

Well, this post is especially for him. I'm starting small, with a little tiling job I did in front of our dishwasher. It's not quite finished yet, but you get the idea.

When we first moved in some 6 months ago, we had to do a little surgery to the kitchen floor. The hardwood in there had been laid over the old floor, and there wasn't enough clearance between the new floor and the kitchen counter to slide the dishwasher in. We eventually ended up having to cut a few floorboards out, and for the past 6 months there has been a hole in front of our dishwasher; a patch of old vinyl flooring; a window into the past.

It was always our intention to get that cutout patched up. and we decided that some slate would look best. We picked up some tumbled mixed slate mosaic, and they've been languishing in the garage for months now.

On Thursday morning, after dropping Nate off at his play group, I got back and started work. Cutting the trim pieces from the floorboards we had removed. Then I cut a piece of plywood to fill in the space so that the tiles would come level with the rest of the floor. First time laying tile, and as you can probably see, it's not exactly level or straight. I had also underestimated just how hard it would be working under the dishwasher door. I could barely get the notched trowel or grout float under it. I laid the tile on Thursday morning, and let it set for 48 hours. Did the grout about an hour ago, and will seal it in the next few days. In all I'd say about 2-3 hours work.

Patty should be home in the next hour, hope she likes it.

The old neighbourhood

I thought I would make a list of the things I missed from my old neighbourhood. While putting it together, I realized just how much I've already forgotten. Little details; store names, people, dogs. Some are from 9 years ago, some are from just before we left. There is no particular order, just me remembering. Some of the people and places are no longer with us. Sad, yes. However the memories are all good, and I found this exercise to be a strangely uplifting experience. All those little bits we take for granted.

Milo, the big shepherd; Shiloh, the great dane and Liza Minelli, the Boston Terrier; Misha, Francine, and Frank; Kea; Nice Café; Chris at Pulp Fiction; Soma; the little old lady at Kams; BBQ pork at Ho Tak Kee; Our Town; Sushi Yama; Grr; Tisol; Leepo; Mister; Corey and Erica at Happy Bats, Tea Swamp; Dave the guerrilla gardener; Hillcrest plumbing; Walter out front of the Sev; Viki and Aleese at Urban Source; Our Community Bikes; Hawkers’ Delight; Helen’s Grill; Bert’s Diner; Anubis and Dammit; Corey; Rev; Windsor Meats; The Flower Factory; Zipang Sushi; Toshi; JJ – RIP; Brewery Creek Cold Beer and Wine; The Budapest; Adam at Yek-O-Yek; Sid and Helen at Papa’s Pizza; Everfresh; Monsoon; Motherland; Pleasant Girl; The Cascade, and the scarey old junk store that used to be there; St. Vinnie’s; Planet Bingo; The Reef; Olivia at Main Sellution; Bubba; Merlin, Linda and Joey (RIP); Max (RIP); Cheryl; Shelley and Crash; Jonathan Rogers Park; Pad Thai; Chutney Villa; Anthony at Mine; Aurora Bistro; Major Matthews Park; Robson Park; The Sunny Spot; Vegetarian at the Bo Kong; Jenny. Eliza and Alice (RIP); Kingsgate Mall; mama (like nana); Rose; The Federal Store; Kim at the best little sushi place ever on Main and 11th (the best spicy tuna roll I’ve ever tasted); The little Vietnamese noodle place that used to be on that corner; Legendary Noodle House on Main and 26th; Thai Son on Broadway; Slickity Jim’s Chat ‘n Chew (destroyed in a fire last week); Laura and Lunar; Shannah; Tara and Bailey; little Arlo; Gabriel, Carley and Frankie; Mark and Story; the Mongolian place; haddock and chips at The Windjammer; Confuscius says; the little place that made jerky, victim to a fire 9 years ago; the congee and noodle house; Damian, Ian and Finley;...

I hope to make more lists like this.

Missing friends

A couple of weeks ago, Nate wandered into my room in the morning and woke me up with this:-

'I miss Vancouver. I like Vancouver better than Halifax. I miss my friends there and I miss your friends at the coffee shop.'

Then he slumped his shoulders forward, as if defeated and launched into an overly dramatic wail. At the time I thought that he just wanted some attention, and so I pulled him up onto the bed and cuddled with him while we talked about the good things that came with our move to Halifax.

He hasn't let it go yet though. He's brought it up several times since then. We've been here for almost 8 months now, and in the past couple of weeks it seems to me he's mentioned missing people in Vancouver more than he did during the entire 7 months prior.

He's not the only one though. I've been missing my friends too. When I first moved here, I made a conscious effort not to pick up the phone to call people back in Vancouver, or to check in too often on Facebook. I felt I needed to let go a little, if you will. I didn't want to be living my life in Vancouver via the phone/internet while I was here in Halifax. Of course that didn't stop me from thinking of my friends there. I guess Nate hasn't stopped thinking of his friends in Vancouver either.

And so my friends out West, know that you are missed by a little boy, and his dad.

Parenting

It's one thing when your kid tells you he hates you, but it's entirely different when you catch him telling another kid he hates him.

As a parent, you expect your kid will hate you, it just goes with the territory. I was a kid once myself and I remember telling my parents I hated them, so why should it be any different with my kid?

This morning, when I dropped Nate off at 'school', I was hanging around and chatting with the teachers when I caught him telling another kid 'I hate you.' He wasn't just saying it, you could see venom in his eyes. He'd been playing with some Lego bricks, and another boy walked up to him to show him a toy, and he just turned and looked him in the eye and told him.

I called him over and we had a talk and he apologized, but I'm still in shock. I know these things are going to happen, but it just brought up all these doubts in my mind on the walk home. Doubts I used to have before I became a parent. Doubts about being a good parent, raising a kid to know right from wrong, doubts about passing on my prejudices and faults. Am I raising him right? Most of those doubts have faded since Nate was born. I don't think I've had much time to worry about them, too busy 'parenting'. This morning's incident makes me question how I've been parenting, too often I think I just want to get things done and don't put much thought into the process. It strikes me that this sort of parenting is exactly what I used to have doubts about, and that this might ultimately be a self-fulfilling-prophecy of sorts. Perhaps I am over- reacting (I'm not even sure if any of what I've just written makes sense), or perhaps this is a bit of a wake-up call for me.

I'm not looking to win any father-of-the-year awards, but I think I may have to work a little harder at this if I want Nate to be that good man when he grows up.

The continuing story of my broken espresso machine

They may not look like much, but these two pucks of coffee signify the first time that espresso has been poured in this house. The first time I've been able to pull a shot of espresso at home since we left Vancouver.

We have been without the Wega for over 6 months now. 6 months! If we were still in Vancouver I could just walk the 3 blocks to JJ and pick up coffees, but we haven't had that luxury here. Three blocks from here gets us a McCafe, and we weren't going there!

So we've been making do with an Aeropress and a Hario woodneck pour-over. They're good, but they don't get you espresso. They also take quite a bit more time, and fussing about. There is no satisfaction of watching that first stream of espresso drop from the spouts, thick with promise. I"m not knocking the Aeropress or the Hario, I just miss my old morning ritual. I miss hearing the familiar sound of the pump kicking in as I lay in bed, my old pre-alarm so that the Wega would be hot by the time the real alarm went off.


Finally, we are one step close to getting back to the good old morning ritual. The machine is up and running, but there are still a few kinks to work out before I'll be able to run it all day like I used to.


As you can see, there is still a leak in the boiler. It's just a small crack, but it's a leak. So I'll be taking the boiler out again. The good news is everything else seems to work just fine, and I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Random bits

• It's been 6 months since we left Vancouver
• Nate started going to 'school' last week - 2 1/2 hours twice a week
• This, based on one of my favourite books by Oliver Jeffers, makes me happy
• We've been without our espresso machine for 6 months now, but the wait is almost over...I think
• I am still taking photos, despite the lack of activity on my flickr account
• Pipe is being laid for natural gas, right in front of our house - our electric stove's days are numbered
• Work on the basement continues
• Patty is spending next week in Vancouver, I wish I was going
• I really really miss The Brewery Creek Liquor Store

Stay frosty

I have been watching Generation Kill, a seven part mini-series by HBO. It follows the Marines of the First Recon Battalion as they battle their way through the first 40 days of the Iraq war.

Generation Kill is based on the book by Rolling Stone writer Evan Wright, who spent two months embedded with the First Recon Marines. A lot is covered, so much so that maybe some of it might seem trivialized, but it makes for some pretty interesting television. If nothing else it'll give you some idea why, almost six and a half years later, the U.S. is still mired in Iraq.

I should caution that it's not for the faint of heart. There are some pretty graphic images, lots of colourful language, racism, homophobia, sexism..., and that's just amongst the Marines themselves!

Today and the weeks past

Today was our tenth wedding anniversary. The weather here in Halifax not unlike the weather in Vancouver 10 years ago. It was wet, windy and cool. We started off the day with coffee courtesy of my friend Jesse, who had sent us some Guatemala SHB from Vancouver. Thanks Jesse! You have excellent timing. There was a phone call from my folks, which turned into a teleconference on Skype (yes, I finally unpacked my old computer and got it up and running). A trip to Walmart, window washing, dinner, house cleaning, and laundry. Not exactly romantic stuff I suppose, but we got to spend the day together.

A lot has happened in the weeks since my last post. I probably won't remember everything, but I will attempt to summarize the important bits.

1. I have started working at The Smiling Goat, a small cafe across from the Public Gardens downtown. So far it's just half days twice a week, but those hours will increase later.
2. We spent a week painting the house and getting it cleaned before we moved in.
3. We moved into our new house on 16 May. We're mostly unpacked, although there are a few boxes to go, mostly books and CDs. For those of you who are thinking of visiting, the guest room is all setup.
4. I discovered that our espresso machine had not survived the journey across the country. I suspect there was water left in the two heat exchangers, and that water must have frozen at some point, causing the boiler to rupture. Hoping to get it welded back eventually. Fingers crossed. For now we're using the french press.
5. About nine days after we moved in, Patty left for Regina and Ottawa. This left me, Nate and Snoopy bouncing around in a huge house, an odd experience that will probably take some getting used to. During this time, I spent a lot of time watching Flight of The Conchords. So much so that I found myself speaking with a kiwi accent.
6. While Patty was away, I took Nate for his first dental checkup. To my amazement, he did not throw a fit. Instead he was the complete opposite. He listened and did as he was told, he asked questions, he joked and shook hands with the dental hygienist and dentist. I was so proud of him! And to top it all off, no cavities!
7. My brother completed his tour of Afghanistan and made it back to Singapore safe and sound.

There's probably more, but I can't think of what it might be right now.

Come Wednesday, we'll be getting on a plane and flying to Singapore. I would be lying if I told you I was looking forward to this flight. It will take us some 30 hours of travelling to get from here to Singapore. The longest flight Nate has ever been on was from Vancouver to Halifax, 8.5 hours that seemed too long for him and me! People have suggested we drug him for the trip, but I think it'll work out better if I drug myself.

I hope to be updating this from Singapore, so stay tuned.

Misadventures in medicine

First, they misplace my medical charts from Vancouver. Then they question whether I actually brought them in when I said I did. They might as well have called me a liar. Not exactly the best way to start with a new doctor.

Not impressed.

Then I have to do a 24hr urine collection for some lab work. I wait for almost an hour just to get a bottle in a paper bag. Then I drop off the bottle at the lab for analysis. A few days later I get a call from my doctor informing me the lab was unable to use the sample. I had dropped it off on a Friday and they didn't get around to testing it till Monday, and evidently it was not properly stored during that time. Excuse me?! Not only have they wasted my time, but they want me to go through the whole process again because they screwed up!

Really not impressed.

I don't usually like to make a fuss, who's going to listen or do anything about it? But I made it known I wasn't happy, in no uncertain terms. I am in no particular hurry to have my time wasted again, but I suppose I will eventually have to go and get those test done. I think the next time I drop off my sample, I will instruct them in the proper handling and storage of it.

That's two strikes now...I can't wait to see what will happen next.

Four weeks in...

It's been four weeks since we left Vancouver for Halifax. Well, four weeks and a day I suppose. I was going to write this yesterday, but it just got away from me. As far as moves go, I guess this one has been pretty smooth sailing.

All our stuff arrived from Vancouver two weeks ago. It's all stowed away in mum and dad's basement. As far as we can tell, everything made it in one piece, although we haven't as yet unpacked.

Nate is settling in to his life in Halifax very well. He loves being around his grandparents, and is always telling us how much he likes it here. He is best friend to the bird, even if the feeling isn't mutual. It is quite a sight to see the bird, dog and Nate all follow dad around when he comes home from work.

We've finally found a house we both like. It doesn't give us everything on the wish list, but we always knew it was going to be hard to find a house that did. This one comes very close indeed. We did the house inspection this morning, but more about that in another post.

We've only been downtown a couple of times so far, once to go to the farmers market, and the other time to do some window shopping. Tomorrow we're going to take Nate to the Museum of Natural History. $82 buys you a family membership for a year, and is good for 27 museum locations throughout Nova Scotia, including the Maritime Museum. Not bad.

Myself, I am missing my old routine, but also enjoying not being the only set of eyes minding Nate. It's much easier getting Snoopy out for walks now. I occasionally feel I should be doing something more productive, but not enough to actually make me go do something about it. Besides, I think the house will provide me with lots of projects to keep me busy once we take possession. Every now and then I get homesick and wonder what everyone in Vancouver is up to. Otherwise I keep myself busy with Nate, Snoopy, and making to-do lists for the house. See, smooth sailing.

all done

So the movers have come and gone, we are almost all packed up and tomorrow we get on a plane to Halifax.

Oddly enough, it is snowing today in Vancouver...an ominous sign of things to come perhaps?

I was hoping to say more on this last post from Vancouver,but my brain is all but shot after days of packing. I am exhausted, physically and emotionally and I haven't even had time to really say goodbye to anyone.

I hate goodbyes, so it is probably just as well.

I'll be offline for a bit...but hope to start posting again soon.

I am probably wrong, but this is going to be the last move I ever make. I have famously told Patty that she better like the house she buys in Halifax, because it is the house I am going to die in.

Thanks for the last 10 years Vancouver, I hope to come visit again.

Last orders

Friday 13 February 2009. I worked my last shift at 3010 Main Street. It's been almost 4 years since I started my job with JJ Bean. What originally started as a short-term gig between jobs, turned into the second longest job I've ever held.

I've been trying to write about those 4 years for a few days now, but I'm failing miserably, so I'm just going to list some highlights.

• I started about 3 months after the store open. By the time I left, I was the only one left from the original crew.
  
• In the time I was there, I worked with five different managers.
  
• At the time there were 4 JJ Bean stores, now there are 7.
  
• We didn't have a son when I started, Nate is almost 3 now.
  
• I learned new things about myself, like I'm a much more social person than I ever thought I was.
  
• For most of the time I worked there, I was the oldest person on staff.
• I met so many people, and some of those people have become good friends.
  
• Working in the neighbourhood I live in, has connected me to this neighbourhood and made me feel part of a larger community.  
  
• I got to work with some amazing people. In many ways they are like family to me, and I will miss them terribly when we move.
  

When it finally came time to leave, I found I didn't want to at all.  

My thanks to all the people who made this the best job I have ever had.

The first entry for 2009

I had intended to write a summary of the year past, a review of the highs and lows of 2008, for my first entry for 2009. As I sat down to gather my thoughts, it became obvious to me that I had far more lows than highs. This has probably more to do with my make-up than the year that was 2008. Nevertheless, I became overwhelmed by it all and gave up, despaired by the task at hand and the state of the world.

It got me thinking about why we wish people a happy new year. Are we just so relieved to have got through another year that this is cause for celebration? Or is it a misguided or naïve hope that the changing of a number on the calendar will bring better things with it? I wonder if people on the Gaza Strip were wishing each other a happy new year?

Time will roll on, and most of us will do what we can to hang on for the ride. There will always be things happening around us that are beyond our sphere of influence. But maybe it's enough to do what we can to make things better in that sphere. Perhaps if there were more of these small spheres of good everywhere, they'd eventually overlap and become bigger. I realize I may be sounding naïve here, and uncharacteristically optimistic. Who knows, things could just get better!

Happy new year!

If I've seemed a little distracted lately, it's because I have been

I have not been able to keep much in my head of late. My mind is a jumbled mess of things that need to get done, things that should have been done, what lies ahead and the possibilities they bring.

I am alternatively excited, scared, worried, frustrated, and depressed. Occassionally I feel all those things at the same time. If I've looked stunned lately, it's probably because I was at the time.

This whole business of selling our condo and buying a house has been emotionally draining, and we still have no sale or a house! We've gone from being super excited about one house, to not wanting anything to do with it once we found out how much work it needed.

We have found another house, one that we are trying hard not to get attached to. But how do you not get emotionally involved when you're buying a house? What would be the point if you weren't? But we are running out of time, and it seems less and less likely that we will be able to sell our condo and secure this house before the deadline set by the sellers. So this morning we talked about the possibility of having to take our condo off the market and wait till the new year to sell it. It's been at the back of our minds for some time now probably, but it was the first we actually talked about it. Maybe I'm being overly pessimistic, but maybe it's better that way and I won't set myself up for a bigger fall.

Amidst all this, there is the the everyday things that still need to get done. I'm still trying to figure out where everything is in our place following the cleanup. We are living in this space, but trying to make it look like no one is living in this space. And we've still got a bunch of boxes in the living room of our neighbour Jean. She's been super this past little while, letting us store our stuff there, watching Snoopy while our place was being showed, and even letting us crash there.

It's all been a little chaotic, and I guess that's worn off on me a little. I feel like I'm swimming underwater most days. Swimming underwater in slow motion. I hope I get to come up for air soon. Maybe I need new drugs?

The love of friends

These last few days have been a whirlwind of emails, long-distance phonecalls, excitement, stress and disappointment. Did I mention stress? Some of you may already know that we are planning to move to Halifax, NS in the next little while. We've put our place here in Vancouver up for sale, and we've been looking for a house in Halifax. Not the easiest thing to do from Vancouver.

Patty left for Halifax Thursday evening to check out a house and be on-site for the building inspection. As it turns out, this particular house will require far more work than we feel comfortable taking on at this point. A disappointing end to what had been till then, a mostly exciting, if somewhat stressful time.

I've been home with Nate and Snoopy. Of course I usually work Thursday through till Sunday. The first 2 days weren't too much of a problem since Nate was in daycare. But who was going to spend hours with him on Saturday and Sunday while I was at work? Some fabulous friends of ours of course.

Our friend Lauren offered to spend Saturday with Nate. She took him out for a sushi dinner, sang sea-shanties with him, and probably had to endure monster-truck TV. I'm sure she could have just come and hung out with Nate and done nothing else and he would have been just as happy, mostly because he just loves spending time with his Aunty Lolo.

On Sunday, my friend Bree took Nate to the pumpkin patch, and by all accounts he had a blast. How could he not? He got to hang out with his Aunty Bree, ride tractors, see farm animals, tromp through mud in his rubber boots and pick apples and pumpkins!

And in the days prior to me finding a sitter, one of Patty's co-workers Shona offered to hang out with Nate for a few hours on Sunday, and my co-worker Manuel offered to come and watch him during my Sunday shift.

All these people have busy lives, and yet they offered to help me out and spend their days off with Nate. It could just be the sappy father in me, but I think that's pretty special. So thank you all my friends, I feel so loved.