Flat tires in the ghetto.

And the answer is Green! My new Camera is green! I went with the 1030SW Olympus which came with glowing recommendations from Michelle’s dad. I’m pretty stoked about it. However, all my elation came to a crashing halt once I received a flat tire out in Surrey late last night.

It was super frustrating because I could kind of feel something wrong with the car so I decided to find a gas station in Surrey closest to the highway, but they didn’t supply air for tires…. And then next gas station I found made you pay 50 cents for air…. Paying for air seems just so wrong! By the time I actually got to fill it up, it was pretty low, but I really didn’t want to be stuck in Surrey and I have no clue how to change a flat tire, so I pumped it full of air and hopped back on the highway….. I then had to pull off in Coquitlam (the next town along the highway) and it took 2 try’s to find a gas station that had an air pump (shouldn’t these be mandatory… and free?).

So I continued down the highway pulling off the highway at almost every exit to find a gas station that supplied air. It was a very frustrating and long drive home! I kept calling Derek and crying over my situation, but felt guilty making him drive out to save me.

I finally got home 2 hours later. It was brutal and stressful. I left my car in front of my tire and vowed to change it (or employ a boy to change it) in the morning. One of my bootcampers happens to live next door to me and offered to change it, but there were these stupid locks on my alloy tires that I don’t have a key for….. so I called my brother (who has the same wheels) and he dragged himself out of bed to help me… turns out the ‘locks’ aren’t locks and all – and just caps needed to be pulled off. Oops.

Anyways, long story short, my tire is unfixable and it’s costing me $360 to get a new one. The same week I spent $500 on a new camera…. Sigh…… I either need to a) win the lottery or b) make more money.

Being a grown up is hard. I'm ready for the weekend because my emotional bank (and financial) is low.

To Camera? Or not to Camera?

I think I’m going to take the plunge this week and buy myself this Camera.

It’s the Olympus 1030SW meaning it’s waterproof, crushproof and washing machine proof! Actually, to give Olympus credit, Derek once ran his NON-waterproof Olympus Digital through the Wash and once it dried, it still worked. So hopefully the Waterproof version gives me similar results. (not that I plan on washing it, although I did ruin a cell phone that way)

Considering I do so much kayaking, surfing and wakeboarding…. and snorkeling…. and sailing… and hiking in the rain…….. it seems like a great investment, and I killed my first Nikon with moisture from a wet hike in New Zealand leaving me paranoid towards electronics.

Olympus has another model, the 770W so I’m kind of torn…. The 770 also has a smaller price tag, but I’m pretty sure the 1030 takes better pictures. I actually know nothing about Cameras and which would be better to purchase, it falls into the clueless about technology and science department of my brain…. Anything to do with technical jargon and numbers shuts my mind down. (hence the Public Relations degree). But I’d like a camera that takes great photos both on and off the water – and I don’t want to purchase a camera that is only good in water.

My best friend Michelle’s dad is a professional photographer and runs a Camera store on the North Shore, so I’m going to pop in and talk to him about it. I’m pretty sure they sell both there, and he’ll give me good honest opinions without the salesman bull**** like at Future Shop or London Drugs.


Now to decide on a colour……

D & K

If I could have just one wish,I would wish to wake up everyday

to the sound of your breath on my neck,

the warmth of your lips on my cheek,

the touch of your fingers on my skin,

and the feel of your heart beating with mine...

Knowing that I could never find that feeling with anyone other than you.

- Courtney Kuchta

Finding an employee may be hazardous to your health

“A Brampton No Frills employee was stabbed in the head this morning by a man looking for a job at the store, Peel police said.”

What ever happened to good conversational skills, a little confidence and an error free resume? I’m hoping he didn’t get the job, but considering the decent worker shortage across the country (okay… so Vancouver & Calgary, but I only care about those two cities) he might be a contender.

Good service in the lower mainland is getting hard to find, store workers hung up their aprons for hardhats to prepare for the Olympic construction. The food industry probably has seen the biggest loss for decent employees.

For example, this morning in Tim Hortons, I was told my Debit card wasn’t working, but considering I had used it about 5 minutes earlier at a Gas station, I was pretty confident in my card’s abilities. The Tim’s employee kept swiping it and telling me ‘No, an error message comes up’…. I looked at the “error” message, and it was actually asking him to punch in the payment amount. It also didn’t help that 3 other employees were watching over his shoulder to be trained. After I informed him of his mistake, he punched it in and off I went. Sigh…. Also, I think it’s ridiculous Timmie’s doesn’t except Visa, only MasterCard…. But I digress.

Managers and Owners cannot find decent reliable help anymore, without offering insanely high wages for the effort and work put forward. A quick trip through my local Wendy’s drive through informs me I could make $14.10 an hour plus benefits. Larger chains can afford to do this until theirs some sort of shift in the unemployment rates, but smaller ‘mom & pop’ outfits cannot, hence the crappy service wherever you go.

I think it’s because I’m such an exceptional person and employee I tend to look down on incompetence performing simple, self explanatory tasks. I ran into these people when I was an Assistant Manager of a clothing store at the age of 18 and I had employees who were 30 and had been there 4 years longer than me. You couldn’t trust them to do the simplest of tasks. Don’t feel bad for them though, they’re now making $20 an hour screwing up coffee orders at your local Coffee House.

Moral of the story is, you can get a job just about anywhere by NOT stabbing an employee during your interview. Hold back that primal urge and you’re set to go for at least $35 k a year. (which in Van will STILL keep you below the poverty level)

Life's too short

This morning I received terrible, incomprehensible news. The type that makes your realize you need to focus your energy and time on the things in life that are truly important.

Here are the people in my life that make each day worthwhile. There’s only 5 here, and I do have way more amazing people in my life, but I'll save them for another day

Derek, who makes me feel amazing and loved (and ever so lucky) every day, no matter how crazy I am, he always pretends to find me normal.

My beautiful Mother, who loves me selflessly and always agrees to crazy adventures even if she's terrified, or on crutches, or tired - she'll never pass up an opportunity to make me happy.

My Dad who is an amazing businessman, and for giving my family everything we could ever ask for, and then shedding all those serious layers and becoming this amazing funny, crazy guy the moment he steps onto his boat. (who knew!?)

Poodador the Labradoodle, for being the most amazing, happy, obident dog you've ever met. She's always smiling and wagging her tail, and never thinks you're anything but amazing.

Michelle, who is such an amazing best friend, goofing off, laughing and crafting it up with me and agreeing with me no matter how wrong I am. She's always letting me call her at random hours and gets me laughing after the most horrible day.

Weekends & Weekday coping mechanisms

Monday’s are really quite depressing, especially if you have these nocturnal homeless people in your alleyway and below your window that seem to congregate, banging on the garbage can (why doesn’t my building have a lock on it? It’s a bear/homeless person hazard), yelling at the top of their lungs and having buggy races. Last night the power line box thing RIGHT outside my window was buzzing loudly enough to keep me up. So now I’m running on about 2.5 hours sleep, coupled with the time Change which made me get up at an internal clock time of 4:15.

How do I cope? By going through my ‘Dumb Dares for the Office’ Desktop calendar given to me at Christmas time. This thing is truly amazing, it’s 366 ways (leap year) to mess with your co-workers, by either doing mean creepy things, or just by being creepy.

Here are some from the past month,
1. Ask your boss after lunch to hide your keys from you because you’re too drunk to drive home
2. Ask your boss if the company will reimburse you for a tattoo of its official logo
3. Make vomiting sounds in a stall in the bathroom once you’re sure someone else has entered, then mutter, ‘Oh I never could hold my tequila, Why do I do this to myself’
4. For an hour, try to guess the end of other people’s sentences. Interrupt them repeatedly, asking each time if your guesses are getting “warmer” or “colder”
5. Discreetly inquire of one of your colleagues if they know which local massage parlors offer extra services.

I’m also sad the weekend is over, I love having time for myself to do absolutely nothing. Friday night I coached (as per usual), then Derek and I watched Happy Gilmour, which I love –( I tend to gravitate towards movies that make me laugh hysterically without making me think) followed by Saturday Shopping downtown on Robson with a Girlfriend that I love spending time with but never see, and a great dinner/drinks out with Derek and his roommate Jess.

Sunday I didn’t do anything. Literally. I dragged Derek for a run around a lake, but became annoyed that despite only going for two runs in the past year he is STILL in better shape than me!? How does that happen? Boys have it so easy. Naturally skinny and fit. Sunday night was spent in my sweatpants catching up on TV shows I haven’t watched in awhile. A perfect weekend really.

It’s a shame it’s already Monday.

Ps. I can't seem to upload any photos to the blog... It starts to load, and then I get an error message after about 30 seconds...... Lame, since I know you all wanted to see my beautiful face!

Vacations make my world go round

Worlds Worst Blogger......It’s true, my diligence to sitting down and typing is lacking. It’s not that I don’t have the time – in fact, I spend a good deal of my free time each day reading through what others have taken the time to write, and attempting to start an entry. It’s just, I have nothing blogworthy to actually write about.

However, plans are in motion to make exciting things happen……. Aka Vacations. I love getting away, whether it’s only for a night or two or a whole week – there’s something about them that sooths my soul, calms me down and keeps me from quitting my job.

Derek and I rented a house in Tofino for a surf trip over Valentines Day Weekend. The weather was pretty decent, and we got one good day of surfing in. I love surfing, I'm pretty terrible, but there’s no better feeling than finally catching a wave… only to get pounded by the next 10. I think Tofino is one of my favorite places to visit. It takes 5-6 hours to get there, but once you do – you’re in a whole other world. I can’t say I’ve ever had a bad moment in Tofino.


My new thing in 2008 to keep me sane is mini vacations every month, before the Derek and Kelly annual Caribbean trip in September. Otherwise, I'll get burnt out and always have the feeling that a Vacation is never going to arrive! This way, I’m counting down every four weeks for something new and exciting!

Easter Holidays will bring my annual Road Trip to Calgary to visit my best friend Michelle. Every year this turns into one of my favorite trips, and I get to spend 5 days with my four best friends (Derek, Michelle, Jess & Sander). Although, Jess & Sander need to promise not to eat Dairy 24 hours before our trip, because I still haven’t recovered from the car ride for our November surf trip.

My parents purchased an amazing new yacht late last year, which is currently being built in Germany (I believe it’ll be complete by next week), it then starts the long trip across the Atlantic, then by truck across Canada. I’m really excited to get out sailing again, and the Sea Tian (our new boat, named after the first ship my family voyaged on together (also the name on the bell in the foyer of my house for those who've been there).... the old boat (the Falaba) was the first ship my Father ever sailed on.... we're a nautical family, what can I say) comes with more cabins, bathrooms and space in general, making any voyage easier with the family. So hopefully by the end of April, weekend sailing trips will be in my future. April also holds a weekend kayaking trip with a bunch of crazy extreme kayaker, so it’s shaping up….

June includes me having to go on a stagette weekend to the interior…. And in July my brother gets married to some girl (see above stagette) so I most likely wont get to go away too much, but I’ll attempt to get in at least a few paddling/sailing trips… but by the end of August it’s Caribbean time with the love of my life! YES!!! See, and now my vacation in September doesn’t seem so far away!

Oh I almost forgot, after we return home from the Sunny South, we’re off to stay with Derek’s parents in Tofino for 5 days for MOOORE surfing. They always rent this amazing house right in front of our favorite surf spot, so we can just sit on the deck watching the waves until we find some we like!!


I LOVE 2008!