Saturday, January 16, 2010
A Week in the Rain
This week has seen horrendous weather here in Vancouver and even worse conditions up the mountain. We bought season's passes for the skiing back in September and the season seemed to start OK in early December but we were unable to go up due to our move so we kept our fingers crossed for January. The kids had their first school lesson up there this week and I took them up to get our passes and check out the conditions. I've never seen anything like it up there. The car park was a mass of rapidly melting slush, the sleet was driving hard and the fog was thick enough to prevent a view of more than 100 yards. When I picked the kids up at the school later they complained that there was little snow up the mountain and the lower chairlift was closed. There were rivers running through the snow and rocks sticking up through. Not very safe. I hope it gets better for the Olympics here in February. The majority of the skiing will be at Whistler where the conditions are a little better but some of the events are to be held at Cyprus where the snow is very similar to our mountain.
On a related note, the authorities are advising everyone to use public transport during the Olympics as large parts of down town will have restricted access or be closed altogether. One of the main downtown bridges, Cambie Street bridge, for example, will be closed to the general public forcing the traffic over the Granville Street bridge and causing untold chaos. At the same time the organization that operates the public transport and the Skytrain in particular are warning about line-ups of up to 2 hours during peak time through the week. So what they are really saying is, avoid downtown altogether and take the time off or work form home. Even though I work in Burnaby I have to use the main bridge that carried residents from the North Shore into man Metro Vancouver and this is scheduled to be chaos as Vanoc use one lane in each direction for Olympic Traffic.
I ventured to my local Charity Store this week and picked up a few CDs.
1. American Recordings by Johnny Cash - this was the first record he did with Rick Rubin and includes a number of original songs mixed with covers. It's a simple, under-produced record.
2. Absolution by Muse - never heard much of this band except the singles so I thought I'd give it a go.
3. Greatest Hits by The Stray Cats - you can't have enough Rockabilly.
4. My Way The Best of Frank by Frank Sinatra - a collection of his best known recordings
5. Burn to Shine by Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals - I haven't heard this yet but if it's anything like the other two CDs of his that I have it will be great.
6. A Love Supreme by John Coltrane - a classic jazz record from the sax guru. A little challenging i you are not used to jazz, like me.
7. It's Great When You're Straight Yeah by Black Grape - this is still a brilliant party record from our drugged up Mancunian friends.
8. Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim - an eponymous record from 1967. Frank at his best with a slight Latin vibe.
9. Night Train by The Oscar Peterson Trio - the classic jazz record recorded after the sale of Verve Records to MGM in 1962.
10. Amplified Heart by Everything But the Girl - great songs and a great voice.
11. Technique by New Order - you can never go wrong with these guys.
12. Get Ready by New Order - see above. This is a relatively new one from 2001.
13. Nirvana - a collection of their songs after Kurt spread his brains all over the room.
14. The Group Played "Space Age Bachelor Pad Music" by Stereolab - the bands first record from 1993. They are worth a listen - 60's influenced lo-fi genius.
15. Giants Steps by John Coltrane - more sax jazz
16. Static and Silence by The Sundays - I bought their first album while at University because someone called them the next Smiths. Not quite but some great songs nonetheless.
17. Blind by The Sundays - see above
18. Reading Writing and Arithmetic by The Sundays - the album I bought on cassette in Liverpool.
19. Born in the USA by Bruce Springsteen - a classic rock 'n' roll romp from the Boss
20. The Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding - great soul form a much missed soul legend
21. The Gentle Side of John Coltrane - more jazz
22. Prototype by Seb Fontaine - full on party dance music mixed as part of the Global Under Ground series.
As you can imagine, I haven't listened to all of this yet but I look forward to doing just that when I get the chance.
have a good week.
Peter
On a related note, the authorities are advising everyone to use public transport during the Olympics as large parts of down town will have restricted access or be closed altogether. One of the main downtown bridges, Cambie Street bridge, for example, will be closed to the general public forcing the traffic over the Granville Street bridge and causing untold chaos. At the same time the organization that operates the public transport and the Skytrain in particular are warning about line-ups of up to 2 hours during peak time through the week. So what they are really saying is, avoid downtown altogether and take the time off or work form home. Even though I work in Burnaby I have to use the main bridge that carried residents from the North Shore into man Metro Vancouver and this is scheduled to be chaos as Vanoc use one lane in each direction for Olympic Traffic.
I ventured to my local Charity Store this week and picked up a few CDs.
1. American Recordings by Johnny Cash - this was the first record he did with Rick Rubin and includes a number of original songs mixed with covers. It's a simple, under-produced record.
2. Absolution by Muse - never heard much of this band except the singles so I thought I'd give it a go.
3. Greatest Hits by The Stray Cats - you can't have enough Rockabilly.
4. My Way The Best of Frank by Frank Sinatra - a collection of his best known recordings
5. Burn to Shine by Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals - I haven't heard this yet but if it's anything like the other two CDs of his that I have it will be great.
6. A Love Supreme by John Coltrane - a classic jazz record from the sax guru. A little challenging i you are not used to jazz, like me.
7. It's Great When You're Straight Yeah by Black Grape - this is still a brilliant party record from our drugged up Mancunian friends.
8. Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim - an eponymous record from 1967. Frank at his best with a slight Latin vibe.
9. Night Train by The Oscar Peterson Trio - the classic jazz record recorded after the sale of Verve Records to MGM in 1962.
10. Amplified Heart by Everything But the Girl - great songs and a great voice.
11. Technique by New Order - you can never go wrong with these guys.
12. Get Ready by New Order - see above. This is a relatively new one from 2001.
13. Nirvana - a collection of their songs after Kurt spread his brains all over the room.
14. The Group Played "Space Age Bachelor Pad Music" by Stereolab - the bands first record from 1993. They are worth a listen - 60's influenced lo-fi genius.
15. Giants Steps by John Coltrane - more sax jazz
16. Static and Silence by The Sundays - I bought their first album while at University because someone called them the next Smiths. Not quite but some great songs nonetheless.
17. Blind by The Sundays - see above
18. Reading Writing and Arithmetic by The Sundays - the album I bought on cassette in Liverpool.
19. Born in the USA by Bruce Springsteen - a classic rock 'n' roll romp from the Boss
20. The Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding - great soul form a much missed soul legend
21. The Gentle Side of John Coltrane - more jazz
22. Prototype by Seb Fontaine - full on party dance music mixed as part of the Global Under Ground series.
As you can imagine, I haven't listened to all of this yet but I look forward to doing just that when I get the chance.
have a good week.
Peter
Friday, January 1, 2010
Happy New Year - Good Riddens to the Last
Happy New Year everyone, all 3 of you. New Year Resolution #1, get more followers. I may have to start posting pictures of boobs or something.
We are still in Nelson and looking out to the lake after a fresh dump of powdery snow. We return to Vancouver tomorrow so I need to keep my fingers crossed that the roads clear up a bit before we set off.
2009 was a busy year for us and full of surprises along the way. We started here in Nelson having spent last Christmas here too. We had skied at Whitewater a couple of times, spend a relaxing time reading books and chilling out and then drove back to the coast around the 2nd or 3rd. I was back at work immediately after and spend a week or two catching up with customers and colleagues before flying to Florida for Honeywell's annual Kick-off meeting. This is a week of presentations from the senior managements, inspirational speeches from guest speakers and award for those sales reps that sold the most during the previous year. You have to earn the right to attend by selling a certain amount so you go with a certain sense of achievement. It's a tiring week with late nights in the bar followed by very early starts in the morning but it's a great way to start the year. I have not qualified for this year's as I had a year of building accounts in 2009, not actually selling them.
We had a busy couple of months back home and returned to Nelson for the 50th wedding anniversary of my Aunt and Uncle. My cousin had a large group of friends at her house and we spent a great few days in the snow again.
Spring beckoned and we decided to book a holiday in Disney in May. Before that though we drove to Seattle for a weekend, driving back late on the Sunday night before I rose early in the Monday morning to be in the office for 6.15am. I went home at the usual time, fed the kids and then worked on the internet preparing for a trip by our leadership team who were travelling out for a couple of meetings the following day. It was around 10.30pm and I suddenly had the feeling that my thoughts were not my own and this overwhelming sensation of panic. The next thing I know Tracey is shouting my name in an alarmed state. This turned out to be the first of three seizures, but it was a couple of days before I went to the doctor to confirm it. She immediately banned me from driving and sent me to the hospital for an EEG test. The results of this suggested an abnormality on the right side of my brain and so a MRI was recommended to rule out a tumour. We decided not to wait the 3 months that the local health service would take and paid for a private one the following day. It still took a few worrying days to get the results that suggested the all clear. I was referred to a neurologist who took over the case.
We were given the all clear to fly to California to our planned trip to Disney and spent 5 days or so walking around their two parks and tiring ourselves out. Next came two weeks at Whistler for a couple of business conferences in which a colleague and I were standing by a Honeywell booth in the exhibition halls. Again, another two tiring weeks. The following Friday I had my grand mal seizures and this necessitated the taking of my anti-seizure medication.
This preceded a summer of extreme tiredness caused by the first drug that I was prescribed in the middle of which we drive back to Nelson for a well earned rest. My days at this time consisted of getting up for work, having to call Tracey around 2pm to be driven home again and the remainder of the day in bed due to the fatigue. This prompted a return to the neurologist who changed my medication. The first couple of weeks appeared to be a return to normality but the fatigue followed closely behind and an additional mild depression that wiped me out altogether. I tried to continue to work although it was a struggle and I kept my boss informed as to how I was doing. During the Fall (Autumn, not the band) I was put onto my third medication and this has appeared to be the best of the bunch.
We had a couple of trips to a friends cottage in Harrison Hot Springs towards the end of the summer and my parents flew out in September for a couple of weeks and Josh's Birthday.
The kids went back to school and the soccer season started again for them both.
The remainder of the year has been a busy time at work and in October our landlady served us notice that forced us to look for alternative accommodation before the end of the year (niiiiiice). We couldn't even end the year without some added strain but we found our current apartment within a weekend moved out at the end of November. We are now living in our new home together with a bunch of boxes that remain unsorted but at least we now have windows...and a balcony. This will be an excellent feature int he summer.
A friend of ours managed to save a large table and 8 chairs that her friend was going to throw out and a trip to Ikea meant that we now only need a sofa and some living room furniture, oh and somewhere to store our bikes that currently occupy the living room.
It's been a pretty hectic year so I hope that this one allows us to breath a little more easily.
I've added to my collection of CDs and discovered some new bands with the help of Mr Black. My favourites among them are Midlake, Fleet Foxes and Elliot Smith. I was reintroduced to Supergrass, a band that Tracey and I saw at the pub in Drummond (???Street, PLace, Road erm don't know) in Aberdeen when they supported Shed 7. We stayed for Supergrass but the smokey atmosphere saw us exit before Shed 7 appeared. I don't think we missed much.
This year I saw the marvellous Black Crowes and then downloaded the concert from their website and U2 at the disappointing BC Place. I will continue to scour the charity stores for bargains in their CD section. There's a couple of new records out that I fancy: the DVD/CD from Nirvana of their famous Reading Festival appearance and the CD from the latest supergroup, Them Crooked Vultures. Anyone got these already??
Hope you all had a great Christmas and didn't get too drunk at New Year.
Speak to you all soon.
Peter
We are still in Nelson and looking out to the lake after a fresh dump of powdery snow. We return to Vancouver tomorrow so I need to keep my fingers crossed that the roads clear up a bit before we set off.
2009 was a busy year for us and full of surprises along the way. We started here in Nelson having spent last Christmas here too. We had skied at Whitewater a couple of times, spend a relaxing time reading books and chilling out and then drove back to the coast around the 2nd or 3rd. I was back at work immediately after and spend a week or two catching up with customers and colleagues before flying to Florida for Honeywell's annual Kick-off meeting. This is a week of presentations from the senior managements, inspirational speeches from guest speakers and award for those sales reps that sold the most during the previous year. You have to earn the right to attend by selling a certain amount so you go with a certain sense of achievement. It's a tiring week with late nights in the bar followed by very early starts in the morning but it's a great way to start the year. I have not qualified for this year's as I had a year of building accounts in 2009, not actually selling them.
We had a busy couple of months back home and returned to Nelson for the 50th wedding anniversary of my Aunt and Uncle. My cousin had a large group of friends at her house and we spent a great few days in the snow again.
Spring beckoned and we decided to book a holiday in Disney in May. Before that though we drove to Seattle for a weekend, driving back late on the Sunday night before I rose early in the Monday morning to be in the office for 6.15am. I went home at the usual time, fed the kids and then worked on the internet preparing for a trip by our leadership team who were travelling out for a couple of meetings the following day. It was around 10.30pm and I suddenly had the feeling that my thoughts were not my own and this overwhelming sensation of panic. The next thing I know Tracey is shouting my name in an alarmed state. This turned out to be the first of three seizures, but it was a couple of days before I went to the doctor to confirm it. She immediately banned me from driving and sent me to the hospital for an EEG test. The results of this suggested an abnormality on the right side of my brain and so a MRI was recommended to rule out a tumour. We decided not to wait the 3 months that the local health service would take and paid for a private one the following day. It still took a few worrying days to get the results that suggested the all clear. I was referred to a neurologist who took over the case.
We were given the all clear to fly to California to our planned trip to Disney and spent 5 days or so walking around their two parks and tiring ourselves out. Next came two weeks at Whistler for a couple of business conferences in which a colleague and I were standing by a Honeywell booth in the exhibition halls. Again, another two tiring weeks. The following Friday I had my grand mal seizures and this necessitated the taking of my anti-seizure medication.
This preceded a summer of extreme tiredness caused by the first drug that I was prescribed in the middle of which we drive back to Nelson for a well earned rest. My days at this time consisted of getting up for work, having to call Tracey around 2pm to be driven home again and the remainder of the day in bed due to the fatigue. This prompted a return to the neurologist who changed my medication. The first couple of weeks appeared to be a return to normality but the fatigue followed closely behind and an additional mild depression that wiped me out altogether. I tried to continue to work although it was a struggle and I kept my boss informed as to how I was doing. During the Fall (Autumn, not the band) I was put onto my third medication and this has appeared to be the best of the bunch.
We had a couple of trips to a friends cottage in Harrison Hot Springs towards the end of the summer and my parents flew out in September for a couple of weeks and Josh's Birthday.
The kids went back to school and the soccer season started again for them both.
The remainder of the year has been a busy time at work and in October our landlady served us notice that forced us to look for alternative accommodation before the end of the year (niiiiiice). We couldn't even end the year without some added strain but we found our current apartment within a weekend moved out at the end of November. We are now living in our new home together with a bunch of boxes that remain unsorted but at least we now have windows...and a balcony. This will be an excellent feature int he summer.
A friend of ours managed to save a large table and 8 chairs that her friend was going to throw out and a trip to Ikea meant that we now only need a sofa and some living room furniture, oh and somewhere to store our bikes that currently occupy the living room.
It's been a pretty hectic year so I hope that this one allows us to breath a little more easily.
I've added to my collection of CDs and discovered some new bands with the help of Mr Black. My favourites among them are Midlake, Fleet Foxes and Elliot Smith. I was reintroduced to Supergrass, a band that Tracey and I saw at the pub in Drummond (???Street, PLace, Road erm don't know) in Aberdeen when they supported Shed 7. We stayed for Supergrass but the smokey atmosphere saw us exit before Shed 7 appeared. I don't think we missed much.
This year I saw the marvellous Black Crowes and then downloaded the concert from their website and U2 at the disappointing BC Place. I will continue to scour the charity stores for bargains in their CD section. There's a couple of new records out that I fancy: the DVD/CD from Nirvana of their famous Reading Festival appearance and the CD from the latest supergroup, Them Crooked Vultures. Anyone got these already??
Hope you all had a great Christmas and didn't get too drunk at New Year.
Speak to you all soon.
Peter
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