Daily Twitter Update

• 12:39 @thegoldfish yfrog.com/4a34gsj #
• 12:48 @ala1ne No! His flight was cancelled, the tunnel is closed, as is Dover. He's stuck here. #
• 12:52 Mmm, sushi! yfrog.com/4f8qpyj #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 16:07 I'm going to the War of the Worlds musical tonight. I'd completely forgotten it was today! #
• 18:43 Holy crap do I feel stupid. Same date, but NEXT YEAR. Damnit. Long trip up to Wembly for nothing. #
• 21:33 Well, had a nice relaxing couple drinks with coworkers, after that cockup, and feeling much better now. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 08:54 Red wine, what was I thinking? Ugh. #
• 22:16 Snow! I'm so excited! I hope it snows all night so there's loads of snow to wake up to in the morning. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 11:16 Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! #
• 14:43 @ala1ne I hope this snow keeps up, and even picks up this evening. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. #
• 01:57 I just fell over while trying to take my shoes off. A bit drunk. Received lots of interesting advice tonight, but how to implement... #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 23:32 I am reminded once more why I don't drink caffeine after noon. Ugh. #
• 23:37 Me too! Down with Simon's karaokee boys. RT @trisha_gee: I've bought my copy of Rage Against the Machines #ratm4xmas #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 10:52 Why has beens with breakfast never really caught on back home? So good. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 01:07 That xmas party was... rather tame. Meh. :/ #
• 01:17 @ala1ne I laughed SO hard when you told me that :) not because he said it, but because you noticed :D #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 11:01 I hope that drinking a litre of orange juice today kicks my immune system into action. #
• 18:55 Hanging on an angle due to hot air from the radiator. Cool. yfrog.com/3nld7bj #
• 22:39 @property_london Not any more it isn't. :) #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 20:04 I think I'm getting sick :( #
• 22:02 Whatever is going on in my stomach needs to stop. Right now. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 09:14 Pleasedontbegettingsick, pleasedontbegettingsick... #
• 23:20 Cliffhanger endings to 1000+ page novels: not cool. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 11:09 @ala1ne Heck no, gin is fantastic! :) #
• 17:09 Lovely day of sushi, sunshine, and shopping. Took some nice (I think) photos as well. Now to decide on dinner. #
• 18:38 Mmm, chicken kiev. I'm so glad I found this pub. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 22:55 Pub's closing. On to the next one. Weee. #
• 23:46 @ala1ne Of course! #
• 01:01 Mmm, kebeb. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 18:41 As incredibly frustrating as some days are, I love my job. Always challenged and stimulated. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 14:37 That was a tasty burrito. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 12:30 Brrr. #
• 17:11 @ala1ne The heat in the office certainly isn't what it could be. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 09:46 Internet so slow AGAIN it's unusable. *sigh* BT really does suck so badly it's shocking. #
• 14:04 Mmm, pizza for lunch. Probably means cold pizza for dinner too then. Yum. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 10:08 Ah, Breakfast Club. yfrog.com/4avvkj #
• 11:34 Just bought another 50mm prime... sort of. Lensbaby Composer. Selective focus, funky stuff! bit.ly/L6nhF #
• 13:58 @paulfedory Breakfast Club! It's awesome. bit.ly/pDLZi #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 21:27 RT @carl_schmidt: Between October and March, sunny days in Vancouver should automatically be declared weekend days. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 02:26 Oh, what a night. #
• 02:40 Really could have done without the uninvited guest tonight. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 11:32 Wow, so glad I made it to the pub when I did. It's turned very miserable out. Wind and rain just picked up. #
• 12:43 That was a tasty breakfast. I am completely stuffed now. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 11:33 Where did this beautiful weather come from? #
• 20:48 Made it to the pub just moments before the kitchen closed. Glad I looked at the time when I did! #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 21:06 One gin, two gin, three gin, home. Looking forward to a relaxing weekend with no plans. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 12:46 Tuesday: Better Than Monday. But that's the best I can give it. Still not caught up on sleep. Thank god for caffeine. #
• 22:32 Dinner: delicious sushi and excellent book. Except I didn't eat the book. Still shocked by the price of decent sushi here. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 13:19 Monday morning + insomnia = supreme suck. A triple shot eggnog latte is making it fairly tolerable though. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 10:45 What I wouldn't give for an IHOP somewhere in London. #
• 12:05 Found fried eggs, maple bacon, and pancakes. However, the fire alarm was going from the time my food arrived. LOUD. Not so relaxing. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 14:15 Wonderful pub lunch, pie and mash. And beer of course. #
• 17:50 On my way to see Fleetwood Mac! #
• 00:15 Fleetwood Mac was epic. Played all the songs I wanted. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 18:18 I think a pizza is in order tonight. Mmm, capriccosa. #
• 22:47 That was a tasty pizza indeed. Boy was I hungry, polished it right off. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 08:59 Eggnog lattes are here! #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 23:40 I am the proud new owner of a very nice silver on grey 1987 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS. Hear me roar. Now if only I could actually drive it. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 17:10 Proud of my costume. Had fun painting. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 20:05 Costume: sorted. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 13:48 Should I, or should I not, buy an excellent condition 1987 Monte Carlo SS? In Vancouver. #
• 21:31 Been waiting for the owner to sell this car for 4 years, can't pass up this opportunity. I'm buying it. Can't wait to drive it! #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 12:21 @bgrice What lens were you trying for? #
• 19:34 @bgrice I've got the 50 f1.8 and an 18-200 IS and I love the combo. #
• 00:32 Mexican food, tequila, and whiskey with flatemates. What a wonderful evening. #
• 01:19 I had no idea good tequila was such a nice drink, instead of just shooter. Much like scotch whiskey. What a pleasant surprise. #
• 01:54 2am and can't sleep. Not good. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 19:59 It's dark in this pub, I just peppered my chips instead of salting them. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 19:05 Moscow for Christmas? Hmm, now there's an interesting idea. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 21:42 @ala1ne you picked a good day to spend at the park :) #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 08:50 @ripienaar Yep. Got my winter coat out today. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 10:21 Head of IS just handed me a stack of old Fortran punch cards and asked if I can figure out what the program does. I love this place. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 09:03 What a pleasant morning. twitpic.com/lh25k #
• 15:25 Mutant kit-kat twitpic.com/lhrb2 #
• 20:07 Cocktails, anyone? twitpic.com/liqjm #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 08:43 I can see my breath :(. Time to bring out my winter jacket. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 14:57 I love it when I get asked for directions, in London, and I know the answer. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 08:36 @ala1ne oohh... Roka. What memories. #
• 21:02 @ripienaar naa, serial killers are more socially well adjusted. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 19:41 Looked up from the pavement for 2 seconds, to check traffic, and my left foot found a 6" deep puddle. Lovely. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 11:00 Sigh, missed mcdonalds breakfast again, and burnt my tongue on a way-too-hot coffee. Not a great start to the day. #
• 11:23 I love train stations. twitpic.com/k8339 #
• 19:16 @bgrice congratulations dude :) #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 22:41 Finally sold out. I now have a xbox. My gamertag is xenoc80, add me y'all. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 22:22 Gin. It does a mother good. twitpic.com/jvjtg #
• 23:54 £36 for a bottle of cab sav? Too much, if you ask me. Way too much. #
• 01:41 Mmmm! Fantastic lamb donner kebab. Must find out tomorrow (er, today) where I actually got it. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 22:35 Mmm... dark chocolate jaffa cakes. So tasty. I think I ate too many though, my tongue hurts. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 08:58 Arch, I hate being sick. I also hate missing what's going on at work. =/ 6 days of yuck so far. Go away bugs! #
• 13:47 Water mains replacement crew is running a concrete saw outside my window. So much for trying to sleep off this flu. What a godawful noise! #
• 22:06 @trisha_gee Lego rocks. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 09:26 @trisha_gee good luck with the run! Nice weather for it today. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 13:16 @barsoomcore re: Lagavulin: yes, yes it is. :) #
• 19:13 @trisha_gee twice in (nearly?) as many months? I'm impressed! #
• 19:15 What a wonderful day! Beautiful weather, sushi breakfast with good company, printing photos to decorate the flat, and now a nice meal out. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 19:11 Palm Pre launches in UK on Oct 16th! So excited! Hopefully I can finally ditch this &*^%@# iPhone for something that knows what a "PDA" is. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 15:20 @trisha_gee really properly open? Is there an entry somewhere now, other than through the parking garage? #
• 15:20 Mmm, chicken soup and lemsip. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 18:18 Headache, stuffed nose, clogged ears, sore throat, and elevated temperature. Yep, I'm sick. Should have stayed home today. Will tomorrow. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 01:14 @ala1ne did you seriously spend £68 on one bottle of wine? #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 20:35 "Hi, yes, I'll have the chicken pie... and six gin and tonics." Fantastic night out. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 18:22 Good grief it's wet out! #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 10:51 Oh my poor abused head. Beautiful day out and I'm in no shape to go out and appreciate it. Blast. #
• 17:53 I SO love my new room! I have space again! twitpic.com/hggjl #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 02:47 Nearly 3am. On my way home after a fab night out. Woot! twitpic.com/hdwzr #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 20:51 Spent 6 hours wandering around the Tower of London with 15lbs of laptop and camera gear on my back. Oh my aching feet! Great day though. #

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I spent 6 hours wandering around the Tower of London today with at least 15lbs of laptop and camera gear on my back. My feet are throbbing, but it was well worth it.

And yes, I actually worked out that weight. I've been wondering how much that bag weighs for a while.

Canon 20D: 685g
Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS: 610g
Canon Speedlite 430EX II: 362g
Lowepro Fastpack 350: 1850g
Lenovo T400 /w 9-cell battery: 2404g
3x Canon 20D batteries: 228g
8x NiMH AA batteries: 206g
Total weight: 6346g (13.99lbs)

If you throw in the stuff I didn't lookup weights for, like chargers, flash cable, remote shutter release, CF reader, 3G modem, bluetooth mouse, and a bottle of water, that'll easily add another couple pounds.

It's not just my feet, my shoulders are aching too. I could sure use a massage.

Daily Twitter Update

• 15:01 I should know not to walk into bookstores and expect to leave w/o a purchase. Especially a sci-fi/fantasy one. twitpic.com/gkbvc #
• 21:00 @barsoomcore wow, sounds like a fantastic day. Nothing like the smell of jet fuel and the roar of power eh? #
• 21:01 Just had wonderful Mexican food for dinner. It's been a good day. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 18:29 @thegoldfish how is it you let me find out about that via Twitter?! Must see cool toys :) #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 20:37 Back in London after a wonderful long weekend away in Stockholm. Feeling refreshed and relaxed. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 09:34 Slept so well last night. 11 hours! Must fix my bed at home, it's like sleeping on rocks. #
• 22:39 Stockholm has far too many beautiful blondes. They need to learn to share. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 06:17 Shoes off, belt off, watch off, wallet out, keys out, phone out, laptop out, come through please, collect your belongings. Meh. #
• 07:02 Had nice blueberry pancake breakfast, now all belted in and ready to go. Stockholm, here I come. #
• 21:35 First impressions of Stockholm are great. A beautiful city with loads of green space, plazas, and water. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 20:25 iPhone just autocompleted "doh" to "dog" in an SMS to a potential date, and I didn't notice until too late. That could be awkward. #fail #
• 04:56 On the first Heathrow Express of the day. London sure is quiet this early. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 21:41 @bgrice enjoy the new toys :). I have same flash, love it to bits. Sideways bounce flash is so much fun #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 12:28 What a beautiful day! Sitting in Hyde Park in the sun, eating a delicious pork bun. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 03:07 On my way home from lovely dinner and drinks with friends. Fantastic meal! Walking home now past Hyde Park at 3am. Awesome. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 19:33 Is today international "drive like an asshole day", and I just missed the memo? Nearly run over by BMW doing 100km/hr through residential! #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 13:47 This article actually almost makes me want to have kids. Wow. www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/46502 #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 17:25 Phase 8: (Quality Control/Shipping Prep) The system is undergoing the final stage of the Alienware 200-Point Quality Control Process. #
• 21:01 Just finished watching Starsky and Hutch, I love that film. Great music, great car, and Snoop Dogg. Does it get any better? #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 18:55 Witnessing an extremely painful first date at Bella Italia. It hurts just to listen to, she so wants to just leave. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 11:37 @trisha_gee glad to hear you got that sorted. Hope they can fix the tire #
• 20:40 South Africans know how to party. Especially after winning a rugby match. Woot! #
• 23:06 @trisha_gee probably all for the best, really. Bet it'll drive like a dream now. #
• 00:26 What a rainstorm earlier today. Such loud thunder! twitpic.com/8mdhj #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 09:19 I have Fleetwood Mac tickets! #
• 22:18 Note: when drinking on a boat, everything sliiiiides twitpic.com/8i1mq #
• 23:58 It's midnight, and the Canadian is the only one still on his feet. Go figure. #
• 02:16 Crashing house-party happening upstairs from me: awesome. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 14:59 I want to SCREAM! #
• 15:42 Rage subsiding. Problem delegated. #
• 18:16 Why do pubs decide not to serve food, but not have any sign or notice, so I find out AFTER I've paid for my pint? Arg. #
• 18:57 Fantastic pie and mash here at the Duke of Wellington #
• 18:58 @ala1ne some pub on Portobello road. This one is much better. Must suggest it for lunch tomorrow. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 19:33 @barsoomcore niiice. Don't see many of those over this side of the puddle. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 08:39 Just saw Jeremy Clarkson on my way to work. #
• 11:04 Only 30 minutes of walking in new shoes, and I have a blister already. I hate breaking in new shoes. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 18:21 @trisha_gee haha, amusing. I'm amazed how awake you looked all day. Don't think I'd fare so well. #
• 18:25 Such tasty beer. Looks like really dark pepsi, but tastes like pure awesome. twitpic.com/842nf #
• 18:49 Oh, now that's funny. Cash machine just handed me £200 in ten pound notes. #
• 19:24 I didn't realize it before, but I actually like buying shoes when I'm paid attention to as a customer. Shoe situation: solved. #
• 19:31 @ala1ne pretty much, but I'm at Westfield fixing that right now. :) #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 10:36 Bloody baggage handlers broke my netbook screen. Not pleased at all. There goes £300. Really need a new laptop now. #
• 13:01 Mmm, so tasty. twitpic.com/7w6pa #
• 13:01 @ala1ne actually, it's to buy a backup drive for my photos. Laptop purchase will take much planning. #
• 16:22 Received great photography compliment yesterday: "you can make ordinary mundane things look so interesting." Made my day. #
• 19:43 Saw "anonymous" protest outside Scientology headquarters. PC guarding the quacks looked incredibly bored. twitpic.com/7x8ei #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 22:58 @trisha_gee enjoy NY! I'm definitely jealous of your spontaneous "I'm going to NY" trip #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 08:57 I had a really weird dream, something about booking a B&B in Manhattan. That's all I remember. #
• 13:40 @trisha_gee hope it goes away soon. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 18:12 @idcmp lol. 'shutdown' can be even worse if you goof. #
• 18:17 Reading about Henry Cavendish makes me feel so un-dorky. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 08:58 Ah, fantastic climb with Mark and his gf last night. Rather sore this morning. :) #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 09:14 @trisha_gee save you from yourself? Self-rescuing, remember? ;). Enjoy the car today! #
• 09:44 Ah, what a lovely Sunday breakfast. twitpic.com/6thjt #
• 11:43 @trisha_gee got your car now? Know if it's a he or she yet? #
• 13:37 @trisha_gee yummy! Jealous :) #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 08:34 @trisha_gee let's make today a detox day. :). I'm up and at it early too, so let me know if you want to get going earlier than planned. #
• 13:15 Just inspected a '93 MX-5 with Trish. Beautiful car, and she's buying it! I better get a ride or two :D #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 20:32 Great evening of quiet going away drinks for a coworker who will be much missed. twitpic.com/6m8ur #
• 23:08 I love that whatever pub we go to for drinks after work, it's close enough that I can walk home. So much for "a couple drinks". Again. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 07:55 Miss my MX-5/Miata so much in weather like this. Wanna be cruising Whiterock, top down, tunes up, great seafood just around the corner. #
• 18:52 Beautiful day out, and I just saw an Arial Atom drive by! Nice. Missing my car even more now. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 07:26 Catching a morning train back home from Luton. Long story. twitpic.com/6bidb #
• 12:57 Regent street is a bit of a zoo today. "A taste of Spain" twitpic.com/6btmr #
• 15:35 @ala1ne mohito & belini :D #
• 15:37 Absolutely beautiful day in Kensington Gardens, London twitpic.com/6c1cq #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 09:08 @trisha_gee I think you should give the foot a rest and try a 5k hop :) #
• 09:09 So excited to be seeing Jenn! Picking her up at Heathrow and seeing her off to Luton, just a transfer this time. #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 17:05 @trisha_gee and that right there is why I love this place :) #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 21:10 @ala1ne I was quite happy with the card splitting too :) and the writing acctests first too #
• 21:12 @barsoomcore I *heart* Hudson #
• 21:18 Just finished a wonderful chilled & relaxed climb with @ala1ne. We so need to do this more often! #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 10:13 Just got a cool Loch Ness monster coffee mug from our Product Owner for helping with some stuff last week. Love the mug! #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 15:47 @ala1ne tasty tasty! What a great way to be welcomed back into the UK, beautiful weather and Sunday roast with friends :D #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 07:40 At Paddington, waiting for the Heathrow Express to leave. Just missed one as I arrived. Hope I make my flight! twitpic.com/5r3us #
• 08:44 All through security and whatnot, just eating breakfast now and waiting for them to announce the gate. Only slightly hungover, thankfully. #
• 09:19 Successfully navigated Heathrow T5, hope my bag did too. Waiting at the gate now. Venice, here I come. Sun! #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 07:50 Woke up early today, just couldn't sleep any later. Out the door already, and it's not even 8. #
• 08:27 Great British summer / too short, too cold, what a lark / Venice, here I come. #
• 23:52 Left pub early to pack tonight before flying tomorrow, but ran into flatmate on way home. 7 pint later, feeling less optimistic about flying #

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Daily Twitter Update

• 07:27 Gah, what crawled into my mouth and died. #
• 07:42 Landlords finally replaced the broken toilet seat. Yay. #
• 09:18 How is it that "a couple drinks" always seems to turn into "closing the pub down"? Great evening with @ala1ne, @trisha_gee, and company. #

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Wonderful Sunday

I had such a wonderful day on Sunday, I feel like I should write about it.

Sunday morning, I wandered over to Patisserie Valerie, a French bakery restaurant a couple blocks from my flat. It was raining, but I took my umbrella. I got a pain au chocolat and a latte, and retreated back to my flat. I ate breakfast and played around on my computer for a bit, more or less killing time until 2, when I was meeting a couple co-workers and one of their partners for brunch. One of them is into photography as well, so we had made plans to go take photos if the weather was relatively decent. One o'clock rolled by, and I headed out to the tube to get down to Soho. We met for brunch at a place called the Breakfast Club. I had the "all American" for breakfast, which was pancakes with maple syrup, two fried eggs, a sausage, and some bacon. It was fantastically good. I haven't had pancakes and maple syrup since I was back in Vancouver in February. I'd forgotten how good bacon is too with maple syrup.
After our fantastic brunch, we decided that despite the fact that it was raining on and off, we'd go take photos. We caught a tube down to Chancery Lane, just on the edge of "the City", the core financial business district (or at least it used to be before Canary Wharf started to take over.) There's so little in the way of residential down there, and not a whole lot of touristy stuff, so it's practically a ghost town on the weekend, but there's plenty of opportunities for photography. There are some great buildings, and just all sorts of interesting things.
We wandered around there taking photos until around 6:30, at which point the rain picked up, and we found a pub to hole up in with drinks for a while. One of my co-workers, and her partner, headed home from there, and my other co-worker and I headed in the general direction of our respective homes, but decided to find a pub with decent food and have dinner and a couple more drinks. We found a nice pub near her flat, and we both ended up having the Sunday roast. It was, by far, the best pub roast I've ever had. The roast beef was cooked perfectly, with a nice pink middle. The roast potatoes were deliciously crispy on the outside, and not too hard, not too soft on the inside.
All in all, the day could hardly have been any better, even with the way it rained. Great scenery to see, wonderful photo ops, tasty food, but most importantly, excellent company and interesting conversations.

Moved

I'm all done moving. Cleaned the old place this evening, and got the deposit back from my landlord. Just need to go deposit the cheque, and everything is all done. It sure feels good.

5 digits

I have a 5 digit positive account balance. Wow. I think this is a first. Today was payday, so I logged into my online banking to check, and was absolutely shocked to see that it started with £10, followed by three more digits. It's not much over 5 digits, so it'll definitely drop below it again before the next payday, even if I don't buy a new laptop.
It just feels like such a momentous thing, even though it's just a number.
In other news, I got the keys to my new flat last night, and I'll be moving on Saturday. I can't wait.

Gatwick

It's 8:35 am, and I'm sitting in the Gatwick South terminal departures lounge waiting for my flight to begin boarding. Security was time consuming, as usual. I'm getting quite used to having my bag picked off the x-ray machine to be hand inspected. I simply travel with too many electronic devices in my hand baggage, it makes for a confusing picture on the x-ray machine, what with my netbook, camera, and all the assorted infrastructure of batteries, chargers, adapters, etc. Other than that, the day has been fairly uneventful. I arrived at Victoria station earlier than expected, and a Gatwick Express was just about to leave. I maanaged to run down the platform and hop on, then had to walk down the train through all the first class carriages before I could get to plebe class. There wasn't any seats free, so I ended up standing, but it's only a half hour trip, so it wasn't too bad. When I got to the airport, earlier than I'd expected, I went hunting for a coffee shop, and the first one I found was actually in the arrivals lounge. After a brief moment of deja-vu, I realized I was standing exactly where I was when Richard and Elizabeth met me on my arrival, just over a year ago. Richard got me a coffee from the same Costa I had my coffee at this morning.

I just popped into the WH Smith here in duty free to pick up a novel for my trip. I have a fairly long one on my iPhone that I've been reading, but I don't know how much time I'll spend sitting in the sun reading, so I figured I better get some backup. It's almost become a bit of a tradition for me now too, buying a novel in the duty free. I've been trying not to buy books, because it's just one more thing I'll have to deal with selling/shipping/donating when I move back to Vancouver, but I can't seem to help it. At least I've avoided used book stores, and my aversion to paying full price for books helps keep it to a minimum.

They should be announcing my gate for boarding shortly, so I'm going to post this and save the battery for watching some Battlestar Galactica on the flight.

Spain

This time tomorrow, I should be working my way through the lines at the airport in Madrid. I can't wait!

New Flat

Some of you may have heard, some of you won't have. I'm moving. I'm still staying in London, but I decided it's time to sample another neighbourhood, and try to find a more sociable flat in the process. I found one I liked last weekend, and they selected me from all the people they'd seen, which absolutely made my day. Heck, made my month. I looked at another one I liked a few weeks ago, but they picked someone else, so I was feeling a bit frustrated until this one came along. It's not in exactly the neighbourhood I was hoping for, but after having spent a few hours wandering around the neighbourhood, I'm liking it more and more. I've lost track of all the restaurants, coffee shops, stores, and such that I've encountered, but pretty much everything I need is within 5 minutes walk of the flat. Even Hyde park is only 5 minutes away. I can walk to the office in about half an hour, and it's the same distance to the climbing gym. If I'm lazy (or hungover, or it's raining) and take the tube, work is probably 15-20 minutes away.
The flat itself is interesting too. Starting with the ad and photos, it reminded me of the Burnaby house. When I got there and started meeting everyone, and getting a feel for the atmosphere and character of the place, it reminded me of it even more. I've since given deposit, and filled out all the paperwork, which I'll be giving to them this evening. I'll be starting to move on April 23rd, and I've given myself two weekends and the week between as overlap, so I can try to not stress out too much about actually getting all my stuff moved over. I've got a heck of a lot more than the suitcase full of clothes and computer parts that I arrived with.

One Year

It's hard to believe that I've been here a year, as of today. It's gone so quickly, and lasted so long. It's too early in the morning for me to think enough to write anything more right now.

Learning

I've been at this job now for about 9 months, and it's continually amazed me the entire time with how much I'm learning. A couple weeks ago, I started to once again feel the urge to write code even when I'm not at work, so I've been working on my long-term personal software project again. Looking back at some of the things I wrote last time I touched it, back in around September, I'm shocked at how wrongly I did things, and how easy it is to think up better ways to do it now. In just those 6 months, I've learned a phenomenal amount. I really don't know what I was thinking in not taking this job right away.

Bouldering

I just got back from an hour and a bit of bouldering today. I climbed from around 11:30am to 12:30, without any partner, so I was just bouldering. It was a good opportunity to work on some technique things I had been reading about, quiet feet and balance. I also tried backstepping a bit, but without someone to coach me, I don't really have any firm idea how I'm doing, other than that I think my footwork is improving a bit.

Expensive Books

I just saw an article about these books on sale. Yes, it's $116,530 for only 126 books, but oh, what books! First editions of all the Hugo and Nebula award winning books since 1953, with 95% of them signed by the authors, and all in "fine" or better condition. I've got shivers running up and down my spine at the thought of it.

iPod and Headphones

Well, I just found my iPod and headphones I thought I lost in Vancouver. They were in the pocket of a pair of pants I just put through the laundry. The headphones might be ok once they dry out, but I think the iPod has had it.

Beautiful Day

Beautiful Day, originally uploaded by Xenoc.

It's a beautiful day here today. The sun is shining, there's only a
light breeze, and it's just overcast enough to keep the heat in.

I woke up fairly early today, only a quarter of an hour later than I
get up for work, had a brief laze around the house, then went out for
my morning coffee, after a quick stop at McDonalds for breakfast.

After my coffee, I walked over to Westway, arriving just as the
climbing gym opened at 10am. Since I was on my own, bouldering was all
I could do without finding a partner. I started on the easiest
bouldering routes and was quite surprised how hard I found them. The
holds were smaller, and spaced much farther apart, than on even the 5+
walls I had been climbing. I only climbed for about half an hour, but
worked up a good sweat, and felt my hands starting to tire from the
small holds. I'm climbing with my coworker again tomorrow, so I didn't
want to overdo it today.

After climbing, I headed over to Notting Hill (yes, from the movie) to
explore the area, and to see a flat later. It's only a 15-20 minute
walk from work or Westway, just off the famous Portabello road and
it's market. I found a Cafe Nero, my favourite coffee shop, and
convinced them to make me an iced americano, even though it's not
something on the menu. They did a fine job of it, and I'm now enjoying
my cold beverage on a bench in a nice little park square a couple
blocks from the flat I'm going to see. The neighbourhood and location
seems ideal, and from the photos I've seen of the flat, it looks very
nice and fairly spacious. What remains then is to see if it's as nice
in person, and what I think of my potential flatmates, and vice
versa. That's at 1:30, so I'll be done there by the time any of you
north American readers are even out of bed.

I'm seeing another flat at 3:30. It's farther from work, about half
hour via the tube, but it's also in an area I like, one I walked
through a couple weeks ago, Little Venice it's called, because of the
couple canals that run through it. (Uhm, two police on horseback just
rode past. London is cool). The location and neighbourhood are nice,
though the room looks a bit small, so I'm not sure if it'll work out.
I seem to have acquired a shocking amount of "stuff" since I got here,
between stereo, computers, camera gear, and all the assorted boxes of
miscellaneous manuals, parts and such that go along with. I haven't
decided yet how I'm going to move, whether I'll hire a "man with a
van", or just make many trips on public transit with my two roller
suitcases full of stuff.

Climbing

Climbing last night was a blast. The first thing I had to do when I got there was pass my registration test, proving I know how to tie in properly and belay someone safely. That was a piece of cake after having been taught all that in the course on the weekend. After that, I got a monthly pass, and decided to kit up then and there. After pricing things out, if I go 30 times (that's only 3 1/2 months if I go twice a week), then buying the equipment was the same cost as renting, and I'll have had the advantage of better fitting shoes. If I'm going twice a week, then the monthly pass is slightly more than half the cost it would be to pay per session, plus it's a lot more convenient.
As far as the actual climbing went, I had so much fun. Having my own shoes, and being able to go barefoot in them seemed to help in a few spots. I was able to hold myself on my toes better than with the rental shoes. I tried a bunch of different grades. I did a F5 (YDS 5.7) and a F5+ (YDS 5.8) without too much difficulty, and managed to get up a F6a (YDS 5.9) using everything I had, including using my knee on one of the features. I got about halfway up a F6a+ (YDS 5.10a) before falling. There was an overhanging lip, with the next hold about a foot past the edge of the lip. The only handholds below the lip werr small, and on the underside of the lip, so it was hard to hold myself up against the wall with them, seeing as I was leaning out from the wall because of the lip. In addition, those hold were down at about navel level, when I was standing high enough to be able to reach the next hold past the lip. With my hands as tired as they were, when I let go of one to reach for the next hold, I just couldn't hold myself up, and fell off. I was too exhausted to even try again, but I might give it a try on the weekend.

Short Words That Rhyme With "Fail", and Their Homonyms

I have no idea why this suddenly popped into my head, but there are SO many.

ail
ale
bail
bale
dale
gale
gaol (is it pronounced the same as jail?)
hail
hale
jail
kale
mail
male
nail
pail
pale
quail
rail
sail
sale
tail
tale
vale
veil
whale
Yale (it's not Scrabble, so proper nouns count, says I)

Did I miss any?

Sore Arms

My forearms are still quite sore. I really hope they're ok by tomorrow, because I want to go climbing with my coworker after work on Wednesday.

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Climbing

Oh, and I forgot to mention. SOOOO sore! It'll definitely be a couple days before I'm capable of climbing again.

Second Day of Climbing

I had an incredible time climbing today. There was much more climbing today than there was yesterday, because we didn't need to spend all the time going over knots and belaying technique, we just jumped straight into the climbing. I fell for the first time today. It was really exhilarating to "fall" and not really go anywhere because of the rope. Having done it unintentionally once really improved my comfort level. On a harder route later, the last climb of the day, I fell more times than I could count at one particular problem before finally giving up and getting lowered down.
They use the French grading system here, I don't know what the climbing facilities in North America would use. I motored up a 3+ without much problem, and got up a 4+ with one slip, my first fall. I can see where a chalk bag would be useful, when hands and holds get sweaty and slippery. When I tried a 5, I was able to get up it, but did slip a couple times. I met my match quite solidly with a 5+ though. I wasn't able to get more than halfway up before I found a problem that I couldn't get past. I fell off the wall there more times than I could count before I finally gave up and got lowered down. I think if it wasn't at the end of the day, and my hands weren't so tired, I might have been able to do it. I'm hoping to have another go at that one next time I'm there.

Shocking

I can't believe the phone conversation I just had. A flatmate of mine who moved out back in December, and who I haven't talked to since (intentionally) just called me, wondering if I'd like to do something, go out for some food or drinks. I didn't really feel like it, but I also didn't really feel like making excuses, so I tried to be kind of non-committal without being rude. Then she said "oh, but, uh, there's one thing, uh, I don't have any money with me." She's managed to lock herself out of her sister's flat, where she's staying, and called me to go for dinner so I could pay for her. Now, if we'd been in touch, and were any sort of friends, that would be one thing, but she's calling out of the blue, asking for me to buy her dinner? I mean, ok, so she's locked out of her place, but I mean, that happened to her at least 3 times while she was living here, she needs to learn to stop misplacing her keys. I'm feeling a bit annoyed right now, because I feel so guilty for pulling the whole "I've been out all day, I just want to stay home and relax" thing, but what else am I supposed to do? I wish I'd never given her my number.

First Day Of Climbing

That was AWESOME! I even managed to (mostly) conquer my fear of heights to do the practice drops. I can't wait till tomorrow. I might even go on Monday after work to do the test, and do a bit of bouldering. I'll definitely need to buy some equipment pronto. :)

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I MUST Move

I really need to move. I got home from work today to find the door to my room open a crack. Apparantly the landlord has had someone by to install fire alarms, and let him into my room without asking or informing me. I'm pretty sure that's not legal. I'm fed up with this place, and the B.S. the landlord is always pulling.

Climbing Buddy

It looks like I may have found a climbing buddy already. One of my coworkers (my drinking buddy one) used to climb a lot, and when she heard I was taking a beginners course, said she's going to try to convince me to be her climbing buddy. Sounds great to me, it'll be good to have someone I can arrange to go with, rather that always having to just show up and hope someone's there to climb/belay with.

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After a suggestion from Krista and Ben that it could be a good way to meet people, I've signed up for a beginners climbing course at a sports complex near my office. They do have the ulterior motive of wanting one more qualified person to climb with when I move back It helps of course that I've always enjoyed climbing all over things. From my quick tour around the climbing walls, it looks like quite a well equipped place. The course is six hours long, three on Saturday and three on Sunday. I just hope I'm not too out of shape to be able to handle it. I'm really looking forward to it. Thanks for the idea you two.

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Someone asked me today how I'm liking my iPhone now that I've had of for a week. There are a lot of pros and cons. In no particular order:

Pros:
1. Google maps with GPS and directions, anywhere, anytime. Awesome. Pretty much the killer app for me.
2. Pretty good ebook reader. Can download PDB format books from any webserver (or. your own)
3. Looking up shop phone numbers, hours, location, etc, while out and about. Very handy.
4. Seamless switching from cellular data to wifi networks. At home or work, it uses wifi, everywhere else, it's 3G.

Cons:
1. Calendar event reminders have no snooze feature. I used this feature on the palm a tremendous amount. I even paid for an add-on that gave me 4 snooze buttons to snooze for different amounts of time. If I was getting dressed in the morning and noticed I was nearly put of clean socks, I would set an event for 7pm that day, shortly after I get home, to remind me to do laundry. If I worked late and wasn't yet home when it went off, I would simply hit snooze. On the iPhone, I have to go to the event, edit it, change the time on it, and save.
2. Battery life isn't phenomenal. It'll last all day if you're not using the data services TOO much. I almost killed it on Sunday.
3. Bluetooth sucks. All it works for is headsets. Rumour has it that you can do more of you jailbreak it, but I haven't tried the Bluetooth yet since.
4. No ability to select IMAP folder subscriptions. It also auto-expands any nested folders. What this means for me is that moving an email into my spam folder is incredibly painful, because I have to scroll down the folder list for a good 5 seconds to get to the spam folder.
5. Lack of copy-paste. Yes, I know everyone and their dog has complained about this, but it's damned annoying not having it. If I want to rearrange sentences in an email, forget it. (Since I jailbroke my iPhone, I've tried the clippy program, which does a decent job of hacking in a clipboard, but integrated functionality, without having to do something like jailbreaking would be much better.)
6. No background apps. This is a bit more impacting that it may at first sound like. In addition to apps not being able to run in the background, they can't seem to subscribe to timers or anything either, when they're not running. This makes SO many things impossible. A todo app with deadlines that reminds you when your deadline is approaching? Natch. RSS reader that automatically downloads articles from your feeds each morning? Natch. Very frustrating.

I'm sure there's more for both categories, but I'm tired of typing on the on screen keyboard. It's tolerable, but that's as much credit as I'm willing to give it.

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Canada Trip: Part 1

(written on the plane on the way back)

What an incredible two weeks this has been. I'm now only 1000km away from London, looking back at two weeks spent with family and friends in Kelowna, at Silverstar, and back in the city I love so much, Vancouver. Watching Vancouver's lights get smaller and smaller beneath us as we gained altitude was so heart wrenching it nearly brought me to tears. There's no doubt in my mind at all that I need to move back there one day.

Two weeks ago, on January 24th, I flew out of London Heathrow airport to visit home for two weeks. Everything about the flight was calm and uneventful, and i unexpectedly ended up with a window seat right behind the wing, my favourite spot. The only negative thing about the flight was that the plane didn't have screens in the seat backs. They had the plastic bevels for them, but Air Canada had cheaped out on getting the actual screens, so thee was just a panel of fabric there instead. There were three in-flight movies shown on the other screens, but I only remember the one I watched, Mama Mia. At one point in the flight, I looked out the window just as we were crossing the foothills. Directly ahead were the jagged peaks of the Rockies, every bit as beautiful from above as the are from the ground. That moment, seeing the Rockies, was the moment I knew I was home again.

We arrived in Vancouver nearly an hour ahead of schedule due to favourable winds, but all that time, and then some, was chewed up waiting in the lineup at immigration. Carrying two bottles of scotch and one of sherry from duty free as well as my carry on bag was incredibly uncomfortable as the line never quite stopped long enough to put things down for a minute, and the duty free bags were cutting into my hands. It was so nice to finally be through that, and able to get my luggage and stuff the duty free in it. I had hoped to meet up with Jenn briefly before catching my flight to Kelowna, but the lineups ruined any chance of that, so I headed directly to my departure area, and waited there. While I waited, I looked for somewhere to eat, and found a White Spot very close. I had a wonderful pint of Granville Island Pale Ale, the first beer I'd been served cold since I left, and a BC chicken burger.

The flight to Kelowna was also uneventful. I was again in a window seat behind the wing, and this time, the seats did have screens, so I queued up some Styx from the music library, and listened to that on the way. When I finally arrived at my final destination, Kelowna, my sister was waiting there for me with a great big hug. She drove me back to my parents' house for the grand reunion with my parents and grandparents. By this time, it was 3am for me, but I forced myself to stay awake until 9:30 (5:30am to me) to try to adjust to the timezone change. I was a bit groggy, but not completely out of it, the next day, so I think it worked well enough.

I spent a wonderful four and a half relaxing days in Kelowna with my family. My car was insured and on the road so I was able to do a bit of driving, though I didn't do nearly enough of it. However, I probably could have spent the entire four days driving the car around, and it still wouldn't have felt like enough. My grandma brought down loads of her wonderful baking for us all to enjoy, and my mom cooked all my favourite homemade meals, so I ate unbelievably well the whole time I was there.

After that time in Kelowna, I borrowed one of the cars with winter tires to drive up to Silverstar for the annual ski trip. I was the first one to arrive, so I checked in for the group, made sure the hot tub was hot and settled in to eat dinner (leftovers from my grandma) and wait for the rest of the group to arrive. People arrived throughout the evening, from Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton, Parksville, and San Fransisco. It was so incredible to see everyone again after so long away. Quite a few of them I hadn't seen since the ski trip last year. I was there with them for three and a half days, played lots of crib some board games, spent lots of time in the hot tub, skied for one morning, and went ice skating. Having to leave after only three and a half days to catch up with everyone was painful. That's not nearly enough time to spend with more than a dozen people I haven't seen in almost a year. There was a bit of excitement with vehicles leaving the ski hill. One vehicle was stuck in the foot of snow the hill had received while we were there, and had to be towed out. Thankfully, one of the vehicles there was an off-road equipped jeep, with big knobbly tires and a winch. Getting the vehicle out was a piece of cake, with that.

On the way back, I was driving my parents' car as far as Kelowna, where I was dropping it off, and changing into a friend's Mazda. However, on the way down from the ski hill, as I was following, I smelled what I thought was overheating brakes, so I radioed ahead to my friends to see if they smelled it. They did not, so we all assumed that meant it was my brakes, so I drove the rest of the way down the hill without hardly touching the brakes, until we pulled in to a parking lot to let my brakes cool. As the other vehicle pulled in however, they realized that there was smoke coming out from their wheel well, so it wasn't me after all. It turns out something had seized, and one of the belts was heating up and smoking. At least, that's what it looked like, but we played it safe, and called Mazda, as the car was still under warranty, and had it towed to Kelowna, the nearest Mazda dealership. We all piled into my car and drove to Kelowna while waiting to hear from the dealership about how long it would take to fix the car. We had lunch there, and then found out that all the dealership had to do was cut the belt to the air conditioning compressor (the part that had seized) and the car was able to be driven again. This was excellent news for the car's owner, because they're from Vancouver Island, and needed to get it back there for repairs, so they wouldn't have to find a way to get it back from Kelowna. It also meant we could drop of my parents' car, pile back in the Mazda, and carry on our way, only a few hours behind schedule. All in all, it was probably one of the least inconvenient ways that it could have broken down.

My time in Vancouver was incredibly packed. On arriving late Monday evening, I was dropped off at a friend's Mazda shop in North Vancouver, which was on the way to the ferry for the friends I was travelling with. Chris, the shop owner, and I went for dinner in Burnaby, at Swiss Chalet, and I had what used to be called the Messy Chicken Sandwich, which is basically bread with chicken on it, smothered with gravy. From there we took my luggage to Richmond with me, to my friend Jenn's house where I was staying, before going bowling.

(more to come another time)

Weekend

I'm so happy that the weekend is finally here. I do have some things planned for Sunday, but it's still going to much calmer and quieter a weekend than any of the past three, what with the trip back home to Canada and all. Last night, not feeling entirely my best, I went out to Sound, the club where Iris was having her going away party on here last night on London. One of her coworker, Jodi, is in a band, Foxi, that was playing their debut gig there. They were really good, I'd love to go to another of their gigs. I ended up heading home "early", at around midnight, so I could catch the tube instead of the night bus. Having had only four hours of sleep the night before, I was quite tired.
Today I had my coffee an muffin for "breakfast", around 1 pm, then went out to the mall to get some headphones to replace the ones I lost on the way home from the ski trip. I had bought cheap replacements in Vancouver, but I got what I paid for. Whenever I walk, the vibration of the cable rubbing of the cable on my jacket is horribly amplified in the earpieces because the plastic the cables are made of is too stiff. Anyway, the new ones I got today seem much better, and they have a microphone and iPod controls which is nice with my new iPhone.

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Quarterly Business Review

Every three months at work, we have a long meeting with everyone on the company where we go over how the company has done over the last quarter, and see what's planned for the next. So far, they have all involved dinner and drinks afterword, on the company. Yesterday was no exception. After the nearly three hour long meeting, we went to the pub near the office for dinner, and a few drinks. A few drinks eventually turned into being kicked out at midnight when they closed up the pub. A few of us then decided, possibly unwisely, that the night was yet young, so we took a cab down to Soho and found a nice loungy sort of place. At one point in the evening when we were nearly the only people there, one coworker asked them to turn the music off, which they did, so she could jam on the piano. She did that for a while, which was very nice, but they too eventually closed, leaving us out on the street. We spent a bit of time in a club nearby that turned out to be a bit dodgy, so we called it a night and all three of us hopped into a cab to do the circuit our flats to drop us each off. By the time I got home it was four in the morning. Today it's been a bit of a trial to stay awake, and I'm supposed to be meeting Iris and Sonja for Iris' going away party at (yet another) club in Soho. I don't think it will be nearly as long a night.

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Friday the 13th

Today is the day that my UK mobile phone number is supposed to be switched over from Tesco Mobile to O2, to use it on my new iPhone. I sure hope everything goes smoothly, given the date.

Test From iPhone

Test post.

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Check SIM Card

"Check SIM Card" is what my Palm Treo has been saying on and off since I got back from the ski trip. I dropped the phone once (I've dropped it dozens of times) and it seems to have broken something this time. It keeps losing connectivity with the SIM card, so then it can't talk to the network, so it's not working very well as a phone.
I had enough of it on Tuesday so I went out and bought an iPhone. (Queue laughter, finger pointing, and general making fun of Derek) I'm "satisfied" with it so far, though by no means "thrilled". I would have liked to wait for the new Palm Pre, but that won't be out as a GSM model until at least October, and the software I'd like probably won't all be available until sometime next year, so I needed something in the interim. Who knows, maybe I'll grow to love the iPhone with time, despite it's faults, like an adorable one-eyed cat I once knew.

Bovril

I had Bovril on toast for breakfast today for the first time in goodness knows how long. At least since before I moved over here. Mmm tasty. It goes surprisingly well with an americano.

Choices

Life throws a lot of choices at a person. Sometimes they're hard choices, like whether to take the slow bus that showed up first, or wait for the express bus. Other times they're easy, like which to pour: Lagavulin or Laphroaig. Life is good.

Fixed

Well, it wasn't cheap, but my computer is fixed and all working nicely again, so I feel much better. However, my phone is constantly "forgetting" it has a SIM card in it, so it's barely even functioning as a phone any more. Hrmf. The Palm Pre I want isn't going to be out until October, and probably won't have all the software I need until next year, so I'm seriously considering a *gasp* iPhone. If the stupid things had an SD card slot, and the calendar event reminders had a snooze button, I'd be racing to get one right now, but I'm trying to weigh the pros and cons and see if I can live without those two things.

Horrible timing

I was going to write a post all about how awesome my vacation was, but I'm too tired and pissed off now. I got home, and to try to stay awake, was going to play some Fallout 3, but my computer had other ideas. It turns out that while I was away, there had been a power outage. I turned my computer back on, ignored the slight bit of graphics oddness I noticed, wrote a couple emails, then ended up chatting with a flatmate in the kitchen for a while. When I came back in, my computer was locked up solid. When I reboot it, I get completely scrambled video, and sometimes it randomly reboots. The video card is hot enough to the touch that it nearly burns. Looks like it got cooked while I was away. Damnit, I really didn't need to be buying more computer parts right now. Besides, now how the hell am I going to keep myself awake?

24 Hours

24 hours from now I should be sitting comfortably in an Airbus A330-300, watching London disappear below me. 10 hours later, I'll be back in Vancouver, enjoying the smell of the sea air and watching the rain (or snow, if the forecast is correct) pour down.

Phantom of the Opera

I just got an email confirming my ticket purchase for Phantom of the Opera on Thursday evening. Yay! Amusingly, when I saw it in Vancouver, it was at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, and here in London it's playing at Her Majesty's Theatre. Funny little coincidence.
Tonight for dinner I finally decided to have some more of the Fauchon terrine I brought back from Paris. I had to stop at Tesco on the way home from work anyway (to look for Bovril. They didn't have any) so I got a small French loaf while I was there. I've finished the tin of wild boar terrine, and I'm on the rabbit one now. Soooo tasty.
I other news, OMG 4 days, 16 hours until I get on the plane! But, I mean really, who's counting.

Saturday

Well, it seems my my anti-hangover plan works. I'm amazed, considering how much I mixed drinks last night. I started off with a sangria with dinner, at a great little Spanish tapas place. Once Sonja and I met up, I had a couple pints of beer, then a gin and tonic, a strawberry daiquiri, and a few JD & Coke. Isn't mixing things like that supposed to lead to horrible hangovers? Well, it didn't thankfully. :)

Friday Night

What a Friday night. 2 pubs, one cocktail bar, and one nightclub. 7 hours, uncounted drinks, arriving home at 3am. I quite enjoyed myself tonight. Saturday should be interesting. We'll see how well my anti-hangover plan works.

Cold Weather

Cold weather sure is hard on batteries. It was -3°C yesterday, which may not be all that cold really, but it's cold for batteries. In my wandering around from 10am until 5pm, even though I didn't take that many photos, I went through all three of my camera batteries, something I've never done before in a single day. Next time I plan a photo-outing day that's cold like that, I may have to try keeping the unused one in my pocket, see if keeping them warm helps any. I suspect though that they'll get cold quickly enough once they're out of my pocket and in the camera that it won't have any effect. Mind you, I've had these batteries for nearly 4 years now, I wonder if the batteries aren't holding as much charge as they did new.
On another note, I had a wonderful wander yesterday. I went to St. James Park, Buckingham Palance, the Parliament Buildings, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey, though I didn't go into any of the buildings. At least the first three, members of the public aren't allowed in.

Saturday, 11am GMT

It's 11am Saturday morning, and I'm sitting in a Caffe Nero on Regent Street in London, enjoying a large Chai Latte. In my pocket is a ticket to the 5pm show of Avenue Q. Life is good.
I left the house at around 8:30 this morning, which is pretty much a normal working day time for me. I had breakfast at McDonalds, then went next door to a Caffe Nero for my morning coffee, and relaxed with my book for a bit. I tubed down to the half price ticket booth at Leicester Square and stood in line for about half an hour to get my ticket. It's rather chilly this morning, with the slightest hint of snowflakes blowing on the wind. I've brought my camera bag and netbook out with me today, so I'm hoping it warms up a little bit, so I can wander around, enjoy the scenery, and take photos, between now and the show.

New Office Commute

I clocked my commute to the new office today, since it's the first time I haven't stopped off somewhere else (Costa, for coffee) on the way in. Today's the fastest it'll ever be, because the bus was at my bus stop when I got there, and it was the express bus, so it's faster than the other. 30 minutes, door to desk. The old office was 45 on a good day. I've already started putting the extra time to good use by running or doing exercises in the morning, trying to get in shape for the ski trip, so I can ski for a couple days like I did last year.