Current view

I missed the 6:40 ferry by 5 minutes... but bumped into a friend on a
patio, had a beer, and am on the 8:40 ferry right now with 2 other
friends. The sunset view was worth the wait!

I think we might have a mouse problem

I came into the kitchen today to see a rather suspicious scene.


This is what I saw when I got down on the floor and looked under the dresser:



So that's where all those toys went!

I fished out everything I could with a coathanger...


...but there are still lots of goodies under there!

Could I possibly trouble you...

Erm, here's a link for my readers. Especially those based in BC.

if you wouldn't mind...

could you possibly...

only if you want to...

if it's not too much trouble...

Gaah, being British sucks sometimes! And Canadians are too polite to help me get over it.

OK, I'm gonna try the American way.

"Please nominate my blog".

"Thank you".

(Sorry to bother you)

Tuesday pet peeve

I don't know why everyone's so negative about Mondays. I like Mondays. I come in all fresh and well rested, chat to various colleagues about their weekends, and settle into work full of enthusiasm and motivation. I spend my lunch break stocking up on milk, fruit, and other supplies to get me through the rest of the week, and have a very productive day.

(Mostly).

Wednesdays are hump days, which is nice. On Thursdays the weekend is in sight, with a pay cheque every second week, and then Fridays are usually the most relaxed day of the week, with coffee dates and longer lunches.

It's the Tuesdays that get me.

Tuesdays are busy but generally unproductive days, with endless meetings and emails and additions to my to-do list. I'm no longer quite so fresh and enthusiastic, tend to get bogged down in admin and crisis-of-the-week issues, and the weekend is still days away.

So it's a good day to start what may or may not become a recurring series of Tuesday posts.

Today's Pet Peeve:

"Regular" does not mean "Frequent".

How often do you see a questionnaire with options labelled "Never, Occasionally, Regularly, Always"?

"Regular" means that an event occurs at, well, regular, predictable intervals. That can mean once an hour, once a day, once a year, once a century, or once a millenium. It does not tell you anything at all about the frequency of the event.

A plague of constipation upon people who misuse the word "regular".

A Mad Tea Beer Party

I got to meet another of my favourite bloggers yesterday! (That's three blog meet-ups now, and they've all been great. I highly recommend it).

This time it was Mad Hatter's turn. She's in town for a few days, and had a long enough window in her busy schedule that I got to take her kayaking! It was a very windy day for this time of year, so my promised "leisurely paddle no more than 20 metres from the beach" turned into a solid two hour workout, during which we had to fight to get the boat to turn back towards shore from the middle of the harbour. But despite being a novice kayaker, Mad Hatter paddled like a pro and didn't let the wind or waves phase her. She even claimed to enjoy herself! No eagles out yesterday unfortunately, but we did spot a seal, some cormorants, a tern, and assorted gulls.

Meeting a blogger is a bit of a weird experience, with elements of both a blind date and a catch-up with an old friend. You really can get a decent impression of what someone's like from their blog, and indeed Mad Hatter was much as I expected her to be - smart, funny, and with lots of common ground to talk about! Our animated conversation about blogging, science, pets, and life in general continued after the kayaking, on Vancouver's best patio...


...and the four hours we spent together simply flew by.

Thanks mate! I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay!

Unanswered questions:

• How did Massimo guess who I was meeting on his first try?
• What would his other two guesses have been?

Dear Morgan,

It was an absolute pleasure to meet you last night.

Your Mum told me she'd try to hold on until I got back from my trip, but you came out to join the world while I was still away. That's OK though - she'd waited a long, long time for you, with far too much heartbreak along the way.

And now that you're here, I just wanted to tell you that you have the best parents a little girl could wish for. They can't wait to take you home so you can start life as a family. (I'm sorry you had to see your Dad's cheesy Star Wars themed birth video on only your second day in the world, but I suppose it's just as well; you're going to have to get used to it. Content yourself with the knowledge that you already have more hair than him).

Speaking of family: beyond your parents and your furry siblings, you have a huge extended family of friends and relatives who are very excited that you're finally here. You'll be seeing a lot of us! I will be your babysitter and your diaper changer, your Auntie and your friend, and I've already signed up to go on your first outings to the aquarium and Science World.

So much fun lies ahead! I can't wait to get to know you.

All my love,

Auntie Cath

Morgan says "YAY!" \o/

Where in the world is Cath this weekend?

Guesses in the comments please! I'll add more photos later if you're stumped.


Second photo now added - people already have the right answer, but I wanted to show you what the rest of the fence looks like!