August 2005 Archives

It's phenomenal to me how rainy it is in Edmonton this summer. Many people up here have told me it's the rainiest summer in 16 years, and I'd certainly believe that. It seems like it rains 4 to 5 days out of a week minimum. Alberta is supposed to be Big Sky Country, but it's hard to appreciate that when completely socked in. I am at work right now, and i haven't seen a soul since I got here except for the odd parts customer. It's pretty darn slow.

I had the university send out some cleaning people to take care of the fridge and the cupboards which were absolutely filthy. In the process, they managed to fry the oven and range. So the last two days I have been eating salads and pizza. Unbelievable. The damage was so extensive and involving exotic parts that they are going to have to provide a small loaner range/oven for me to use for the next two months. Despite that, at least I am getting the place fixed up a little. The electrician scared me today though. The building is older and has no elevator, sprinkler system, etc. One kitchen fire, and I could be in a world of trouble. Needless to say, I was thinking about lowering my insurance deductable.

Well, my time of having a car is nearly done, and I am really going to miss it. Edmonton is really best experienced with a car, sadly. The bus service is really lousy around here and I will miss the convenience of going easily down Calgary Trail and getting groceries. Of course, with parking at my apartment costing $65 a month, I really can't afford to be driving right now either. Maybe if I get lucky and win the lottery, I'll be able to afford the $1.03/litre gas around here.

I spent the last days of the week wining and dining through four Canadian national parks, and the associated cities nearby where we stayed. It was actually the first time that I have been to Yoho or Glacier National Park. It was really an entertaining experience. We had beautiful weather for the most part, right up until the very last day. I am happy to say that I viewed the entire experience as a positive one. We saw very little wildlife for the entire trip, but what we did see was fun and unusual. We saw bear cubs playing in the ditch on the Icefields Parkway and a fox on highway 16. We also saw the usual compliment of bighorn sheep and elk. From the people that we spoke to, we did better than most visiting the park. It was warm, so the working theory is that most animals fled to higher and cooler elevations.

I have some fantastic pictures from the trip which I plan on posting in the next few days. Pictures of the bear cubs are probably pointless as what I got is just sufficient enough to show that we did in fact see a bear. Sadly, we were a little slow in getting the camera out. However, we got some great mountain shots which I plan on posting for fun. I had desperately needed to get out of Edmonton, and I think this trip was almost therapeutic in nature. It certainly was from a culinary perspective; I ate at a wonderful Greek restaurant named “Something Else” as well as a great Irish place in Banff. At that Irish place, mom ordered a seafood boxty that was incredible. I heartily recommend either place for fantastic cuisine. We also ate at “The Keg” last night, and that was terrific too. My steak there was amazing, as usual.

My move to my apartment is now nearly complete. My mom took one look at it and decided that we’d just stay in a hotel and eat out. Despite that reaction, I remain confident that it will work out with some work and TLC. It’s going to have to – the Edmonton Coast Plaza hotel is wonderful to stay in, but a little expensive to make a habit out of. It sounds like we have secured a futon for the room, and with that and a small dresser, I should be in business. I need to make some serious money this fall and a decent amount for the rest of the summer. I still have a bit of time left.

I have a hard time believing how much I have to do to get set up for this coming school year. I still have yet to complete my registration for the coming year, despite the fact that my confirmation payment of $150 is due on the fifteenth. I also need to secure insurance for my apartment some time this week. Sometimes I look at my future plans and it’s overwhelming. I have little time, and so much that I need to get done.

Well, it wasn't that bad, but the night went badly. I spent the weekend at my Uncle's place in Southern Alberta and I could feel it then! That ticklish raw feeling at the back of my throat. It was just enough to know that something was horribly wrong. By Monday that feeling had evolved into complete and utter illness -- by my standards, anyway. By that evening, after the obligatory seven hours imprisoned on the slow moving soulcrusher (Greyhound), I was thoroughly defeated. I felt exhausted, and my throat was now as sore as it gets. After discussing matters with the RN of the family (mom), I decided to get a thermometer, which meant I had to leave the house again.

Sure enough, the thermometer revealed a healthy temperature of 39 C. I was burning up. But I had to go and let the people over at the office know that I couldn't pick up the keys till the following day. I was in no shape to move. While walking over there, I did some I could only do while fevered. I locked the keys in the car. Forty five minutes on the cellphone, an hour of standing in the rain later, and $81 CAD paid to AMA, I was back in my vehicle on the way home. What a night...

In any case, tomorrow I must wake up relatively early so that I can move all of my junk over to the new place. The room over there looks very small, so I am more than a little nervous that I won't have enough room. I suppose I'll find out in a few days. It's a weird setup. I have keys for my room, the suite (4 bedroom), and for the building. It's basically a 4 bedroom appt with two bathrooms. Only one of the bathrooms has a shower, however. I chose it because I wasn't responsible for the rent on the enitre suite, just the bedroom I have. We'll see if it works. My lease is month to month, so I can bail out at the end of September if it doesn't fly.