I know I have touched on each of our children separately as well as my wife. But combined they create Quality Time together that makes me Appreciate Them. Except when they hang up on me at MarioKart.
Plus we have done Visits with Extended Family. At the start of my blogging, there was my Online Family that made me feel welcomed. Over the years, we extended to our Con Family and made great connections.
I love my family. As I mentioned, it has also extended beyond my wife and kids. Tomorrow I want to share about the family we chose- Pets.
Over the years I spent a lot of time writing about my experience with Alcohol. I’m most proud of the fact I have been now over One Year Sober approaching 18 months now. I did enjoy drinking over the years, but for my physical and mental health, I wanted to stop. I had done Sober September for three years in a row to get started.
Years were spent stopping in at various breweries, specialty enjoying Local Breweries such as Locality, Dead Frog and my personal favorite- Trading Post which can be found written about multiple times. Including Oktoberfest shenanigans.
I always knew it would have to come to an end, looking back at 2016’s But I Like Beer. But I also did a few stunts as the Designated Driver- Dinner Train.
All of that aside, I look back fondly on most of the experiences with alcohol. Yet I know I needed to step back from indulging in excess. For now, I plan to continue in it drinking. Maybe one day that will change.
Drinking often goes hand in hand with food. So I want to share some of my Greatest Food Hits tomorrow!
Over the years, we have had a ton of fun adventures. Mostly with my family and various road trips and vacations. Here are some of our experiences.
More often than not, we end up at Disneyland. Our favorite time was at Halloween in Disneyland. We were sad that Covid had hampered our travel plans, but we still planned a trip Back in 2021 and got excited to finally get there in 2022.
For years I have loved movies and shows. So much so that I love to pretend I am that character from time to time. We even got our kids involved at a young age. Our two oldest continue to create costumes and cosplay.
A first off, we have met some amazing cosplayers over the years- 2016 Cosplay. A long time ago I made a Hudsucker Proxy outfit. Last weekend, our 19 year old wore it to a convention. Three weeks ago, our other adult kid was busy making a cosplay for the same show: Cosplay Roots. Years ago, my middle and I went out to piece together a last minute Costume for her: Looking For a Costume.
We used to attend numerous comic conventions because of my wife’s business. Many times we would create a Last Minute Costume. My wife has always been a fun loving woman who has enjoyed dressing up with me since we first met: Costumes Are Fun
Halloween is also a time of costume making. Dressing up for Halloween has always been a favorite pastime: Get Those Costumes Ready. One year I spent hours and hours creating my Skesis.
Cosplay and Costumes are a great way to express yourself and share your fandoms with the world. Getting creative with our kids was great as well. Conventions and Halloween always brought me joy. But so did tomorrow’s topic: Christmas.
Ok folks. I am starting the final countdown to blog writing retirement with a tribute to some links regarding vehicles. Mostly because I’m still in the honeymoon phase of getting a new car. Feel free to click the links I share to see some of my favorite blogs related to Vehicles.
Teaching my kids to drive in the Nissan Rogue and Honda Element was a stressful, yet joyful experience. When our oldest got their license, it meant a lot. Check out N. Then our second was up for the challenge of driving: Road Worthy. Finally, our son was there as well: Driving Test.
I also did many things to the Honda Element over the years. My favorite was camperizing it: Camperizing Our Honda Element. A year after that, I made my own custom roof rack: Roof Racks
Our Nissan Pathfinder brought us so much joy during the time we owned it. We took so many road trips and had great times as a family doing camping or watching movies at the drive-in. I wrote a great farewell blog back in 2018 devoted to our car. Some great pictures as well: Pathfinder LE
Of course I can’t talk about the vehicles without talking more about how long we would drive for. Besides sharing numerous blogs while on a road trip, this one shared about the time spent driving: Off To Fort St John.
Besides all of those stories, plus my recent development of getting a new car for Valentine’s Day 2024, I am sharing one last story.
Today I got the back windows tinted on my new car. I came to a place called Brookswood Tint. The business has been around for 30+ years with great reviews. The current fellow doing the work has owned the business for five years, but had been an apprentice since 2008. So I trusted the work that he was going to do.
My new car looks fantastic. I highly recommend Brookswood Tint. Friendly and fast and amazing work was done. We talked about cars in general and traveling to Asian countries. We also talked about the Fine Arts School (he graduated in 2007) and the community in general. I enjoyed watching a master at work who does a great job and takes pride in their work.
So that’s most of what I have to write about vehicles today. Tomorrow I will share my favorite blogs about Board Games.
Today I did probably the last thing I really need to do to get over the loss of my Rogue. I had to remove it from the Bluetooth list in my iPhone.
Kind of sad to see it go. No longer to connect instantly as I started up my car. But then again, I am no longer able to start up the Rogue. Moving on from something so simple as a car is strange in a way. I wasn’t quite ready to let it go, yet the time had come.
It’s unfortunate that the last image I have of my car is of the front end removed. I’d rather remember it the way it looked brand new. In pearl white, without a single blemish.
That’s better. A sleek looking vehicle that brought me years of joy. Ranging from my daily commute to backroad camping adventures to road trips across western North America. Every chip and pit on the paint was from somewhere I went. Every time I replaced the windshield was because of a projectile en route to where I was heading. A couple hundred thousand kilometers of all the nicks and dents were from me. Including that last one that sent my car off the road for ever.
I went with a sedan style vehicle this time. After having driven an SUV since 2003, owning a car is different for me. I wanted a reliable vehicle that has good gas mileage and some modern comforts.
I went with a 2022 Nissan Sentra SV. There are heated seats, lane assist, Apple Car Play, remote start, and a few other niceties that I like. We got it for a decent price compared to other cars of the same year and mileage available for similar models. The Richmond dealership was a pleasure to work with. Once everything is finalized and they do the last detailing, etc- I’ll be picking it up on Valentine’s Day! My wife’s gift to me this time around.
Now I am going to match my wife’s Nissan Sentra, only newer. We have HIS AND HERS matching cars. She wants to keep her 2017 Sentra SR with low miles, as it is her baby. I need to make this Blue Sentra SV my own.
The new car needs a name this time around. Previously we just spoke of our cars as the make that they were. Pathfinder, Element, Rogue, Sentra… My new car also needs a personality. Our Element was Lego. The Rogue was Rogue One: Star Wars. And my wife’s Sentra is Powerpuff Girls themed.
I’m thinking Sonic The Hedgehog or Yondu. Maybe something related to the swimming pool- Blue Bayou (a little adult Disneyland theme). Maybe Doctor Who Tardis- call it My Cardis. Or continue with my love of Star Wars and call it Car-2D2.
Looking for advice people! I can’t wait to get the car home and drive it daily.
Today I really had to go and say goodbye to my beloved Rogue One. I was sadder than I expected considering it’s just a car. But it was my car and I displayed within it my love of Star Wars.
Seeing it dismantled kind of sucked. Knowing that it will never be put back together, and that it is being sent away as scrap bothered me a bit. At least today I was able to do one last sweep of my belongings and say farewell to a trusted friend.
No Mo’ Rogue
As with all things that come to an end, I wish there was more that I could have done to prevent this. But hindsight is 20/20. For a vehicle that I owned for a little over seven years, it did me quite well. Plenty of road trips had with this vehicle. And plenty of car sickness- even on the first day my son threw up in the car. These are the memories I’ll cherish most.
Now to find a new form of transportation. I’m sure something will sing to me. Perhaps a sequel to Rogue One or maybe a prequel. I’ll know soon enough. But nothing will ever be the same as my SLAwd.
After an assessment of the damage I did to the front end of my car, it was deemed to be $14,500 in repairs. My insurance said, no way- write it off. An unexpected purchase of a new car is happening. I need this future car for my commute to work.
I am shying away from the SUV market now. We have owned a 2003 Honda Element, 2008 Nissan Pathfinder and a 2016 Nissan Rogue. All of them have been amazing and exactly what we needed over the years. But time to look at saving costs on gas.
I don’t really know what kind of car I should buy. But I’m leaning towards a sedan style. Something basic, with a few little luxuries. Heated seats, AC, Apple CarPlay, navigation. That sort of thing.
As much as I want a new car RIGHT NOW, I actually have a bit of time to shop around. I have access to the use of a couple of cars in our household, so that helps. My urgency in getting a new car isn’t that bad.
Any advice on a commuter car that I could squeeze into? Preferably not a hatchback or station wagon. I’m also unsure about buying electric. Also, I’m waiting for the settlement amount, so my budget hasn’t been set yet. But I’m thinking $25k Canadian at this time.
Let me know what kind of cars you like or don’t like. New or used. I need some help.
The past few days my commute home has taken twice as long. Traffic has been unpleasantly busy.
I spent far too much time staring at taillights. This is not my idea of fun. Yet somehow I had to waste hours on the same stretch of road repeatedly this week.
Getting home later than usual meant my free time was cut into heavily. My work week is over, so no more long hours driving required. I plan on waking up early and having full days off.
I do a lot of thinking on my drive home. It gives me time to clear my thoughts before getting home. Long commutes make me appreciate the sanctity of my home and free time.
My wife was out of town last weekend with my son for a speed skating competition. For three days I was at home watching a lot of television. She came home late Sunday night and I was late getting home from work yesterday. It felt like we hardly saw each other.
That’s also because my wife left today for a work retreat to Whistler. She will be gone until Friday night. I still have to go to work tomorrow, so not seeing her for that time is fine.
But it’s the moments away from work that I miss her most. Calling her on my drive home, sitting at the table for dinner, hanging on the couch before bedtime, listening to her breathing down my neck while she sleeps. These are the sensations that make me miss her most of all.
It may only be a couple of hours so far, but I am looking forward to when she returns. Lee-Anne is my best friend. But I do hope she enjoys her time away.
I’m really proud of our son. He competed in four races this weekend in the Fort St. John Long Track Championships. He placed 2nd overall- earning himself a Silver Medal!
Theory and Beth
This past weekend was also a chance for him to skate alongside some friends of his that he has made over the years. Since his start in 2010, he has traveled around Canada competing in Long Track and Short Track Speed Skating events. Over the years he has met numerous people and has created lasting bonds with them.
Theory has also garnered quite the cult following of fans at these competitions. Many younger skaters admire him because of his kindhearted mannerisms. We have also been told that Theory is very “coachable” and takes the advice of coaches without hesitation.
I’m always proud of our children’s successes. Their hard work, drive and passion comes through in the end. Congratulations Theory for a strong and successful weekend!
This weekend my son and wife flew to Fort St. John. Not exactly a sunny destination in the winter. But our son is competing in a Long Track Championship. He has two races today. A 500m and a 1500m. He already finished his first race.
This weekend I get to enjoy watching our son from afar. They are streaming the competition on YouTube. Similar to how the Calgary Olympic Oval does. The camera angles follow the skaters around the course allowing those of us watching on YouTube to see more than being live in person.
I have been up to Fort St John with my wife and son a few times. It’s a really nice facility and a decent little town. However, I don’t see myself getting up there anymore- which I am totally fine with. Over the years our son has competed numerous times and has attended various camps in order to train and get better.
He is soon reaching adulthood and will be able to go out on his own to these competitions if he so chooses. I can still watch in the comfort of my own home, or even on the go.
This weekend- I wish him all the best in his Long Track races. And a safe return home.
My wife and son are in Calgary this weekend once more for a long track speed skating meet. This is the Oktoberfest Classic at the Calgary Olympic Oval. My son is still trying to get a qualifying time to get to another out of town competition.
So far he has gotten himself a couple of season’s best times. Just on the cusp of needing his qualifying time for the next competition. I keep on watching and hoping that he gets them.
Watching the live feed from home is great. I am able to share the YouTube link with my mother on Vancouver Island as well. I have it on our television at home. Each of his races I am also doing a screen capture and sending the footage to my wife and our son. In turn they are watching it and sending it to his coach back home. His coach is more of a short track coach, but some of the logistics are similar.
I want him to do well at these competitions. Not because of the money it costs to travel and stay out of town, but because it’s something he is passionate about. He is always trying to do his best and you can see it in how he skates.
During these competitions, I don’t tend to talk with him. Partly because he has his own routine to get himself psyched for a race. The other reason is I don’t want him to second guess his strategies that work for him. Once they return home, then we can talk.
His next out of town meet is in about a month, and again, I will watch it from afar. Still cheering him on and hoping for success on his behalf.
Last night my wife and I went to a friend’s place to play a board game and have dinner. These are a couple of coworkers of mine from CN Rail. Naturally we spoke about work, much to my wife’s chagrin. But we tried to keep it to a minimum.
However we did play one of my wife’s favorite tabletop games- Ticket to Ride: Europe. It’s a game of setting up tracks between cities in Europe. The goal is to earn points through “Tickets” that start at one city and end at another. Some of the tickets are nearby one another, other can stretch across the entire board. You can also block people from connecting their locations and in turn they lose points at the end of the game.
It’s a fun, strategic style game where you really don’t know where people are trying to get to. Everyone keeps their goals to themselves and you have no idea what cards were drawn. I do recommend the game, and there are numerous iterations of the game as well as various expansions available. Beginners should start with USA as it is the most basic of them. Added features appear in other versions to keep it interesting.
Enjoying time indoors with friends as the weather gets colder is a great way to get through the autumn and winter weekends. Finding a good board game helps. So get out there and stay inside playing games!
With electric vehicles becoming more prevalent in Canada, I have decided to start looking into potentially purchasing one. So it’s time to start looking.
Today, my wife and I took the Polestar 2 for a test drive. The car is from a company offshoot of Volvo. It was a comfortably enough car. Kind of a small suv- they call it a “fastback” like the cars of yesteryear. There is no real legroom in the backseat of the car. And the middle seat is all but useless. But I’m looking for a car to drive my wife and I around- no more kids. Comfort in the front of the car was great.
As with most electric vehicles, it has some good pick up and go. That was fun. Stopping was strong as well. The car was relatively nice to drive and would make a fantastic commuter car.
But then comes cost. Certain EVs have better government rebates than others. But part of that “saved money” will be spent upgrading our garage to have a charging station. I’m looking that any “Monthly payments” would be the same or less than what I spend on gas for my current suv.
So there is a lot to consider when buying electric. Such as travel distance, recharge time, comfort, cost etc… Since I’m in no rush, expect me to talk about other EVs over the next few months. If anyone has an electric vehicle that have like- let me know. I’d love to test drive some other ones.
A few years ago, a rock damaged the front facing camera on my Nissan Rogue. It wasn’t something that required urgent repair, so I left it alone. But seeing as how my kids use the vehicle occasionally, I thought it may be time to get it fixed.
Of course, I checked at a dealership to see how much it would cost. At $400 plus tax, I sought an alternative way to get it done- on my own. So I bought a replacement camera off Amazon for a quarter the cost. I had my son give me a hand to swap it out.
After about thirty minutes of trying to figure out how to access the camera’s location- we had it swapped out fairly easily. Hopefully this one lasts longer than the original.
Now, we can see where we are parking the car with ease. It will help the kids bring the car closer to an object without striking anything. It’s good to have this safety feature working again. I’m glad my son helped out, I like to show him that it’s sometimes better to do repairs on your own. I also appreciated having a second set of eyes to come up with a solution to tackle this repair.
This is definitely the kind of thing that should be passed down to my kids. Doing things on your own gives a sense of accomplishment. Now we have a working camera in my Rogue.
Today a couple of coworkers and I left our regular office and made our way out into the field. We drove for a few hours and managed to observe some crews in the wild and in areas I have never been to. It was a perfect day to drive up to Kamloops and back.
We stopped for a late breakfast at a truck stop style diner. There was great food and good service being shown towards us. Our bellies were filled before we left again.
We were lucky to have beautiful weather while we went on our road trip. Seeing parts of British Columbia and the various countrysides was throughly enjoyable. Stepping away from the office and computer screens to get a bit of a mental break was needed.
Working for the railroad, we get to wander to more remote parts that are pretty much untouched except for train tracks. Roads less traveled so to speak.
It was a good day in the office… I’d do this again anytime.
Recently my sister mentioned the possibility of getting dual citizenship. Eventually being both a Canadian and UK citizen. This is because our mother is from Scotland and has kept her citizenship since moving to Canada.
I never gave it any thought throughout my adulthood, but it seems like something to look into. It could open new doors for travel, work or even a place to retire. I’m now a bit more keen to search it out for myself. I’m not sure if it would be possible to achieve for our kids, but if it does- it can open more opportunities for them as well.
In the mean time it will require more forms and research to dive into. I figure it will be a months-long adventure before it finally comes to fruition. I appreciate my sister for bringing the idea forth. And if she goes through the process before me, I can seek advice from her.
Onto the next chapter in my ever changing lifestyle! Any advice or suggestions regarding getting or having dual citizenship- let me know.
You may be wondering why we went to Calgary for a summer vacation. There must have been a good reason to leave our lovely home with beautiful weather and a pool. There was a really good reason for our week in Calgary. It was for our youngest son.
Our son was attending a Long Track Speed Skating Camp all week. This is one of the few rinks that he can practice and compete at that is near to us. The other long track rink is in Fort St. John. Both locations are around a ten hour drive from our home. This is the last year that my wife and I need to come with him. If he attends any more competitions this year, it will likely be only one of us going or perhaps neither depending on the dates.
Next summer, we may return with him to this camp. However, he will be 18 and could potentially travel on his own. I enjoy being on the sidelines cheering him on and will always support him to the fullest extent that I can. Next year it will be up to him if he wants us to join him, which I hope he allows. But for this week, I am glad to have ventured into Calgary for my vacation.
Going on vacation means more than visiting friends, sightseeing or adventures. It also means going out and trying new places to eat and enjoy a meal or snack. Calgary is filled with plenty of opportunities to search out some great food. Here’s a quick collection of what we have enjoyed on this trip. Or at least of the food I remembered to take pictures of…
Blue StarShawarma PalaceMama’s (Vulcan)OEB BreakfastChicago PizzaBlackfoot Truck Stop Peter’s Drive-InInglewood Food Mart and Video Store Ice Cream
Most of the places we try and stop at are independently owned and operated. We are always on the lookout to support small businesses. Many we find from word of mouth from the residents of Calgary. On occasion we do our own Googles searches and get lucky. I will say though, breakfast is my favorite to sample when traveling.
With full bellies, we will be leaving Calgary tomorrow for our journey back home. (With a bit of leftover Chicago Deep Dish Pizza to tide us over during the road trip.)
This afternoon, my wife and I rented an inflatable raft and headed down the Bow River through the heart of Calgary. My wife had seen people rafting and kayaking this river and wanted to see if there was a rental place. Naturally, there was. So we set aside an afternoon and rented a small raft from “The Paddle Station.”
The views of the city from the river were spectacular. The water wasn’t rough by any means, however the current did catch us a couple of times forcing us to row away from the shoreline.
At one point we had half a dozen ducks swimming alongside of our raft. We were certain they wanted food or to overthrow our raft and take over. Eventually they left us alone and we continued on our merry way.
We have driven the streets enough both through and around Calgary. I really enjoyed our travel through the city in a different manner. However, being back on land was nice after the two hour float. I would highly recommend this easy little journey through one of my favorite Canadian cities. Calgary does not disappoint.
Today my wife and I went on a side quest leaving Calgary. We ventured a little over an hour south into the town of Vulcan. A perfect little half day trip to search out new civilizations… you know, a Star Trek thing.
The town of Vulcan Alberta fully embraces the Star Trek persona. Logos and kitschy designs are rampant. It reminds me of when we ventured down The Extraterrestrial Highway back in 2015 and saw things related to aliens and ID 4. Small town, middle of nowhere just happens to be the perfect backdrop for some nerds like me who wish to explore. The small information building has a lot of Star Trek stuff, most old toys and pictures, but they also have a clever little gift shop with some Vulcan Alberta merchandise for sale.
Throughout Vulcan, there are some fantastic art and murals spread all over. My wife and I walked around for a few kilometers just enjoying these hidden gems. We also stopped at a thrift store and had a lunch at a small pizza restaurant. Supporting small town businesses is the way to go people!
WHAT? Nooo Waaay!
A surprising discovery that I made a few days prior to going into Vulcan, was that a TikTok creator also lives in Vulcan. So we stopped at his merchandise shop. Naturally I bought some stuff. Particularly his catchphrase, because I swear it is used at my work more often than it should.
Fu<ksake! This added to the campiness of our side quest today. Now back to Calgary for some normalcy and our regular quests.
The highlight of our day yesterday afternoon was Activate! But we also did so much more before and after. Calgary is a great city to visit and we are doing our best to cram in some adventures along the way.
Yesterday morning, my wife and I went for breakfast at Blue Star. A very busy bistro restaurant with really good coffee. We both ordered eggs benedict on poutine. A filling breakfast to say the least.
In the afternoon, we picked up our son and headed to Activate. We arrived almost an hour early, so we stopped in to a billiard hall next door called Chill Billiards and played a few matches. It was like going back in time. The music was from the 90’s, there were numerous tables and the aesthetic was of pool halls from that time period. It was a surreal moment that’s for sure. But it was fun.
After Activate, we dropped our son off where we were staying and my wife and I went for a walk. We stopped and picked up ice cream for dinner and sat at a park bench overlooking the Bow River. We were fairly sore after being so active for almost two hours. But our son had other ideas.
As my wife and I returned back to our friends’ home, our son was getting ready to try his first ever attempt at rock climbing. Our friend has a corner wall set up in their garage to practice their climbing. Our son was at it for about 45 minutes and would have kept going if we didn’t tell him that he needs to get some rest because he still has a few days of speed skating training to do.
There seems to be a lot to do in Calgary that we haven’t tried yet… and we are just scratching the surface. There are many more restaurants and businesses that we want to explore. We still have more adventures planned this week, even though our time here is short. But we may get more opportunities to see other things should we return in the future.
Making It Up As I Go 