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Monday, August 31, 2015

Vancouver Blackout 2015 My Event.

Happy Monday!

It's only happy because we have power now where out of the 500,000 people without it over this weekend there are still about 60,000 in the dark around the Lower Mainland. So...not so happy for those guys.

Saturday morning was like any other Saturday. In PJ's puttering around the house watching the sun peak in and out. Standing on the back deck chatting and a gust of wind came up so hard that I thought the table umbrella was going to take a Wizard of Oz trip. We were expecting the wind, seeing it all over the weather reports we knew we were in for a windy day.

Boy were we wrong. We underestimated the force of what was coming and although the wind itself didn't last long, the carnage it left in its wake lasted for days...still counting. I figured when the wind kicked up and tried to lift the roof over deck off that we would definitely lose power along with the flickering lights. Before I had left the house Choo had put laundry in and I had said something about that maybe not being a good thing. At some point so those of us in the house decided it was time to hit up our downtown core here in PoCo and get some things to get us through like sandwich stuff and extra candles. For Craig the emergency was the Liquor store.

We figured hey why not if the lights go out we'll have a Blackout party of sorts. So Craig, myself and Bean take of to get 'provisions' and we weren't the only ones who thought that way. We had a plan. Store, dollar store ( candles ) and Samz beer and wine store. The grocery store was buzzing with people on the same track. We grab what we need and head up to the till and we're behind 2 other customers chit chatting with people about the wind. Then everything went dark...everywhere and there was a collective AWWWWW Many of us left our things behind while the poor few that were in the middle of debit transactions were about to lose their minds.

Bean and I were about to head back to the house when Craig was determined to check if the place that held all that would save him that day was open. So away we went telling him there was no way but he needed proof. Walking down the street and seeing everyone pop out there doors on the storefront at the same time all talking to each other about whether to close up or hang in there in case it was a quick fix made me think "This is how natural disaster movies start."

People holding the goods they could get and all the street lights going out on that busy road on a Saturday was not going to be a good thing. After getting to the door of Samz and practically having Craig cry tears of distress, we went home this... was all about noon. Walking back we saw a tree across the street from our house had been ripped completely clear of the ground and hit some lines. Well...shit. We still have a downed phone line hanging from a pole outside.

We got home and let everyone know that we almost made it but we had to think of other means for the evening. Bean and Craig were on that immediately looking for things that were open and a ride to get there as we sat in the windows watching debris tumbleweed across the street. Where Choo was cursing because the washer's lid locked and there it sat in a drum of water until we got the power back. We heard that  Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge were out as well as Coquitlam and Burnaby and large parts of Vancouver. Everywhere was blacked out. Blondunicorn had a wedding to go to and I have to say that the universe was looking out for the bride and groom. They were supposed to have an outdoor wedding but the rain that had been called for had caused them to change the Venue and wouldn't you know it, it turned out to be the only place in Port Coquitlam ( South side anyway ) that did not lose power.

The kids found out the only place they could go for anything was Port Moody so they headed out to hunt and forage as I was saying to them. It took them 2 hours to get to and back from a city only 2 cities away from us. Sese decided she was going to brave the wind and now rain and head to a friends in New Westminster where they were dark too and what to you know Translink was letting people on for free. It took a little longer because everyone driving had the 4 way stop procedure to adhere to and many of them didn't. At that point it was much safer to j-walk than try to cross at an intersection. Sese called us from the bus stop to say she saw BU drive by her with a branch under her car. OK we giggled at that while sending her a text to warn her that she didn't get until she had parked the car anyway and all was well.

I have to say though that having no power makes absolutely everyone social physically. With no WiFi and trying to conserve battery power we all but tuned out of anything virtual having to talk to each other and play games to pass the time. We would check repeatedly on the BC Hydro website only to find the site um...down for maintenance? Really...of course but the company was Tweeting in lieu anything else. Craig had his Sleemans crisis security blanket and after almost an entire bottle of Jim Beam ( not all by me thank you ) we decided at around 11 pm and with the streets so black not a light in sight we were going to take a walk. BU was back by then and joined in the fun. It wasn't raining but all the cloud cover hid the Full moon and the bevy of stars we might have seen. Can you imagine how many more there would have been without all the light pollution? That would have been cool.

So me, Blondunicorn, Bean, Craig and Handsome Dan hit the streets and all I could think was Night Of The Comet. Well that and screaming Zombie every time a dark figure appeared making me want to hit them with pieces of trees.

All in all though we had a good time! Until the next morning when we still had no power...then as usual the only thing that would have saved us was coffee. How were we going to make coffee? Well Choo was up to bat for that and since he slept through most of the outage, it seemed fitting. Finding a metal kettle and propane, on the BBQ he heated up water for our wake up. As the morning dragged on we all got antsy, needing to do something, anything to kill time until all of the things we blindly depended on came back to us. I got so stir crazy that went to get dressed and go for a walk just to do something. BU hadn't slept much because the Assisted Living condos beside us had their generator running all night and it was not quiet.

As I'm putting my pants on, someone screams from up the street. A loud WOOOOOOOO! traveled along the sound waves and just like that we were back on line as cheers erupted in the house we scared the crap out of BU waking her up and my cell phone had a stroke as all the notifications from various places filed in once it's life was revived.

Even though we regained our power most of our city was still out even a block away at the storefront was still dark until late last night. What it made me realize though was that we are not even close to being prepared for something larger. Not by a long shot. It makes you think though about how to solve that problem and as much as we know what we should have in the case of Earthquakes or Floods we are sadly not prepared enough.

 So now one of my goals is to change that.

OK guys have a great week!

See Ya
S



Monday, August 24, 2015

Let's Just Pretend That Didn't Happen.

Happy Ugh...
Hi Lovelies!

So...how ya doing? I hope your weekend was good.

I tried to do yard work and realized I just need to get rich and hire a gardener or move. We have a blackberry bush from hell in the yard which over the course of 5 years has taken over the skyline because it's MUCH taller than it is wide. Half on my property and half on the neighbours. Wait there is 2 of them one that along with Morning glory ( also from hell ) is choking the Walnut tree that I have never actually seen bare Walnuts. the other one has consumed the decrepit shed out back so that only one door shows and I swear a family of Raccoon's is living in it.

I did clean up the back yard a bit until it got to hot to be out there and I switched my gardening to the indoor variety until it got cooler. That led me into a Walking Dead Marathon of Season 5 before the premier of FEAR the Walking dead. WOOOOOOOO!

As usual it starts out as a typical Zombie flick where the outbreak has already started and we don't know how. With rare exceptions like 28 Days Later when they show you how it starts FEAR followed the same pattern as the not so rare. First half of the show...character introductions and establishing relationships a little long but the episode was an hour and a half long. After that, shit starts to get real. The character I've latched on to right now though is Nick and not because of that awful white chick shirt he was wearing but because I think he did a not so bad job. To me he looks kind of like a young Johnny Depp with a Christian Slater speech pattern. He was the most interesting character for me though. If you haven't seen it you'll see why when you watch it.

I watched and interview with Robert Kirkman saying that the walkers in this show will be like we've never seen them before and there are very noticeable differences in these ones unlike TWD Walkers and I wonder if it's because basically they are the ground zero infected and what happens over time to change the very prominent blue eyed walker?

Watch it and tell me what you think!

OK now it wouldn't be Monday without stupid dumb ass Monday like things so here was my Monday morning so far.

5:45 - Alarm goes off
6:00 - Actually get out of bed
6:02 - Take the dogs out, Chase California out from the front of the house, drag Whiskey back from the neighbours yard, Watch Smokey and the cat pee side by side.
6:10 - Find my clothes from the dryer on my bed and dig through them for god knows what to wear.
6:15 - Watch a video of bears swimming in a pool.
6:20 - Realize I haven't had a coffee yet and instead watch Jon Bon Jovi on Breakfast Television surprise fans with a concert that almost didn't happen. How Nice!
6:25 - Still didn't get my coffee.
6:30 - Face, teeth, Ugh...
6:40 - Kick dogs out of the bedroom, take 30 extra seconds get the little dog out.
6:41 - Oh look my coffee is undressed on the counter. Sugar. Check. Non Dairy Creamer. Check. Travel mug. check.
6:45 - Out the door to the bus stop.
6:55 - Bus late...hmmm.

The bus finally showed up and it was only a few minutes late. I get on and sit in my usual spot, put my feet up on the bar behind the bench of seats across from me, dig my book out and tuck my travel mug between my knees. Turn the page. Sip, after a few more pages I sip again each time putting the mug back between my knees until I feel something warm an wet traveling down my thighs.
Well what do you know...the travel mug is leaking.

Great...

Thank goodness I'm wearing dark grey pants. I change positions of the mug so that it's being braced by my forearm and the wall of the bus with my purse locking it into place it wasn't long until I feel liquid travelling down my arm and I have nothing to clean this up with but I'm confused because I only had half the mug filled when I started. Anyway now I'm sticky in more than one place and am hating this Monday already. So I go to McDonald's and grab a coffee that I can drink and it was free so what's better than that!

The cashier asked me if I wanted it in my travel mug. First thing out of my mouth "Hell No!"

Crap... Sorry lady.

Now the spot has dried and  I'm paranoid about my pants as I have to walk along West Georgia. Looking at it you can't really tell but because I know it's there I can see it as clear as if there were flashing arrows pointing at me, but I just try to pretend it didn't happen.

Got to the office and attacked myself with a wet wipe and now my pants are wet again and I can't move until they dry. Maybe if I'm lucky the rest of the day will move smoothly and I'll be able to get work done on all fronts and then celebrate my youngest daughters 20th B'day tomorrow!

In the fetal position...crying.

Ok Guys!

Have a great week!

See ya
S

Monday, August 17, 2015

The Imperfection Of Everything

Hello Lovelies!

Well last week I saw Whitey again and he was very happy to see me!

I should be scared right?

     The funny thing is that even though his stories seem way too...umm...fictional, he's so far a very nice guy just interested in sharing I guess and because you know I'm soooooo approachable that I get to be one of the many.

     As he sat down across from me in his blue and yellow Hawaiian shirt he inquired about my reading again noticing that I was reading a different book from the last time he saw me and then asked me how my day was. I told him it was good for a Wednesday and without hesitation off on the story train he went this time telling me about his travels to Mexico during a Cinco de Mayo some many many moons ago where he took his 007 type spy gear so that he could catch sight of a Spirit in an ancient church somewhere. He told me about finally catching it on film but that the spirit was just a shadow in the picture but he was certain he caught it.

Kind of makes me want to throw him in a story! In a way though I guess I am.

    Next he told me of meeting Stephen King during the filming of the original IT. After a brief conversation about my fear and downright hatred of Clowns that made him laugh he says " I like you!" I'm not sure it it's a good thing or a bad thing so if I disappear on a Wednesday never to be heard from again look for Whitey the Vampire/Werewolf/Secret Agent & Spirit Chaser guy he might have thrown me in a coffin, under the full moon with nothing but a micro-recorder and a bag of salt.

 He got of 3 stops later gave me a smile, a wave and as was well.

    So, now on to other things that will bore you to tears if that didn't already. this past Sunday we had the annual Car Show in Port Coquitlam that has gotten so large now that I prefer to stay at home instead of walking around in the masses but I had baby boy to keep me occupied so at least I wasn't bored. Being less than a block away from the center of it all it's much easier to go first thing as the cars are being driven in or right at the end when they form the loud vibrating lines of revving engines that shake you to the core as they drive off for home.

   On the writing front I'm glad to say that I'm still at it and that's a good thing. Revising has slipped back a little as the story is progressing forward and I know that I have to catch that up and fix the continuity issues for it to mesh together better but that work in progress is at least progressing and that's all I can as for. OK not all I can ask for but for right now I will take the consistency at which I spend time in my alternate written world over the perfection of it.

    If I've learned anything the only perfection I see is in the imperfection of everything and those imperfections make the world I live in much less plain. There is so much more to see and more to share preferably without judgments but that's impossible. Everyone has their own opinion and that's OK, being able to agree to disagree is a big thing in my house because even though some of us share the same view or opinion a lot of the time we'll have different reasons why we came to the conclusion. I am one of those people that tries to see everything from all angles. I never used to be and those teenage years were tough to learn from but I did. After I had my girls I was still learning being a younger mother at 19. Actions do have consequences whether they slap you in the face or just sit in the dark side of your brain reminding you that there was a time when what you thought was the perfect idea or the perfect choice...just...wasn't.

I'm rambling again, sorry! That just happens sometimes so on that note Lovelies...

Have a great week!

See Ya
S




Monday, August 10, 2015

The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To...

Monday again!



At least I didn't run into the ah...Vampire/Werewolf guy again although this post might have been more interesting if I had but it's Monday and I couldn't care any less for the duration of the day but you know me and my posts are very rarely planned out ( OK never ) and very much spontaneous as I sit at the keyboard and type. I have tried to plan and organize my posts but much like my world everything is in chaos all of the time.

Like last week at work it looked like a tree threw up on my desk and it's not usually like that but I was on my own in my Dept for 2 weeks and...um...ya it wasn't pretty. Besides that and maintaining anything normal is an outside appearance only because my brain doesn't stop thinking about things I need to do vs want to do and for the most part just not doing it. It's like trying to organize your life while it's spinning in a blender with no lid on it and not only emotionally but very much physically from mental/physical health to purging the mountains of useless crap stuffed in closets, every nook and cranny and under beds. Trying to achieve some form of symmetry to the intimate world around me.

Yeah...right...not gonna happen.

You know how a tornado is ultimately destructive but crazy beautiful to watch how the sheer force of it can devastate everything and even though you want it to stay away from you, you find yourself transfixed? Ya just like that because when everything stops moving there's one hell of a mess to clean up, unfortunately shit in my brain doesn't land and there is no reprieve. I've tried many things to combat this! Nothing works and as calm and zen as I can be ( Oh and I can be ) I don't know what I'd do without the disarray...in my head. the physical stuff I wish I had a genie or a house sized vacuum that sucked stuff up and spit it out in the right order.

I've made lists trying to organize so many different things and they disappear never to be used, they just poof go up in flames of some kind. I can't even use a shopping list! It's like Elves or Pixies have taken them from me and hidden them just to screw with me but it's all there...in my head and yet not in the right order. The second I kick something out, something else pops in to take it's place. Like organization would help me? Ha! I actually laughed out loud there.

So instead of sorting through the mess in my head and putting things in neat little piles of to do, should do, want to do, need to do and will never do. I will pick certain things out of the swirling mass and run with it hoping to get it out of the way and done or banish it forever. A few things are sticking now like the motivation to write and further myself because that seems to feel urgent in some way and so many of you have been very supportive and helpful with this road I'm on.

I thank you so much for that everyday I'm blessed that you're there.

So I think that this dramatic Monday post was apparently where I needed to be as my fingers rush upon the keys telling me too many things are unfinished and they really need to be.

So...only mildly depressing!
But it's alllll good...

Have a great week!

See Ya
S

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

"Vampires Are Real." He Says

I don't usually do this, I'm more of a Post a week type of girl but after my trip home yesterday I had to share the wealth of knowledge I received from a bus patron.

I get on the bus in Vancouver and take the hour and fifteen minute ride home simple because it gives me more time to read. This trip however was vastly different from my usual ones. Almost all of the trip was normal until we got to Coquitlam Center where the bus sits for about 10 mins before it takes me on that last stretch home to Port Coquitlam.

As usual I sit in my regular spot, feet on the bar in front of me, book in hand, headphones in tuning out the world as I'm deep in another one in my head. Two guys get on, one kind of young and the other graying at the temples. The two are deep in conversation about the 701 bus to Maple Ridge and how it surprisingly left earlier than usual so they were taking my bus instead to get to where they needed to go. I don't crank my music so I can hear them but I'm not really caring. Chatter, chatter "What time is it anyway?" the older one says. The younger replies "I don't know I don't have my phone." As their conversation turns to how no one uses watches anymore I reach into my purse check the time and say "It's 5:52." Both men look at me and say thank you clearly shocked that I not only heard them but gave them what they asked for. Since the 701 runs ever 15-20 mins another showed up and the younger man decided to take it and they both got of my bus.

Ok back to reading I go until the older man gets back on and sits across from me and starts talking. After a minute or so it's pretty clear I'm not reading anymore so I pop out a headphone and close my book.

Him - What are you reading?
Me - Oh it about Vampires
Him - Oh really? That's pretty cool!

I nodded for a second thinking I was going to be able to spend the last 10 mins of my ride with tunes in my head as the sun streamed in the window beside me.

Him - You know why that's cool?

I shrugged and shook my head.

Him -  Vampire stories are awesome! Even more so because I am one.
Slow blink...slow blink again. Assessing the situation here before I move on.

Him - Actually I'm a Werewolf/Vampire
Alrighty then...again with the slow blinking and an even slower nod.
Me - Interesting...

Him - Ya I had to get my fangs removed when I was a kid because they were too big and I kept cutting my lips.
Me - Oh really?
This being quietly said because my flight response was pounding in my brain and I was in a moving vehicle wondering how unhinged the man across from me was.

Oh wait he's still talking.

He leans forward and shows me his thumb and pinky nails. My brain is hammering that he's too close just way to close to me but I hold it together and look down.

Him - The nails are the worst when the elongate on the full moon! ( He actually used ELONGATE)
Me - ( because I'm stupid and have to encourage the guy ) How bad is it?
HIm - OH IT'S THE WORST! They just shred through!

He continues to tell me he took a trip to Transylvania and proved his blood ties to Dracula. I think I stopped breathing at one point because that seemed to be one hell of a statement. Blah blah he continues next thing I heard that his sensei cut off his long dark hair with a Samurai sword.

Where the hell am I and why is this ride taking so long????? I looked him in the eye though the whole time and then he leaned forward again and as serious as could be he says...

"Vampires are real...you better believe it." In my head I said "I believe that you believe it."

His stop approached and he said thank you for the conversation smiling the whole way and stood up. Just before he turned to leave he said "Oh! My name's Whitey!...Ah...no offence."

Is it strange that the No Offence line rocked me harder that his forward I'm a vampireness? My own daughter told me she forgets I'm black. I just smiled and said no problem.

He caught sight of my natural fang and said "Yup that's what I'm talkin about." Ya...not creepy at all.

I will leave you now back to your normalcy while I try to reclaim mine!

See Ya
S


Tuesday, August 4, 2015

If Only They Had Common Sense

Hello Lovelies!

How was your week? I hope you got everything you wanted done...or not, whatever happened I hope it wasn't bad. You know what I realized on this STUPID hot long weekend?

1) It was BC Day ( I knew that though )
2) In BC we do nothing to actually celebrate BC Day itself.
3) My neighbours need a hose shoved somewhere else that's a waste

Sure there were plenty of things to do over the weekend besides lobster bake yourself or sweat out half your body weight just breathing.There were events all over but nothing I saw that was relative to the day itself. Now I could be wrong because I did lightly skim over the events pages but if it didn't say BC Day Celebrations then I moved on. The long weekend is a good reason to take off for camping sites unknown though and the extra day off just goes without saying. You know what I saw on my extra day off?

Remember the Rehab neighbours that water their fence? well yesterday it was the roof that got watered. Now part of me understands the logic. Water the roof, you might be cooler. If things weren't they way they are here right now then I wouldn't even care what they were doing to be cool. I mean my dogs smell so bad we won't even touch them and I won't give them a bath just to do my part in the not waste water thing we have going on. Hmmm...I wonder if dry shampoo would work? I could take them to the river and let them swim it off but with too many other people and dogs my 3 would just turn into maniacs. Smokey would try to hump other dogs even though he's fixed. All those people would just terrify California and she'd be all teeth and Whiskey well he's 14, tiny and likely to get carried away by the current and it wouldn't be the first time.

Where was I?... Oh ya watering the roof guy, now we can report them. In hopes that they would listen eventually to what we've been saying to them every time they do something stupid like that we have not reported them and "I'm not a reporting" type of girl don't get me wrong I won't hesitate in other situations but I'm more of a teach em a lesson type of person especially since the man who owns the house has rented it to them with good intentions as he fights Cancer. There have been thoughts of filming the experience and posting it on various social media sites which is a possibility that I have no control over.

Why does the water usage bother me so much besides the obvious common sense reasons?  When a large company that produces bottled water makes a comment that every house should have a water meter to measure our usage and we should be charged for that usage it makes you think, especially when home owners already pay for water on their property and no I don't know the specifics I just remember my mother having to pay water and sewerage every year and taking in stride how it would go up every year. As well Bean put it best that 2 months out of the year is the only time we have issues with a lack of rain or water. The other 10 months are between damp and monsoon so maybe the neighbour needs their hose to go missing or not be usable.

My own landlord asked me to mow my lawn...my lawn is hay at this point it's yellow and flat with the odd defiant weed growing so I'm thinking that a pair of scissors should do it and getting heatstroke to make it look pretty was just not in the cards.

Ok enough bitchery! Writing goes well and I have gotten alot of insight from other authors with the realization that I'm not the only one who has problems with keeping it together. This weekend was a right off just because of the heat so being at the computer was not something that transpired but I did hand write so that was something. In the meantime I'm going to just keep going and take it one day at time until it's like breathing.

I found a new band Thirteen's Sirens, it reminds me of my metal head days oh the memories! Check them out they are looking for feedback 

Have a great week!

See Ya
S